California Educator Magazine--May 2005 Swill

What the exception of my NEA Representative Assembly posts, lately I've been leaning a bit to the political side of the house. For those of you who come here for education commentary, this post's for you.

I didn't give as much attention as I should have to the May 2005 issue of California Educator, the mouthpiece union rag for the California Teachers Association. Since I just received the June issue, I thought we'd have a jolly good time if I wrote a two-for-one post about these two issues. Then I got to writing and decided that such a post would be egregiously long, so I'll discuss the two magazine issues separately.

Mind you, there's not much difference between the two. Schwarzenegger is a demon, his proposals do nothing, we're united, let's have socialized health care, blah blah blah. Some of the glaring inconsistencies, however, deserve attention, and I'm just the guy to give them that attention.

The Governor has called for a special election this fall in order to take some initiatives directly to the voters. CTA is against this election, saying the $80 million it will cost state and local jurisdictions to conduct is money that could be better spent elsewhere. So what does CTA do? It puts initiatives on that ballot, too! Lovely.

Here are some of the comments CTA has about the "reform measures", as they are now known.

ACAX1 4, the Budget/Spending Cap proposal.
Would avoid dealing with the very real problems public education faces--schools are underfunded, class sizes are too large and teachers are underpaid. Didn't you just know those were coming? Not that they're entirely inaccurate, but how does CTA suggest we balance the state budget? Oh yes, tax increases. Can't take any money from the ~50% of the state budget that is education, can you?

ACAX1 1, Pension Reform
Would remove teachers' incentive to stay in the classroom despite low wages. Would leave teachers without a safety net to take the place of Social Security, which most will not receive. Pension reform would not affect current teachers, and future teachers could decide if a 401(k) is good enough for them. If we have a teacher shortage, then something like "the invisible hand" of the market would fix that problem. I lean towards CTA's position on this one, though, even though it doesn't affect me.

SCAX1 1 Merit Pay and Due Process
Would lengthen the probationary period to five years, when two years is already longer than for most other professions. Allowing permanent teachers to be dismissed after two unsatisfactory evaluations and not giving them a chance to challenge the decision would open up opportunities for abuse. Would do nothing to improve student learning, lower class size, or secure the textbooks and materials schools need. Now, I support merit pay and have discussed the highs and lows of that topic in a few posts on this blog. This "we all deserve good pay" talk is true, but it denies the fact that some teachers are significantly better than others and should be rewarded and learned from. The second and third sentences above are entirely true; I'm all for due process, but think we should get rid of what I call the "undue process" of difficulty in getting rid of substandard teachers. I've also written previously that people shouldn't have to be Superteacher in order to stay employed. And now for the attack--keep the last complaint, that it does nothing to improve learning or lower class size, in mind. I'll come back to that later and show how CTA is being hypocritical.

(Initiative placed on the ballot by an outside group) Union Dues Limitations
Would silence the collective voice of working people, making it difficult to speak out and be heard in the political process. Almost everything in public schools--from size of classes to the books that can be used to the standards used to teach--is determined through the political process. I'd probably be against this, too, if CTA ever stood for what I believe in. But since they don't listen to my voice, I don't mind quelling the "collective voice" just a little.

So that's it for the initiatives that the governor and his "business allies" have put put on the ballot. What has CTA done? As I said before, they've put initiatives on the ballot, too! CTA is a member of the Alliance for a Better California, a left-leaning coalition of public employee unions. It's also a part of Californians for Tax Fairness, an organization that wants to raise taxes to fund more public employees. These two coalitions have placed several initiatives on the special election ballot, the same one they fault the governor for having in the first place! So what are these initiatives? The Car Buyer's Bill of Rights, The Cheaper Prescription Drugs for California Act, and the (Re)Regulation of Electric Service, among others. Now let's go back to CTA's complaint that I mentioned two paragraphs above, and apply the same standard to these CTA-backed initiatives: do any of these initiatives do anything to improve student learning, lower class size, or secure textbooks and materials? Of course not! The hypocrisy would astound me if I weren't inured to it. In fact, of those three items, CTA, as an employee union, should only be concerned with lower class size (as a working condition). The other two items should be dealt with by the parents of the school district through their elected school board!

