Posted on 01/31/2014 5:10:31 PM PST by Kaslin
Three cheers for a group of nine California students who are fed up with tenure rules that protect not only incompetent teachers, but also sexual predators.
Reuters reports California students challenge teacher employment rules in lawsuit.
A group of nine California students will challenge employment rules they complain force public schools in the most populous U.S. state to retain low performing teachers, as opening arguments kick off on Monday in a lawsuit over education policy.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn five California statutes that set guidelines for permanent employment, firing and layoff practices for K-12 public school teachers, saying the rules violate the constitutional rights of students by denying them effective teachers.
Among the rules targeted by the lawsuit is one that requires school administrators to either grant or deny tenure status to teachers after the first 18 months of their employment, which they complain causes administrators to hastily give permanent employment to potentially problematic teachers.
"The system is dysfunctional and arbitrary due to these outdated laws that handcuff school administrators from operating in a fashion that protects children and their right to quality education," attorney Theodore Boutrous of the education advocacy group Students Matter said in a media call.
The plaintiffs are also challenging three laws they say make it difficult to fire low-performing tenured teachers by requiring years of documentation, dozens of procedural steps and hundreds of thousands in public funds before a dismissal.
Lastly, the plaintiffs want to abolish the so-called "last-in first-out" statute, which requires administrators to lay off teachers based on reverse seniority.
The group says that the layoff policy disproportionately affects minority and low-income students, who are more likely to have entry-level teachers and poor quality senior teachers assigned to their district.
"When the layoffs come, the more junior teachers are laid off first, which ends up leaving a higher proportion what we call the ‘grossly ineffective' teachers," Boutrous said. "It's really a vicious cycle."
Teachers' Union Response
"We don't think stripping teachers of their workplace professional rights will help students," said California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt."
Mish Translation of Teachers' Union Response
Testimony Started Monday
The lawsuit was filed by the nonprofit advocacy group Students Matter, which contends education laws are a violation of the Constitution's equal protection guarantee because they do not ensure all students have access to an adequate education.
The LA Times reports Testimony begins in trial over California teachers' job protections.
Arguments begin Monday in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of laws that govern California’s teacher tenure rules, seniority policies and the dismissal process -- an overhaul of which could upend controversial job security for instructors.
The lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit advocacy group Students Matter, contends these education laws are a violation of the Constitution's equal protection guarantee because they do not ensure all students have access to an adequate education.
Vergara vs. California, filed on behalf of nine students and their families in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks to revamp a dismissal process the plaintiffs say is too costly and time consuming, lengthen the time period for instructors to gain tenure and dismantle the "last hired, first fired" policies that fail to consider teacher effectiveness.
The lawsuit aims to protect the rights of students, teachers and school districts against a "gross disparity" in educational opportunity, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
Many students — overwhelmingly those who are minority and low-income — are destined to suffer from ineffective and unequal instruction because administrators are unable to remove ineffective teachers from schools, attorneys said.
Students Matter was founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch, a research scientist who went on to co-found Infinera, a manufacturer of optical telecommunications systems based in Sunnyvale, Calif. The group is partly funded by organizations known for battling teachers unions. The foundation of Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad, which has backed numerous education initiatives, also supports it.
Gross Lie of the Day
In the gross lie of the day category, "The California Department of Education contends districts have the opportunity and discretion to remove ineffective teachers from classrooms and decide whether to grant tenure."
In contrast, L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, is a supporter of the effort to repeal the statutes. He declined to comment because he is a witness in the case.
Lay it on them John!
Unions are the Child Molester's Best Friend
I am quite sure Deasy can testify how hard it is to get rid of incompetent teachers, even child molesters.
If you think I am making this up, sadly, I am not.
I highly recommend reading the LA Times report: Failure Gets a Pass L.A. Unified Pays Teachers Not to Teach.
You can find similar articles about New York, in fact, anywhere unions rule.
Every time I write something like this I get a ton of emails from teachers. Surprisingly, about a third of them are in support of what I say.
In Praise of Teachers
I have said this before and I say it again: I have nothing against teachers. Most of them are dedicated, hard-working professionals.
I do have everything against public unions whose sole mission is to collect dues and coerce legislators into laws written for the union at the expense of the kids.
They have 20,30, 50 percent, or more, drop-out rates within their school districts. An example is this, they have 300 kids in first grade. 12 years later they graduate 120. Any business with that kind of loss in they manufacturing process would be broke immediately.
In addition, they let their building deteriorate, and then they run to the taxpayers for a building levi. It's all for the children, you know.
In business, another person, will take those buildings and turn them into a money making proposition. I have seen that done.
>>>>With this data; they now know who you are.<<<<
Sadly, I already assume that they know who I am.
for Mormonism into your commentary.
Since you've mentioned it...
Yeah; me too.
(And I suspect the MORMONs would LIKE to know... ;^)
Well; your homepage might indicate you’ve gotten FAR away from them!
(Or not; it could just be MIS-information)
You personify the axiom that “one should not wrestle with a pig, because you will get dirty and the pig likes it.” I should have known better than to ever respond to you. Happy New year to you pigs!
“In addition, they let their building deteriorate, and then they run to the taxpayers for a building levi. It’s all for the children, you know.”
