The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Most folks in Alabama agree on one thing. All schools should be operated by competent instructional leaders, all children should be entitled to the opportunity for learning at least on their grade level, students should be safe places and school environments should be conducive to creating high student learning expectations. Recent news releases from Alabama’s State School Superintendent touted a new high graduation rate average for Alabama’s schools. All too often such proclamations give sch...
Beginning as early as 1909 schools systems began to insulate all teachers from being fired unjustly due to a wide array of unfair reasons such as replacing them with the school principal’s daughter, personal conflict among another more favored teacher, political differences, perceived insubordination involving unreasonable task assignments, etc. Tenure has existed in K-12 education since then, when “good government” reformers borrowed the concept from Germany. The idea spread quickly from New J...
Our country is facing a myriad of crises both at home and abroad. These include but not limited to an effective foreign policy in which President Obama has diminished over a century of the U.S. role as a major force in maintain some semblance of order among rogue nations in the Mideast, Russia and China. As a result, the America we once knew is no longer considered the number one world power and, consequently, has lost its influence world-wide. The chaos which has been allowed and to some...
The Alabama State Board of Education must be in awe of Tommy Bice, Alabama’s State Superintendent of Education. It appears they believe he is the great one who will lead us to the promise land of achieving academic excellence for Alabama’s school children. They have gone along with most every recommendation he has presented to them apparently because they think he knows what’s best for Alabama’s schools and will do whatever it takes to garner federal dollars. As I recently sat in a meeting...
What has become called the “summer slide” takes its toll on our school-aged children. We all recall those sunny warm carefree days of summer when we were released from the confinement of school walls, classrooms, class schedule bells and the restraints of being restricted to that uncomfortable desk. No more rules, books, computers, homework, reading, exhausting examinations and getting up at the crack of dawn to be at school on time! It means freedom to play most all day, to go on family vac...
As we approach the summer of 2015 it is significant to know, as research studies show, that violent crimes occur at a higher rate in the summer season than any other season. There is a current heightened dissatisfaction and anger among some individuals, groups and communities across America toward law enforcement officers. Distain, threats and acts of violence against police have existed for decades whether it is state, county, district, municipality, university or other special police jurisdict...
Does Tennessee Value Its Children’s Education More Than Alabama? On Tuesday, April 21 in a bipartisan vote, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted unanimously (97:0) to repeal Common Core. Today, the Tennessee State Senate followed with a (27:1) vote in favor of repeal. The Truth in Medium Team, an online news site (benswan.com) was the first of many media outlets to report this breaking news. “This legislation is a template for all states to begin a much needed journey of separation fro...
The devaluation of America’s cultural decency, the increase in fatherless homes and the steady decline in academic performance is now spiraling out of control. My generation has witnessed general apathy among parents, schools and politicians for several decades. Loss of values in our country is a very real phenomenon and the not-so-subtle enemy of many of our societal problems. Our schools are not immune. These “values” are not to be narrowly interpreted as solely religious values or stric...
Among the many legislative bills which will be introduced during Alabama’s legislative 2015 session is one with strong support of progressive lawmakers. They plan to introduce the bill in the upcoming spring session of the Alabama’s State Legislature to provide a plan and process for the initial creation of a few charter schools. The bill will limit the number of charter schools to be established to fewer than a dozen during first fiscal year. Charter schools which exist throughout the cou...
For decades local public school officials, politicians and legislators have debated the method in which local/district superintendents are selected. Nationally, 97.8 percent of all local district school superintendents are appointed. The only exceptions are six southern states which have both appointed and elected superintendents: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. According to the Alabama Association of School Boards, there are currently 138 local school...
The increase of accusations by the African-American or black community that white police officers disproportionately target black residents has become the focus of recent and current nation-wide protests – both violent and non-violent. News media coverage of the choking death of an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, during an arrest by New York City police officers followed by the shooting death of a young unarmed 18 year-old black man, Michael Brown, by a white patrol officer in Ferguson, M...
The private-federal partnership which created “Common Core State Standards” (CCSS) or Common Core is now beginning to unravel in many states across the U.S. In an opinion article published in the September 2014 edition of The Alabama Gazette I presented the origin, key players, ideology and nationally developed standards related to Common Core. As David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama, stated, “CCSS was initiative of the Obama Administration”. It includes fundamental changes and omi...
It was Christmas Eve morning, 1980, in a small quaint college town – Montevallo. Within a few hours most everyone had heard the gruesome news. A long-time 86 year-old distinguished widow of the former Dean of the Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo) Mrs. Orr, had been found brutally raped and murdered in her home. I grew up in this quiet, relatively safe town where I began the first grade, graduated from Montevallo High School and, literally across the Oak Street, I earned several...
Each summer most parents of college-bound students attend one or more college/university orientations where higher education institution officials showcase their broad selection of academic programs, highlight the prestigious scholarly awards earned by former students, take parents on tours of some of the prestigious athletic facilities, walk-throughs of attractive residence halls and/or apartments, boast of the recreational amenities and usually assure parents of the security measures provided...
There is a growing outcry from parents across Alabama regarding the federally created k – 12 curricula standards, "Common Core State Standards" (CCSS) recently adopted by an Alabama's State Board of Education in a split vote. This "reform" covertly transfers control of education explicitly given to states by the U.S. Constitution to federal bureaucracy. Led by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) it is endorsed by entities as The National Governors Association (80% of operating funds from f...