Teachers may get more time to talk

Well, it's about time:

"The West Bend School Board is considering changing the Monday morning start-time in both district high schools from 7:30 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. - meaning, unless you take the bus, which will keep the same schedule, you'll have an extra 35 minutes to snooze.

School would continue to get out at 2:31 p.m. so it's not like you'll have to stick around later in the day."

According to the school principal of West Bend East, the reason is because:

Teachers need to spend more time collaborating, talking to each other about teaching strategies and curriculum and student achievement data, she believes.

To borrow from John Stossel: Give Me A Break! As an earlier post suggests, when teachers begin acting like the professionals they claim to be, they will be treated as such.

The article goes on to point out that between now and the end of the school year, the teachers have 5 days off - besides spring break - to "collaborate". What's wrong with sticking around an extra 30 minutes after school ends - AT 2:31! - to get their "strategies" in place? That still gets them home 2 to 3 hours before the rest of. We need those few extra hours not to "collaborate" and "strategize". We need them to make the extra money to pay our taxes!

Drugs from Canada: The market strikes back

JS Online: Canada threatens drug supply; Doyle seeks Bush's help:

"In recent weeks, Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has said the threat of prescription drug shortages or higher prices for Canadians have made it necessary to establish new, more restrictive guidelines under which prescriptions for Americans could be filled. Those guidelines have not yet been established, but Canadian officials say they could include an outright ban on exporting drugs to the United States."

At some time, it would be nice if Democratic leaders would take some basic economic courses before they make policy decisions. Again, the Law of Unintended Consequences is like Newton's Third Law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". You can't avoid it.

Would it be nice if everything was handed to us? If government made everything fair? Considering the natural laws and economic principles, no. I'd hate to see the unintended results.

Justice: Is it just a game?

From an AP report in JS Online:

"Yates' lawyers had argued at a hearing last month before a three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston that psychiatrist Park Dietz was wrong when he said he consulted on an episode of the TV show 'Law and Order' involving a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children."

Okay. First, how did we get to the point in the justice system that we are debating whether or not someone appeared on a television show to determine if the accused is guilty of the crime committed? Second, was this the ONLY testimony or evidence the prosecution presented in the case against this woman? Third, what yahoo in the DA's office thought this would be a good idea? And finally. What about the kids? You know, the VICTIMS. The children who are now dead.

It seems pretty clear that this woman - the mother of the dead children - committed the act of murder. Why she was charged and convicted for only 3 of the 5 acts is further beyond me, but she did do it.

Now, her defense attorneys want the conviction overturned on a technicality? One that had little bearing on the facts of the crime. Not a technicality like: "it wasn't her hands holding her own children under the water in the bathtub of their own house" kind of technicality. That may have some weight. How does that serve justice?

NYT's: We Are All Torturers Now

The New York Times Op-Ed Contributor:

"By using torture, we Americans transform ourselves into the very caricature our enemies have sought to make of us. True, that miserable man who pulled out his hair as he lay on the floor at Guantanamo may eventually tell his interrogators what he knows, or what they want to hear. But for America, torture is self-defeating; for a strong country it is in the end a strategy of weakness. After Mr. Gonzales is confirmed, the road back - to justice, order and propriety - will be very long. Torture will belong to us all."

Hmmm? Does that mean, based on the actions of our elected leader in the previous administration, we are all adulterers?

Teaching writing - again. Finally!

JS Online: Rewriting education:

"The resurgence of interest in teaching kids how to write comes none too soon in the eyes of some education experts. They see the jobs of the future calling for more ability to put words together effectively, and they think American kids just aren't writing as well as they should."

And this is different than when? Why do we have this desire to ignore basic, common sense practices and go in search of some great, enlightened endeavor? When we do this, our society and our people are cheated. How many kids were put through school during the period prior to this "resurgence of interest in teaching kids how to write" and at what cost?

Teachers' insurance targeted for budget

JS Online: Teachers' insurance targeted for budget:

"In general, teachers now have health insurance that is much better than most workers, with many teachers' plans calling for little, if any, out-of-pocket spending and offering wider ranges of coverage than those offered to workers in other occupations.

But backers of the idea of switching teachers to the state health system - which generally costs much less per person - say the state plan is also a good plan, although it is more restrictive and involves more out-of-pocket expense. 'Most people would be tickled pink to have the plan that is offered by the state,' Gard said.

Ken Cole, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, spoke positively of the idea of switching teachers to the state plan, calling it 'a concrete way of saving school districts in the state a lot of money . . . yet it provides solid benefits for teachers, just as it does for legislators and state employees.' Cole said the alternative to such a change would likely be continued reductions in staff, programs and transportation services.

On the other hand, Alan Jacobs, executive director of the Wisconsin Education Association Trust, the union-affiliated health insurance plan that holds contracts for health plans in 78% of the state's school districts, said teachers greatly value the health insurance they have now and often have shown they would trade pay raises to keep such plans."

When teachers start acting like the Professionals they claim they are (and I agree, they should be Professionals, and many are) and openly criticize the union that represents them, they will see more support from taxpayers who are tired of hearing how bad things are for them.

While teachers do not receive the highest annual salary (although it's arguably comparable on a pro-rated basis), the combined compensation package with insurance and pension is very competitive with similar skilled professions. Add to that, the security of union protection which makes it virtually impossible to be fired, and you have a pretty nice job.

With the increases in insurance to private employers making it harder to keep out of pocket costs low for their employees (my employer faces between a 34 & 37% increase this year), it's no wonder teachers are willing to "trade pay raises to keep such plans". After all, no one said teachers were dumb.

Philanthropy in America

Opinion's - Taste:

"But if Americans are generous, they are also vain. That's the sad conclusion to be drawn from the fact almost every new concert hall, museum, hospital wing and university building bears at least one donor's name. The 'naming opportunity,' as it is called, is the instrument of choice for development officers--their tried-and-true method of coaxing money from wealthy people. The strategy has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for worthy causes. But with its bald pandering, it has also corrupted the true spirit of philanthropy.

With the way the world has reacted regarding the response by the US to the tsunami disaster, I think some of this vanity is in self-defense: "I did give! See, there's my name on the plaque!" We may be the most prosperous country in history and we have our faults, but we are not unique in this regard.

I'd prefer to see more anonymous donations. I don't particularly like 'naming' everything. This is getting especially tiresome in sporting venues and events (hey, isn't the Nokia Sugar Bowl tonight?).

Some Truths About Black Disadvantage

This is an interesting article from a perspective not always taken when discussing racial disadvantages:

"Consider the parable of the paraplegic. A reckless driver runs over a pedestrian, leaving him unable to walk. The driver pays for the pedestrian's treatment and physical therapy, but recovery will require a long, exhausting, and painful effort. The victim is angry. It's not his fault, so why must he face an overwhelming, uphill struggle? But there is no help for it. Although the driver can and must pay, he cannot guarantee success. He cannot make his victim walk again."

I'm not sure we'd be having articles like this if it weren't for people like Bill Cosby take the initiative and voice the opinion first.