Speak Out A 1/11/02

Teacher testing

THIS IS in response to Luana Gifford's plea to give teachers tools, not tests. Get real, this is the same old union story in a slightly different wrapper. When the fluff is blown off Gifford's essay, it is apparent she does not want teachers to be held accountable under any circumstances. What does she want? