"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Nov.2012

Here are some pictures, graphic images and cartoons from FaceBook -- plus my own 2 cents worth of comments. Click on any image to see the full sized version.

On Being a Teacher

Teaching to "the test" is not included!

Bipartisan Agreement

This is my "election day" thought. No matter who wins today's Presidential election, unless we, as teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, do something to change people's minds, nothing will change. The selling/privatization of the nation's public schools is a mistake.



Who Will Choose to Teach?



Teach Them to Think...

...not just bubble an answer. Critical and creative thinking aren't being measured by today's tests, yet critical and creative thinking are essential for the success of our society.




Shock Therapy

I'm reminded of the discussion in The Shock Doctine, about shock therapy used on individuals and societies as a means to privatization.
...those in power use times of crisis to push through undemocratic and extreme free market economic policies...
such as mayoral control of school systems, instead of elected school boards...corporate charter boards instead of elected school boards...

Public School Teachers: Miracles Performed Daily

We have millions of dedicated, hard working, competent teachers in public school classrooms around the country. They deserve better than to be mis-characterized as lazy, incompetent, money-grubbing, selfish union thugs. We teach because we value learning and children.
“I touch the future. I teach.” -- Christa McAuliffe



Exploration



Reading

We teach reading to create a society of life-long learners.


Values

What does our society value?

Do we value creativity? Understanding? Or do we value money and power. Why are billionaires who have never attended or worked in a public school accepted as experts on education? Why do politicians, pundits and policy makers ignore the experience of teachers when they make their punitive attacks on public education, public school teachers and public sector unions? Why aren't the people who caused our current economic problems held accountable?

Why does one of the richest nation's on Earth allow a fourth of their children to live in poverty?



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Stop the Testing Insanity!


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