Thinking Right

By jbmlaw

April 24, 2007 8:05 AM | Link to this

Good morning all. Certainly many of our brothers, past and present, believe all people must be shaped and formed to fit their idyll, that merely allowing freedom of choice can wreck the beautiful Leviathan so lovingly constructed. And, of course, they are right: if we allow mere rabble any freedom to think for themselves, they may prove uncontrollable. As Jim correctly notes, the “controllers” are not found exclusively within the ranks of the leftists. However, I would be intellectually dishonest if I did not quickly affirm that the leftist-controllers cause my greater concerns for my freedom, as they have so few who fight for freedom. Any government actor who reduces his direct control over our lives – whether through tax cuts, or through repeal of regulatory constriction – wins my applause. I owe appreciation to Mr. Richardson and to others who voted for SB-10.

By Pompano

April 24, 2007 8:20 AM | Link to this

The fact that so many teachers & school administraters were so adamantly against thsi bill is confirmation enough that it is on the right track.

I was especially appalled when the Supv of Gwinnett wrote a letter pompously announcing that the Gwinnett School system was against the Bill. I still do not understand why it’s not completely unethical for a hired County employee to declare a political stance on behalf of the department he was hired to run.

By Mid-South Philosopher

April 24, 2007 8:27 AM | Link to this

Good morning Jim, jbmlaw, and others.

I understand the need for parental involvement in the education of their children. I don’t see how anyone can argue against it. Albeit, it is sometimes more of a hinderance than a help.

I understand the desire to provide the widest possible parental choice in the education of their children. However, I keep coming back to the point that, that choice has to be mitigated by the fact that all, but the very wealthy parents, will be making their choices on my and other non-parental taxpayers dime.

When one makes use of government services, one has to take advantage of whatever level of ineptness is available. Remember, it is government.

Now, if the voucher were for an amount equal to the amount of school taxes that the parents paid, I could live with that.

Oh, I forgot, many, many parents pay no school taxes.

If we are going the way of vouchers, then let’s REALLY reform education. Privatize all schools. Place the government of each school in the hands of the existing school councils. Terminate local board of education. Let the state send $9,000 to each parent for each kid. Let parents and schools negotiate all phases of the educational experience of the child. Let the free market reign.

Ain’t gonna happen, boys and girls; ain’t gonna happen!

By Aquagirl

April 24, 2007 8:33 AM | Link to this

SB 10 was special interest legislation. Why should one group of parents get a choice while all others are denied the same opportunity?

This is just another instance of one group finding friends in high places, getting what they want, and leaving everyone else to drown.

Richardson’s deciding vote wasn’t for choice. He’s not some kind of “free us from the government” hero. It was for providing one set of rules for one group. If your kid isn’t special needs, I guess you’re just SOL. Chip Rogers pulled this crap with his bill about parents deciding on whether their twins sit in the same classroom.

Republicans aren’t bringing us more choice, they’re just bringing more choice to certain groups. That’s not equality, that’s elitism. Start sucking up now to your local GOP rep before you’re left out in the cold!

By JohnD

April 24, 2007 8:42 AM | Link to this

I feel certain the parents of special needs children, at least those parents who are unable to afford private school for their children, feel like elitists now that voucher legislation has passed. The same can probably be said for those parents of autistic and Downs children who use the Marta door-to-door service for thier children.

The only people “left to drown” are those who still look to government to solve their problems.

By jbmlaw

April 24, 2007 8:53 AM | Link to this

Dear Philosopher @ 8:27, I share your vision of the ideal, but I am less pessimistic than you. I think we are on the side of angels when we advocate vouchers and deregulation of the school houses. If any one jurisdiction ever finds sufficient political courage to try it, the vouchers will spread like wildfire.

By Pompano

April 24, 2007 8:59 AM | Link to this

I see where Boortz challenged Bookman to a debate regarding his editorial on the FairTax yesterday.

Any chance the cowardly Bookman will accept?

By jbmlaw

April 24, 2007 9:00 AM | Link to this

Dear Aquagirl @ 8:33, perhaps you have shard an epiphany in your note, “…they’re just bringing more choice to certain groups. That’s not equality, that’s elitism.” You are correct to set “freedom” and “equality” as mutually exclusive, as the former focuses on the playing field, and the latter on the result.

By jbmlaw

April 24, 2007 9:01 AM | Link to this

Dear Aquagirl, “shard” should be “shared” - I was not intentionally slamming.

By ABS

April 24, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this

After years of being against any kind of voucher…I’ve changed my mind. I say, let’s go ahead and privatize all education. Let these elitist schools deal with No Child Left Behind and the CRCT tests. Let these headmasters and fundamentalists freaks deal with all the government bureacracy that goes along with accepting government money. Let these private school officials deal with the parents who insist that the only child that matters in a school environment is their own - and be damned anybody else. Let these elitist brats sit in class with kids from the hood.

I welcome it now…let the private schools deal with the same crap that public school teachers deal with everyday….let the games begin!

By Joe

April 24, 2007 9:13 AM | Link to this

Mr. Wooten wrote, “…convinced as they are that if the class size is smaller, or if more money is made available for teacher salaries, or nicer buildings or newer books, the problems that existed a few generations ago would be cured.”

In one sentence, Mr. Wooten simply dismisses evidence piled on top of evidence piled on top of evidence that shows that students perform better in smaller classes. Although Mr. Wooten claims to understand the “education marketplace”, in the very same sentence, he dismisses the basic marketplace principal that if we offer higher teacher salaries we’ll get better qualified applicants.

Wooten’s fantasy-based sentence is not yet complete. Thousands of school children in this country, especially in the South, attend schools where the furnace doesn’t work in the winter and the air conditioner doesn’t work in the late summer. Thousands go to school where the toilets frequently don’t flush, water leaks from the roof into their classrooms, and yes, toilet paper is sometimes non-existent. Such facts, however, do not stop Mr. Wooten from dismissing complaints about such conditions by labeling them as calls for “nicer buildings”.

And yes, outdated textbooks in under funded school systems are frequently held together by masking tape, and as a result, teachers often have to use their own money to purchase or prepare and copy teaching materials. Again, Mr. Wooten dismisses this reality by labeling efforts to correct such problems as calls for “newer books”.

These are fundamental problems with obvious and uncomplicated solutions. However, Mr. Wooten’s dishonesty about the reality of the problems with public school systems and the rest of his rhetoric about making “responsible choices” has a purpose. He and his Republican brethren seeks to eliminate public schools all together. If the Republicans have their way, K-12 in Georgia will be much like our higher education system. It will be a system subsidized by the State, but primarily, a system in which most of us will have to take out loans to educate our children in privately run schools. Such a system will work out wonderfully for the loan companies, the loan officers getting a windfall off of such loans, and the corporations running these schools.

On the other hand, the rest of us will regret the day that we allowed the Georgia Legislature to con us into thinking that Special Needs “Scholarship” was something other than the first step to chipping away at free K-12 education for all – a fundamental necessity for maintaining our status as a first-world industrialized country.

By Jim Wooten

April 24, 2007 9:14 AM | Link to this

Morning all. Philosopher, sign me up as a co-sponsor of your proposal to privatize them all and put the local school under the school council or any university or local government or teachers’ union or any other responsible group that has a school model it can sell to parents. Phase-in may take a few years, but there’s merit in the suggestion.

By Jeff

April 24, 2007 9:14 AM | Link to this

One must question the motives of those who start up schools virtually overnight to take advantage of state funding and then seem to disappear when the going gets tough. Mr. Wooten would be right about school choice if institutions were properly regulated and state and local ordinances regarding same were enforced to the letter of the law.

By Joe

April 24, 2007 9:23 AM | Link to this

Thank you Mr. Wooten, for your appearance at 9:14 to confirm my assessment.

By JK

April 24, 2007 9:23 AM | Link to this

Let these headmasters and fundamentalists freaks deal with all the government bureacracy that goes along with accepting government money.

ABS, interesting sugggestion! You might be on to something. It always seemed to me that voucher proponents want to have it both ways: (Darn the public system that benefits America — we want private and we want tax breaks to pay for it) while ensuring that the majority would have it neither way (You’ll get the school you get, your taxes will pay for it, and you’ll have no voice at all.)

To the parents of special needs children: Bless you, and I apologize for the failings of the current system. You and your children deserve better. That anyone finds it acceptable that education is such a low (under-funded, under-respected) priority in this country and state is beyond my comprehension. To quote the President: “Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?”

By Shirley

April 24, 2007 9:30 AM | Link to this

Some people wake up in the middle of the night screaming. Jim wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, “Vouchers!”

By ABS

April 24, 2007 9:31 AM | Link to this

JK, you got my point exactly. I never thought I’d say this, but jmblaw is right — if you start one kind of voucher system…others will follow like wildfire, and voucher proponents have no idea what they are asking for. They think it is a panacea for all the woes of the world of education…absolutely ridiculous.

By Katie

April 24, 2007 9:39 AM | Link to this

Pompano at 8:59,

Read the posts from yesterday afternoon. If Bookman debated Boortz with the arguments posted yesterday, Boortz wouldn’t stand a chance.

You’ve been conned by the right-wing media (yet again). Learn to think for yourself, and stop being so gullible.

By Pompano

April 24, 2007 9:53 AM | Link to this

Sorry Katie, but I have read the book myself. Seems like you & the others are the ones incapable of thinking for yourself. Bookman presented several lies yesterday in his editorial - he now gets to sit back behind those lies while the uninformed zealots like yourself - incapable of understanding (or discussing rationally)- go forth and disseminate more false information.

Boortz would chew Bookman up - thus the cowardly stance. Bookman relies on the old tried&true lib strategy - if you can’y understand something then lie about it to the masses.

Let’s see Bookman step up

By bma507

April 24, 2007 9:53 AM | Link to this

Jim advocates vouchers under the premise of freedom of choice. I respectfully sumbit that Jim’s position is based upon very sincere political beliefs. However, I fear that many advocates of vouchers really want merely a tax break for the tuition they spend on their students who already attend private schools. I doubt that these same people would want to open the doors of their private schools to everyone with a voucher.

I have to ask, do you really believe that schools like Lovett, Westminster, and GAC will really open their gates to inner city children with vouchers unless they are D-1 athletes?

This new Georgia special education voucher is modeled after a FLorida program. The Tampa Tribune a year ago found numerous abuses of their program:

• A Tampa Islamic School named in a federal terrorism indictment had earned over $350,000 in special education vouchers. -There were numerous incidences involving large amounts of voucher money going to schools (and individuals) where special education students never attended.

These amounts may not seem like much to people in the metro area, but such money in rural systems would be devestated if taken from their budgets.

Jim tries to point out that this voucher will be a win-win situation for everyone. However, the public school system is still required to provide services to special needs children who attend private schools (Federally Mandated). Public schools will have to send tax money and provide services simultaneously. For example, private schools will be able to request speech, occupational, physical, therapies and virtually any service from the public schools for students at additional local taxpayer expense. Sounds more like “I Win, You Lose.”

jbmlaw - I am not certain where you were going with your comment “…as they have so few who fight for freedom.”

I am a special education teacher in a public school system. However, I was also an active duty soldier for over five years and fought in the first Gulf War. I made the choice to devote my life to the service of others. I made the choice to sacrifice material things for my family because. I am perfectly happy with my choices. My actions have been very consistent with my religious beliefs to put the needs of other before the needs of your own.

However, the intense partisanship (from both sides) in recent years has become much too personal.

Before someone accuses a member of either side of the political spectrum of somehow not fighting for freedom, I would genuinely like to know what that individual has done to fight for freedom. I fear that the word “freedom” has become nothing but a euphamism for “selfishness.” I think that both political parties share equal guilt with this.

Gen. Powell had many sayings, but one that always stuck with me was his definition of integrity: “Integrity is displayed when your behavior matches your beliefs.”

By ABS

April 24, 2007 10:06 AM | Link to this

bma507 - very well put. My sentiments exactly. Of course those schools wouldn’t want these “inner city” kids sitting along side their precious darlings - even if they were great athletes, because then they would just complain that those kids took away their kids spots on the varsity team and lowered their chances of getting scholarships themselves!

And your example of the Islam school is great! Fundamentals would absolutely freak if some of these vouchers went to schools like that around here. I can just hear it now - I can just envision the angry blogs.

By Rod

April 24, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this

Did ya ever notice…

After the Republican slaughter of last November, Jim has backed off voicing many of his opinions.

After Sunny sat on his fat a$$, forcing a special session, Jim hasn’t made any comments? Sunny showed he couldn’t care less about Georgians, just getting his way. When “his” people went against him, he forced a special session by sitting on the veto.

Yeah, when the going gets tough, Jim runs!

By Jules

April 24, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this

Vouchers…do some of you really think that these vouchers are going to make these parents feel elite??? Do any of you have a child with special needs??? I can honestly say that it doesn’t make you feel elite to have a child with special needs and the ability to choose a different school. Give me a break.

By RJ

April 24, 2007 10:33 AM | Link to this

Pompano wrote, “I have read the book myself. Seems like you & the others are the ones incapable of thinking for yourself…”

And you believed everything you read. Katie is right. Yesterday, several people addressed comments made in the FairTax book head on. Instead of crying for a debate with your leader…read what others had to say and think for yourself.

FYI, calling somebody a liar without backing your claim (“Bookman presented several lies yesterday”) only makes you look like the liar.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

Mr. Wooten, I just had time to read your column, and let me say that it is brilliant. It could have been written by a real teacher. So many teachers out there who would disagree with you are simply bureaucrats who have no other agenda than to keep the failes system in place and assure that their retirement stays as is.

Smaller class size is not the answer. Smaller school size is. Newer buildings and a lot of techology mean nothing if the children are not taught the basics in elementary school. I just had a discussion this morning with a math teacher who told me that her high schools students do not know their “times” tables. We were supposed to have those down cold by the end of 4th grade. Now students come to us in the 9th grade and cannot recite them and can only use calculators. Techology has actually hurt in learning the basics in many areas. We do not need to be using calculators in math classes. They become a crutch. We don’t need to be using computers for writing papers because now the kids cannot spell. Too many people will argue with you that the computer is wrong because it rejects ‘alright’ because no one bothered to tell them that those are two words - ‘all right’. That is just one example.

Are vouchers a magic bullet? No. Nothing is. But they would help by encouraging competition for students and they would encourage parental responsibility. Too many parents look upon schools as free baby-sitting services. Private schools don’t look upon students that way. If Johnny can’t read they teach him. They don’t make excuses. If Johnny won’t behave himself he is kicked out because there is almost always another child waiting for that spot.

Another reason for vouchers, especially for special education students, is that inclusion does not work for most special ed students. We can get into the big argument about that with people vested in the current system, but the fact is that both special and regular ed students are short-changed by such a system. We have also fostered as system that perversely makes special education at times preferable to regular ed because students get preferential treatment, so they actually feign bad behavior or a learning disability.

Vouchers are used in Europe and they work quite well. Parents (and children) should have that choice. We cannot continue to operate a cookie cutter system where one size fits all. Yes we should have some standard goals which should be met for promotion and graduation, but parents should be able to decide how their children get there.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 10:51 AM | Link to this

Please excuse my numerous typos, I wrote the foregoing in hasted during a short break. Mea culpa.

By GodHatesTrash

April 24, 2007 10:54 AM | Link to this

The great-grandparents of generations living today desperately needed government to gather up our children and educate them. The masses of farmers and factory workers lived hand-to-mouth and had neither the time, the money nor the education to school their children. They lived in isolation, on farms, in urban tenements and in mountain hollows. They needed schooling decisions made for them.

Nothing has changed, especially in Georgia. There are damn few people in Georgia smart or educated enough to make decisions about their children’s educational welfare.

Let’s face it - Georgians by and large are too stupid to reproduce safely. They and and their children are demographic accidents waiting to happen.

Trash begets trash.

If we really want to do something about education in Georgia, take children from their parents and put them in orphanages. Tie the tubes of all the slatternly redneck women.

Then education might stand a chance in Georgia.

By Killin' Time

April 24, 2007 10:56 AM | Link to this

bma507,

I feel that I must come to jbmlaw’s defense. I think there might have been some miscommunication here.

I suspect the freedoms that you infer from jbmlaw’s posts are not the freedoms that jbmlaw means. You’re thinking of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etcetera.

However, Mr. jbmlaw is referring to freedoms that you won’t find in our constitution. He wants government employees to have the freedom to receive kickbacks from private companies as university loan officers receive when they steer an unsuspecting student to a more expensive loan. jmblaw want ConAgra to have the freedom to sell food products tainted with salmonella, as the Bush administration allows with his lax enforcement of food safety requirements via the FDA.

In short, jbmlaw wants to provide corporate freedoms to lie, cheat, steal (legally, of course), pollute and kill. And — he is proud that his son is willing to fight and die for such freedoms.

No bma507. I’m afraid that you read jbmlaw wrong.

By Tray

April 24, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this

Teacher, you are mistaken - If Johnny can’t read, they’ll kick him out because they don’t want Johnny to bring down their statistics, because yes, there are people waiting to get those spots.

Eurpoean nations do not have the ethnic diversity we do here in America - they are much more ethnocentric, so what works in Europe, won’t necessarily work here - you forget, most European nations also have socialized medicine. Do you think that would work here? Ha ha.

Private schools do not have to make excuses because they can simply expell those who do not follow their rules.

You are also wrong to group all teachers who disagree with the voucher system as those with their own agendas. They disagree with any voucher system because it will not work.

By deegee

April 24, 2007 11:03 AM | Link to this

Human nature being what it is, I predict that under a voucher program we will have a 3-tiered system of public, semi-private and exclusive schools. Eventually the semi-private tier will perform like the public tier and we will be back to start.

By ABS

April 24, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this

Deegee, Which sounds exactly like the type of schools they have in Europe! It’s really all the same thing…just a sneakier way of seperating the socio-economic classes.

By Louise

April 24, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this

“Private schools don’t look upon students that way. If Johnny can’t read they teach him.”

I appreciate teacher’s point of view, but his or her generalization regarding private schools are not backed by the evidence. The fact is that ther are many charter and/or private schools nationwide that have opened and closed for lack of accomplishment. In addition, many studies indicate that, overall, students coming out of private schools are not better prepared than students coming out of public schools).

Georgia’s public schools system is in trouble, to be sure. But for reasons that have to do with the first amendment (taxpayers funding religious education), corporate profit motives (as more people leave the public school system, private tuitions will become even less affordable) and actual evidence regarding the effectiveness of private vs. public education, the prescription is likely to be worse than the disease.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 11:09 AM | Link to this

Tray - that was spoken by a real socialist who has no idea how most private schools work and someone who has a vested interest in public schools continuing their reign of error. Private schools do not kick Johnny out because he cannot read. I know because I WAS JOHNNY IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL.

