[NYer]

Dominique Chappelle, a seventh-grader at Hackett Middle School in Albany, tells a press conference why it's important to support the May 3rd march for public education. "If pre-kindergarten isn't there for my little cousins, they won't be ready for school," the 13-year-old told reporters. Looking on are Alan Lubin, executive vice president of New York State United Teachers and Tim Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, part of a coalition of educational organizations sponsoring the upcoming demonstration. Photo by El-Wise Noisette.

Preschool? Next, it will be Day Care!

Any doubt as to the power of the teacher unions? Hear them shout, tomorrow, in Albany NY. Tens of thousands are expected.

Report Cards on the Schools, Schools of Excellence ... students today STILL don't understand grammar, despite pumping billions of dollar$$$$$ into their programs. Enough is enough!

[NYer]

UPDATE: Friday, May 2, 2003

• THE MARCH IS ON!
  In light of fast moving developments at the Capitol this week, the timing of the march could not have been better. While the Legislature is expected to have the majority of the budget and revenue enhancement bills passed on or about the day of the march - Saturday, May 3 - lawmakers need to be reminded how important these restorations are in order to maintain the courage to override the Governor in the event of vetoes. The best way to show that support is to be in Albany on Saturday. Let your elected officials know that education funding is important this year and every year.

PLEASE PING YOUR LISTS!!! Tell the legislators that they have gone too far and that you are sick of their wasteful spending.

[ICE-FLYER]

This is such crap! The radio ads are atrocious. They start out with "If you care about education, you will be there" Our educational system is under threat, it proclaims.

The lesson?? The public school unionized-one-government-standard-marxists types want to make any and all feel bad that they are not there and that only those who support public schools care. All you homeschoolers and private schoolers? Well, YOU are the threat.

These types disgust me.

[tracer]

I always choke up at funeral processions......

[Noumenon]

Giving more money to public education is like donating your cash to add seats to your local porn theater.

[Bullish]

Sure! Just throw more money away on failed schools.

Liberals never seem to understand causation. It's not the money that's causing our kids to get less and less educated.

Money has nothing to do with it.

[Okies love Dubya 2]

"If pre-kindergarten isn't there for my little cousins..."

I never went to pre-school and I did just fine in school (National Honor Society, Honor Roll, etc). Lots of people I know never attended pre-school either and they seem to have grow up without any trauma. What these idiots want is day-care at the expense of the American taxpayer. This poor 13-year-old must be a (brainwashed) sweetheart of the NEA.

I'm so fed up with teachers' unions I could scream! The OEA had a rally a while back for 'save our schools' or some other BS. My understanding is that not only did they leave a mess behind at the State Capitol, they did this on a school day! Granted, the legislature doesn't meet on the weekends, but they are whining about more money and they can't even be in the schools to teach!

Let me tell you how I really feel :)

HOMESCHOOLING BUMP!!

[dasboot]

They wanted the kids to write letters and petitions, but.....er....well....y'know.

'Marching is lots more easier and funner plus you can get on TV.' (wrote Johnny Sic)

[jrushing]

The March for Public Education is intended to show support for public education funding. The poll of 460 registered voters found that 53 percent of voters think New York spends too little on education, while just 10 percent believe the state spends too much

What can they possibly be talking & protesting about? See Below!

New York spent $10,922 per student in 2001, outdoing second-ranked New Jersey by $29. Connecticut, Alaska and Massachusetts also were big spenders in 2001, at more than $9,000 per pupil. Also top-ranked were Rhode Island, $8,775; Vermont, $8,706; and Delaware, $8,603. "http://www.stateline.org/story.do?storyId=293163"

[UCFRoadWarrior]

NY isnt the only state w Edu-Fascists. Florida has its share

The voyers passed a referendum last yr limiting class size. Jeb Bush was always against it.....and he almost got it defeated (it lost support as local school district leaders realized how much it would cost). It will probably be killed somehow

Today...on the radio one of the local school districts in Orlando area had a spokesman stating "we have improved over last year....our test scores were down 2% while the state average was down 6%...." (figure out the stupidity here)

All public schools are a mess...some worse than others

[Kuksool]

The NEA using children to advance its Marxist agenda is a sick perversion.

[Kozak]

"we should be asking big corporations and people with the highest incomes to help carry the load by paying their fair share of taxes."

Translation: Make someone besides me pay. Gimme a dollar.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

The March for Public Education

These people need to quit marching and use that time to get educated.

They are actually doing The March For Ignorance.

[SuziQ]

"If pre-kindergarten isn't there for my little cousins, they won't be ready for school," the 13-year-old told reporters.

The only thing pre-schoolers need is to be read to, talked to by the loving adults in their lives, and shown their natural world. That takes TIME but not funding, so the educrats wouldn't be interested.

Our first two went to pre-school, the oldest because he missed the cut-off for kindergarten, and at the time, I thought he needed to get into the school routine. The second went because there were NO kids in our neighborhood with whom he could play, and I thought (wrongly) that he needed to be with other kids his age.

When it came time for the younger two, I didn't bother with pre-school. It cost over $2K a year for each one, and I didn't think they needed it. They did go to Kindergarten, and Catholic school, but the year they were entering 6th and 8th grades, respectively, we pulled them to homeschool them. It is the best decision we ever made, and I regret I didn't have the confidence in myself to have done it earlier!

[lodwick]

Keep us posted on how many tens of people show up for this one.

Cheers.