In A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge (December 1778) Thomas Jefferson wrote, “experience hath shewn, that… those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be to illuminate… the minds of the people at large.”
But what happens when those entrusted with the educating of the minds of the people at large become another arm of that tyranny?
Jefferson spent the better part of his life advocating for public education – much different from the system of education that we have in place today – eventually founding the University of Virginia in 1819. If he were alive today we can only guess what he would think of the culture of corruption that runs rampant in our public school districts, which seem to be more focused on Federal funding and government sponsored curriculum that is designed, not to illuminate, but rather, to indoctrinate:
Teachers spent nights huddled in a back room, erasing wrong answers on students’ test sheets and filling in the correct bubbles. At another school, struggling students were seated next to higher-performing classmates so they could copy answers.
Those and other confessions are contained in a new state report that reveals how far some Atlanta public schools went to raise test scores in the nation’s largest-ever cheating scandal. Investigators concluded that nearly half the city’s schools allowed the cheating to go unchecked for as long as a decade, beginning in 2001.
Administrators – pressured to maintain high scores under the federal No Child Left Behind law – punished or fired those who reported anything amiss and created a culture of “fear, intimidation and retaliation,” according to the report released earlier this month, two years after officials noticed a suspicious spike in some scores.
The report names 178 teachers and principals, and 82 of those confessed. Tens of thousands of children at the 44 schools, most in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, were allowed to advance to higher grades, even though they didn’t know basic concepts.
Source: Huff Post
If you ever wondered why 20% of Americans can’t read basic text or identify information based on basic text cues this is a large part of the reason. It is not about education. It is about covering asses and making sure the Federal government deposits the district’s yearly spending check. If that means having sixth graders reading at second grade level, so be it. It’s all about the money, not the children as many teachers’ unions would have us believe.
We often discuss the culture of corruption that pervades the halls of Congress and Washington D.C. Is it any wonder when we have teachers and school administrators modifying test scores and homework assignments in order to keep their federally funded programs going?
What, pray tell, should we expect from our future generations when we are educating them on how to cheat, lie, steal and intimidate others to maintain the status quo?
I’ll be that if you look at inner city schools nationwide you’d find widespread cheating going on every single day.
Certain segments of American society continually want something for nothing, are unwilling to work hard to succeed and they have been raised looking for ways to cheat the system. Welfare is designed to make people like that.
South Fulton County/Atlanta public schools are about 97% black and they are a joke. Everyone in Georgia knows it.
Bring on the Vouchers! Let us choose where we want to send our kids!
are you suggesting that black people lack the same moral character as white people? why would the race of the people attending a district matter in determining whether or not they’re worthy of funds? you almost made it under the radar of an outright bigot…
what’s even more funny is how everybody acts like they’re appalled that anyone would cheat when performance is tied to funds. clearly lapses in judgment and character would occur when billions of dollars are riding on test performance.
+++1, exactly! In the end the student, especially has been failed and the workingman taxpayer, robbed.
Of course he’s a bigot!! It doesn’t matter his facts are correct. The only way he could not be a bigot is if he pointed out a white community that did it. Oh wait, there’s not one. That in itself must be bigoted and probably rascist and homophobic.
Just callin’ the kettle what it is. None of the predominantly white ones haven’t been charged. Oh, and it’s not just this county. There are others in Georgia too. Do the research before you comment and you’ll see.
There is a serious problem in certain school districts. And I promise its not just in Georgia.
haven’t been charged? good to hear that georgia has reached a point of reconciliation in their race politics where it can be assured that both blacks and whites are treated the same.
this race angle you’re pushing is nothign but thinly veiled bigotry. you think that white people aren’t capable of, or are so much better than blacks, that they don’t need to cheat. that’s the underlying point of all your ranting.
No Sam, the point is that white districts aren’t doing it. Nor do they need to. That’s a fact, not bigotry or racism. You are welcome to find a 95% white district in Georgia that is cheating as proof if you like.
Nice try though.
Go back to huffington post. It suits you better.