Also, your assertion that a voucher system will not work is made out of either arrogance or ignorance. Voucher systems work quite well in Europe. In fact, all schools in Ireland are private schools - either secular or religious - and the students are very well educated. The parents take their voucher to the school of choice. Discipline is not a problem because the parents have a vested interest in making sure their children stay in those schools of choice. Voucher systems are used in France and other European nations as well and when the Socialists tried to end the system in 1981 as anti-egalitarian literally hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest. Where it is tried, people want it.

Also, you must not have visited Europe lately when you made the positively ignorant statement about ethnic diversity. It exists now as it has never existed before. European nations have always been a polyglot of ethnic divisions - just look at the demographics of France and Spain - but today with mass immigration from Africa, South Asia and East Asia European nations are almost as ethnically diverse as many parts of the United States.

Tray - you really should check your facts before you start running off at the mouth. Aristotle and Socrates would have given you an ‘F’ in rhetoric because you don’t have the facts to logically back your argument.

By Dennis

April 24, 2007 11:09 AM | Link to this

What does it require to understand that every child in public schools (private too, for that matter) is a “special needs” kid?

By Joe April 24, 2007 9:13 AM is on target as is By bma507 April 24, 2007 9:53 AM.

Mr. Wooten is another of those pundits who wouldn’t make it in a public school classroom. The kids would eat him up. And would he teach on the salaries teachers are paid?

Mr. Wooten says “more money is not the answer.” What about less money, Mr. Wooten? What about less? Is that the answer?

The fact is (ONCE AGAIN) that public education in this country has NEVER been overly funded, or for that matter, even adequately funded.

It’s nuts to think that vouchers for a few and privitization of education will produce a better student.

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By Pompano

April 24, 2007 11:14 AM | Link to this

RJ wrote: “calling somebody a liar without backing your claim (“Bookman presented several lies yesterday”) only makes you look like the liar.”

That’s why I’d like to see this debate between Boortz & Bookman. You lib types don’t have the logic for such an endeavor. You spount off at the mouth that “Bush Lied” and swallow all the Global warming crap like cult members.

Then your defense is some childish snippet like the above.

Come on - encourage your Boy to be a man. If you really think he can handle Boortz then you should be as welcome as anyone to see this happen. However, I forgot that libs can’t handle dissenting opinions & might cry is someone disagrees with them.

BooHoo RJ

By Private School teachers would be shaking in their boots

April 24, 2007 11:14 AM | Link to this

SB 10 is much bigger than SB 10. Georgia Republicans are just testing the waters to see if they put forth a full voucher program. Conservatives often point to high achievement in private schools versus public schools. That’s generally unfair because private schools choose their student body and have the right to throw any student out for any reason. Jim, When you talk about school choice your so one-sided. It’s really more the “schools choice” than the parents because the PRIVATE SCHOOL can reject a kid or expell kid at their discretion. I went to a rural public school, but in college I worked as a substitute teacher in both a public system and at a high brow private school. Was behavior and focus better in the private school. Yes, but it had little to do with the quality of the teachers or the curriculum. With the exception of the really elite schools like Lovett and Pace most private school staffs are less educated than their public school counterparts. Furthermore, the private schools in rural Georgia are little more than segregation academies and their graduates generally score lower on the SAT than most PUBLIC Schools in the metro area. Mr. Wooten, I know you and your ilk. You think private schools are better because your an elitist. You often rail against liberals for being elitist, but you and your ilk are the ones who live in gated communities and send your kids to 95% rich white private schools. Here’s something to consider. This couldn’t happen, but this would be the only fair way to judge who’s better private schools or public schools. Let’s take all of the students in a challenged Atlanta city school and enroll them at a ritsy private school.(no staff changes) Let’s take all the students at that ritsy private school and enroll them at the city of Atlanta school.(no staff changes) I think the so-called elite private school teachers would be VERY ineffective if everyone in their class wasn’t bound for an elite college. It’s much easier to teach students under those circumstances! As far the city of Atlanta school the teachers would probably have solid classroom management and the students(of priviledged backgrounds) would achieve because they know what path their parents took and they emulate it in hopes of the same success. What does that have to do with the quality of the teacher or the school? Are the students who attend elite private schools(not the rural/small town segregation acadamies that dot the state) generally higher achievers. Yes, but, it’s totally unfair to compare the job to public school teachers to private school teachers. Private schools are not better because their teachers are smarter or their curriculum is better. Give them twenty kids from difficult circumstances and most of them would be shaking in their boots.

By GodHatesTrash

April 24, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

The poor performance of Georgia students predates the Great Society and even the New Deal. Georgia students have always performed poorly in school, since they started schooling here.

The problem is not the schools, it is the culture of superstition and stupidity that is glorified in Dicksea.

Trash culture begets trash people. Stupidity and superstition begets stupid and superstitious people. Garbage in, garbage out.

Wooten thinks the answer is to let superstitious stupid people make even more decisions.

That’s retarded.

By Redneck Convert

April 24, 2007 11:18 AM | Link to this

Ain’t nobody getting nothing from a bunch of schooling. All you turn out is libruls. Give me the good, unschooled conservatives every day. Show me a GA conservative and I’ll show you a person that don’t have to think very deep.

Don’t let kids go to schools where they run into Those People and learn to think they are all right. And don’t let the kids get exposed to a bunch of diffrent ideas. They might not stay good conservatives.

Us parents got a right to send our kids to schools that think just like we do. Schools try to wash the kids brain. I say give the parents the money and let them gang up and fire the people that run the schools and ain’t good conservatives. I would rather have a kid of mine dead than send him to a school that will turn him into a librul.

Well, I know you all are glad to have me back from Panama City beach. I won a contest down there. It was for designing the best state flag. I made one for GA that was real good. I started out with lots of blood splotches on it because us rednecks love war. Then I put in a picture of a redneck stepping on the neck of one of Those People because us GA rednecks hate Those People. Then I added the good old stars and bars because that is the real state flag and a reminder of what we really stand for. Anyway, I won a 6-pack for it.

I went back to the beer run today. I hope TFTT is out of the mental hospitle by now. I really missed reading stuff from him, Sister Dusty, Van, jbmlaw, and the other good conservatives that don’t have to think too hard to come up with thought on a issue. I hope the libruls that was on this blog when I left are dead by now. Though I see this God Hates Trash fellow is still slamming us rednecks. Calling us ignorant and such. Not that I hate libruls or anything. I just don’t want them living in my state. Except maybe in a prison.

Let me know when I can expect my state check for schooling little Sonny Zell George in the right way to think. Then when he gets big enough I can send him to a private school that don’t teach diffrent ways of thinking and he will stay a redneck. We have to keep up our number up to run this state, you know.

By Carol

April 24, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

Teacher wrote, “Tray - that was spoken by a real socialist…and someone who has a vested interest in public schools…Aristotle and Socrates would have given you an ‘F’ in rhetoric”

Teacher,

I give you an ‘A’ in rhetoric. Unfortunately, you lost my respect at in the process.

People see problems, and their trying to find a solution. If you think you can win a debate by calling somebody a socialist and accusing them of having a vested interest in their argument, then you’re not as thoughtful and open-minded about these issues as you appeared in your earlier post.

Teacher or not, you lost all credibility in this discussion with your thoughtless, mean-spirited post at 11:09.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

Dennis (and Joe) - another two who would be given ‘F’ in rhetoric by Aristotle or Socrates. The fact is is that education has NOT been underfunded in this country in quite a while. We have thrown tons of money at it. We spend more per pupil than any nation in the world. You can look it up. Even a liberal can check those facts. Atlanta city spends close to $13,000 per student and it is a disaster area. It is typical of liberals to claim that we just need to spend more money and the problem will be fixed. That is just flat out stupid. The system must be fundamentally changed. And I seriously doubt that you would last for more than a few minutes in a public school classroom or that you have even tried. I have done it for the past twelve years after years of being in the business world dealing with some real beautes there.

The fact is I can tell in an instant a child who went to public or private school. The reason is discipline and learning and motivation. The system we have now is not working in public schools and it does work for private schools.

It really amuses me that you make the claim that there is no difference, but even the most rabbid defenders of public education in our Congress will not send their children to public schools - Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, Jay Rockefeller, John Kerry and many others all send their children to private schools, even over those “wonderful” public schools in suburban Viriginia and Maryland.

And Louise - you made my argument for me. Many private or charter schools have closed for lack of accomplishment. That is what happens in the marketplace when groups or individuals fail - they go out of business. Public schools just go on and on and on fail or not!

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 11:24 AM | Link to this

Carol - I am sorry that you found my response to Tray “mean spirited”. It was not meant to be. I was only pointing out the obvious. He must have a vested interest because he gave the stock, socialist answer which is usually given. I believe in being plain spoken. If the truth offends, then so be it.

By Dennis

April 24, 2007 11:24 AM | Link to this

By Private School teachers would be shaking in their boots April 24, 2007 11:14 AM

“Let’s take all of the students in a challenged Atlanta city school and enroll them at a ritsy private school.(no staff changes) Let’s take all the students at that ritsy private school and enroll them at the city of Atlanta school.(no staff changes) I think the so-called elite private school teachers would be VERY ineffective if everyone in their class wasn’t bound for an elite college.”

BULLS EYE!!! DEAD CENTER!!!

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By Shelly

April 24, 2007 11:27 AM | Link to this

Teacher appears to be more interested in attacking those with a different point of view than participating in a thoughtful discussion. In fact, I’m starting to believe that she’s not a teacher at all (It looks like Teacher’s “short break” was suddenly extended somehow).

