The country is broke, state and local govts broke

[TimC]

Teachers(and their pay and benefits) and collective bargaining are NOT the reason states have a budget deficit and Walker is full of himself and full of s---t. I was trying to point out that a babysitter gets paid more than a teacher(per child-per hour) Now do you get it?

 

All I get is that the only people that send their children to public schools in this country either hate them or are too poor or self-centered to get them in a private school at any cost. I would sell my left nut to not send my kid to a public school anywhere in this country. Even the so-called "good" public schools. So, what you are left with is the bottom-feeders of society and how to teach them properly...which is nearly impossible.

[The Holy Roller]

We should be directing money from the lazy poor in this country straight into these teachers purses.

 

I don't own a purse but appreciate the sentiment.

[SayItAintSoJoe]

All I get is that the only people that send their children to public schools in this country either hate them or are too poor or self-centered to get them in a private school at any cost. I would sell my left nut to not send my kid to a public school anywhere in this country. Even the so-called "good" public schools. So, what you are left with is the bottom-feeders of society and how to teach them properly...which is nearly impossible.

 

 

This is a pretty big county with a lot of different public school districts so I’m not ready to make the claim that they all stink when I’ve only had experiences with a few.

 

I was in a meeting with an executive of a company that I do work for a couple of months ago and I started to tell him how I arrived at the decision to send my kids to private school. I just assumed that he had his kids in private schools so I figured I could just start bashing the public school system and that he would just jump right in. Instead I heard crickets. It turns out that both of his daughters went to a public high school and one is now attending Georgetown and the other is at Yale. He went on to tell me how when it came time to visit the local high schools, both public and private, to decide on where to go his daughters chose the public school because of how much bigger and better the facilities were. Both of his daughters were big into the school band and the public high school had this entire music wing while the private one just had some little shabby music room with old instruments. He went on to tell me similar stories of the science labs and athletic facilities. That’s when it dawned on me that I’m talking to a rich bastard here who probably lives in a very nice area outside of Chicago. He didn’t face the same situation where he lives regarding public schools as I do here in rural South Carolina.

 

But I will agree with your statement and say that if you find yourself in a situation where you feel that the public school system isn’t going to provide your child with a good education then you must do everything you possibly can to send your child to a private school. When people tell me that they are not satisfied with the public school system but that they can’t afford to send their child to a private school the first thing I say is, “you can’t afford not to”.

[Perchoutofwater]

Perch, your comparison was to nurses, correct? Are most nurses salary or hourly? Next, how many nurses "take work home"?

 

So your wife is a special needs teacher . . but also runs a classroom and has to grade papers and write lesson plans? really?

 

I am not getting into the over/underpaid argument. It is wholly counter productive. The issue doesnt tend to be the salary, but the benefits.

 

I agree with you on the benefits. Now that illustrates why some of the benefits are costing states. I know if my wife went back to work in her profession (she has a teaching degree) that her benefits are much better than what I would get, so our familiy would use her insurance. I wonder how many families DO do that currently? Like what % of families that have a teacher as a parant use the school insurance versus the other spouse's insurance?

 

My wife has taught school for 15 years. 14 of those years have been as a special education teacher. She taught 1 year as a math teacher four year ago when she changed districts. The district knew that they wanted to hire her to replace someone that was going to retire, so they hired her a year before that teacher retired to make sure they could get her. She taught math in that year. In special education she does not have to grade papers. She does have to do a ton of paper work the typical teacher does not have to do, in order to stay straight with the laws regarding special education students.

 

The nurse was just one example. I also gave the average salary for someone with a bachelor's degree.

[Azazello1313]

so the wisconsin senate needs a "quorum" supermajroity or whatever to call a vote on budget items, but apparently they don't need that supermajority to calla vote on other items. so the republicans are bringing a vote on a bill democrats bitterly oppose (surprise, surprise) requiring voters to show ID at the polls. nice work. I hope they do more of this.

[Perchoutofwater]

My wife and I easily averaged 10+ hours per week each doing homework, prep, etc..

 

There is very little prep work required anymore in most of the local districts. They use something called cscope that basically gives the teacher the lesson plans that they have to teach. So it isn't like it was 5 or 10 years ago where teachers had to make their own lesson plans. It is almost wholly taught step by step via computer projection. The teacher is there to answer questions the students may have regarding a certain step, and to pique the interest of the students, as well as to maintain an atmosphere where learning can be achieved. They still have to do grading, but more and more of that is becoming computerized as well.

