D N Duck

So under your plan we write off a bunch of kids. You don't want them to read and could care less if they get the skills they will need to succeed in life. You MUST be a baby boomer! You want every kid to have a trophy and its ok if they fail.....Sorry it doesn't work that way. Every child MUST be educated to the fullest. We have a basic standard; every kid at certain ages, such as fourth grade, be able to read at a basic level. If they can't there is no way they can succeed at moving forward. From what I get from you the "bottom" ten percent should be passed anyway because who cares, teachers have better kids to work with.....The whole idea of letting teachers "just teach" is a joke. Teachers are like any other profession, there are outstanding and there are very poor performers. For the first time in history teachers are being held accountable and they HATE it. Good. Fire the ones that can't cut it and get people who can. As too standards being scaled or wrong; revisit them and adjust if it makes sense however the basic standard of EVERY child being able to do basic math, reading, etc is not negotiable. At the schools my kids go to all fourth graders passed.....We have immigrants, non English speakers, etc. Wonder how they did it....hmmmm Maybe the schools that aren't making it should check out the ones that are! (Monday Dec 28 | post #103)

The article and you state: "And, as the article states, it doesn't count if you bring one failing subgroup up to standard, because if a different subgroup drops below target, you still fail." You have issues with this? I don't! I do NOT want you to concentrate on one group to the detriment of the others. If the system needs to be fixed then fix it. The concept of holding schools accountable is valid! (Monday Dec 28 | post #102)

How many Minnesota schools are failing? Compare that to the total and figure out what your percentage is.....then you have a basis to start to decide if the requirements are unrealistic..... (Sunday Dec 27 | post #69)

How many schools are failing? How many are close like this one? How many are doing fine? The schools my kids go to are doing great....but the board is proactive in holding teachers accountable AND rewarding teachers who do well.........Schoo ls must be held accountable or only the few kids that the teacher likes (can we say that have natural ability?) do well. (Sunday Dec 27 | post #68)

I don't have the answer...I do know we have to hold schools accountable. If not then only the few excel. This at least puts pressure on the school to really work with the kids that need it. The problem as far as I can tell is that the system was written when there was plenty of cash to bring in "extra" teachers to help bring them up. That is not our current reality. The standards need to be revisited and set appropriately. The same standard for the school; not sub groups. Every kid deserves the same chance to succeed. (Sunday Dec 27 | post #56)

http://www.google. com/imgres?imgurl= http://blogs.villa gevoice.com/music/ images/interview-v ic-chesnutt.jpg &imgrefurl=htt p://blogs.villagev oice.com/music/arc hives/2008/10/excl usive_download_vic _chesnutt_and_elf_ power_little_fucke r.php&h=547 &w=400&sz= 191&tbnid=PeBX 4Lth4vkymM:&tb nh=133&tbnw=97 &prev=/images% 3Fq%3Dpictures%2Bo f%2BVic%2BChesnutt &usg=__RyJ5p-i 8JKocfVa6nUjugNgle sQ=&ei=z2U2S8y CBcHPlAfQi8SbBA &sa=X&oi=i mage_result&re snum=5&ct=imag e&ved=0CA8Q9QE wBA has a interview with him. Read it and then decide how down trodden he was. The dude had world by the short hairs.....many loved his work. He didn't. (Saturday Dec 26 | post #39)

A right to health-care? Rights are those things that are so basic to the human condition that they are"guarantee d". Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from oppression, etc. None of these require anyone else to do something for you. The right to health-care? That insinuates I MUST pay for you to get health-care. Bull. This is a tragic but telling story....he was kept alive by a hospital...he was treated by a physician or he wouldn't have gotten the medicine he overdosed on. In the end what he didn't do was live and health-care, republican, democrats, etc had nothing to do with it. We don't know about the crash other than he was drunk; was he trying to kill himself? Was he coming home from a party? The saddest thing of all is that he isn't here to discuss it. As to why me? I have said it and ten minutes later met someone who was much worse off and was a whole lot happier! You are right, why me happens to us all; its how we handle it that matters. Most of us realize we have to overcome it and we do...Some can't or won't. I truly feel for them as much as I can however I can't obligate my children to pay for them. If he was disabled he was also getting government paid health insurance already....think about it! (Saturday Dec 26 | post #38)

Sorry but I can't' give out my real name and city as my employer won't allow it. (Bills must be paid hence the job must be kept) So what I have done is created an account so that people have the ability to contact me directly via it should they so desire; it also allows people who disagree or happen to agree to see when I have posted. (Saturday Dec 26 | post #21)

Your point is taken and agreed to. Politics and suicide really don't belong together. (Saturday Dec 26 | post #20)

Cougar caught on camera in western Wisconsin

Dennis Leary said it best: cute little seal, you get to live, ugly pig-you die, cute wolf, you live, ugly cow, you die....... (Saturday Dec 26 | post #15)

You miss the point. We all have made mistakes. We all have to live with and overcome those mistakes. Vic wasn't able to. He took his own life. I didn't, you didn't, no one else did; he did. From the little we can get off the net he was in pain; fought depression and in the end lost. It wasn't a republican or a democrat that killed him; it wasn't health care or lack of it that killed him; in the end it appears he killed himself. Was he sick? I would say yes however he would say no. Listen to his music and it tells you that he was not sick you and I are.... As to Christ; you have to go to him to be saved......... Happy New Year. (Saturday Dec 26 | post #12)

He was driving drunk.....What part of personal responsibility don't you get? It is a tragedy anytime someone commits suicide. There is no second chance. The life that could have been can't be at that point. But back to the point of public welfare for all. Why? There are many places that could have helped; the devastated family maybe? He apparently didn't want help. What he wanted was to end the disaster he made. Not anyone else. When he drove drunk he made a decision that affected the rest of his life.....I pray for him that he is at peace......but I somehow doubt it. (Saturday Dec 26 | post #11)

Cougar caught on camera in western Wisconsin

The Nut Judger must be from the City.....Never had your dog, cat, horse, sheep, cattle killed and eaten...... (Thursday Dec 24 | post #13)

Cougar caught on camera in western Wisconsin

You can only shoot it if it is trying to kill you....its fine if it kills your dog, cat, cattle, sheep, etc...... (Tuesday Dec 22 | post #5)