Anyway It’s Really not the Bad One’s We Want out it’s the Liberals
According to the July 15, 2011 issue of Education Week roughly twelve states are revising teacher tenure, evaluations of teachers and layoff policies with several more states on the verge of the doing the same. I recognize this is a Conservative movement and as an extreme Conservative I am absolutely perplexed as to what is progressing through our psyche. If we persist on this tread we will initiate as much destruction to the education system as the liberals.
We must restrain this obsession with removing bad teachers, obviously everyone wants that. Truth be told this obsession is not about getting rid of bad teachers, it is about removing LIBERAL teachers. And I confess to this wisdom, nonetheless in America you cannot exterminate a teacher for their viewpoint, which is a liberal aspiration; however what we can accomplish is abolish the liberal syllabus.
If we eradicate the curriculum that tolerates liberal teaching and restore our once basic and successful system, we will have started down the path of renovation. That may not remove liberal teachers, although it will eliminate their ability to endorse their liberal attitudes.
What we fail to recognize is that these new alterations may possibly backfire on us. School districts that fall under liberal command could and WILL use these alterations to eradicate Conservative teachers.
In the article, Ed Muir, the deputy director of the research and information-services department at the American Federation of Teachers, contended that, for the most part, the new legislation has been driven by budget cuts. “They’re trying to dress up disinvestment in the guise of shining reform,” Mr. Muir said.
I genuinely trust that he could not be further from the truth, however if this IS the case than we are no better than the liberal socialists that crave to eradicate our free society. And in effect if we were to take a step back and focus on the basics, requirements for budget cuts would not exist.
NEVER FORGET – EDUCATION is what will ascertain if our grandchildren will live in America the free or America, just another socialist nation.
Jim Blockey
Teacher/Author “Teachers… It Ain’t Your Fault.”
What are you even talking about, dude? Public education is a liberal, socialist idea in and of itself. What’s your reasoning for only wanting a conservative viewpoint in the education system? Why the two political viewpoints exist in harmony within education? There’s a reason there’s two parties in our political system, and two viewpoints; if there wasn’t, conservatives or liberals could do what they want without objection, and that’s not good. Having one political viewpoint in schooling would defeat the purpose of education altogether. Education is about critical thinking, and about looking at things in more than one way, thinking outside the box. Shoving conservative or liberal viewpoints down a students throat is not going to educate them properly, that’s not an objective education. Why can’t you types of people grow up and see that it’s not always about who’s right and who’s wrong. Sometimes you have to exist in harmony, and realize that sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong.
Posted by blamenstein | July 15, 2011, 1:36 pmI think if you actually read my article you would see that I don’t want either point of view taught. Education was intended to teacher our children to read, write, the history of America, research, do math and the basics of some of the sciences… how is that socialist. NOW WE have turned it into a socialst idea. All my desire is to teach the basics and let children and their parents decide what philosophy and viewpoints they want. So again, if you actually read this or any of my blogs you would see that I do NOT want only a Conservative point of view… I do not want either… it takes away what education was intended for.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 16, 2011, 12:15 amJim, could you elaborate what you mean by a liberal teacher. I realize this post was meant to be satire and humor, but I think you could improve it with specifics. Like those ‘liberal math teachers who incorporate technology and real thinking ing their classes’
Posted by Peter Smyth | July 15, 2011, 4:29 pmA liberal is someone that believes that the government knows best. The want to be the parent in school (teach sex ed, multiculturalism, enviornmentalism, etc.). The want the government to take care of the poor and needy rather than rely on the citizenship of the people. Today’s liberals seem to be more on a socialist track rather than a capitalistic track. No government is perfect, but the only people who enjoy a socialist country are those in power.
My post was not meant to be funny it was meant to get back to the basics, have Conservative focus on that rather than the teachers.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 16, 2011, 12:31 amI am a liberal and I do not believe the majority of those things, so please watch your all encompassing and slightly ignorant statements. And multiculturalism and environmentalism need to be taught in the schools. I am not socialist in any way but I do believe that everyone should have access to an education because an educated and informed public will ALWAYS make a government run more smoothly because the people can actually be involved in it.
Posted by M. Petersen | July 29, 2011, 6:25 amIf you believe that multiculturalism should be taught then you are the “slightly” ignorant one… after all that would mean you would have to teach the culture that treats women like second class citizens and that a husband has a right to beat his wife… in fact it is expected.
Yeah that is what I want my kids to be taught. You my friend must be BLISSFUL.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 31, 2011, 10:18 amA liberal is someone who is for liberty BUT most socialists call themselves liberals as a cover. In the same vein many socialists call themselves conservatives. These neo-cons and neo-libs are the ones who believe government knows best.
Since socialists call themselves liberals, many paleo-liberals have started to call themselves libertarians. Now, although the true sense of ‘liberal’ can be discerned as being pro-freedom, the concept of conservative is a mystery. At heart, it means “Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change.” but how does that square with a conservative movement for change? Perhaps viewing conservation in the sense of a museum or wildlife refuge is more appropriate in that one wants to restore things to how they were. To be honest, that is not quite accurate either as things were never as good as history teaches. The ‘Spirit of ’76′ was just that, a concept or goal but never reality. So a conservative then is working to maintain a moral structure and morality necessitates freedom whilst a liberal is working to maintain freedom and freedom necessitate moral action.
So all conservatives are liberals but neo-cons and neo-liberals are really just socialists and should be identified as such.
Posted by Able Danger | October 8, 2012, 7:14 amThat is why we need to listen to what someone says and perceive what they do before we believe what they call themselves.