I’m with Carol. Her credibility is shot.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this

Dennis - you are right. If you take those kids in Atlanta city who have never had an encouraging word from their parents and who have been told by their peers that it is uncool and acting “white” to do well in school the we all know what the result would be. However, if you take those out of Atlanta schools whose parents do care and put them in a good learning environment, then they would succeed. That is what school choice is all about. You don’t have to be a blind liberal not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By Teacher

April 24, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this

Shelly - I am sorry that you feel that way. I am indeed a teacher and my planning period will be over in exactly eight minutes. You will not hear from me again today. I am not “attacking” anyone personally. I am only attacking the position they are taking and questioning why they are taking those positions (e.g. the agenda). I have taugth foreign language and social studies in public schools for twelve years and I am used to being called names all of the time. I did not realize that “socialist” was a dirty word. If it is, I apologize.

By liberals are verminous SCUM

April 24, 2007 11:49 AM | Link to this

I see the resident leftist filth are back with their usual envious, “we” hate better educated conservatives bile. Instead of driving a stolen fantasy beer truck why doesn’t the always racist inbred rednekkk do something useful with its pointless life and get a late night job in Iraq delivering beer and smoked ham, bacon and magic mushroom pizzas in the Sunni triangle.

As for these whining sad cows who incessantly puke up the empty “mean spirited” jibe … one naturally assumes these are blubbery lard arsed obese hesitant liberal mini-van drivers who selfishly clog the roads and the fast food drive thrus whilst endlessly yapping on their glued to their earhole cellphones about the noisy catty far left betches who infest The View and their latest bottle blond L’Oreal hair dyes etc.

By Jim's a Cherry Picker

April 24, 2007 12:11 PM | Link to this

I really don’t know a whole lot about education politics, but I am seeing a theme here:

Every solution that is proposed & supported by Jim & his fellow conservatives has that “too good to be true”, late night infomercial feel to it. Bookman’s right, it’s generally kinda cultish.

It’s all easy and you’re an idiot if you don’t believe it or understand it, but yet none of the stuff that is enacted seems to work. And when it doesn’t work, they blame the people they put upon for not doing it right.

As for Boortz, he’s nothing but a loudmouth bully. I’m sure he loves this renewed attention that Bookman has brought him.

By BobinBuford

April 24, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this

Once again, Jim Wooten has not idea what he is writing about. My wife is a special ed teacher in Gwinnett County. She has 6 kids with Autism - from severe to moderate. She is usually at work until at least 6 every night.

Tell me “teacher”, what subject do you teach at your school?? Tell me about your planning period - my wife’s begins when her kids go home, and sometimes she has to go to school on weekends. Do you?? You say that you can tell the public school kids from the private school by the reason of “discipline and learning and motivation”. Really? I have two sons that attended PUBLIC schools here in Gwinnett County - one is in the Master’s program at GSU and one is a paralegal in NYC. According to your ideas, that means they HAD to go to Private schools, right?? Tell me “teacher”, which private school would take a 4 year old with severe autism? And what happens when they do not do well at their new private school?? Back to the public school, of course. My wife has dealt with these so-called “special schools” - all they do is tell the parents what they want to hear about their little darling and collect the checks. Then when these kids get to the public schools, the parents find out what really is going on with their kid.

Will these schools have teachers with special education certification? And if they don’t, what then?? Since it is a private school, what difference does it make?? All I know is that they are getting my tax money. Remember, these private schools CHOOSE who they accept - they don’t have to take everybody. Unfortunately, the public schools don’t have this choice.

Admit it “teacher” - this bill is nothing more than the Republican Party’s latest attempt to break up public schools.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

BobinBuford - You seem to have made the Teacher’s argument for him/her. I for one will admit that I do want the public school system, at least as it exists now, broken up. I also cannot imagine a bigger nightmare than teaching Gwinnett County Schools with all of its bureaucracy and failure to discipline students. I too have relatives who teach in that county and they all are in agreement with the Teacher here. He/she might even be my cousin Espie who teaches Spanish in that system. I’ll have to call and find out. And by the way, special education certification is one of the most overblown things I can think of! You cannot teach people how to teach - it is an art, not a science. That is why many don’t last in either public of private school.

By &&

April 24, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

BobinBuford - I am another teacher on lunch break here. I just wanted to let you know that special ed teachers do have it rough much of the time, especially with profoundly disabled children. However, if regular ed teachers are good teachers and good planners, once in a while we have a planning period when we have some “me” time. I feel sorry for your wife working in public school. I now work in private school and it is much better.

By Barb

April 24, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this

Speaking for all public school teachers, TruthSayer informs us that they (or most) believe that all private schools do a better job of educating than all public schools. These public school teachers also believe that anybody who disagrees with that assessment is a socialist with an private agenda. Got it.

By catlady

April 24, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this

I think SOME of our handicapped students’ greatest handicap is their parents!

By Private School teachers would be shaking in their boots

April 24, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

When you talk about private school vouchers the subject of race always comes up. Usually conservatives only talk about minority failures in school or blacks acting “white” when spinning their arguments on education. BTW, I am white and a graduate of predominately white school in rural northeast Georgia. Half the students at my school got free lunch, half dropped out and less than half of my graduating class went to college. You know why? Because REDNECKS do exactly what you all claim a lot of urban blacks do. If you try to be smart you’re said to be of “acting uppity. The crab bucket in rural Georgia is just as bad as in the inner city. Of course, most of these uneducated, knee-jerk militaristic, white trash fundamentalists morons have Bush/Cheney stickers on their truck next to their Sonny sticker. I saw a stat a few years ago that showed where if you took minorities out of the mix completely Georgia would still be in the bottom third of states in terms school achievement and per capita income. I am not saying inner city schools and minorities don’t have challenges, but you conservatives rarely address the fact White Trash Rednecks(rougly half the state)are doing more to effect our education systems than minorities. Of course, you all don’t care about that. You need bright people like them who think; Saddam attacked us on 911, Dinosaurs were running around 6,000 years ago and that stem cells are capable of doing Trig in order to keep a conservate majority in this state. FACE IT, The Georgia Republican Party is owned by white trash.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

Excuse me Barb, but Truthsayer did not say that at all. However, many who oppose vouchers do so because they have agendae which would be thwarted by meaningful school reform. And by the way, how do you know vouchers won’t work if you don’t try it? We do know that Socialism won’t work because we have.

By harold

April 24, 2007 12:56 PM | Link to this

harold went to georgia public school’s.

thus todays article is way too long for harold to read.

By It's all about the parents

April 24, 2007 1:01 PM | Link to this

These are the children who will succeed anywhere if given a chance, but the parents make the difference. Draw your own conlcusions, but please read this short article:

Kids with religious parents are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development.

The conflict that arises when parents regularly argue over their faith at home, however, has the opposite effect.

John Bartkowski, a Mississippi State University sociologist and his colleagues asked the parents and teachers of more than 16,000 kids, most of them first-graders, to rate how much self control they believed the kids had, how often they exhibited poor or unhappy behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers.

The researchers compared these scores to how frequently the children’s parents said they attended worship services, talked about religion with their child and argued abut religion in the home.

The kids whose parents regularly attended religious services — especially when both parents did so frequently — and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.

By It's all about the parents

April 24, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

The entire article can be found in Live Science and was written by Melinda Wenner.

By Dennis

April 24, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

By Truthsayer April 24, 2007 12:38 PM “BobinBuford - You seem to have made the Teacher’s argument for him/her. I for one will admit that I do want the public school system, at least as it exists now, broken up.”

I have said many times that public education was never set up right in the first place. But that was caused by circumstances, I think, more so than intent.

As example, in the early days of this country, the small rural school house may have had only 12 students, but they varied by age and abilities, all in one classroom, and one teacher (who must be a christian and wear at least 3 slips under her dress, a lot of lace at her chin, and not date) was expected to meet the needs of every student.

As the nations population and public education grew, the method and expectations and especially the financing didn’t change with the times. The financing in particular. And it hasn’t kept up today.

Interestingly, the public is always asked how much it wants to spend on education, but never how much to spend on a new bomber or tank or unnecessary war.

But you watch closely, those who scream loudest about wanting quality education are the same ones who scream loudest about paying for it.

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By liberals are verminous SCUM

April 24, 2007 1:10 PM | Link to this

One of the more amusing/revealing things about ‘diversity’ in both US and UK public (i.e govt run/tax payer funded) schools is that black boys/teens are generally (though obviously not always) dimmer and less able than anyone else. And its NOT because of a lack of funding or the usual lefty lies about racism. Its an attitude/cultural thang. Black girls happily actually do much better than black boys in the admittedly now severely dumbed down by liberals GCSE’s in the UK, which shows its NOT any kind of racism - just a wilful ignorance and refusal to learn. Usually Indians and some pakis i.e. asians and most orientals generally do better than the typical average white kid although in fairness many paki kids and many bengalis (Bangladeshis) do as badly as blacks. Again its a cultural thang, not racism. Black boys tend to be more thuggish in school so they get expelled more often - purely on ‘merit’.

Liberals have destroyed the gold standard of A levels and neutered what used to be ‘o’ levels - turning them into undemanding GCSE’s that are worthless compared to the standards I was used to back in the early 1970’s.

Multi-culti bollocks and the refusal to properly discipline disruptive brats has destroyed the UK school system. Heavy reliance now on undemanding purely ‘taught for the course’ course work instead of just ALL exams covering the whole syllabus at 16 has meant that many UK college kiddies are now nearly as dense/poorly educated as their American counterparts who have the HUGE advantage of an EXTRA TWO YEARS to achieve the same level. UK pupils are literally TWO years ahead of US pupils because in the UK kids at 16 (the legal school leaving age) do what kids at 18 do in the USA. The difference being that UK kids only get ONE go at the leaving school exams (if they fail or get poor grades they have to resit at the next exam cycle) which are done subject by subject … not repeated attempts to pass the now joke of a HS diploma which is now utterly pathetic academically, with the hugely demanding 14 year old maths and little more advanced levels of English.

Liberalism is a corrosive mental disorder and its systematically destroyed the school systems in many western countries .. still no worries -eh? … so long as the spoiled honour student kiddies feel special and have high self esteem - until they are actually tested and challenged outside school!!

By James (P.E.)

April 24, 2007 1:22 PM | Link to this

“Teacher”@11:20- * but even the most rabbid defenders of public education in our Congress will not send their children to public schools - Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, Jay Rockefeller, John Kerry and many others all send their children to private schools,*

Chelsea Clinton attended Chelsea attended Little Rock’s Forest Park Elementary School, Booker Arts Magnet Elementary School and Horace Mann Junior High School. All public schools before her father was elected president.

By GodHatesTrash

April 24, 2007 1:22 PM | Link to this

Stupid limey fool, the crisis in Georgia education has nothing to do with liberalism. GEORGIA SCHOOLS HAVE NEVER WORKED, AND THEY NEVER WILL.

Unless and until the chidlren are taken from their idjit trash parents, nothing will improve.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 1:23 PM | Link to this

Dennis - Anyone, including you, can look up the statistics on how much we spend on public education in the United States per pupil. We spend much more than any other major nation in the world, including the much lauded Japanese. Money just is not the answer. Over 50% of the state’s total budget is spent on education or education-related matters. We have an excellent university system in this country. That is because of competition between public and private institutions for students - and their money. Why don’t we try some of that competition with primary, middle and secondary schools?

Yes, our system is antiquated, and you want to stay with the old system. The system has to change. We also need to do away with “inclusion” for special needs children. It does not work. I know, I was the responsible adult for one of those special needs children. We ended up sending her to a private school because of “inclusion”. She was not getting what she needed. The teachers at the private school did not have the “credentials” that those in public school had, but what they did have was a lot less red tape and a lot more compassion. She did much better there than at public school.

Another physically disabled cousin of mine had the opposite experience, but her parents at least had the choice of moving her. She went to public school and did moderately well socially, but she did admit that academically the private school was better.

My point is (and I do have one) that each case is individual and we should not deprive children and parents of those choices.

You don’t have to be a blind liberal not to see it, just an ignorant one.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 1:29 PM | Link to this

James (P.E.) - you are right, but after one year in Washington, DC public schools Chelsea transferred to the Sitwell Friends School in DC and when asked about that bit of hypocrisy Mr. Clinton defended himself by saying that it was a matter of personal choice for his family. You want to deprive others of that choice he had. Clinton also attended private schools, including Georgetown and Yale Universities.

By Tray

April 24, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Whoa, I went away for a while and really p** off a anti-socialist teacher! Thanks, guys for sticking up for me.

Teacher, if you come back, I know EXACTLY how private schools work - do you think you are the only person on this blog who went to a private school? Do you think you are the ONLY person who teaches school (or in my case used to teach school)?

You are calling me arrogant and ignorant? Oh please, you spewed more ignorance and arrogance in your 11:09 rant than I could have all day.

I’m also really glad that’s how you spend your planning time - bashing people who disagree with you. You must be a great teacher in the classroom, especially social studies. Do you teach your students intolerance of differing opinions?

My son’s history teacher has a poster in his classroom that reads something to the effect (not verbatim), “Make it a good day - make a liberal mad.” You must have the same poster in your classroom. I just love how history and social studies teachers try to spew their hate and anger towards our children and teach them to be sheep who just follow the herd.

By getalife

April 24, 2007 1:36 PM | Link to this

Government is not the answer lying liar.

Have you been in a coma the last 6 years.

Wake up.

By deegee

April 24, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

What about vouchers for defendants? What if you get arrested and find that your public defender isn’t meeting your needs? Should the taxpayers provide you a voucher to help you find better legal representation?

By liberals are verminous SCUM

April 24, 2007 1:40 PM | Link to this

I note the yankkkee leftist anal wart infested hate pig Godneedstokillthistrash completely ignores the reasoned, incisive points I made about education and merely pukes up more of its envious unhinged anti-Southern bigotry.

Clearly this fetidpileoftrash was swiftly taken from its own inbred extra chromosomed yankkkee parents in the abbatoir and this is why it is so obsessed with seeking replication of such a fate for all the others in this beastly cruel and harsh world that are vastly more evolved than it is. Such is the compulsive deranged leftist search for ‘social justice’.

This is just part of the unassailable case for why compulsory euthanasia for bedwetting slobbering cut and run liberals should be on the next GA ballot. I would cheerily and proudly vote a resounding YES for such a far sighted, socially and genetically responsible programme.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 1:51 PM | Link to this

deegee - they do. Just ask Bryan Nichols.

By James (P.E.)

April 24, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

Truthsayer,

Are you saying that Mr. Clinton or Mrs. Clinton went to private schools? Do not count colleges this time, totally different.

By liberals are verminous SCUM

April 24, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this

*Government is not the answer lying liar.

Have you been in a coma the last 6 years.

Wake up.*

STFU maggot brain … those treasonous cut and run voices in your pointy empty head need another psychotropic prescription … see if the alBore will let you use the same quack he gets his Bush derangement pills from!!

Witty practical thought for the day:

If global whining liberals are only going to use one square of toilet paper they will obviously STINK EVEN WORSE than they do now!! Which means the rest of us will smell them coming that much faster and be able to avail ourselves of water cannon, long green hosepipes etc. This way we spray a liberal for the environment and have fun at the same time. Though I’d rather spray them with plastic bullets - at least the bullets could be recycled - making shooting liberals relatively eco-friendly.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

Tray - what is your point? My cousin had a history teacher who repeatedly told the class before the 2000 election that Republicans would burn down African-American churches and that Bush would bring back slavery and that he would do away with the HOPE scholarship. When I challenged him on this he stated that he had a right to “teach” his own opinions as fact. Teachers should not do this, but I would venture to say that many more liberals do this than conservatives.

The Teacher might not be doing this. If this teacher is who I think it is, she does not. She does complain that many liberal teachers do.

By Kelly

April 24, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this

“We have an excellent university system in this country.”

I don’t agree at all. The costs are astronomical, and college graduates today are having trouble moving into the middle class because of the astronomical loans they have to take out to attain a college education. In addition, the cost of a college education continues to rise significantly faster than the rate of inflation.

This UGA grad is not happy at all with the education I received relative to the money I spent (most of my professors/teaching assistants just went through the motions and relied mainly on the overpriced textbooks). As indicated in the movie, “Good Will Hunting”, I could have receive a better education with a free library card. But, I stuck with it to get the degree.

One more thing. A former friend who dropped out of UGA during his sophomore year lied on his resume and lies on his website telling employers and potential customers that he has a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia. I contacted the University about this, and they said that there is nothing they can do.

So, my advice — don’t waste your money on a college education. You can just put it on your resume, and unless you’re a Notre Dame football coach, nobody will ever notice or care. The rest of us who paid so much money and worked so hard are chumps.

By deegee

April 24, 2007 2:08 PM | Link to this

Not true, Truthsayer. Brian Nichols is still being defended by the Public Defender’s office. The trial is being postponed until the legislature replenishes funds statewide for the public defender’s office.

By Blind Homer

April 24, 2007 2:09 PM | Link to this

Responsible government would fix the public schools for the benefit of the many instead of financing escape for the few. But that’s typical Republican elitist behavior. They’ve allowed us to be overrun by ignorant and often criminal illegal aliens just to provide cheap labor for the already wealthy, because they live in gated communities and can afford the best private schools and health care.

SPED is a pretty broad category. Who are we talking about here, behavior, ADD, Down’s, what kind of SPED kids get the vouchers?

By Tray

April 24, 2007 2:12 PM | Link to this

My point is that this teacher is using her planning period to bash others who have a different opinion. I think that speaks to her credibility. My wife is a teacher and doesn’t get a planning period - she does all her work on the weekends.

Obviously, your cousin had a whacko as a teacher! There are just as many examples to the contrary.

By liberals are verminous SCUM

April 24, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this

truthsayer

WTF is an “afriKan-ameriKan?”… I’ve never seen one of these things in over 10 years here now!

By Curious Observer

April 24, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this

Fact: SB10 provides up to $9,000 in tuition and fees for special needs students whose parents choose to send them to private school or a different public school. The parents are responsible for any costs above $9,000. The money is deducted from the allocation given to the public schools the special needs students leave.

Fact: SB10 requires that the parents of such students provide the transportation for their special needs children to a school other than the one to which the students are currently assigned.

Fact: SB10 permits special needs students to use the funds to attend religious schools.

Fact: SB10 places no educational requirements on teachers at private schools that special needs students choose to attend under the act. In fact, a teacher at such a school may not even have a bachelor’s degree.

Fact: SB10 places no requirement on the admissions process for receiving schools.