It matters not what color the student is, the fact is that these kids become adults who are uneducated and the only thing they are good at are breeding and collecting again from the taxpayer. They fall on us to collect again, and our taxes paid for the cheating. I happen to agree with Mr. Blutarsky and there was no bigotry in his comment. Time to close the schools down and start all over. Starting with testing teachers who claim they are qualified to teach, then drug test them.
Take of your “diversity” blinders. It is what it is. USA can no longer afford to keep it’s head in it’s anus.
you’re absolutely right!!! it IS what it IS: it is cheating by students and teachers at the behest of administration. whether those students, teachers, or administration are white, black, or martian matters not in any context besides that dreamt up by a crypto racist.
Take your rose colored glasses off Sam. Have you ever visited a section eight housing? Have your wife held up at gun point? Live in a murder capitol city? Attempted robbery? Pulled a 870 to defend your life? Cleared your business after a break in at 01:30? It is what it is.
The white man comes from cold Europe where winters were the enemy. Working hard during the summer gathering and curing food and firewood. Cheating caused censure and laziness and stupidity caused death from hunger and hypothermia. Cooperation and trust created communities, towns, trade, writing, money. Here in Africa communities were not required as there was enough food in the bush, from animals to fruits. Even the lazy had food. The cheat went from clan to clan. This abundance of sustenance required no property, no clothes, no building, no communication, no trade and hence no record keeping. Everybody had their daily feed for free. Still people here in Africa want things for free without any effort. The White man’s state systems are used by those in power to indeed get things for free. Possibly Darwin had a point….maybe there is something realistic in the genes.
Mr. B: I am not so sure “vouchers” are a good idea either, but I will admit that I don’t know how vouchers are administered.
The reason I question vouchers is that I believe the catholic schools will use vouchers as a way to fund the education of Illegals.
I do not want tax dollars funding invaders.
Durango. Tax dollars are already funding invaders! They are ALL attending public schools – without documentation. You are already paying for them.
Oh, I know that I want that eliminated too!
Yeah, illegal invaders already pay 70% less than citizens for college tuition here in CA.
Yes again on the Catholic church – they love illegals fannys filling thier pughs, more money for their already bloated coffers and a great reason to beg for donations because the illegals are soooo poor.
I’ve stopped giving to ALL charity except those for animals (and thats rare). I feel I pay enough for the poor thru my tax dollars. I can hardly wait to beat feet out of this state. I hate it here even tho it’s my native home state.
As the state heads toward bankruptcy, CA legislators work hard to ensure that illegal aliens will get access to financial aid …
http://derailamnestydotcom.blogspot.com/2011/07/ab-540-whats-wrong-with-this-picture.html
AB 540 – What’s Wrong With This Picture?
If you have children or pay taxes in California, there are two things you should definitely know:
– The cost of tuition for Californians at University of California campuses has more than tripled in the last ten years (http://facts.ucdavis.edu/annual_fees_and_tuition.lasso).
– The cost of tuition for illegal alien Californians at University of California campuses, within the past ten years, dropped over 70% (http://tinyurl.com/3hxb46x).
As this blog entry is being written, each of the following is also true:
– A U.S. citizen from Phoenix, Reno or Denver, who took 12 units at San Jose State this past semester, paid $7254.00 in tuition and fees.
– An illegal alien who lives in Los Angeles, Watsonville or Santa Clara, who took 12 units at San Jose State this past semester, paid $2790.00 in tuition and fees.
– California community colleges, California State universities, and branches of the University of California, have substantially reduced the number of courses available and laid off staff members due to budget cuts. The budget cuts have been in excess of 1.2 billion dollars.
– California taxpayers will be subsidizing, at a total cost approaching one million dollars, the reduced tuition rates available to California illegal aliens who take courses this coming year at Santa Ana College, Los Angeles City College and Harbor College.
– Full-time student tuition for an illegal alien in California, at UC Santa Cruz, will be $11,220.00 this coming year. This is a substantially reduced rate that is $22,878.00 below the full price. For each illegal alien who attends UCSC and receives this discounted rate, California taxpayers will be paying the extra $22,878.00.
– Approximately 40% of all illegal alien college students in the U.S., live in California. Every one of them that spent three or more years in one of our state’s grade schools and graduated, is legally entitled to taxpayer subsidized in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
Perhaps you’re wondering how this came about.
In October of 2001, our state legislators in Sacramento passed AB 540. Assembly Bill 540 provides subsidized/reduced tuition for California’s illegal alien college students (http://ab540.com/). It was first implemented in 2002 and if you pay taxes in California, you’ve been picking up the bill for this since that time.
Currently, tuition and costs are skyrocketing at UC’s and CSU’s. Lots of middle-class California families are having a hard time affording these increased expenses or are seeing their children graduate with considerable college loan debt.
California Assemblyman Gil Cedillo
And how are our elected leaders responding to this crisis? California legislators in Sacramento are working to pass AB 130 and AB 131, which will provide scholarships, grants and loans to illegal alien college students (http://tinyurl.com/3fbn6b4). Governor Brown, when he hasn’t been too busy advocating on behalf of tax increases to solve California’s budget problems, has indicated that he intends to sign these bills into law when they reach his desk.
Check out the links provided in this blog entry. Read up on AB 540 and the “California DREAM Act,” take a moment to look at the recent L.A. Times article about state college tuition increases (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/15/local/la-me-uc-tuition-20110715), and then ask yourself: What’s wrong with this picture?
http://derailamnestydotcom.blogspot.com/2011/07/ab-540-whats-wrong-with-this-picture.html
good point
I used to like the idea of vouchers, but am now afraid that the Catholic schools will become addicted to the gubmint checks and end up[ just like the pubic schools.
It sounds like we’re raising a nation of future banksters!
The BOE both on state and federal levels have brought us this. The teacher’s unions have brought us this. I belonged to a state union for ten years before I changed careers and got a job in the private sector. I know just what political horsecrap goes on.
there were never funds tied to test scores on the federal level until GWB signed his “landmark” No Child Left Behind. it was NEVER a “BOE (DOE?)” initiative to tie funding to test scores. never mind those basic facts, though, so back to hating on strawmen: “down with teachers, down with unions, down with the department of education.”
some of you folks need to learn a new song…
Sam: I support your previous post on black character; however, here, the fact that GWB signed the bill for No Child Left Behind, does not justify fraud by teachers and administrators, who are suppose to be role models for OUR kids.
If public education stinks in this country its because the NEA and AFT have farted.
i’m not saying it’s justified, just that it’s no surprise that when performance is incentivized, it will lead to cheating and theft. it’s not surprising. that’s my point.
sam, you are clearly a liberal internet troll. Or are you with the Atlanta public schools on this site defending the teachers and administrators who cheated?
How about the superintendant who makes in excess of $300K per year who stood there & smiles when she took her awards? She knew it was going on. She is one of the ones in trouble.
i live in michigan and i’ve voted for republicans far more often than democrats in my life. your ad hominem attacks are worthless and lacking in veracity.
it’s pathetic that you assume that by attacking your racism, i’m a “liberal sympathizer.” what a bunch of shit. you should be ashamed of yourself.
Green eggs and ham Sam.
We are STILL watching you sam.
if you’re watching me than you could plainly see what finger i’m holding up…
This bill was was an Act Of Congress , Co authored and then shepherded through the senate by none other than Ted Kennedy.GWB has no choice but to sign it then. .
the bill was an act of congress; that is, a congress in which both the senate and house were republican controlled.
No CHild Left BEhind was a GWB invented piece of legislation. it was a primary domestic policy priority in his administration. that is a fact and it is irrefutable.
Maybe we should bus them again. How did that work out? How many fingers do you have?
You are killing me Sam!
There are no teachers unions in Georgia. Though I agree that they are a problem elsewhere.
Why???
I don’t know why, there just aren’t. They are organized under some group but they are unable to strike – one of the union hallmarks.
Probably has something to do with Georgia being able to terminate employees at will. You can just look at someone & say your fired & you don’t have to give them a reason (though 99.9% of people do of course).
Kids should learn NOTHING but how to read, write, and do basic math at public schools. Everything else should be taught by the parents. Turns out, they can’t even teach that without corrupting the whole thing.
A long time ago when there were people in places the corp now owns, an eight grade education was more advanced than the current high school diploma. And they were taught how the government was supposed to work. The corp stopped that, but people still send their kids there out of fear.