 

BTW most teachers I've talked to hate cscope. They would rather have to do the additional work that you describe. My wife being a special ed teacher is one of the few that does not have to follow cscope. You are right about he paper work, she has a ton of ARD related and other acronym related meetings, but they all fall during the school day. As I've said before, I don't think that teachers are over paid, I just don't think that they are underpaid as well. I also think they should be subject to the same things the rest of society is subject to, such as pay freezes.

[Big Country]

Figure it out- A babysitter-with no formal training-gets paid $5 am hour. A teacher, with at least 4 years of formal training,is in charge of 25 students for 7-8 hours a day. That would be $125 an hour -just to baby sit amd not teach.. People are saying that teachers have so many months off, yada,yada,yada. $125X7=$875 dollars a day, etc., Now do you get it?

 

 

Have you heard of economies of scale?

 

 

 

 

Additionally, at least in my experience, the more kids one is watching, the less you get paid per child. I know the few times I have gone out with my wife, the general cost for a babysitter is say, $8/hour for one kid, and it is $10/hourfor 2 kids. When we've gone out with friends and shared babysitters, the babysitter only charged something like $15/hour for 4 kids.

[borge007]

Have you heard of economies of scale?

 

 

 

 

Additionally, at least in my experience, the more kids one is watching, the less you get paid per child. I know the few times I have gone out with my wife, the general cost for a babysitter is say, $8/hour for one kid, and it is $10/hourfor 2 kids. When we've gone out with friends and shared babysitters, the babysitter only charged something like $15/hour for 4 kids.

So how would that work per hour for a teacher with 25-30 students per hour?

[Big Country]

So how would that work per hour for a teacher with 25-30 students per hour?

 

 

Give them a buck a kid

[The Holy Roller]

Give them a buck a kid

 

Oh Hell Yeah!

[Perchoutofwater]

Give them a buck a kid

 

They already make a buck a kid. Assuming 179 days x 8 hours =1432 hours.

 

At a an average salary $44,650 that is $31.18 per hour. Each our they see 31 kids, that is a buck a kid. Of course they have conference periods during that 8 hour day in which they see no kids. The average class size at the high school that my wife teaches is 22. So if you take into consideration the average class size as well as lunch and conference periods the teachers are getting roughly $1.61 per kid.

[The Holy Roller]

They already make a buck a kid. Assuming 179 days x 8 hours =1432 hours.

 

At a an average salary $44,650 that is $31.18 per hour. Each our they see 31 kids, that is a buck a kid. Of course they have conference periods during that 8 hour day in which they see no kids. The average class size at the high school that my wife teaches is 22. So if you take into consideration the average class size as well as lunch and conference periods the teachers are getting roughly $1.61 per kid.

 

Some kids are easy to teach for $1.61 an hour. But think back to YOUR school days and I'm sure you'll remember (if it wasn't, in fact, YOU) those kids that should cost $161 an hour.

 

But is this thread really about teachers' salaries? Are we really up in arms over a perceived by some OVER value of teachers? If that's so then I extend an invitation to any of you to go try it. Perhaps you've missed your calling. Quite frankly I think some of you would make good teachers. At least, some of you have the knowledge to share. But being proficient or even an expert in a subject area will not make you a good teacher. Think back to your favorite teachers. Was it the knowledge they helped you gain that made them good teachers? Or was it some thing else (besides her having a nice rack)? You get my drift. Good teachers are the ones sowing a crop, a future in humanity/the American way of life/the joy of learning.

 

Overpaid? Only the bad ones. And to those I say they need to hit the road and find something else to do.

[rocknrobn26]

There is very little prep work required anymore in most of the local districts. They use something called cscope that basically gives the teacher the lesson plans that they have to teach. So it isn't like it was 5 or 10 years ago where teachers had to make their own lesson plans. It is almost wholly taught step by step via computer projection. The teacher is there to answer questions the students may have regarding a certain step, and to pique the interest of the students, as well as to maintain an atmosphere where learning can be achieved. They still have to do grading, but more and more of that is becoming computerized as well.