The final two points that I'll address from the May issue are points of honesty, or lack thereof. I found the following paragraph, and the first sentence of the next paragraph, to be especially interesting in that contradictory sort of way. From page 15:

In 2001, California handed out monetary awards to teachers whose schools increased their test scores, but the program was suspended when so many qualified that the state ran out of money to pay for it.

There is no evidence that merit pay leads to improvements in student performance.

Don't you just love that? Isn't it classic? Then there's this, from the page 30 story on the $60/year dues increase for the next three years:

The money will not go into the initiative fund, rather into a line item for "debt service" to make sure CTA stays solvent in the long run.

But why have we been asked to pay this increase, one that will raise my dues to over $1000 a year? I quote from the same article:

The governor's camp has set a fundraising goal of more than $50 million to push their agenda. "With pharmaceutical and oil companies picking up the tab, you know this is one promise they will keep." [Barbara Kerr, CTA President, old cigarette-and-whisky-voice herself--Darren.]

With that in mind, CTA's Board of Directors gave notice that it will be asking Council at the June meeting to consider passing a temporary dues assessment of $60 a year for up to three years.

"It's our fight," said CTA Board member Ton Conry as he made the motion. "There's no question whether we should fight back. And we know, if it's our fight, we pay."

So, they're raising the dues money specifically to fight the governor, as I mentioned in these posts back in March. Yet, it would be illegal to take this money from us specifically to spend on political causes, so they're going to use it for "debt service"--they're going to pay off the debts they incur by spending money on political causes!

Is there no end to this type of crime?

When Blogs Are Bad

This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses one of the pitfalls of having a blog--the people interviewing you for a job can know the "real" you, not the "interview" you. According to the article, that's usually a bad thing.

I can't imagine it would be so for me :-)

Solidarity

2012 Olympics

Would it be immature of me to give a big nyah-nyah-nyah-NYAH-nyah to Jacquestrap Chirac now that London has beaten out Paris for the 2012 Games?

Yes, I guess it would. So I won't do it.

Interestingly enough, though, is this report that maybe it was Chirac himself who cost Paris the Olympics.

Interesting little sidelight to the Olympics story. Instaman notes the story about Chirac badmouthing English food, saying:

"You can't trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food."

The punchline? The linked story doesn't say it nor does this one, but I heard on the radio that two of the judges were Finnish. Chirac may have killed Paris's chances with his comment. [UPDATE: A little more from the radio: apparently, Paris actually was the favorite before Chirac opened his mouth]

I can only hope that the story is true. If not, it will make for a great urban legend.

More From The NEA Convention

Thanks to the Education Intelligence Agency, people the world over will get a view of the NEA Representative Assembly that's "slightly" different than the one that will be published by NEA itself.

I'll just cut/paste some of the interesting parts here.

The ostensible point of the show was to show displeasure with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and support for the California Teachers Association. The delegates collected petitions and resolutions, put them in a big barrel, and 300 of them walked over to the governor's Los Angeles office to deliver them. But first, the other state affiliates had to make it clear that California wasn't the only one with problems. So we were treated to speeches from NEA state affiliate presidents from Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts and Ohio – decrying their fiscal situations, referencing devastating cuts to education funding and complaining about "Third World budgets."

So I thought I would go to a couple of impeccable sources on issues of funding: NEA and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Here's what I found.

The percentage increases in current spending on public education for the last 10 years are: 4.7, 6.0, 5.7, 5.7, 6.5, 6.8, 5.5, 6.6, 3.0 and 4.4. NEA estimates that total expenditures on U.S. public schools in 2004-05 were $495,235,283,000.

Forget about Third World. OECD gives us gross domestic product (GDP) figures for Second World countries and the amount the United States spends on public education exceeds the entire GDP of countries like Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey. The U.S. public education system spends as much money as the total combined economies of 37 African countries.

How about devastating budget cuts? Here are the per-pupil spending estimates for 2004-05 from NEA, released just last week:
Michigan: up 3.6 percent
Illinois: up 6.0 percent
Kansas: up 3.5 percent
Massachusetts: up 5.1 percent
Ohio: up 5.8 percent
California: up 2.4 percent
Nationwide: up 3.3 percent

Don't you just love facts?

And then there was this one vestige of hope.

The debate continued, and a first-time delegate from Wisconsin amended it to add a provision to create an NEA blog. EIA was PRAYING this would pass. Unfortunately, another delegate probably had the same mental picture of what would happen that I had, and amended the amendment to make it a moderated blog, so that NEA could remove whatever it didn't deem suitable.

That bummed me out, but it also raised the cost another $100,000, which I didn't know was the going rate for a full-time censor. In the end, it was all for nothing. The delegates voted down the whole idea overwhelmingly.

But alas, it was not to be.

Then there were the New Business Items that were tackled.

* NBI 39 – Defeated this measure that would have encouraged strikes against the "war budget."
* NBI 46 – Defeated this measure that would have encouraged teachers to wear green the first Tuesday of each month to call attention to the "need for pension/retirement reform." It did, however, give me the idea of encouraging taxpayers to wear black and blue on April 15.
* NBI 48 – Defeated in a close vote this measure that would have directed NEA to urge colleges and universities to stop using the SAT for admissions.
* NBI 49 – This measure, which would have had NEA promote the establishment of a federal department of Peace, was ruled out of order after delegates defeated a similar amendment to the legislative program. Robert's Rules and NEA policies don't allow double jeopardy.
* NBI 54 – Approved this measure that, after amendment, now directs NEA to study the feasibility of informing its members of the "regressive taxation practices of the federal government."

Not as bad as it could have been.

Then there were these, from the last day. What do most of them have in common? Why, the fact that they have nothing to do with either education or working conditions, of course!

* Defeated NBI 58, the moratorium on new prison construction.
* Approved NBI 61 after amending language softened the "U.S. Out of Iraq" message. The NBI calls on the President and Congress to create an exit strategy to end the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.
* Approved NBI 63, which commits NEA to educating members about CAFTA "and its serious negative consequences for education."
* Referred NBI 75 to committee, designed to set aside a fragrance-free zone at the RA.
* Referred NBI 78 to the Executive Committee, to urge members to boycott Wal-Mart.
* Approved NBI 81, directing NEA to research the possibility of offering a labor union history training program that emphasizes curriculum for students. EIA will be happy to teach this.
*Approved NBI 91, the "alternative to latex" measure after minutes of entertaining debate about the "many satisfactory alternatives to decorative and recreational items containing latex" mentioned in the rationale for the NBI.

I would prefer it if these unions stopped trying to get involved in "education" and focused on working conditions--that is, collective bargaining issues. I'm mighty curious, though, about what prompted NBI 91.

Update, 7/7/05 11:39 pm: I learned of this article, originally apparently from the Washington Times, from Joanne Jacobs' site (see my blogroll). Here are the first two paragraphs:

NEA affiliate rejects freedom proposal

By George Archibald
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 5, 2005

LOS ANGELES -- The college affiliate of the National Education Association yesterday unanimously rejected a proposal to expand its policy on academic and professional freedom to protect "intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas" in the nation's classrooms.

Randy Jackson, a delegate to the NEA convention now under way, appeared before the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) summer meeting to defend his proposal, which was attacked roundly as part of a conservative agenda.

New Species of Dolphin Found

AFP has reported that a new species of dolphin has been discovered off the coast of Australia, the first new species discovered in 30 years.

1. Isn't it amazing that a new species of almost any mammal can still be discovered in this day and age? The diversity of life on this planet is truly amazing.
2. There was a new species discovered 30 years ago???
3. How many different types of dolphins are still out there?

I don't know why, but stories like this really interest me.

Reparations For Slavery

Sarcasm, irony, and satire--three of my favorite genres of writing. Having said that I direct you to this American Enterprise article about reparations for slavery, which begins thusly:

An Address to the Chicago City Council

Members of the City Council, I stand before you today to offer you my congratulations for your diligent efforts in ferreting out the past support of slavery by the Wachovia Corporation, the Aetna Insurance Company, and other financial institutions. It is a grim irony that, even today, such corporate entities should still be reaping the benefits from what is without doubt the sorriest chapter of our nation’s history. Not only do your efforts help in setting the historical record straight. They also offer the possibility – through the concept of joint-and-several liability and many other doctrines developed by our nation’s great trial lawyers – that these institutions will at long last be made to pay monetary damages for their past acts.

I would like to direct your attention, however, to an institution with far greater financial resources whose historical role in abetting slavery and resisting its abolition is manifestly clear, yet which, even today, continues to reap benefits from this nefarious record. I speak, of course, of the Democratic Party.


Update, 7/5/05 5:31 pm: Corrected the lack of a link!

More From The NEA Representative Assembly

Mucho appreciado to the Education Intelligence Agency, which is providing "gavel to gavel" coverage of the NEA Rep Assembly in Los Angeles. There are so many tidbits I'll just snip them here. Most speak for themselves. BTW, NBI stands for "new business item".

* Delegates approved NBI 13, which reads, "That NEA continue to oppose attempts by billionaire Eli Broad and any other entities to remove elected school boards from cities in California and in any other state or territory." NEA is already on record as opposing mayoral takeovers of school boards, but it is still interesting that Eli Broad is mentioned by name and not the one man who most recently expressed support for a mayoral takeover of a California school board – the darling of the 2005 NEA Representative Assembly, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

*Also unmentioned is the fact that the Broad Foundation is a substantial financial contributor to the Teacher Union Reform Network, to which five California local affiliates of NEA (including UTLA!) belong. Teachers shopping at Wal-Mart is bad, but teacher unions taking money from Broad is OK, as long as you keep it quiet.
* Delegates approved NBI 32, which calls on NEA to study the feasibility of initiating a boycott of Gallo wine.

* After much back and forth, delegates approved NBI 33, which reads, "The NEA will develop a strategic program to help NEA Republican members advance a pro-public education agenda within the Republican Party." The measure was supported by the NEA Republican Educators Caucus, but some individual Republicans among the delegates found the language condescending. I'm unsure how Democrats are going to help Republicans persuade other Republicans, but apparently it can be done for the bargain price of $171,125 of your dues money. * NBI 48 directs NEA to urge universities and colleges not to use the new SAT for admissions purposes, because the writing section "increases the SAT's discriminatory impact."

* Here is my favorite – NBI 51 directs NEA to "create a web-based, research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting misinformation about public education in the U.S. media. This center will systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for misinformation – news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that fosters a negative image of teachers and public education every day and in real time."

* NBI 58 calls on NEA to advocate for a moratorium on new prison construction. No mention is made of where new prisoners are to be housed, but I'm sure there is some extra space at CTA headquarters in Burlingame.

* NBI 63 is an anti-CAFTA NBI.

Now let's look at a few anti-war measures....

* Delegates defeated NBI 24, after a long debate, which would have required NEA to publish information and links to materials "comparing the actual human and financial costs to education due to expenditures approved by Congress" for the war in Iraq.

* NBI 39 is another anti-war measure, calling on NEA to encourage state and local affiliates to "organize job actions up to and including strikes" in response to "massive cutbacks" caused by "the war budget." [Darren's comment--so let me get this straight. They want more federal money, conceivably from the DoD budget, but they don't want any federal oversight at all, a la NCLB? Got it!]

* NBI 49 speaks for itself -- "The NEA will promote and support the establishment of a federal department of Peace." [Darren's comment--why? Do we have a Department of War? And what is the State Department?]

* NBI 57 and 61 are two more anti-war NBIs.

Mike at EIA--you're providing a valuable service. Thank you!
.

Poor Writing

According to this story, poor writing skills cost the US tons o' money in both the public and private sectors.

Lefties Are Cringing At Tony Blair's Words

One of America's staunchest allies is a leftie, there's no doubt about it. But here even Tony Blair has peered behind the curtain:

"Some have suggested I want to abandon Europe's social model," Blair told the European Parliament last month. "But tell me: what type of social model is it that has 20 million unemployed in Europe, productivity rates falling behind those of the United States; that is allowing more science graduates to be produced by India than by Europe; and that, on any relative index of a modern economy -- skills, R&D, patents, IT -- is going down not up."

Welcome to the real world, Tony.

Here are a couple more interesting paragraphs from the UPI report:

Then there is old Europe's demographic time-bomb. The ratio of those in retirement compared to those at work is expected to double from 24 percent today to 50 percent in 2050. This will not only lead to even lower growth rates -- a full percentage point a year according to the European Commission -- but significantly higher spending on pensions and healthcare.

Here's more:

"The American dream puts an emphasis on economic growth, personal wealth and independence," he writes. "The new European dream focuses more on sustainable development, quality of life and interdependence." Americans, says Rifkin, live to work, whereas Europeans -- with their six-week vacations and 35-hour working weeks -- work to live. Another fundamental difference is welfare provision. Most Europeans accept high taxes and lower growth as a price to pay for cradle-to-grave social security support, free healthcare and education, subsidized public transport and strict environmental standards, whereas Americans tend to favor low taxes over high government spending.

Capitalism Is Alive And Well--in Russia

Actually, this story isn't about capitalism, it's about greed (very different things, except to lefties). But it's still kind of funny to think that an astrologer can sue NASA for probing that comet yesterday.

Bai is seeking damages totaling $300 million — the approximate equivalent of the mission's cost — for her "moral sufferings," Izvestia said, citing her lawyer Alexander Molokhov. She earlier told the paper that the experiment would "deform her horoscope."

A Debate on Teacher Pay, Redux

I met one of my former students for a burger today. He drove up in his new, 8-miles-on-the-odometer Lexus sedan. I drove up in my Kia.

Maybe I should take back everything I said in this post :-)

4th of July

What's the significance of this date? Everyone knows it's the day the Declaration of Independence was approved. But what exactly did that Declaration say? Let's find out. I'll have more to say at the end....

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

---

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
*******************************
I like the section with the grievances against the King. A historical tidbit is that one of the grievances was going to be "he encouraged the slave trade" or some similar wording, but the Southern colonies wouldn't sign the Declaration with that particular line in there. We paid for that eighty-five years later, though, didn't we? Equally interesting is the fact that the Declaration almost read "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property"--especially poignant in these post-Kelo times.

Have a happy 4th of July, everyone!

Chief Academic Officer

Denver has a new schools superintendent and is in need of a "Chief Academic Officer", a position I've never heard of but I like the way it sounds. Linda Seebach of the Rocky Mountain News solicited advice for the new superintendent in choosing this person and got many interesting replies. Many of the people she quoted are people I know through an education maillist of which I am a member, and I trust their judgement(s). Read the entire article, but here are some of the nuggets she uncovered:

"If he has a masters degree and a doctorate from a reputable ed school, assume that if his lips are moving he is lying.

"If a candidate favorably mentions the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, or anything from the National Council of Teachers of English, he is not worth your time to interview.