Anything that a kid takes an interest in, they can learn on their own or with parental guidance on request. I knew more about golf when I got out of high school than most commentators knew. I studied history, statistics, rules, equipment, etc. I learned it because it is what I chose to learn. I wanted to know.
Kids in school really don’t want to know what is being taught, and who can blame them. Twisted history, political correctness, fear of authority, deprivation of rights, etc.
Public schools have become, with the willing participation of the parents, large babysitting institutions that indoctrinate their subjects into the corporation as lifetime members.
The bottom line is that it is up to the parents to educate their children. If they leave it up to the corp, they will get what the corp turns out.
Willingly ignorant slaves.
GC,
Were we separated at birth???
People need to start taking responsibility for many things, including their education.
…FedCo has subverted the education system and now kids can’t read worth a crap, can’t make change, can’t show where the united States is on a map or who the first president was. BUT! They sure know why Susie has two mommies and why Johnny has two daddies and they know all about recycling, “if you see something say something” and that guns are bad and that the police are there to help you.
What a screwed up world they have brainwashed us into believing. However, you would not believe how fast you can take a few punks and teach them real freedom and real law and they soak it up like a sponge and then they respect it.
Our kids today have been fed this garbage and when you sit them down and show them the truth, no matter how rotten they are, its like it sets them free.
The Police State Sux and they know it. The stuff that happens in our society, I believe, are psychotic outcries for truth. Sounds weird but I see it every day. After all, when did all of this crime and stuff start? It started when the criminal bastard class started lying to the schoolchildren.
“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” That is all that public edoctrination is about; one more layer of control to turn out compliant sheeple.
Here’s a picture of the superintentant holding up her medal in 2009 for her schools improvement/performance. Notice the big grin, despite the fact that she knows she and her staff cheated.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0705/America-s-biggest-teacher-and-principal-cheating-scandal-unfolds-in-Atlanta
Inglourious Basterds Baseball Bat Scene comes to my mind here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYKqA0St8_U
I’ll bet that Hertz.
I looked just to see what color the recipient was. Well there ya go, the entitlement queen herself.
ANYTHING the government does is done poorly. Name just one example were they excel. Then add the unions, who’s only job is less production AND more money and the mess is what we are left with. You can’t fix stupid.
They are experts at plundering money (taxes) from you and I.
You should probably go back to the Huffing Dim Lib Post Sam.
I guess the students in question are so intrinsically stupid that they can’t figure out why they’re unable to handle the work that their fabricated achievement levels tells them they should be able to do.
No doubt most of them were the children of Atlanta’s population of state-sponsored professional voters.
Blax don’t care if they can’t keep up in the workplace or make the grade…. they know they can cry victim anytime and uncle shugga will make sure anyone who follows the rules and denies them their unearned grades or unearned merit loses their job.
The only way to handle chronic black underachievement like the human crap coming out of Atlanta’s public schools is not to hire them…they never get better but instead slow down to the lowest level of productivity that won’t get them fired.
As a teacher in a program for the Gifted and Talented, I have seen p.c. run amock. If you school is 30% black, you had better have 30% of black students in GT or there will be hell to pay. Teachers I know in the GT program have been bullied and threatened to the point of nervous breakdowns – most are simply finding that 30% and putting them in the Gifted Program for their personal safety and mental health. Now Gifted programs have students whose only qualification is the color of their skin. It’s pathetic.
Politics at its finest – Keep ‘em dumb and they won’t fight back.
(They’ll) work at fast food restaurants and won’t question why all the good jobs are overseas!
Anyone who does raise a question, well we’ll just throw ‘em in jail – don’t forget who makes the rules – Piglet!
they dont need an education..they can become politicians..whats the problem?
WTF are the parents in all of this? They do have parents don’t they?
I am guessing most of these children come from broken homes and the single parent is trying to get by and maybe with two jobs. No excuses here , just from what I am getting from reading articles over the years.
all the public money and looking the other way in the world will not fix the dynamic that has destroyed 2/3 of black American households.
they’re getting drunk or high on the couch and making more professional state-sponsored future voters….