 

BTW most teachers I've talked to hate cscope. They would rather have to do the additional work that you describe. My wife being a special ed teacher is one of the few that does not have to follow cscope. You are right about he paper work, she has a ton of ARD related and other acronym related meetings, but they all fall during the school day. As I've said before, I don't think that teachers are over paid, I just don't think that they are underpaid as well. I also think they should be subject to the same things the rest of society is subject to, such as pay freezes.

 

Tell that to my daughter, Godson, and several others that I know that are currently teaching. They seem to have the same workload as my wife and I did, but they are doing it NOW!

When I comment, state a fact, about this subject I state that it's only IL. Why do you keep stating things that are supposedly universal that aren't?

BTW I had a cscope done about 2 weeks ago...it wasn't pleasant.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Some kids are easy to teach for $1.61 an hour. But think back to YOUR school days and I'm sure you'll remember (if it wasn't, in fact, YOU) those kids that should cost $161 an hour.

 

But is this thread really about teachers' salaries? Are we really up in arms over a perceived by some OVER value of teachers? If that's so then I extend an invitation to any of you to go try it. Perhaps you've missed your calling. Quite frankly I think some of you would make good teachers. At least, some of you have the knowledge to share. But being proficient or even an expert in a subject area will not make you a good teacher. Think back to your favorite teachers. Was it the knowledge they helped you gain that made them good teachers? Or was it some thing else (besides her having a nice rack)? You get my drift. Good teachers are the ones sowing a crop, a future in humanity/the American way of life/the joy of learning.

 

Overpaid? Only the bad ones. And to those I say they need to hit the road and find something else to do.

no..... it should be about collective bargaining and the Koch brothers.

[bpwallace49]

Caller posing as major GOP contributor dupes Walker

e-mail print By Bill Glauber, Steve Schultze and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel

Updated: Feb. 23, 2011 1:25 p.m. |(811) Comments

 

Related Coverage

Kansas-based Koch Industries has extensive operations in Wisconsin

Madison — Gov. Scott Walker, believing he was talking to prominent financial backer David Koch, revealed to a Buffalo, N.Y., blogger Tuesday his strategies to deal with public-sector unions and to lure Democrats boycotting the Senate back to Wisconsin.

 

In the 20-minute talk, he also likened his tough stance to take away most bargaining rights from public workers to former President Ronald Reagan successfully combating the air-traffic controllers union three decades ago.

 

"That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall in the fall of Communism because from that point forward the Soviets and the Communists knew that Ronald Reagan wasn't a pushover," according to the recording.

 

He said he told his cabinet, "This is our moment. This is our time to change the course of history."

 

Walker also discussed a plan to get his bill on union rights passed without Democrats who have boycotted the Senate. Separately, he said he talked to Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) for 45 minutes Saturday, and he saw him as someone who could get the Democrats to return, even though "he's not one of us."

 

Walker also said he'd considered but rejected an idea to plant troublemakers amid the thousands of union protesters who have filled the Capitol for more than a week.

 

Walker discussed ways Koch - a principal backer of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity - could help Republicans legislators, presumably with TV and radio ads.

 

Walker never appears to become aware the call is a prank.

 

He is the latest politician to be embarrassed when what he thought was a private conversation went public. Just before the 2008 presidential election, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin took a call from a radio DJ posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

 

The Walker recording was released as the Assembly was in the midst of a Democratic filibuster on the budget-repair bill that has gone 24 hours. Action on the bill in the Senate has been stalled since Thursday, when all 14 Democrats went to Illinois.

 

Twenty senators must be present to pass bills that spend money, and the Republicans have only 19 seats. They would need at least one Democratic senator to return to take a vote.

 

Walker's bill would balance this year's budget, repeal most union bargaining rights for public employees and give Walker's administration broad powers to reshape state health programs for the poor. Unions have said they are willing to give as much as Walker is asking in concessions on health care and pensions, but have demanded that he not take away most bargaining rights.

 

The conversation with Walker was posted by the Buffalo Beast. Walker's administration confirmed the recording is legitimate.

 

"The governor takes many calls everyday," Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, said in a statement. "Throughout this call the governor maintained his appreciation for and commitment to civil discourse. He continued to say that the budget repair bill is about the budget. The phone call shows that the governor says the same thing in private as he does in public and the lengths that others will go to disrupt the civil debate Wisconsin is having."

 

Upon learning of the call, Democrats blasted the governor.

 

"Scott Walker won't listen to Senate Democrats, or the hundreds of thousands of average Wisconsinites who are speaking up against his divisive power grab. But an oil billionaire from Kansas gets his full attention," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate said. "It is a damning, embarrassing and possibly illegal admission that Scott Walker has put Wisconsin up for sale."

 

State Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) read excerpts of the recording and said, "My first reaction, it's revealing of his true agenda and his character."

 

He added that Walker "talks about crushing the unions like Ronald Reagan. If that's true, his intention isn't to solve the problem it's to make a name for himself."

 

Barca said he was trying to arrange for the full Democratic caucus to listen to the recording.

 

David Koch is co-owner of Koch Industries. He is a philanthropist and a chief backer of Americans for Prosperity, which helped stage tea party rallies in Wisconsin in 2009 and 2010 and on Wednesday announced it was spending $342,200 on advertising in Wisconsin to convince residents to back Walker's plan. The ad calls on Wisconsin residents to support the governor in his dealings with public employee unions and his handling of the state's fiscal crisis.

 

Koch Industries' political action committee was one of the biggest financial supporters of Walker's gubernatorial campaign last fall, giving $43,000 to his political fund.

 

David Koch also gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association last year, and Koch Industries contributed another $50,000. The RGA spent $65,000 on ads supporting Walker and an additional $3.4 million attacking Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker's Democratic opponent.

 

On Tuesday, the RGA launched a website promoting Walker's stance against unions called StandWithScott.com.

 

Werwie, the Walker spokesman, said Walker has never before talked to Koch. After the recordings were released, the governor scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m.

 

The Buffalo Beast's website has been inaccessible during much of the day, apparently so many people have flooded the site.

 

On the tape, Walker discussed strategies for getting Senate Democrats to return to the state Capitol. At one point, he says he would agree to speak with Democratic legislative leaders if all 14 Democrats who have traveled to Illinois return to the Senate in Madison and sit in their seats, saying that he believes even if the Democrats leave again, the Senate would have a quorum and Republicans would be able to push through Walker's budget measure.

 

"Legally, we believe once they've gone into session, they don't physically have to be there. They have a quorum because they started out that way," Walker said.

 

In response, the man posing as Koch says Walker should bring a baseball bat to the meeting with Senate Democrats. Walker laughs at the joke and notes he has a baseball bat in his office.

 

"I've got a (Louisville) Slugger with my name on it," he says."

 

Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said he found Walker's plan to "trick" Democrats was the most disturbing part of the recording. Larson said the plan shows Democrats can't trust any overtures from Walker to talk. "He just gave away it was only for show and it would be to ram this through," he said.

 

Walker said on the tape he has no intention of conceding anything to the Democrats if they talk. "My sense is hell, I'll talk to them. If they want to yell at me for an hour, I'm used to that," Walker said.

 

Werwie said Walker was not trying to trick Senate Democrats with the proposal to have them come in for talks and then have the Republicans vote on the bill without them being present.

 

The person posing as Koch suggested the idea of placing troublemakers amid the crowd of protesters.

 

Walker responded: "We thought about that. The problem with - my only gut reaction to that would be right now is that the lawmakers I've talked to have just completely had it with them. The public is not really fond of this."

 

In the recording, Walker also described his intention to hang tough and not yield to protesters and Democratic demands that he negotiate changes to his plan to eliminate most public worker bargaining rights.

 

"Just because there's a bunch of guys who can jump off work because of their union work rules" doesn't mean they represent a majority viewpoint, Walker says.

 

He tells the prankster posing as Koch that Republicans will need help shoring up Republican lawmakers who will likely come under attack in their districts.

 

"Hey this is Madison, it's full of '60s liberals - let 'em protest all they want," Walker says, explaining his posture of allowing open access to the Capitol by the protesters. "Sooner or later the media stops finding them interesting.

 

"The bottom line is we are going to get the world going because this is the right thing to do."

 

The imposter asked how he can help Walker, and Walker said he wanted calls to any wavering Republicans to continue. Walker also raised the possibility of later getting a "message" out to support their stance.

 

"The more they get that reassurance, the easier it is for them to vote yes," Walker said.

 

"The other thing is more long term and that is that after this the days and weeks and months ahead, particularly in these more swing areas, a lot of these guys - they don't necessarily need ads for them, but they are going to need a message out reinforcing why this is a good thing to do for the economy and a good thing to do for the state."

 

Walker notes that Republican governors in other states are employing similar strategies of removing power from unions, noting that he has spoken to Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the subject.

 

In Ohio, lawmakers are debating a bill that would abolish collective bargaining rights for state workers. Thousands of protesters have shown up at that state's Capitol.

 

"I talk to Kasich every day. John's going to stand firm in Ohio. I think we do the same thing with Rick Scott in Florida. I think (Rick) Snyder, if he got a little support, could do the same thing in Michigan. I think if you go down the list, a lot of us new governors got elected to something big."

 

The governor says in the call he spoke with Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) for 45 minutes on Saturday and he hopes that the independent-minded Cullen can influence his colleagues to return.

 

"He's the only reasonable one there," Walker said.

 

He said Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) and a few other Democrats are "radicals." He did not mention the other Democrats by name.

 

Toward the end of the call, the prankster tells Walker: "Once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time."

 

Walker replies on the recording: "All right, that would be outstanding."

 

A Washington D.C.-based campaign reform advocacy group Wednesday said Walker's conversation with a presumed contributor suggested potential legal or ethical lapses.

 

The Public Action Campaign Fund, which is funded by some labor and Democratic leaning organizations, points to Walker comments in the call seeking support for Republicans in swing districts.

 

In the recording, Walker says: "After this in some of the coming days and weeks ahead, particularly in some of these more swing areas, a lot of these guys are going to need, they don't need initially ads for them, but they're going to need a message out.

 

"Reinforcing why this was a good thing to do for the economy, a good thing to do for the state. So to the extent that message is out over and over again is certainly a good thing," Walker says.

 

David Donnelly, national campaign director for the campaign group, said Walker's comments show his union plan "isn't about the budget, it's about favors for special interests."

 

The editor of the Buffalo Beast is Ian Murphy, who claims on the Buffalo Beast's website to have made the call. Attempts to reach someone at the website have been unsuccessful.

 

Blog site The Huffington Post reached Buffalo Beast Publisher Paul Fallon, who described how he reached Walker.

 

"Basically what happened was, yesterday morning (Murphy, the Buffalo Beast editor) was watching television about this Wisconsin stuff and he saw a report where he saw Walker say he wasn't going to talk to anybody," Fallon said to the Huffington Post. "And he said, 'I bet he would talk to somebody if he had enough oomph behind him.' "

 

Murphy spoke with the governor's executive assistant and ended up speaking with Walker's chief of staff, Keith Gilkes, before reaching the governor.

 

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) called Walker's comments with the blogger "disturbing."

 

"The real story is the total lack of compassion (from Walker) over what's going on in Wisconsin," Erpenbach said in a phone interview. He along with the other 13 Senate Democrats remain in Illinois, after fleeing the Capitol Thursday to delay action on Walker's budget repair bill.

 

Walker's remarks characterizing the protesters as "a bunch of '60s liberals" shows how out of touch he is on the breadth and depth of concern across Wisconsin to the governor's union rights rollback proposal, Erpenbach said.

 

"For him to compare himself to President Reagan and the (fall of the) Berlin Wall is delusional," he said.

 

Sharif Durhams, Lee Bergquist and Dan Bice of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this article.

 

and the plot thickens . . .

[Perchoutofwater]

Tell that to my daughter, Godson, and several others that I know that are currently teaching. They seem to have the same workload as my wife and I did, but they are doing it NOW!

When I comment, state a fact, about this subject I state that it's only IL. Why do you keep stating things that are supposedly universal that aren't?

BTW I had a cscope done about 2 weeks ago...it wasn't pleasant.

 

RR, why don't you re-read the part you actually put in bold. When I say local, do you think I mean IL? Hmmm, reading comprehension? There might be a reason it took you so long

 

Seriously I'm well aware that it varies from state to state, as well as from district to district. You hear horror stories about class sizes in some states, BUT HERE IN TEXAS, there are laws that have a significant impact on the size of classes. That is the reason the average class at the high school where my wife teaches is 22. The state requires so many square feet of class room per student. This thread was about teachers in WI. You use what you know in IL, but somehow what happens in TX should not be used?

 

Again, I'm not saying teachers are over paid. I'm just trying point out that the are fairly compensated based on the amount of time they work. All the data I've used has been based on the district my wife teaches for, because that is what I know. The numbers that I've used and the time worked is based on that. You comparing the amount of time and classroom size (that one may be some one else) that teachers in IL face doesn't really compare apples to apples. The average teacher in IL makes $58,686, where as the average salary in teacher in Texas makes $44,744. So the average teacher salary in TX is 76% of that of a teacher in IL. Now the average salary in IL is $58,243 where as the average salary in TX is $56,641, or 97% of the average salary in TX. Teachers in IL are paid considerably higher than those in TX, even thought he average salary of all trades is pretty close to the same. So why is that? Maybe as you say the teachers in IL are forced to work more, and the teachers in TX rely more on technology which reduces the number of hours they work. BTW Texas ranks #7 on the salary comfort index for teachers where as IL ranks #1.

 

Now lets assume the average teacher in IL works as hard as you did and look at teachers salaries vs others.

The average person works 242 (assumes 4 paid Holidays,10 days vacation and 10 days sick leave) days a year.

The average IL teacher works 224 (includes both instructional days and teacher work days less state and local days) days a year. I add 2 hours to the end of the each day that you said you worked which resulted in 45 additional days, which of course assumes teachers are the only salaried employees that ever take work home

So the average teacher works roughly 92.6% of what the average person does.

The average salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree is $37,517.

The average salary of someone with a MBA degree in IL is $87,790.

The average salary of a RN in IL is $56,412.

The average salary of a high school teacher in IL is $58,686

So, in take home pay a high school teacher is 156% of that of the average bachelor’s degree, 66.8% of that of the average masters degree, and 104% of an RN, while only working 92.6% of the time of the average worker.

 

Also I noticed when calculating what I did for Texas I inadvertently used median income rather than average salary for a bachelor's degree. I went back and checked the other numbers and they were good. I modified the two previous posts with calculations to correct this error. When I did so it went even further to prove my point as, teachers in Texas make 103% of the average bachelor's degree while working 72.8% of the time. Again I used the salaries for a teacher at my wife's high school, because I used their calendar.

[Yukon Cornelius]

why do you think TEXAS, OUR TEXAS, OH HAIL THE MIGHTY STATE, TEXAS OUR TEXAS, SO WONDERFUL AND GREAT... recruits heavily for teachers in the Midwest.... they want better teachers.

[bushwacked]

why do you think TEXAS, OUR TEXAS, OH HAIL THE MIGHTY STATE, TEXAS OUR TEXAS, SO WONDERFUL AND GREAT... recruits heavily for teachers in the Midwest.

 

To reduce texas's average body mass index per person?

 

lol at the filter

Edited February 23, 2011 by DMD

[TimC]

and the plot thickens . . .

 

Yep. Once the Republicans have full control over both houses and the Presidency in 2012, hopefully all the Democrats run off to cry in Mexico.

[Azazello1313]

why do you think TEXAS, OUR TEXAS, OH HAIL THE MIGHTY STATE, TEXAS OUR TEXAS, SO WONDERFUL AND GREAT... recruits heavily for teachers in the Midwest....

 

supply and demand. everybody in the midwest wants the f out. texas is growing in population, both legally and illegally.

[Yukon Cornelius]

supply and demand. everybody in the midwest wants the f out. texas is growing in population, both legally and illegally.

[TimC]

I sure don't know anyone moving North.

[bushwacked]

I sure don't know anyone moving North.

 

You might be able to get out of the cesspool in the south, but you can't move the cesspool to the north.

[jetsfan]

They use something called cscope that basically gives the teacher the lesson plans that they have to teach.

 

This must be by choice for each independent school district because we do not have that here. My wife is a teacher and she puts in at least 10-15 hours + per week in addition to her class time. She has her own curriculum that she puts together and projects for the class to do on a daily basis.

My kids are in public school as well (2nd and 4th grades) and their education is excellent. The quality of the public school system here is a function of the district resident's wealth and education. Our private schools range from under-funded catholic schools to ridiculously expensive private institutions.

[Yukon Cornelius]

I sure don't know anyone moving North.

that's because they are to dumb to get a job in the north...