Scarborough & Dean Brawl Over Dem/Union Obstruction Of Education Reform
Howard Dean: "I need to take you on a tour of America's public schools; that's what I need to do." Joe Scarborough: "I've been fighting for education reform for a generation, and every time we've tried to reform schools . . . it was the Democratic party on the House floor and on the Senate floor and in the White House that stood in the way. I do not need lectures from you on education reform."
And that was the polite part of the exchange! But seriously, Joe Scarborough and Howard Dean had a big-time brawl on today's Morning Joe on the subject of education reform. Dean defended teachers unions and their Dem lackeys, while Scarborough, who has made education reform a theme of his show, denounced the Dem-union cabal that has thwarted real reform every step of the way. Video after the jump.
Watch the video and see the sparks fly. Note in particular how Dean, trying to make the case that teacher unions support reform, cites a charter school in NYC established by a teachers union. Scarborough pounces, essentially calling the school a Potemkin village designed to give the unions cover and provide talking points to their defenders like Dean.
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Comments
Good on Scarborough
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 10:28am.
The Dems and the teachers unions insist that the answer to America's declining educational product is (not surprisingly) more $$$.
But in one of his books, John Stoessel uses Dept of Education data to illustrate that over the past 40 years, the US has doubled the amount of money is spends per student in the public schools (in constant 1970 dollars), yet SAT scores have actually dropped slightly.
Obviously, the decline in product isn't tied to the amount of money we are spending. It must be related to other impacts, and that's where the unions draw the line. The teachers unions insist that they are fighting for better education for the students, but their first priority is job security.
Incompetent teachers are certainly not the norm, but who suffers when an incompetent teacher is retained? The students, of course.
Obama and the Dems are now pushing to "fix" the public education deficiencies by insisting that every child go to college -- a totally unnecessary and wasteful goal that not even the European countries attempt. Meanwhile, we have thousands and thousands high school graduates who can't write a coherent sentence or read above the 8th grade level, and are thus unable to find gainful employment in the work force.
What the nation needs is a Student Movement that demands better quality education from their schools. Let's see Howard Dean debate a high school junior about the quality of education.
Do you recall?
Submitted by KornKing on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:28am.
I believe it was the late 80's or early 90's, the NEA had their annual convention, with the top subject for action(to "improve" education?) being
Drum roll please....
A boycott of Florida orange juice
Once the NEA got taken over by an Alinsky-trained . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:38pm.
. . . elite, the NEA morphed from a professional association of educators seeking to improve education, into genuine union and a quixotic agenda. It is not the sole teachers union, but it's the face of organized labor in education.
Der is nuting rong with the NEA. I went all thru skool with
Submitted by Rush Fan on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:04pm.
union (NEA) techers, and I recieved an excelent education. Quit nocking the NEA!
A fact
Submitted by KornKing on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:07pm.
50% of students cannot spell NEA correctly
Dean gets BLUDGEONED!
Submitted by ChrisNH on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 10:21am.
I absolutely LOVED seeing Dean squirm. "His" network, MSDNC, 'off the reservation!' I'm sure Dean thought he's be in for a polite, back-slapping discussion with Joe...and I'll bet now he wishes the interview were with Mika instead.
Yeeearghhhhhhh!
real issue
Submitted by ort777 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:20am.
My wife is a conservative kindergarten teacher. She has stood up against the union when they were asking for more money on their contract while school funding was decreasing. But (you knew it was coming) here's what she struggles with on a daily basis that happens to be one of the real problems in education. Broken kids coming from broken families. A kid she had last year had 3 siblings. Each sibling had a different father. These kids come to school not recognizing basic things, unable to count to 10 or not knowing their alphabet. She has 6 kids that are uncontrollable and they disrupt the entire classroom. No amount of help makes a difference. Since she spends most of her time trying to get these kids in line, the kids that are ready to learn don't get the education they deserve. She's been doing this for over 20 years and has seen the rapid decline to the point where it's out of control. On top of this, the state's standards increase so it's a double whammy. I don't make excuses for lousy teachers because I've seen them, especially in the higher grades but at the entry level where education really matters, we have a huge, huge problem. She can get out but that's the problem. Teachers that can make a difference will be driven from the profession. What do you think?
Your wife exhibits the frustrations of many teachers . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:48pm.
