SwiftVets.com

[academicanarchist]

I am new to this forum, but have followed the story for the last couple of weeks. Call me a doubting Thomas, and I am sure that similar questions have been raised regarding the appearance of this organization during an election year. I am a registered independent, and have not decided how I will vote in November, although I do not like the current president. In previously visiting the web site and reading the mission statement, I was struck by one thing: the claim that the purpose of the organization is to get to the truth of the presidential candidates. And for me the plural here is important, because all that I have seen are attacks on Kerry and no discussion about Bush's many lies. Case in point, his most recent campaign ad talks about his education reforms in Texas during his term as governor. I live in Texas and am very familiar with the education system in Texas. The truth is that the ad is not accurate or even close to being correct. Now here is the delemma. Everything that I have seen on this web site makes me believe that the group is really a surrogate for the Bush campaign. The fact that only Kerry is criticized by the organization supports my view. WHere is the search for the truth about both candidates? Or is my conclusion that this is just a thinly disguised Republican front accurate?

[NecAsperaTerra]

Follow the money.

Keep your eye on FEC.Gov and see how this 527 is funded and what they do with their funds.

Why would they go to the trouble of setting up a Political Action Committee (PAC) if all they want is "the truth?"

[academicanarchist]

If they have set up a pac, I would be curious to see where the money is going, although I would not be surprised.

[Marine's Wife]

I also live in Texas. Ann Richards was whining every day that we'd have to close many of the schools for lack of funds. When a reporter asked her why we couldn't use some of the money generated by the Lottery,to keep the schools open her reply was "Walll we don't know for shore we can keep on a doin'that"! (Real intelligent answer.)

When George Bush was elected,one of the first things he did,was to tell the teachers,and schools that hired them,that, "if you want to keep your job,and keep the schools open,you will have to be re certified.We're not pouring more sand down the rat hole"...Well, you should have heard the complaints and whines. But he stuck to what he'd said, they were recertified,and the schools stayed open.The kids LEARNED instead of being passed on.
He carried the same message to the Whitehouse. He's sticking to it. In a test only last week a school in PA. found that 42% of their Middleschool TEACHERS couldn't pass the English tests. 50% couldn't pass the Math. Guess that explains to most of us what he meant when he said "NO CHILD left behind." I don't recall him saying the teachers,and school wouldn't be left behind,if they didn't get their act together.

[academicanarchist]

Is this, by any chance, the same George Bush that lied in 2000, claiming responsibility for education reforms in Texas implemented before he became governor, and recommended by the Perot commission. Is this the same George Bush who talked about the need to improve teacher salaries in Texas, that were among the lowest in the country, but then commented to a group of teachers waiting in the capitol building in Austin waiting to talk to members of the legislature, that they were not going to get pay increases. Is this the same governor Bush of Texas, under whose administrationmore money was spent on prisons then on education? I could go on also about his selection of Rod Paige as Secretary of Education, ostensibly the top educator in the country, that made a mockery of education. I started teaching in Texas in 1990, a few years before Bush became governor, and the reforms that resulted in improved test scores were already in place and began to show results before Bush became governor. During his first gubernatorial election campaign I had a long talk with Theresa Dogget, who was on the Republican ticket that year, about Bush's stupid and racist voucher plan, which if it had been implemented in Texas would have led to even greater segretation in HISD, for example, one of the largest school districts in the country. The plan had huge flaws, and would have made a quality education available only to those wealthy enough to afford it. When you wish to discuss education with me, do your homework. Next ask me about Rod Paige.

[academicanarchist]

I live in the greater Houston area. In what part of the state are you? The Ed.D dissertation of the man that Bush named to be the top educator in the country was Interior Linemen in football. In an earlier part of his life, Paige was known as coach. Under his administration, HISD was in a shambles.

[Marine's Wife]

The "reforms" were not working! They were closing schools. ONLY after he was elected, did we see any improvement. 'Nuff said. If you want to argue,or find the truth you say you're in search of,check with the Education Dept. at Austin

[academicanarchist]

Marine Wife. The reforms took time to work, but the test scores were improving prior to Bush becoming governor. He did nothing to change the reforms that were already in place. I had children in schools in Texas throughout the 90s, and watched the improvements. The most important of the new reforms was no pass, no play, whcih of course upset many people in places like Odessa. Get your facts straight. The governor of Texas has relatively little power, when compared to the Lt. Governor and the leaders of the legislature. Your quote about the lottery money attributed to RIchards does not get to the heart of the matter. The voters in 1990 were promised that the money would go to education if they passed the lottery. However, it was the decision of the legislature to put the lottery money into the general fund.