Conclusion:

SB10 is a recipe for resegregating schools. Most black parents will be unable to afford the extra money necessary to fund their special needs students’ tuition at private schools. The special needs students who take advantage of the act will be overwhelmingly white. SB10 uses state-generated tax money to fund religious education. It is an invitation for the creation of even more religious academies. The public schools abandoned by these students will have most of the same fixed costs but less money to pay for them; public school costs are seldom variable. In short, SB10 is a stalking horse intended to test the waters for a full-fledged voucher system that will overwhelmingly subsidize the well-to-do and the religiously oriented, while leaving children from poorer families little alternative but to attend even more poorly funded public school systems. Call SB10 “meeting the needs” of special needs students, if you will, but there is no evidence that any private schools are any better at providing specialized instruction for these students. As the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy observed, “Some people call a spade an agricultural implement.” I choose to call a spade a spade. The conservatives in support of this legislation might at least be honest.

By UGA pride

April 24, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

Kelly, You are an embarrassment to all of us who attended UGA.

By Joe L

April 24, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

“Mr. Clinton defended himself by saying that it was a matter of personal choice for his family. You want to deprive others of that choice he had.”

Isn’t this one of those fruits of success that all you capitalists are saying the “socialists” are trying to take away? Why should my money be redistributed to someone else because they are too lazy to work harder and make enough money to send their kid to whatever school they want?

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 2:21 PM | Link to this

James - Bill Clinton did go to a Catholic elementary school.

Kelly, you sound bitter. I know plenty of people who went to UGA and got good educations. The guy who is lying on his resume will one day get it bad and he should, he is a liar. Maybe you should make a new career choice!

deegee - Bryan Nichols’ defense is being paid for by the public defenders office, but he is being defended by high priced private attorneys. That is a subsidy or “voucher” by any definition.

By Jack

April 24, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this

$2.50 bullet would take care of Mr. Nichols. Why is so much being spent on him? For Chrissakes we have him on video killing the judge and court reporter. Is he going to complain about the jail food and get a special diet?

By ABS

April 24, 2007 2:25 PM | Link to this

Kelly, Maybe you are struggling in society because you are too stupid to get a good job. Just like many adolescents you compare life to movies…honey, that is just sad.

You are advocating lying on your resume? Just so you know, yes, “grown ups” do check references and degrees on resumes. As for your friend? It is just a matter of time before he gets caught and will then be faced with many lawsuits and possible jail time for fraud (depends on what kind of fancy lawyer his clients will get).

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 2:27 PM | Link to this

Joe L - While some of it is your money, many if not most of these people also pay taxes to support schools, so it is their money as well. It is a matter of choice. You are just giving it back so they can use it for a specific purpose, not buy liquor or candy.

By Kelly

April 24, 2007 2:27 PM | Link to this

ABS,

I’m not struggling in society. In fact, I’m doing great.

As for my friend, he’s doing great too — at half the expense and half the effort.

Hey, thanks for your concern.

By Joe L

April 24, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

Truthsayer - Then I’m taking my ball and going home too! I see you still failed to address the fact that if this was anything other than an opportunity to destroy the public school system all the “anti-socialists” would be scream about how the freeloaders should be working harder to pay for the better product.

By James (P.E.)

April 24, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

PartialTruth Sayer,

True…and he also attended Ramble Elementary, then Hot Springs Junior and High school. Your argument does not hold water with that Clinton.

By Kelly

April 24, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this

UGA Pride will enjoy this story too.

UGA accepts students into their Executive MBA program even if they don’t have a Bachelors degree. So, if you have enough money, UGA will give you a Masters degree regardless of whether or not you completed an undergraduate program.

The truth is that in many ways, our great “public” institutions are just diploma mills with money as the primary motivator. In Georgia, K-12 will be the same before long.

By UGA Humble

April 24, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

UGA Pride,

Pride is one of the seven deadly. You’re an embarrassment to Christians everywhere.

By deegee

April 24, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

Not true, Truthsayer. Brian Nichol’s defense team is charging below market rates for their time. The Public Defender’s office plans to appoint Penny Marshall to replace Gary Parker and she has offered her services pro bono.

By UGA Pride

April 24, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

UGA Humble, I’m not a Christian.

Kelly, Here you go - straight from the Executive MBA program website:

Admission to the Terry College of Business Executive MBA program is highly selective. In general, a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited institution of higher learning is required for admission. A minimum of five years of relevant, full-time work experience is expected.

By Kelly

April 24, 2007 2:55 PM | Link to this

“In general, a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited institution of higher learning is required for admission.”

UGA Pride,

Notice the loophole phrase, “In General”?

Sorry to disappoint. UGA has given and continues to give Executive MBAs to persons without undergraduate degrees.

However, the part about “Admission to the Terry College of Business Executive MBA program is highly selective” is very true. Specifically, you have to have $62,000 in your pocket to get in. Now that’s what I call selective.

You can stop embarrassing yourself (and UGA) at any time.

By Truthsayer

April 24, 2007 3:03 PM | Link to this

Joe L - by your logic, anyone who sends a child to public school is a freeloader. We all pay taxes for public school and they would be using it for school, not for something else. These people are already being subsidized! I cannot see how this is any different. I am not asking that anyone be deprived of education. I am asking that they be given a choice. Many times people cannot afford a private school because of their high tax bill. This way they can.

By UGA Pride

April 24, 2007 3:15 PM | Link to this

Okay, Kelly, I see your point - I stand corrected. So this program is like an upscale Continuing Education program for really rich people. For example, people like Casey Cagle, our esteemed Lt. Gov who never finished college but made a fortune in business.

BUT, the regular MBA program requires an undergraduate degree.

By JK

April 24, 2007 3:22 PM | Link to this

Can’t wait to read Mr. Wooten’s column tomorrow about why good, decent military personnel were ordered by their corrupt superiors to LIE about other good, decent, military personnel. Doesn’t seem right, but then, I’m sure Mr. Wooten will have a good explanation that includes “It’s Clinton’s and Pelosi’s fault,” or “Too many taxes make lying necessary,” or “Lefties are lazy and immoral.”

By Dusty

April 24, 2007 3:24 PM | Link to this

Since two bothersome bigots have posted, maybe a few extra comments are in order to offset them.

Those two are God Hates Trash who makes himself into trash by pushing self generated hate on Southerners. The other one is RedNeck Convert who is a stylized phony actor who hates conservatives but tries to degrade Southerners to show it. A pox on both of these two losers!

My five children were educated in Georgia’s public school system and now in Georgia’s university system. They have six advanced degrees among them and another (PhD) coming up. They found the opportunities in Georgia’s educational systems and took advantage of them. My husband and I encourage them as we consider education an important element in almost every endeavor.

The voucher system is unfamiliar to me. But it sounds plausible for the disabled or “special education” children. I assume a child with in that category would need extra attention. If vouchers would give that child a better chance in this world, then I would be for it. I believe that is what Wooten is saying also.

By jbmlaw

April 24, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this

Dear Harold @ 12:56, the funniest post of the day, well done.

Dear Jim Wooten, I would respectfully urge you to invite “Teacher” to do a guest editorial for the paper. He/she is a stylish writer, and certainly does not adhere to the party line - suspect the essay would have to be anonymous. One of the brightest minds we have seen on the blog.

Dear jacp @ 12:11, is it not also true that there is no leftist issue that can be resolved without hand-wringing, kumbaya, and new government restrictions on our freedom? I respectfully disagree with some of your assessment - it is always the “government solutions” that prove inadequate. I’ll take the simplistic view any day - it’s clearly less stressful! I always prefer the company of those who sell hope over those who sell doom and gloom. When you cut to the bottom line, I think that difference in perspective is why conservatives don’t like to be around humorless leftists, and why leftists think conservatives are dumb.

Dear Teacher @ 11:33, you post brilliantly. Do not stress over the objection to “socialist.” No matter what term the collectivsts defile by claiming it as their own name, it always evolves into opprobrium in a short amount of time. Socialist was respectable in the 1920s, Liberal was respectable in the 1960s, but the policies left both words irretrievably stained.

By Kelly

April 24, 2007 3:33 PM | Link to this

UGA Pride,

Thanks for the concession, and I’m sorry I embarrassed you. However, the truth is that in most of my courses, I made A’s and B’s even though I only attended on test day. I honestly believe that I paid all that money for the degree, not the education.

Don’t get me wrong — I got a great education — but I got my education almost exclusively from textbooks — not from professors or TA’s, huge lecture halls, football games, parties, dorm life, life at River Mill, road trips, girls or any of the other stuff the made the UGA experience so great. In a sense, I paid and grew (I hope) from those experiences too, but with regard to the classroom education itself — I think much of higher education is a rip-off, and I don’t exclude my own alma mater from my criticism.

By GRCleft

April 24, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

jbmlaw wrote, “I’ll take the simplistic view any day…”

So true. In fact, jbmlaw takes the simplistic view every day.

By Joe L

April 24, 2007 3:47 PM | Link to this

“Joe L - by your logic, anyone who sends a child to public school is a freeloader”

Actually that would be by the logic of all the super-capitalists, not my own.

By jbmlaw's Doctor

April 24, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

jbmlaw, you still have a raging yeast infection. Get the Monistat in there now.

By UGA Pride

April 24, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

Kelly, you didn’t embarrass me - I’m not afraid to admit a mistake, and I never claim to know everything unlike most people who blog on here.

My father always said that “education is never wasted” - and I still believe that. You are lucky that you got good grades and only went to school on test day - most aren’t so lucky.

