In universities, federally-funded research is performed in private, as well as public universities. In fact Johns Hopkins gets more federal research funding than any public university except the combined-10-campus University of California. Washington University in St. Louis gets about 5 times as much federal research funding as KU.

What does this have to do with teaching? Percentages of professors’ salaries are often comprised of portions of their research grants, and they have teaching duties. Moreover, what they perform research in gets to their classrooms. So public funding is supporting private teaching at the post-secondary level. All across America.

Moreover, students all across America use federal and state scholarships in private colleges and universities, essentially vouchers, as well as taxpayer-backed student loans.

When a public school teacher gets very sick, he or she uses public dollars to pay for private physicians, and if sick enough, private hospitalization. Some parts of the country have county or special tax-district-owned public hospitals, but Kansas doesn’t, and where they do exist along with private hospitals, most public employees choose the latter for their own healthcare.

Public K-12 education is the only institution that is happy to funnel public dollars into private enterprises, but draws an artificial line in the sand saying that it’s outrageous to allow public money to support private enterprise in the form of private educational institutions.

This is illogical. At least if the goal is to educate young people to the best of society’s ability to do so. If the goal is to provide a public work-welfare system for teachers, then we can see a logical motivation, but the former goal may not be compatible with the latter goal.

I believe a few do.

“So why is he against spending more money to get well-qualified math and science instructors.”….when did I say this? Actually I AM for this, but not in the way you want it. These teachers (not just mere instructors) need to understand the learning process, not just content. Being an engineer or scientist doesn’t make one a competent teacher.

I am NOT a Social Studies teacher. There is nothing wrong with being a Social Studies Teacher, it’s just not my area of interest. It’s too bad heartlander thinks “His writing syntax and vocabulary are too primitive for an English teacher”. THIS IS A BLOG heartlander. syntax and grammar doesn’t really matter here. At least I don’t type 20 minute tomes about mindless shi* as you do heartlander. “and his argumentation is illogical , so he’s not a math or science teacher”……..You got that one wrong there heartlander…….My “argumentation” is very logical, you just don’t get it. You let your blind hatred of the NEA and the public education system taint your judgment.

I am for choice heartlander…….You have the choice to send your children to private or parochial schools. You can even home school your children if you wish. The thing is, don’t expect taxpayers (myself included) to pay for your choices. I am for school reform, that is a constant in my profession. Just because these reforms aren’t to your liking doesn’t make them invalid. You heartlander, are statistically an outlier in your views. In the real world, outliers are known as radicals. You are entitled to your opinion, but that opinion doesn’t make it a fact.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I am essentially done with you heartlander. I have to start interacting with students today and will have little time during the school term for this type of diversion. If you really want to make a difference in the here and now heartlander might I suggest actually putting your money where your mouth is……..Why not sign up to tutor some of our more challenging students in, let’s say Math? Let’s say maybe in a Middle School. You have 16 to choose from in Wichita. Put up or shut up heartlander. If you can’t deal with reality, do not preach to those of us who do.

There are many problems in public education. Employers find that high school grads are less motivated and skilled than those of the past. Meanwhile colleges and universities have noticed subtantial non-preparedness, requiring them to expand remedial courses. Let’s see: high school grads who want to work are poorly qualified for anything beyond low-wage simple jobs, while those who want to pursue higher education aren’t prepared for it. Who is responsible for this? People like Apophis claim to be “experts”. Experts in what?

“The bottom line is that unions look out for th interests of the teachers so that the teachers can adequately look out for the best interests of the students.”

That’s a nice warm and fuzzy slogan, but where is the logical connection? If A is true, how does that imply B to be true? It doesn’t.

Unfortunately, public educators don’t think straight. The fact that kids aren’t learning as much as their brains are capable of is always somebody or something else’s fault.

A lot of old-timed doctors had this exact same attitude. If a patient died it was his or her own fault, or just fate. “We did everything we could.” It took lawyers and honest physician expert witnesses to prove doctors were at fault. Medical care improved through outside forces. Today teachers don’t want outsiders to give them direction. That’s a serious problem.

There are people teaching putative “math” and “science” courses who are certified, but not in mathematics or science. Apophis and his friends know this. They know or should know that there are plenty of mathematically and scientifically able people who could teach. But you’d have to pay them more than social studies teachers. Apophis’s view is that the open manpower market is “unfair” because it pays mathematics and science degree holders more than it pays social science and humanities degree holders. So schools’ inability to get qualified math and science teachers isn’t due to union insistence on equal salaries for all teachers, it’s the surrounding society that causes the math and science teacher shortage.