Posted by Jim Blockey | January 15, 2013, 10:14 amJim, I’m not sure we want to declare war on liberal teachers. How about ineffective ones? I agree with you that we need to change the culture, the textbooks and address the political bias in the system. How likely is that. Not very. I really think the only thing we can do is develop and alternative through school vouchers and by creating actual schools that work well. Kids will flock to schools that get them into good colleges, that give them actual job skills when they graduate and which work effectively with kids who have learning problems. I worry about making this a political pogrom, though I’m an East Texas conservative down to my bones and would love to see some of the liberal classroom demagogues silenced or at least to have their students given the option to abandon them for teachers who teach them things worth knowing instead of the political fairy tales they’re getting now.
If we teach our kids to think, to reason and to choose based on thought and reason, we’ll change the world in spite of everything. I’m pretty sure, though, that the school system is so infested with bad teaching and bad policy that the only way we’re going to effect change is by providing a healthy alternative that allows the sick patient to go ahead and die a natural death. If a teacher like Marva Collins can turn a garage into a school and teach kids who got kicked out of Chicago public schools to read Plato, spell from a college level spelling book and ace their college entrance exams, then the rest of us decent teachers ought to be able to do the same. It’s a matter of will and courage and getting ourselves organized.
Good luck. I got fired from my last school 30 years ago the same year I brought my classroom full of ADHD elementary students up an average of three grade levels on their Achievement tests in just one year. The parents were praying I’d stay another year while the school board was destroying my reputation.
I’ve been working with kids, the disabled, seniors and low income families in nonprofit organizations ever since. I’ve started 5 new nonprofits – one of them a school and was ED of a multi-generational day care center. I’ve seen what good teaching can do when unhampered by willful educational ignorance. I took the teachers I had and helped them become the teachers they wanted to be. Not all of them could do it. Many left willingly. Other good ones took their places, thrilled to work in an environment where good teaching was rewarded and supported.
Keep up the fight my friend.
Tom King – Tyler, TX
Posted by Tom King | July 15, 2011, 4:53 pmDefine an ineffective teacher?
I am all for vouchers, but do you really believe it will make much of an impact. Anyone not going the school they are zoned for will have to transport their child to school everyday… how many parents do you think could actually do that? Especially those in the poorer zones.
You can silence liberal teachers by taking the social subjects out of the classroom.
You teach children to think and reason, by teaching them to read first and then research everything they hear. In other words if the newspapers and tv news stations say something, look it up. We don’t even teach the correct way learn how to read.
I was fired a few years ago and fought to get my job back… I won, received my back pay and was totally vindicated.
I am not declaring war on anyone… All I am saying is that Conservative’s need to stop teacher bashing… believe it or not there are not that many bad teachers out there… there are many frustrated ones and many liberal ones, but I told you how we could fix that. Not all liberal teachers are bad teachers… they just need to be limited on their liberal teachings.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 16, 2011, 12:39 amJim- I agree that instead of removing subjects from the classroom you should instead teach the children to research anything that they hear or read. And you are right, I worked in the college system and am going to back to school in order to teach college and you folks would be amazed at the papers that I graded where the student A) couldn’t read a simple text, B) couldn’t analyze it they could only recite and C) was not able to use simple spelling and grammar rules. So before you start blaming teachers, take a look at the material and style that the students are being exposed to in high school. The literature and history they are taught is a joke and in no way prepares them for college.
Posted by Brandy Arena | July 29, 2011, 6:21 amThank You… there are intelligent people out there that are not afraid of common sense.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 31, 2011, 10:19 amA liberal is not always someone who thinks that the government knows best. And to tell you the truth, true liberal free thinkers tend to make the best teacher. The problem with the conservative education system is that it is based on getting a student to regurgitate facts, which is a huge detriment when they get to college. They need to be taught how to think with an open mind and for themselves because that is what colleges expect them to do. A college professor does not want to hear regurgitated ideas from the student’s parents or a textbook, they want the student to think for themselves. What you consider “liberal teachings” are actually things a student needs to learn, whether you like it or not, to not only survive in the college atmosphere but to thrive in it.
Posted by Brandy Arena | July 29, 2011, 6:18 amWhat is a free thinker? Someone who believes there are no absolute right or wrongs. Our Founding Fathers were not “free thinkers.” They were just “free.” Big difference… Let parents decide how to raise their children, what is right and wrong. And yes regurgitating is much of what school is about. In fact to be a lawyer you must regurgitate 99 percent of the time… Doctors need to be able to regurgitate our body parts and what they do. It is you “liberal” free thinkers that have turned learning facts into a bad word, “regurgitating.” You have turned people with morals and conviction into intolerant people. You have turned lack of respect from children into freedom of expression. You have turned thinking for yourself into free thinking.
School is a place to learn, not express your feelings and to learn to think for yourself is a big difference than free thinking.
Our country was founded on the government seldom, if ever, knowing what is best.
Socialism is when the government believes it knows best “most” of the time.
Liberal teachers do not teach the truth… the teach that truth is what each individual believes… and that my friend is called anarchy and the worst kind of teacher.
Posted by Jim Blockey | July 31, 2011, 10:30 amI want any teacher out if they do not understand what their job is. Bad teachers abuse children mentally and physically sometimes. They impart their political ideology on our children and though I am conservative I do not believe any teacher should impart their political preference upon my child. I have dealt with many bad teachers and have lead the charge to see some of them driven to another type of employment. Conservative or Liberal a bad teacher must go.
Posted by Basharr | July 10, 2012, 10:46 amThat does not necessarily make them a bad teacher… We must take that ability away from them by going back to JUST the basics. If at that time they decide to liberalize our children, then they can be removed.
Currently we allow teachers (liberal mostly) to impart their political preference.
Posted by Jim Blockey | August 29, 2012, 2:21 pm