By Jim Wooten

April 24, 2007 3:49 PM | Link to this

jbmlaw @ 3:14, agreed on the quality of Teacher’s posts. We’re not yet willing to run an op-ed that’s anonymous, though we do publish portions of blog postings made anonymously. If Teacher has interest in your suggestion, my email is jwooten@ajc.com.

By Blind Homer

April 24, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this

Please tell me this entire bill was not just pork for Rep Jeff Lewis to get $18,000 a year for his two fake disorder (ADD) kids to go to private school.

By deegee

April 24, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Kelly, I know exactly what you mean. While it is difficult to express I think that everyone that values learning knows the difference between a teacher and an instructor. While both provide value, a teacher can share the benefit of experience and can inspire in ways that an instructor might not be able to do. Big colleges need a large staff to handle the masses and so they hire instructors that help students pass tests. Encountering a real teacher is a wonderful thing.

After receiving my undergraduate degree and getting out in the working world it became apparent that there are a lot of educated dummies out there. Furthermore, employers play the certification game. The more alphabet soup you have behind your name the more credible you are, or so they say. I have learned better problem solving techniques from observing good mentors than I have from any certification program that I have taken. The value of the university experience in my opinion is in learning sources of reference, and in the intangible “rounding out” experience. I agree that it’s an expensive and in some cases overrated proposition. But you gotta have it to get in the door.

By UGA Dad

April 24, 2007 4:15 PM | Link to this

Like most Georgia coeds, my daughter hooked her way through UGA, and managed to buy me a nice new Mercedes, too.

A great education? Not hardly.

By getalife

April 24, 2007 4:31 PM | Link to this

Jim,

Why is your name not in bold blue letters?

Geaux Tigers!

By Benan

April 24, 2007 4:49 PM | Link to this

I have naively believed for years that staying informed about current events by getting some news is better than blissful ignorance derived from getting no news. Then Fox News Channel helped demonstrate just how wrong I was.

The Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland conducted a thorough study of public knowledge and attitudes about current events and the war on terrorism. Researchers found that the public’s mistaken impressions of three facets of U.S. foreign policy — discovery of alleged WMD in Iraq, alleged Iraqi involvement in 9/11, and international support for a U.S. invasion of Iraq — helped fuel support for the war.

While the PIPA study concluded that most Americans (over 60%) held at least one of these mistaken impressions, the researchers also concluded that Americans’ opinions were shaped in large part by which news outlet they relied upon to receive their information.

As the researchers explained in their report, “The extent of Americans’ misperceptions vary significantly depending on their source of news. Those who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions. Those who receive most of their news from NPR or PBS are less likely to have misperceptions. These variations cannot simply be explained as a result of differences in the demographic characteristics of each audience, because these variations can also be found when comparing the demographic subgroups of each audience.”

Almost shocking was the extent to which Fox News viewers were mistaken. Those who relied on the conservative network for news, PIPA reported, were “three times more likely than the next nearest network to hold all three misperceptions. In the audience for NPR/PBS, however, there was an overwhelming majority who did not have any of the three misperceptions, and hardly any had all three.”

Looking at the misperceptions one at a time, people were asked, for example, if the U.S. had discovered the alleged stockpiles of WMD in Iraq since the war began. Just 11% of those who relied on newspapers as their “primary news source” incorrectly believed that U.S. forces had made such a discovery. Only slightly more — 17% — of those who relied on NPR and PBS were wrong. Yet 33% of Fox News viewers were wrong, far ahead of those who relied on any other outlet.

Likewise, when people were asked if the U.S. had “clear evidence” that Saddam Hussein was “working closely with al Queda,” similar results were found. Only 16% of NPR and PBS listeners/viewers believed that the U.S. has such evidence, while 67% of Fox News viewers were under that mistaken impression.

Overall, 80 percent of those who relied on Fox News as their primary news source believed at least one of the three misperceptions. Viewers/listeners/readers of other news outlets didn’t even come close to this total.

In other words, Fox News viewers are literally less informed about these basic facts. They have, put simply, been led to believe things that are simply not true. These poor dupes would have done better in this survey, statistically speaking, if they received no news at all and simply guessed whether the claims were accurate.

And, in addition to a fun bash-Fox-athon, I wanted to add that the PIPA study also documented that those who relied on newspapers as their primary news source were better informed than those who watched any of the television news broadcasts. The only folks more informed than newspaper readers were NPR listeners.

By GodHatesTrash

April 24, 2007 4:53 PM | Link to this

Fox is the news source for bottomfeeders - like most of the so-called conservative trash that posts here.

By Steve

April 24, 2007 4:53 PM | Link to this

Tom DeLay thinks Democrats’ criticism of the war borders, literally, on treason.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial board yesterday, former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) of “getting very, very close to treason” by opposing the war in Iraq. When a member of the editorial board noted that treason is a “pretty serious charge,” DeLay shot back, “And I’m serious about it.” He added that he had looked up the definition on his way to the interview (probably a good idea), and it meant “the betrayal of trust.”

DeLay specifically attacks Reid, saying that “in the time of war, with soldiers dying on the ground, announcing that we had lost the war, is very close to treasonous.”

TP noted that “none of this should come as a surprise. DeLay, who is currently under criminal indictment for money laundering and criminal conspiracy, has a long history of attacking the patriotism of progressives.”

That’s true, but let’s take a moment to delve into what, exactly, amounts to treason.

Borrowing liberally from Slate’s William Saletan, let’s provide some context for DeLay’s concerns.

If you’re sympathetic to a far-right worldview, you can probably muster some understanding for the former Majority Leader throwing around words like “treason.” After all, Harry Reid called the war in Iraq a “quagmire” and compared it to Vietnam. He said it would “drag on” indefinitely, costing billions. He accused the president of failing to specify how long our troops would have to stay, and he urged the administration to withdraw. When “the body bags start coming home,” Reid said, it’s time to cut our losses.

Reid kept going, talking about the need for peace. “The White House has bombed its way around the globe,” he sneered. “International respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly.” As for the current war plan, Reid complained that “no one wants us to be there” and that the president’s crusade “has harmed [our] standing in the world.”

And given the climate, I suppose Reid was pushing his luck when he urged Congress to de-fund the war and “pull out the forces we now have in the region.” What’s worse, Reid basically made the United States look like the bad guy. Once a U.S.-led coalition “starts meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, where does it stop?” Reid asked. He charged that we were “starting to resemble a power-hungry imperialist army” and portrayed our mission as an “occupation by foreigners.”

Are all of these comments harsh? Do they undermine the troops while they’re in harm’s way? Do they amount, literally, to “treason”?

Before our friends on the right answer these questions, they should keep one minor detail in mind: all of these quotes I attributed to Harry Reid weren’t said by Reid at all — they came from Tom DeLay, on the House floor, about President Clinton’s war in Kosovo. It never occurred to him then, as it does now, that criticizing a war and questioning a military campaign is an unpatriotic attack on the country and its military.

I guess when those treason indictments start coming down, there will be plenty of people facing charges, right Tom?

By JK

April 24, 2007 5:05 PM | Link to this

Steve, nicely put at 4:53! But you won’t get your “friends on the right” around here to answer your questions. (Anyone? Anyone?) If they respond at all, it will be to ask what you have against freedom, why you hate America, why you love Hanoi Jane, and why you want the government to take all your money and give it all to pregnant, unmarried women who refuse to work. You see, treason is different when THEY do it.

Can’t wait for Mr. Wooten’s column explaining why it’s okay to LIE about the brave, decent, underpaid men & women who serve honorably in uniform!

By Dennis

April 24, 2007 5:31 PM | Link to this

By Truthsayer April 24, 2007 2:03 PM “Tray - what is your point? My cousin had a history teacher who repeatedly told the class before the 2000 election that Republicans would burn down African-American churches and that Bush would bring back slavery and that he would do away with the HOPE scholarship. When I challenged him on this he stated that he had a right to “teach” his own opinions as fact. Teachers should not do this, but I would venture to say that many more liberals do this than conservatives.”

As a “liberal” (I suppose), I’d like to say that a “liberal” teacher will not teach in this way. True, they may have different views from conservatives, but a true liberal teacher does not “impose” his or her beliefs on students.

If your cousin is a liberal and is teaching in this way, he’s a bad teacher and a bad liberal.

The teaching difference in a true liberal verses a true conservative is this, the conservative teaches a strict “doctrine” (if you will), “We are right, the rest of the world is wrong”, “Our religion is the true religion, Jesus is Lord” type of stuff.

The liberal teacher teaches “Are we really always right and the rest of the world wrong?”, “What are the different religions in the world and why/what factors influenced them to be the way they are?

Conservatives can’t stand liberal teachers because they don’t teach “facts”.

(Just like they don’t swallow conservative political dogma from their newspapers and the mainstream media).

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By Dennis

April 24, 2007 5:40 PM | Link to this

By Steve April 24, 2007 4:53 PM “Tom DeLay thinks Democrats’ criticism of the war borders, literally, on treason.”

You have to wonder why any media has to stoop so low as to need, or to get, the opinion of Tom DeLay?

You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By JohnD

April 24, 2007 5:48 PM | Link to this

Be nice to spend all the money now used for defense to fund education in America, unfortunately without the defense the United States would soon cease to exist. History and the path of Western European nations tell us this is true.

There would likely be no complaint from conservatives if more dollars were funneled to education when all the vote buying and other pork were eliminated from federal and state budgets. Unfortunately history tells us this will not happen.

Several factors have contributed to the demise of the public school system in the United States. More than I can list here but I can offer my favorites.

