Dave Koven
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On the article 7 of 10 Fox Point-Bayside Teachers Targeted for Layoffs Spared
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On the article How Much Soda is Too Much?
Dave Koven
1:50 pm on Sunday, May 12, 2013
ReplyWhat a non-issue! Maybe if we set a limit of 100 oz. cups, people could get fitter by having to carry their drink around. We could also require that all public restrooms be pay toilets, and use the money to fix the schools or lower property taxes.
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On the article Statewide Reading, Math Scores for Southeastern Wisconsin School Districts
Dave Koven
11:32 am on Sunday, May 5, 2013
ReplyHere's a shocker...The kids who do well work harder than those who don't. They listen to the teacher and ask questions. At home, they do their homework and their parents go over it with them. If something is not understood, they come to school the next day with questions for the teacher. They also use their study halls efficiently to help them have more time for extracurriculars like sports.
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On the article Taxpayers To Pay Up to $2 Million to Move 1,300 People Buried In County Cemetery
Dave Koven
9:42 am on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
ReplyWhile we should maintain a certain level of respect for those who have gone before, by use of a marker or plaque, there should be a point at which it becomes a bit useless. The civil war has been over for some time now. Do we really have to pore over thousands of bones to find one man? These people were indigent, so they probably don't have any relatives who would want them reburied somewhere in their family's plot. Anthropologically, in my opinion, about all that could be learned would be how people's health was in the past. While mildly interesting, is this worth the millions that could better be spent on the education of living children?
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On the article Is The UW System Holding Too Much Money in Reserve?
Dave Koven
4:47 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
ReplyPaul Revere...You're so full of crap your eyes are brown. Oooooh The teachers are coming, the teachers are coming! Flee! Flee! They all want to get paid for doing nothing, and they're going to party on your tax dollar. Greed...whose greed? You sound like someone who wants all the benefits of a school system, but not have to pay for it. You seem to be content to have other "slaves of labor", teachers, work for nothing.
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On the article Is The UW System Holding Too Much Money in Reserve?
Dave Koven
12:53 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2013
Yankee victor...You are right on target. "Use it or lose it" govt. funding is a prescription for disaster. A lot of spending goes to buy things that are not needed and end up being wasted.
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On the article How Much Do School Administrators Make?
Dave Koven
12:42 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2013
ReplyTeachers and administrators often have the same levels of education, but teachers receive roughly half the salary. It usually takes about 4-6 years before a Supt. of schools angers enough people before he/she moves on to peddle their tired ideas in a different district. They move and they move, and I don't see education turning itself around. When they leave their offices for a luncheon or whatever, nobody knows they are gone. When a teacher has to leave the building, everyone knows because their kids have to be handled one way or another so chaos doesn't occur. At the very least, teachers need secretarial help far more than a Supt. does to schedule conferences and help with grading and report writing and parent contacts. Education has become so politicized that any creativity usually came from the TEACHERS and moved on up. They were fulfilling the administrator's leadership job because it was too politically dangerous for administrators to espouse on their own. You don't want to rile any one up. They just wanted to be around for the photo op if an idea was working well. That was when teachers had a union to protect their rights to "just cause" in firing, free speech, and other issues. The union is gone, and so will be the creativity. Basically, it is upside down. The people who do the real work of a school district (teaching) should be paid the most, and get the most resources for direct use with the kids, and the guy who looks after the building a good deal less.
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On the article Wisconsin Math, Reading Test Scores Take a Hit with Higher Standards
Dave Koven
4:57 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
ReplyActually, my butt is kind of sore too from sitting here too long. You have to pick a side, and I think I've got the correct one. Rest easy, you are entitled to be wrong. Try to enjoy and learn from the experience. lol
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On the article Wisconsin Math, Reading Test Scores Take a Hit with Higher Standards
Dave Koven
3:46 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
ReplyDung...I will consider you mindless until I see evidence of you being able to look at BOTH sides of an issue.
Greg...If someone can't describe a lousy situation without you telling them they are "playing the victim card", there really is no hope of getting things to become better. Public workers do not exist for people like you to keep expecting more and more from them. If one cannot discuss reality, you will solve the wrong problems.
At any rate, My head is sore from banging up against your brick wall mentalities. "There's no one so blind as he who will not see". Have an O.K. day. -
On the article Wisconsin Math, Reading Test Scores Take a Hit with Higher Standards
Dave Koven
3:31 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
ReplyDung...And what a piece of legislation it was! Wow! It only eliminated the rights and protections of all unionized public workers, workers who had given things up in fair negotiations for. For every benefit they received, they had to give something up. There was no "free rides" for workers. When an impasse was reached, an arbitrator who was neutral was called in. More often than not, they sided with the workers. The reason for this was because the worker's causes were just. What made the whole affair even nastier was that at no time did Walker say he was going to eliminate unions and their worker protections as part of his campaigning. He just sprung it on the people once elected. Fairness would dictate more openness than he showed. The legal demonstrations in Madison? I think Walker got off lucky. This is no man I want running my entire country. How are all of his promises working out , so far? I don't see too much more than a guy writing his autobiography in preparation for his shot at President, taking a junket to China, redistricting (gerrymandering), and trying to create new ID cards so it will be harder for poorer people to vote. Some record.
Dave Koven
10:14 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
If people, in general had a true love of learning, they would not be piling their acrimony on teachers. Teachers don't "cry", but they do worry and have serious realistic concerns about having some job security so they can take care of their families too. The days of Ichabod Crane are over. You don't harbor negative feelings, and pile blame for every little thing that goes wrong on the very people you are counting on to meet your children's needs. Teaching, and perhaps police work are the kinds of endeavors that no matter what you do, you are going to make someone angry. There will always be some parent who feels their little prince or princess didn't get treated "fairly". A mother who supports the PTA disappears the moment her child graduates, so this support cannot be counted on, on a regular basis. If there are unpopular policies in place, it was not the teachers who put them there. Teachers often do not agree with what they are told to do, but if they disagree, they are considered "insubordinate." One thing is for sure about education. It is not cheap if it is done right. Just as the church should be separated from state affairs, politics should be separated from education issues. Kids need what they need to learn, and teachers need what they need to provide a quality education.