"If a candidate prefers 'portfolio assessment' and other 'authentic assessments' over well crafted standardized tests, you should back away slowly and don't take your eyes off the candidate."

Supreme Court Vacancy

Who said it, and when?

"It is offensive to suggest that a potential justice of the Supreme Court must pass some presumed test of judicial philosophy. It is even more offensive to suggest that a potential justice must pass the litmus test of any single-issue interest group. The disturbing tactics of division and distortion and discrimination practiced by the extremists of the new right have no place in these hearings and no place in the nation's democracy."

Any guesses? That's right, it was Senator Ted Kennedy, during Sandra Day O'Connor's confirmation hearings 24 years ago. It will be most interesting to watch Teddy's consistency.

NEA Representative Assembly

Each year over the July 4th holiday, the National Education Association holds its annual Supreme Soviet--I mean, Representative Assembly. The Education Intelligence Agency is keeping the world up to date on the happenings at this year's powwow in Los Angeles. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits I've found.

California and New Jersey Nearly Empty Next Year’s Ballot Initiative Fund. If your state affiliate was hoping to dip into the NEA Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises Fund in the next school year, it may already be too late. The union released its expenditure report from the fund for 2003-04, but the startling news was delivered by NEA Secretary-Treasurer Lily Eskelsen, who told delegates at the budget hearing that $6.7 million from the 2005-06 allotment is destined for the California Teachers Association and the New Jersey Education Association (leaving a little more than $2 million for everyone else). CTA, as you well know, is ramping up for a major campaign against Gov. Schwarzenegger’s education initiatives and a paycheck protection measure. NEA has already sent $2.5 million to California for that fight. NJEA is waging a campaign against a proposed state constitutional convention that the union fears will affect public education’s revenue stream.

It just frosts me that a government agency (my school district) takes my money and gives it to these clowns, a non-governmental agency.

An amendment to I-9 [one of the many resolutions the delegates will adopt] adds NEA support for “an international judicial system that would hold accountable those who violate human rights” and New I calls for recognition of the International Criminal Court. EIA wonders who plays the role of police in this international judicial system.

What does this have to do with education, or even with the union? Again, it's my money they're taking to support this crap.

But my personal favorite by far came out of the Human and Civil Rights committee (also approved by the NEA board of directors) that “NEA and its state affiliates determine whether vendors or contractors have a history of profiting from slavery and if so, whether they have established plans for addressing said profit through reparations or other appropriate strategies.”

Is it just me, or are others just plain tired of hearing about reparations for slavery? I think the war dead and destruction from the Civil War are *plenty* of reparations. There's not a soul alive today who was a slave in this country, and the hand-wringing and money-grubbing that goes on regarding this topic is shameless.

Reports of committees – NEA has 10 standing committees, and this booklet summarizes what fun these folks had during the year. There are a few worthwhile nuggets, such as the advice from the Employee Advocacy committee (adopted by the NEA board of directors) to increase efforts at the state and national levels to “mobilize members, especially those who are Republicans, on Social Security and Medicare issues,” and the Membership Services and Affiliate Relationships committee’s discussion of contacting “companies associated with ALEC” (the American Legislative Exchange Council) and “partnerships to oppose ALEC.”

Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen the NEA acknowledge it has Republican members. They cannot count on my support.

Quote of the Day. “Audit findings are confidential documents.” – NEA Vice President Dennis Van Roekel, after being asked when members would learn the results of the IRS audit of the NEA. The audit is ongoing, and Van Roekel said he expects the IRS to complete its work within the next six months.

Of course they're confidential. Have these people no shame? No dignity? No decency?

A Downer View For The 4th of July Weekend

This article outlines how the Supreme Court has radically restricted personal liberties during this latest term. And while I agree with the Court's ruling in the Raich case (medical marijuana), I can't imagine how anyone could agree with the Kelo decision (eminent domain). Anyway, here are the seminal quotes from the article:

Every right we have stems from government's recognizance that we, the people, are born with our rights intact. We own them. We have property in them. We voluntarily forfeit some of these rights to government, in exchange for protection from outside threats, the administration of justice and the rule of law.