. . . that I know personally.
My sister taught in public elementary school for 14 years, and earned a masters in special eduction. She stopped to give birth to her daughter 13 years ago, planning to return to the profession when her daughter got older.
But she hasn't gone back to it. Instead, she works as a teachers' aide where she is assigned the slow readers to work with. She tells me that although the pay is less, the job is satisfying because she can focus on the students and not have to deal with outrageous parents of undisciplined children, and invertebrate school administrators who are out of touch with what goes on in the classrooms.
The tragedy in American education is that (a) its results have been declining for decades, (b) the good teachers are frustrated by the system they have to work under, (c) the unions fight for bad teachers over the welfare of the students, and (d) school administration is driven by political correctness and fear of law suits. Neither the teachers nor the parents like the current state of education, yet nothing is being done to correct it.
agree
Submitted by ort777 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:49pm.
I couldn't agree with you more. My wife said last night that the profession has changed to the point where they've become social workers and that's a crime. The liberal agenda has poisoned society so deeply that the family will never be the same. The children we see today are the end result. It's only going to get worse unless we can reclaim everything we've lost. That's huge and seems daunting. I love the paycheck my wife collects but I hate what it's doing to her. She works until she collapses and working with these idiot parents takes a toll. She cares more about these kids than the parents themselves and that's a crime.
ort777.......Bless your wife and all teachers who care
Submitted by Rush Fan on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:22pm.
enough for the welfare of their students that despite the appalling roadblocks from unions, liberal school boards and administrators, continue to devote themselves to trying to make a difference.
NO more $$ then.
Submitted by averageschmoe on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:37am.
If Howard Dean thinks that the the Education system is fine and does not need any reform than my school taxes should never go up another penny. In fact, I expect to see them falling soon. Yes, when hell freezes over.
We live in a community that
Submitted by inquiringmind on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:24pm.
We live in a community that has it's school system rated "Excellent" by the State. We chose to live here knowing that we would have to pay higher property taxes.
They just passed a levy that will raise my property taxes by an additional $350/ yr. I live in a 2,000 sq ft home.
Again I chose to live here but I used it as a teaching moment for my kids so they are aware of taxes and what they are getting for the money paid.
Oh, and Howard Dean is a horses Arse.
I enjoyed it!
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:08pm.
Dean: I'm defending the American Federation of Teachers.
And, therein lies the problem.
I despise the Congressional
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:25pm.
I despise the Congressional Black Caucus strictly on the grounds that they are not champions for school reform. They do what the Demmunists and Teacher's Union tells them to do on this topic.
We have kids getting killed because they are "acting white". Remember the kid in Chicago battered with the 2x4, because he was SMART! I am against the union too because they do not fight for real reform, which would include at the top of the list...discipline....and getting rid of the idiot kids who made it impossible for teachers to teach and students to learn.
Instead the CBC has helped turn schools into daycare for teens. I realize that we have terrible home lives for many of these kids, thank you LBJ and the Great Society, but maybe if we would give the kids some structure and discipline they may actually get out of the ghetto....that the CBC seems content to let another generation die.
Oh boy Howard....ONE charter school! Way to go. If it is so awesome....How about asking Obama why he killed the D.C. school voucher program...FIRST THING WHEN HE BECAME president!
The Cos: more education funding NOT the answer.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:55pm.
Link.
Bad money
Submitted by Defuze1 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:42pm.
It is amazing that people think that spending more will equal better education. If your system is broken, fix it and don't think that just throwing money at the broken system will fix it. Following that conventional wisdom I should be able to walk into a used car lot and pay $5000 for a rusty 1972 Pinto Hatchback and have a fantastic car. Many would say "Are you crazy? That car is a bomb on wheels." Following the logic of the defenders of the american education system, my reply would be "It a great car! Look how much I paid for it!"
Kudos to Scarborough for slapping Dean down.
Curious how when states start their lotteries they claim that the money will go to fund education, but every time there are economic down turns the first claim is that they must cut education funds and teachers, but curiously the lottery ticket sales remain constant or go up. Exactly how does that work??
Dean is unwatchable
Submitted by amyshulk on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 3:18am.
He's just another fast talking elider who peppers his oration with "facts" that only the misinformed believe. And the hate - it oozes!!!
Ronald Reagan