[academicanarchist]

Do you mean the TEA? I am familiar with education in Texas, and the progress in improvements in test scores.

[carpro]

Help me out a little bit. Tell me what an anarchist is. I guess my education, small as it was, miissed that somhow. But it does sound familiar.
_________________
"If he believes his 1971 indictment of his country and his fellow veterans was true, then he couldn't possibly be proud of his Vietnam service."

[Craig]

[Craig]

[carpro]

[academicanarchist]

The "No Child Left Behind" initiative, that was developed by the TEA, is a relatively new initiative that had nothing to do with the improvement in test scores, etc.It came into being at the end of Bush's second term. In the late 1980s, a commission headed by Ross Perot recommended reforms that were implemented, and included a no pass/no play rule and standardized testing called TAAS in K-12 and TASP in Higher Education. These reforms, instituted around 1990, included several measures. One was a six week report sent to parents by the schools, so they could keep track of their childrens's school performance. Students who did not pass each six weeks would be prohibited from participating in extra cirrucular activites, such as football. Students in K-12 had to pass TAAS at different stages in school in order to advance to the next level, such as elm. school to middle school. In higher education, students must pass the TASP in order to take upper division courses. DUring the years following the implementation of these reforms, test scores and graduation rates increased, and did so before Bush became governor. Salaries for Texas teachers still rank near the bottom, and there is considerable turnover primarily because of the salaries, and measures have been taken such as provisionally accepting people without education degrees on provisional credentials. There were also incentives, such as either penalizing schools or passing out awards. All of this was in place before Bush came on the scene. The "No CHild Left Behind" is relatively new, and essentially hopes to ensure that more students graduate high school, and to increase the number of students in college. Now one final point regarding the education system in Texas. The Texas Education Code establishes the framework for K-12, such as defining the authority of principals, the rights of teachers, etc. The TEA, the state agency, establishes general policies, that can be supplemented by each school district. The state can mandate standardized tests, and under Bush the test was changed. However, each school district is independent, has its own school board that makes policy as long as the policy does not conflict with general TEA guidelines, and has its own local tax base. In higher education, 4 year colleges and universities are funded by the state, but have their own board of regents. There are fewer general guidelines for higher education. Community Colleges are funded locally. While the "No CHild Left Behind" initiative sounds good, there are some problems with it. The goals are set for 2015, and it is only being implemented over the past year. The results have not been seen yet, and the improvement in test scores resulted from the Perot reforms. Higher Education has taken a hit in funding the last couple of years, at the same time that there is an expectation for a significant increase in the number of students over the next decade. During the last legislative session (In Texas the legislature meets every 2 years, and sets the budget for 2 years), the legislature had to deal with a large deficit left over from the Bush years, and slashed the Higher Education budgets. I heard a talk a couple of months ago by a top official in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the state agency for Higher Education that mostly approves new courses and academic programs, about the grim outlook of bad budgets and the expectation for the influx of large numbers of new students. One issue that is generally not discussed in reference to education is the high and increasing cost of educational administration. Adm9inistrators in K-12 receive training, but not administrators in Higher Education. Several years ago the group I work for had a bill passed that prohibits Higher Education administrators going back to the classroom with their inflated administrative salaries, which had been a common practice.
Anarchists were a political group founded in the late 19th century, dedicated to undermining government authority. They were left of groups such as the socialists. I took the handle many years ago, when I worked in Higher Education. There is a lot of B.S> in Higher Education, particularly super egos.I took the handle because my scholarly activity has included a lot of bashing of medire scvholars who publish, and are in love with themselves. I have a reputation in my academic field of being a severe critic, and am unpopular in some circles because I have a bad habit of speaking my mind.

[carpro]

[quote="academicanarchist"]. DUring the years following the implementation of these reforms, test scores and graduation rates increased, and did so before Bush became governor. quote]

Small question here, and as an education expert , you're in a position to answer it.

How much time were teachers spending teaching students how to take the tests?
_________________
"If he believes his 1971 indictment of his country and his fellow veterans was true, then he couldn't possibly be proud of his Vietnam service."