The purpose of the U.S. Constitution, then, is not to tell us what rights we have. We're born with the right to do as we please, so long as we don't harm anyone else.

The Constitution's purpose is to outline what rights we give to the government, and to firmly define the limits of government power.

Unfortunately, this isn't widely understood.

Go read the whole thing. Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Perspective on Age

I'm buying my grandmother's house and I'm having all the improvements/upgrades done before I move in. I've lived in my current house for eight years and still haven't repainted the walls like I said I'd do when I moved in, so I think I'm being smart about it this time.

"Kitchen remodel guy" came in a couple days ago and saw on an end table two 8x10's of me at West Point (we haven't moved all of nana's stuff out yet). He asked, "Do you have a son at West Point?" I replied, "I'm not old enough to have a son at West Point! That's me!"

Then it hit me--when my dad was my age, he had a son at West Point. And back then I thought my dad was old. Heck, I'm just hitting my stride now.

Which ties in nicely with this post from a few days ago....

A Debate On Teacher Pay

The National Council on Teacher Quality has posted a debate on the following question: are teachers underpaid? A team of two economists on one side of the debate challenges an economist on the other side of the debate and really get into some meaty points:
--is having the summer off a bug or a feature?
--how much out-of-school time do teachers spend working compared to other professions?
--is there really a list of "comparable fields" to education?
--should pay be compared at a weekly rate or an annual rate to be most accurate?

I have no idea how long this particular debate will stay at the linked URL, so if this topic interests you, go read it as soon as possible.

Am I underpaid?

Seldom will you hear me complain about my pay. In my classes I always tell the students how poor I am, how I've never been to the Bahamas (hint hint), how I drive a Kia. I hate to admit this, since I have some (now-former) students who periodically read this blog, but those types of comments are more for rapport than sympathy. I'm not one to turn down a pay raise, and neither am I happy to roll over when the school district wants to save a few dollars at my expense. I'm not happy at all with the amount of union dues I pay! I certainly can't afford the types of houses that my teachers lived in when I was growing up, but that may be more a function of the real estate market than comparable teacher pay. I linked here to a CNN story that said that when adjusted for inflation, teacher pay is up over the last 20 years but some states have seen a real decline in pay.

So, are teachers underpaid or not?

Heck, I don't know! I live comfortably. I'm in the process of buying my grandparents' house; paying for it will require a healthy chunk of my take-home pay, probably a larger chunk than it did for my non-college-educated, just-retired-from-the-military grandfather in 1961. And he paid it off in 20 years, something I'll be lucky to do. So that's one metric we can use, but like I said earlier, that may be more a function of real estate prices in general than teacher pay in particular.

I now make slightly more than I did when I worked in industry over 8 years ago, but I'm definitely putting in fewer hours a year now than I did then. I became a teacher because I thought it would allow me to be a better father--when my son's out of school, I'm off work. My dad was a railroad machinist and had four kids--there were no father-son bonding trips. Money was tight. I take my son somewhere "exotic" every summer, and we have plenty of other time throughout the school year to do things together. I have enough money to do this and I don't live paycheck-to-paycheck. Bottom line: I'm comfortable enough, and I enjoy my time off work. Maybe I'm worth more, and I could certainly make more were I to go back to industry. But I like what I do. For the most part, I'm content.

That's pretty good, isn't it?

Update, 7/1/05 9:42 pm: That didn't take long. After reading this post over at the EducationWonks I thought I should clarify my remarks here. I live a comfortable life with the money I make right now, but I certainly think there are better ways to structure pay scales. What I addressed above was merely the number of dollar signs on my paycheck, not the system that generated that paycheck.

Another Great Quiz

Was Karl Rove talking about you when he referred to liberals? Go here and find out :-)