We are in an area that actually has decent schools mostly because the parents demand that their children excel, and we have a district that is coveted by good teachers because we don’t have many miscreants. That said, a number of years ago (actually when our children were in grade school), our “Education Center” (read district HQ) had two successive “unexplained fires” that destroyed records that were in all probability, not “helpful” to the then current superintendent. “Unburdened” with potential personal litigation, the man left (with some money for his trouble) and went to Berkeley, CA to assume the duties of superintendent there. His replacement was not much better. My wife and I were co-presidents of the PTC (Parent/Teacher Association) and were actually personally threatened by this man for supporting some activities that he was opposed to. Just like the “lawyer analog,” What do you call a failed teacher, you call him superintendent!”
Now you can move on to Common Sense 102.
The lesson learned there is:
Never make highly biased statements on FR and think they'll slip by without FACTS being posted.
HMMMmmm...
You personify the axiom that “MORMONs should not wrestle with a ANTI-Mormon, because you will get FACTS, Mormon QUOTES, MORMON 'scripture', MORMON History and BIBLE Verses coming your way, and the Flying Inman presenting it all to the WORLD just LOVES to show LURKERS how well the logic of the MORMON religious organization member's mind works.
Here comes some
"Now the way he translated was he put the urim and thummim into his hat and Darkned his Eyes than he would take a sentance and it would apper in Brite Roman Letters. Then he would tell the writer and he would write it. Then that would go away the next sentance would Come and so on. But if it was not Spelt rite it would not go away till it was rite, so we see it was marvelous. Thus was the hol [whole] translated."---Joseph Knight's journal.
"In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us."
(History of the RLDS Church, 8 vols.(Independence, Missouri: Herald House,1951),"Last Testimony of Sister Emma [Smith Bidamon]," 3:356.
"I, as well as all of my father's family, Smith's wife, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, were present during the translation. . . . He [Joseph Smith] did not use the plates in translation."
---(David Whitmer,as published in the "Kansas City Journal," June 5, 1881,and reprinted in the RLDS "Journal of History", vol. 8, (1910), pp. 299-300.
In an 1885 interview, Zenas H. Gurley, then the editor of the RLDS Saints Herald, asked Whitmer if Joseph had used his "Peep stone" to do the translation. Whitmer replied:
"... he used a stone called a "Seers stone," the "Interpreters" having been taken away from him because of transgression. The "Interpreters" were taken from Joseph after he allowed Martin Harris to carry away the 116 pages of Ms [manuscript] of the Book of Mormon as a punishment, but he was allowed to go on and translate by use of a "Seers stone" which he had, and which he placed in a hat into which he buried his face, stating to me and others that the original character appeared upon parchment and under it the translation in English."
"Martin Harris related an incident that occurred during the time that he wrote that portion of the translation of the Book of Mormon which he was favored to write direct from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then used the seer stone, Martin explained the translation as follows: By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin and when finished he would say 'Written,' and if correctly written that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used."
(Edward Stevenson, "One of the Three Witnesses,"reprinted from Deseret News, 30 Nov. 1881in Millennial Star, 44 (6 Feb. 1882): 86-87.)
In 1879, Michael Morse, Emma Smith's brother-in-law, stated:"When Joseph was translating the Book of Mormon [I] had occasion more than once to go into his immediate presence, and saw him engaged at his work of translation. The mode of procedure consisted in Joseph's placing the Seer Stone in the crown of a hat, then putting his face into the hat, so as to entirely cover his face, resting his elbows upon his knees, and then dictating word after word, while the scribes Emma, John Whitmer, O. Cowdery, or some other wrote it down."
(W.W. Blair interview with Michael Morse,Saints Herald, vol. 26, no. 12June 15, 1879, pp. 190-91.)
Joseph Smith's brother William also testified to the "face in the hat" version:"The manner in which this was done was by looking into the Urim and Thummim, which was placed in a hat to exclude the light, (the plates lying near by covered up), and reading off the translation, which appeared in the stone by the power of God"("A New Witness for Christ in America,"Francis W. Kirkham, 2:417.)
"The manner in which he pretended to read and interpret was the same manner as when he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, while the book of plates were at the same time hid in the woods."---Isaac Hale (Emma Smith's father's) affidavit, 1834.
I have plenty against government teachers!
They willingly train for, seek work in, support, and establish a government single-payer and socialist-entitlement INDOCTRINATION system that HURTS CHILDREN!
They **willingly*** seek work in an institution :
1) That teaches children to think and reason godlessly. The children must just to cooperate in the godless classroom. How could it be otherwise.
2) That puts children at risk of learning to be comfortable with single-payer socialism. Gee! If the voting mob can hand out tuition-free schooling why not use the voting mob to get **lots** of “free” stuff? Is a “duh” needed here.
3) That forces citizens ( under the threat of armed police, court, and prison action) to pay for a non-neutral political, cultural, and religious indoctrination of children.
4) That treats children in many way like prisoners of the government and teaches them to be comfortable with government suppression of their , their parents, and the taxpayers’ First Amendment human rights and freedom of conscience.
Personally, I have made a decision. I will NOT have a government teacher for a friend. They are too evil, too stupid, or too much of a Useful Idiot to be a friend. I don't have abortion workers for friends either.
Another Reason to Homeschool.
What’s all that crap doing on this thread?
at #20.
I left mine out in the rain and they SHRANK!
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