The United States is a Festival of Ignorance and stupidity
HA!
the future generations have been failed by their parents, their society, their gov’t, their schools- basically everything and actually taught to cheat, lie, game the system, and if necessary- be violent to achieve those ends
and people wonder why the US and its ghetto population is rotting faster than a termite ridden 2X4
Folks,…we have the tools right here with us to fix the problems with pubic schools.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xyvOCNCXdU&NR=1
Shugar! “This is your lucky quarter, don’t put it in your pocket with the others”.
Your tax dollars hard at work. I was told it didn’t matter when I complained our county department of education issued 15,000 W2’s in January; for a county with a population of 450,000. 1/30 people here work for public schools – and we have lots of private schools. Its so sad. Teachers union in charge. I want to say worse then fireman, but they aren’t. Those guys have the public sentiment since 9/11 and they milk it right into a 24 hour work day. How’s that $34.50 an hour for eating, sleeping and sitting on the toilet working out for ya!
Have been a teacher and coach for over 15 years. Would of left the profession years ago, but decided to stay and fight the liberal onslaught. The problem with public schools is that it is infested with liberal, homosexual, America haters and the teach and role model these behaviors to our children. The sad news of todays public schools is that there is very little teaching going on in the classrooms. Its teach to a test and cover your ass. I do most of my teaching on the ball fields and do what I can in the classroom. Teachers are not in control and administrators are such tree hugging pussies and are afraid to stand up to any of the parents because of a visit from the ACLU, NAACP, or some other American hating way of life group. Get rid of the liberal infestation, teach the the R’s, and go back to the days of smacking the shit our of little Johnny when he acts like an ass, and these problems go away!
sorry about the repeat.
Home Schooling is the way to go. No risk of liberal infection, and I can teach my ten year old Basic Rifle Marksmanship!
anything that involves the government in it, is doomed to fail..
it breeds apathy..cant you taste it?
or , maybe no one fucking cares… see, see what im saying?
one phrase says it all:
special interests
Wow!! It does not take long for the true essence of this site to be revealed. I don’t recall the color of skin being an issue in the case of Goldman-Sachs and JP Morgan. Daddy Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, William Clinton, Al Gore, Larry Summers, GW Bush, Al Greenspan, John McCain, ect. NOW that is a list of liars, cheats, and thieves!! Where is the mention of skin color here?? Just asking.
Step out of the car please…just step out of the car!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xyvOCNCXdU&NR=1
It’s called The Truth…SD…you might want to try it sometime…it’s a KNOWN fact that the inner city breeds a certain type of people…and these people know how to suck the system dry!!And just so you know…if you stay on here long enough you will see that we are NOT fans of the people you mentioned….but let me add a few more liars and thieves for ya….Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charlie Rangel, Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Sheila Jackson Lee, and let’s not forget Mr. Hope and Change Himself…Barack Hussein Obama!!!
Hey SML,
I don’t think any of those names you mentioned were bred in the inner city. So, thank you for illustrating my point. The ones really pillaging this country are not the inner city black folks. They just provide a convenient diversion for the real thieves and most people fall for it every time. I understand though, it is much easier to fall back on old stereotypes than to admit that the knuckleheads you have been voting for and arguing for your whole life, have been stealing from you. Good luck with that head in the sand thing!!
Step forward please…just hold still for a minute. ZAPPPP!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xyvOCNCXdU&NR=1
And just WHO did I vote for, SD?? You seem to think you know all about my voting record, so please enlighten me? Maybe I gave up a long time ago and haven’t cast a vote in years, hmmm??
An BTW, thanks for making MY point that the inner city folks are the ones that have been dumbed down and VOTE over and over AND over again for the same morons in DC…in spite of the fact that they ARE STILL living in the inner city on welfare and food stamps!
You keep talkin’ like that and I’ll whip you with a knotted plow line.
I didn’t surrender, but they took my mule and made him surrender. They have him pulling a wagon up in SD I bet.
sd mule: Hear, hear!!!
these douchebags are crypto racists.
Inoculation time sam. There’s a new sheriff in town and he’s more corrupt then all of the others. You probably need to adopt a few of these students.