I refuse to believe these bastards represent any of the American people.

[number9]

http://www.nynews.com/newsroom/072603/a01p26headstartwest.html

The House of Representatives is insane. Period.

[Ekaterina]

1. disgusting

Isn't the DOE under the direction of some Faith-Based crackpot?? Requiring all HeadStart teachers to be certified in early child education? Hmmm, good idea. And where is the funding going to come from for their SALARIES?? In this state, many teachers start off making nearly $40k/yr in public schools. I somehow doubt HeadStart teachers make nearly that much. So, when the teachers aren't certified (or they can't find certified teachers to work for the salary paid by HeadStart) I suppose they'll then have the impetus they need to close down those worthless programs......oh, you're right. They stopped serving the PUBLIC need long long ago....but then, that was pretty obvious when we got a criminal and his henchman appointed over our majority.

:puke:

[Le Taz Hot]

2. Pathetic

I know this post is a bit off-topic but one sentence in the article stood out like a beacon for me:

Those centers, however, could see their money disappear if they fail to meet the bill's standards, which include standardized tests of children's academic readiness.

This is happening all over the country and not just in Head Start -- it's happening in all grades and has to do with the "No Child Left Behind" legislation.

My husband and I have a business that involves the standardized testing issue (among many other issues). I've done literally hundreds of hours of research on this and I'd need several volumes to explain the holes in is. One of the things we did find, however, is that the most widely-used textbooks DO NOT include standards-based instruction. Think of it this way. Your kid goes through 9 months of school, uses a math textbook that the TEXTBOOK PUBLISHER claims are grade appropriate and standards specific. Kid gets to the end of the year and takes the assessment for his/her grade and finds a he/she has not been given sufficient (if any) instruction on the questions being asked. There is currently NO correlation between standards, textbooks, instruction and assessment.

We just finished analyzing some of the most widely used textbooks in the nation and comparing them with one state's academic standards. The results: Less than 50% of EACH textbook covered the state standards for those particular grades. So, basically, students are being tested on areas they have not been taught.

[Punkingal]

4. Also, isn't there pressure on teachers......

to make sure they do well on the tests? I read somewhere about teachers complaining (I think it was in Texas), that they spend all their time doing test prep, instead of teaching. It really sounds like a mess either way.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. That and many other issues

in some districts, teachers are not allowed to use supplementary materials, i.e., they MUST teach from such-and-such textbook which, most likely, does not cover all required standards.

Ideally, teachers are SUPPOSED to teach to the standards but, instead, are being pressured to teach to the tests -- which is virtually impossible because in most states, the content of the tests are not revealed.

Another problem is that not all states have esablished grade-level standards or have but they're so nebulous that it's impossible to teach to.

You're right, it's a HUGE mess. The company my husband and his partner started are addressing this issue in a big way -- along with the correlating assessment problem. We've just finished the analysis on one state and administrators were aghast at what the data revealed. One state down, 49 to go.

[Eloriel]

7. Hmmmm

The two of your posts makes me wonder if this isn't somehow a setup for Neil Bush's fledgling education company.

After all, that's one of the ways the Bushies operate: create a crisis (or chaos) and then provide their "solutions." For example, there was an election mess in FL in 2000 -- and then they created the "solution" of computerized voting.

I know Neil Bush is already operating in FL.

Eloriel

[Le Taz Hot]

8. Jeb Bush? Really?

Tell me more. Any links on this?

Thanks.

[Trek234]

9. Yea

The teachers at my school (in TX) complain about that all the time.

[eyesroll]

6. Standardized tests of four-year-olds?

That sounds like a great way to ensure kids are interested in school...

And aren't nutrition and immunizations also part of "school readiness?" Have any of these people ever studied Maslow? You have to provide for your basic needs (food, water, shelter, health, survival) before you can begin to address more complex issues such as reading, or even self-esteem. A child who's chronically hungry isn't going to be interested in reading -- she's going to be concentrating on where her next meal is coming from. And a child who isn't immunized can't even go to school in most states, unless they obtain specific exemption for religious or health (allergic to the vaccine) reasons.

Take nutrition and immunizations out of Head Start, and scatter them all over the place, means one more bus trip for a single parent. Why make it more difficult?

[radwriter0555]

3. The GOP doesn't like it that kids aren't PROFITABLE in cash value

in the short term.

They like to see a higher return on our tax dollars to their pockets.

Kids aren't profitable.

[OneBlueSky]

10. 217 to 216 equals 433 voting . . .

which means, by my calculations, that two somebodies missed the vote . . . anyone know who they were? . . . think maybe Gephart was one of them (mere speculation, mind you) . . .