Madeline Murray O’Hare won a small victory with huge ramifications that helped begin the downward spiral. The post earlier citing the difference in discipline and study habits of those children with faith in their lives supports this theory.

Eliminating corporal punishment in the schools gave children so inclined the motivation to act as they pleased and show disrespect for their teachers. The parents are to blame for these miscreants.

Social promotions have contributed greatly to the poor performance of the public schools. I attended one public school summer session many years ago and there was a student in his sophomore year that was 20 years old and looked 30. I admired him more than any student there - he was going to stay in school until he graduated. To do so he had to learn, not just age.

The private school students of my era were much more prepared for college, had better study habits and succeeded at a higher rate than their publicly educated counterparts. That is not to say the public school students did not succeed, many did and performed better than many if not all private school students. These were the self-motivated who would have learned at any school but the private school students were given a better opportunity, with a better curriculum, but not all took advantage.

As long as there are segments of our society who do not recognize the value of education, who demean those who achieve and think success is a music or professional athletic contract, there will be failure rates higher in the public schools. The private schools attract and admit those who seek to learn and refuse those who do not.

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 8:11 AM | Link to this

Dennis - there are far too many examples of liberal teachers teaching their opinions as fact - Ward Churchill in Colorado comes to mind. It was not my cousin who did this, it was my cousin’s teacher. His name is Mark Harris and he is now a principal in Atlanta City Schools. To claim that somehow liberals have all the answers and are the tolerant ones is HUBRIS. The fact is that liberals control the education establishment in this country and did in this state until quite recently. If you don’t like the state of Georgia education, blame a Democrat. It doesn’t take a blind liberal not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

By ABS

April 25, 2007 8:57 AM | Link to this

Truthsayer, There are just as many conservative teachers spewing their dogma in schools as well. Please don’t deny this. I can give you just as many examples as you can give to the other. I’m sure your cousin also appreciates giving out his name in a blog. Why not go ahead and give out his home phone number and address as well?

By ABS

April 25, 2007 8:59 AM | Link to this

Oops, my bad…I misread your comment, you didn’t give out your cousin’s name, just the principal’s name. I’m sorry about that, but you still shouldn’t give out people’s names on blogs.

By @@

April 25, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this

I didn’t have a chance to see this yesterday Jim.

When it comes to “parents” of special needs children, I can say there are none more driven to advocate for the quality of their child’s education.

There’s a lot at risk for them. The levels of success and the progress that their children enjoy will extend well beyond the child. It will impact their nuclear family as well. Both now, and in the future.

Typical children could benefit from that kind of dedication from their parents. The quality of our childrens’ education is of no interest to government. Just a bunch of “ballyhoo” for the “ballot box”.

See ‘ya Jim!!!!!

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 10:27 AM | Link to this

ABS - I gave it out because he deserves to be called on such outrageous behavior. I would also like to know what conservative teachers have been trying to indoctrinate their high school students. The only complaints I ever hear are about the liberal ones. I rarely have met a conservative “social studies” teacher. Cite a few examples of conservatives running amok and I will be the first to condemn those teachers. It is really all about teaching facts and getting opinions from the students. It is not about indoctrination and outright falsehoods. Dr. Harris told outright falsehoods.

By ABS

April 25, 2007 10:33 AM | Link to this

I know plenty of conservative high school teachers, but I’m not going to publish their names in a blog…that is just not right.

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 10:45 AM | Link to this

ABS - I don’t doubt that you know some conservative social studies or history teachers. They exist, although they are a rare breed. However, I did not ask you to give names. I asked you to give examples of bad behavior and attempts at indoctrination. Putting out ideas for discussion doesn’t count. I am talking about indoctrination as was attempted by Dr. Harris.

By ABS

April 25, 2007 10:51 AM | Link to this

My son’s who is a junior in high school came home one day and asked me if I believed in abortion. I told him that I didn’t believe in abortion, per se, but I was pro-choice (and explained the difference), and asked him why he was asking. He then told me that his history teacher told his class that he didn’t understand how any Democrat could call themselves a Christian or go to church because we all believed in killing babies — i.e. abortion.

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 11:25 AM | Link to this

I think that is an outrageous statement. I hope that you complained. I also hope that you complain when a liberal teacher makes outrageous comments such as: “Republicans want old people to die in the street. They just don’t care about common people.” Or the statements that I cited before. I complained and the jerk got promoted. The hypocrisy in education when it comes to liberals is palpable.

By ABS

April 25, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this

I don’t think this is a “liberal v. conservative” issue. There is hypocrisy everywhere - not just in education. Like I said, it happens on both sides…

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this

ABS - I also am wondering why your son did not know the difference between pro-choice and anti-abortion before you explained it to him. Most juniors in high school already have an opinion on that one, especially if they go to church. It may have been that the teacher was just trying to get a reaction out of the class for purposes of discussion. Believe me, it is difficult enough on a good day. Sometimes you have to ruffle a few feathers to get them to participate. However, he/she may have been just that nutty. However, I do find it rather incongruous that you can say that you do not believe in abortion but you are still pro-coice. Isn’t a sin a sin, no matter who does it?

Also, the Archbishop of Boston and the Bishop of South Dakota told Senators from those states a few years back that they were now forbidden to take communion because of their public positions on abortion. I have asked the same question on many occasions.

By infomom

April 25, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this

I would encourage any person who has concerns about this legislation to read SB 10. This is not a simple debate about public versus private, gated communities and elitism, or liberal versus conservative. This is a bill that can help families who are struggling with the puzzle of a child with learning differences. These kids can’t be successful in the typical classroom because of a specific disorder, not a lack of discipline or parental involvement. The parents of these children have most likely already spent thousands and thousands of dollars to various doctors, therapists, and clinics to try to solve this puzzle. It is an emotional and financial burden that can cause enormous stress on any family, regardless of religion, race, or economic status.

The public schools can offer some great programs-I know, because I taught special ed in Atlanta for 10 years. But they do not have the corner on the market, mostly because the spectrum of disorders that each special ed program serves is so varied. They are unable to specialize in any kind of disability. There are some wonderful schools that have made these very difficult disorders their primary focus. When I was teaching in the public schools, I knew little about these programs and schools. But now I am the parent of a child with very unique needs, and I made it my business to learn about these schools. I am so impressed with what they are doing that I do not have the space to list my many compliments. But finally I have found a place where my son will fit in and be appreciated for all his good qualities, not just noticed for what he lacks.

All this bill does is take the money that the state would give to the public school if the child stayed there, and transfer it to the private school to apply towards the tuition. The child has to have received funds in the public school the year prior…so it doesn’t apply to the kids who are already identified and in the private schools. And we’re not talking about Pace and Westminister! We’re talking about Schenck, Sophia, and The Porter School. If you don’t know how specialized these schools are, how successful their interventions have been, or how these kids change when they become accepted instead of being misfits when in the public schools, you must go and see these schools (or at least visit their websites!). If you don’t know what they are doing that is so great and making a difference in these kids lives, you cannot understand the need for this legislation.

The tuition is still quite substantial, and I would warn anyone who wants to generalize about private schools being for the rich elite that we are making huge sacrifices to send our son to one of these schools. We do not live in a gated community, our house was built in 1960 and has the original kitchen and bathrooms (and everything else),we drive 10 year old cars, we have not been able to afford any vacations in the last three years, and we are happy to make these sacrifices for our beloved son. We still consider ourselves blessed.

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 1:04 PM | Link to this

Infomom - thank you for a wonderful and well written and beautifully logical piece on this subject. I do not and cannot disagree with anything that you wrote. Please copy it and send it out to as many media outlets as possible. You are to be commended as a parent and a citizen!

By bm507

April 25, 2007 1:49 PM | Link to this

Infomom, my heart goes out to you. I sincerely hope that God will continue to bless you and your family.

Mr. Wooten, I am still a little confused by your article. In recent years you have made comments in your articles expressing concerns that the HOPE scholarship might become another government run form of entitlement, especially for those families wealthy enough to put their own students through college. In yesterday’s post you appeared to allude to HOPE as an example of why SB10 is needed.

Are you not concerned of the possibility that we may be creating another government funded entitlement program. I am a bit unsure, because in the past you have seemed not not support entitlement programs?

By Truthsayer

April 25, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this

bm507 - Technically, vouchers would not be an entitlement because the concept is that the money that the school district would be spending in a certain school for a certain child would just follow the child. No one would be getting anything that he is not already receiving under the present system.

As to the HOPE scholarship, it is based on merit and around 50% of students don’t make the grade after the first year to keep. My problem is that it creates grade inflation in high schools and colleges.

I also have a problem with how HOPE is funded - a tax on the stupid or the hopeLESS. Lotteries should not be used by states to make money because they play on peoples hopes and dreams and do not enforce what society should be all about - a strong work ethic and individual repsonsibility.

Mr. Wooten should address these issues more thoroughly. I would like to know his opinion.

By GT

April 25, 2007 3:12 PM | Link to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwxM42Tl7Jo

This is off the point, but I just want all of you red blooded patriotic conservatives to listen to what Pat Tillman’s mom thinks about the Bush Administration and the military lying about her son’s death for political gain. This along with the conditions at Walter Reed hospital should let you know that Republicans care more about defense contractors and stoking the fires of patriotism than the actual welfare of our troops and vets. Whenever a Republican talks about how opposing them is the equivalent of “not supporting the troops” I want to throw up. Pretty soon it won’t matter what Republicans say because the GOP is in for a monumental a* whooping at the polls in 2008.