Fellow Republicans Keep Christie in Demand

[Gerald]

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey sat center stage in a Hollywood hotel ballroom on Wednesday afternoon, next to Meg Whitman, who is running for governor of California, and told a parable of a schoolyard bully as he talked about “standing up to teachers’ unions” in New Jersey.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/ny...l?ref=nyregion






Note:Published: September 22, 2010

[Takeda Shingen]

Teacher unions are a major obstacle to any meaningful reform in public education. I applaud Christie's stance on the matter.

[AVGWarhawk]

You should see what Michele Rhee has done in DC concerning the teachers unions. She flat out said the education sucks. She began firing teachers last year. She is just now in the news.

"They are getting a crappy education," Rhee said while discussing the district's schoolchildren in an interview with ABC News. "I mean, you could try to sugar coat it all you want. Subpar, or whatever. But what it is in terms that everyone can understand -- they are getting a crappy education."

Under Rhee's three-year watch, more than 200 teachers have been fired. Almost 20 schools have closed, and pay has been tied to merit evaluations. But test scores have shot up for elementary and secondary school students, and teachers' salaries were raised.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/morning_mi...ry?id=11651506

[Takeda Shingen]

As a former public school educator, I am all for the pay-for-performance model. There are teachers in every school who are just poor educators. The other teachers, the adminstrators, the parents and the students all know which ones they are. Once they get tenure, they can't be removed short of attempted murder.* Rhee has done some great work towards removing those obstacles in DC.

*That would be murder on their part, not the advocacy of murdering bad teachers.

[AVGWarhawk]

However, Rhee is seen as bad in some respects. Teachers in the DC system see that experience should come before the fresh graduate. Rhee does not think so. IMO that experience over the years has lulled many a teacher into a routine and out of touch with kids. They need to be shaken up. For most, you earn your job and work hard to keep it. In this system now, a teacher can do whatever they well please. I have two of my own in the public school system here in MD. I went to both of their schools. Met the teachers and administration. To me a childs eduction is also the parents responsiblity. The parent has to be involved. So, Rhee can fire all she wants. Christie can go after the teachers she wants. But, if you have a lousy parent at home...that child's education is behind the 8 ball. These two women can not fix that. I'm a firm believer in parent involvment at all levels. Except college...be there if needed but not a a part of.

[Bubblehead1980]

I hope Christie keeps fighting and stays clean, he has the balls we need in D.C. so perhaps someday that is where he will end up.

[Bilge_Rat]

For someone who says he is not in running in 2012, he does seem to make a lot of cross crountry trips...

[Takeda Shingen]

Oh, absolutely. I know from personal experience that parents can be a major hinderance to their child's education. The student shares blame as well. My observation is that the typical American student, both K-12 and in college, is very lazy. There is an expectation by the student, reinforced by the parent, confirmed by the teacher and administrator, that showing up and sitting through class will not only pass you, but give you a good mark. It's a perfect storm of mediocrity, and has caused great ruin to the system.

All I can say is that this is not how the way it worked in my classroom, and is not how it continues to work in my lecture hall.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

For someone who says he is not in running in 2012, he does seem to make a lot of cross crountry trips...

In fairness, a lot of this is at the behest of the party. They have the money, so you go where they tell you to go and they help fund your re-election bid.