American Dream or AMERICAN NIGHTMARE
When an American Dream is turned into an American Nightmare... brought to you by the Republican Party and Rick Scott Governor of Florida
(States tangle with teacher
tenure--As momentum for school reform grows and state budgets
continue to shrink, the system of teacher tenure is under
increasing scrutiny)
This was the headline on
MSNBC news the other day. Normally, I would hear or read
something like this and just shake my head in helpless sorrow
thinking how sad it is that politicians are going after one of
the most important vocations (teaching) in our culture by
threatening layoffs and union busting, giving excuses that they
must, because budgets have to be balanced! My thoughts would
always turn to… “there’s nothing I can do about it
but feel sadness”. Only this time, this distressing news got
more than a sorrowful head shake from me… because it
HIT-HOME!
My daughter (a single mother) was threatened with dismissal from
her teaching job—one that she spent 5 years of her life
juggling, the raising of her 2 children, while going to school
and working as a teaching paraprofessional, all in air at the
same time so to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher.
What brought this threat
about? Why did the Powers That Be pick my daughter as a victim to
the latest red herring gimmick brought to you by politicians
seeking to keep their own jobs by destroying those of others? Oh
they threw up a smoke screen first, demonizing teachers as
ineffective, inefficient freeloaders who can get away with not
doing their jobs 100% because they have the luxury of not being
fired “NO-MATTER-HOW-UNPRODUCTIVE-THEY-MAY-BE!”
Well, I found out the
answer and let me tell you, it ain’t pretty. My daughter was
up for tenure renewal after working hard at her job for four
years. These same POWERS THAT BE had put pressure on the
Principal of her school, telling him to go after any teacher that
was eligible for Tenure Renewal (the last time this will probably
happen because collective bargaining was on the chopping block)
and find anything on them that would justify (unjustly) a reason
for dismissal so there will be one less teacher salary and one
less Teacher Tenured.
{{Being tenured does not
guarantee a job but the process to fire a tenured teacher is a
long and difficult task. Teachers who are tenured are entitled to
due process and the administration must prove the teacher failed
to meet an obvious and defined standard.}}
My daughter’s name
was thrown into the eradication hat because her class of last
year scored low on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
This class had an unequal amount of slow learning students many
with behavior problems. Does that sound fair? Her class was not
the only one who scored low but since the other teachers
weren’t up for Tenure Renewal, their jobs were safe. I ask
again DOES THAT SOUND FAIR? A more accurate question would be, IS
THIS WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR BELOVED AMERICA; Kangaroo Courts,
Unfairness caused by Propaganda Machines and Totalitarian
Administrations? Is that what we elected our leaders to bring
about? Then why are they behaving this way (and getting away with
it)? We are all slated to lose in this scheme, not just teachers.
As Brave New Films’ end their videos… PSSSST DO
SOMETHING! Please sign the petition below: thinkingblue
Florida Budget Cuts vs. the American Dream
Hi,
Governor Rick Scott's proposed budget would cut funding for
public
schools, lay off thousands of state workers, and give
corporations a $1.5
billion tax cut. But worst of all, Republicans in Tallahassee are
pushing
a permanent, across-the-board funding limit that would prevent
the state
from ever restoring these draconian cuts.
I signed a petition urging Governor Scott and my legislators to
oppose
these cuts. Can you join me at the link below?
hospital chain. The federal government fined Columbia/HCA for
Medicaid and Medicare fraud. That fine, a jaw-dropping 1.7
billion dollars, is the largest in American history.
posted by thinkingblue at 8:23 AM
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