Ignorance Rules Supreme

Posted by Flatnose

Americans vastly underestimate spending on schools and teacher salaries, survey finds

Americans have a thoroughly confused grasp of how much is currently being spent on public education, reports a recent analysis of national survey results published in the summer issue of Education Next magazine.

William Howell, of the University of Chicago, and Martin R. West, of Brown University, report that "the average respondent surveyed in 2007 thought per pupil spending in their district was just $4,231 dollars, even though the actual average spending per pupil among districts was $10,377 in 2005 (the most recent year for which data are available)."

This misunderstanding may be a major factor behind public support for initiatives to increase spending on schools and teacher salaries, says Education Next.

Howell and West also found Americans think that teachers earn far less than is actually the case. On average, the public underestimated average teacher salaries in their own state by $14,370. The average estimate among survey respondents was $33,054, while average teacher salary nationally in 2005 was actually $47,602.

Almost 96 percent of the public underestimate either per-pupil spending in their districts or teacher salaries in their states.

Read the entire article here.

Lynn Warne is dense, or thinks you are'

Posted by Flatnose

Mike Antonucci, in the latest Intelligence Agency report:

Sometimes I just can't believe what I'm reading. I read it once, read it again, and read it a third time, wondering if the people involved are dense, or whether they think we're dense. Case in point, a story in the Las Vegas Sun headlined "Mischief-making blockers are signature gatherers' bane."

The story describes a petition blocking campaign in Nevada. The Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) is gathering signatures to put an initiative on the ballot that would increase the state's gaming tax from 6.75 percent to 9.75 percent. Activists opposed to the initiative show up at signature-gathering sites and shout, argue and attempt to dissuade potential signers.

I have always found the practice appalling. More appalling, however, is reading that NSEA President Lynn Warne called it "thug tactics."

The Sun, of course, doesn't delve into the irony and hypocrisy of Warne's statement. Signature-blocking campaigns have a long and notorious history, almost always being the work of labor unions and their allies. This web site ties its origin to union activists in Oregon in 2001, but the practice goes back to at least 1993, when the California Teachers Association utilized it in an attempt to keep a voucher initiative off the ballot. CTA President Del Weber rationalized it by saying, "There are some proposals that are so evil that they should never even be presented to the voters."

One might argue that Warne could be unaware of signature-blocking's origins. Except that the method was used by Nevadans for Nevada two years ago in an effort to keep the Tax and Spending Control initiative off the ballot. The group was accused of using physical intimidation, prompting a lawsuit. NSEA was a member of Nevadans for Nevada, donating $25,000 to the group.

Well, you might say, that was before Warne became NSEA president. Except the "signature" moment of Warne's tenure so far has been her lawsuit to prevent Obama-leaning casino employees from participating in last January's Nevada caucuses.

And then there's the little matter of NSEA's education support affiliate and Teamsters Local 14. Talk about glass houses and stones.

Teachers agree: It's hard to get dead wood out of the schools

Posted by Flatnose

Teachers weigh in on tenure, evaluations

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD

WASHINGTON (AP) — Think it's hard for schools to get bad teachers out of the classroom? Turns out teachers agree.

More than half of teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher, according to a survey released Tuesday evening by the Education Sector, a nonpartisan think tank.

Tenure provides teachers with job security and generally is awarded a few years after educators enter the profession. It is supposed to ensure teachers can't be fired at the whim of a principal or angry parent.

But it also can make it extremely difficult to dismiss a teacher who is doing a bad job, said Sabrina Silverstein, a Chicago pre-kindergarten teacher.
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