Is it in the best interests of children for those who are forced to take “math” and “science” courses taught by people who are incompetent? Particularly when this problem has a straightforward solution. Apophis went to Topeka to get more money for Wichita schools. So why is he against spending more money to get well-qualified math and science instructors.

Why are businesses willing to pay higher starting salaries to mathematicians and scientists? Because their skills are valuable. Apophis doesn’t get this. He doesn’t get it that if public schools did a much better job of teaching math and science, many more of their students could earn higher incomes as adults. Or he gets it, but finds the proposition repugnant to his view of how the world should work.

It’s funny isn’t it? Teachers don’t want to compete, but they have no problem with giving kids grades and making them compete. Actually, I had very few schoolteachers who were qualified to grade anyone. In college my professors were former “A” students in their chosen fields. But how can former “B/C” students evaluate others’ academic performance? They can’t.

How do I know this? Because nearly every near-straight-A student I knew in high school dropped to a B average their first semester in college. Some rebounded, but they had to learn how to study properly, because they didn’t know how to coming in. And that was before high school grade inflation started. Teachers don’t know how to inculcate good note-taking and study skills, because they don’t possess these skills. Any of you that have teenagers, ask them to see their class notes. Is it YOUR fault for not teaching them how to take them? Ask your kids if any teacher has ever graded their class notes and given them guidance on how to improve their note-taking.

Public schools are very strange institutions. If Apophis actually cared about children, he’d support giving them choices. But he’s basically a fixture.

BTW, the probability is pretty high that Apophis is a social studies teacher. His writing syntax and vocabulary are too primitive for an English teacher, and his argumentation is illogical , so he’s not a math or science teacher.

Teachers need a union because they have to deal with administrators and school boards.

They are not independent agents like a doctor or a lawyer who can hang out a shingle. I haven’t seen an English or a math shop lately.

They need the power of a single organization to represent them in negotiations.

If you’re a worker employed by someone else, you need a union too.

Face it…………….most of you “critics” of public education are just pawns doing the bidding of others. You do NOT have the best interests of children in mind. You just want to break another union.

They’ll just use it to hit you over the head with later.

If you say you’re poor, they tell you that you must hate and envy the rich. If you tell them you’re rich, they say you’re an elitist out of touch with the common people. If you’re well-educated, you’re an intellectual snob. If you’re not well educated, you’re a dummy. If you’re married, what woman would be stupid enough to marry YOU? If you’re not married, that’s because you are too ugly to attract a spouse.

See how it works?

Force them to stay on the issues–that’s what they have the toughest time with, heh . . .

Paul seems to think that teachers can look out for their own interests or they can look out for students’ interests, but they can’t do both at the same time.

The NEA is trying and (sometime succeeds) in reducing class size. That benefits both teachers and students.

heartlander….on a blog is is still none of your damned business what I teach even if you do pay taxes that fund my salary. I pay taxes that fund my salary too. I guess that makes me my own boss. In the real world you might be entitled to know more about my, in cyber-space you do not have that right. I will tell you that I am highly regarded in my profession by numerous groups ranging from National down to State and local organizations. Hell, the Superintendent and I are on a first name basis.

For the record, I am NOT a right wing wacko like you heartlander. I pride myself as a progressive member of the Democratic Party in this bastion of sanctimonious conservatism.

“Associations” that engage in collective bargaining, and refuse to reward exellent performance, refuse to eliminate poor performance, and disparage good ideas, are anti-professional.

For example, I have proposed that those who want to teach academic subjects to young people have 3.5-minimum GPA’s in junior and senior year academic subjects. I have proposed that middle school and high school teachers earn college of liberal arts and sciences degrees, and then undertake take MAT training to learn classroom teaching methods.

Apophis doesn’t want these things. When asked, “What do you teach?” he responds, “It’s none of your business what I teach.” Of course it is not our business, because we aren’t paying his salary. Oops. We ARE paying his salary. So it IS our business. Because it is OUR MONEY that GIVES HIM A LIVELIHOOD. Apophis wants the money Without revealing WHAT HE IS DOING TO EARN OUR MONEY.

Apophis is a Right Wing Wacko. Give me more money. I don’t have to account for it.

1. Educated and trainable workforce. Good schools, university, and training centers.

2. Low taxes and minimum regulatory enviroment.

3. Low crime

4. A positive attitude amoung the community and a good relationship to it and the local governments.

5. Transportation access, energy use and cost, and communication infrustructure.

All you do is bash the public education system and the dedicated professionals who devote their lives to the cause. SHAME ON YOU!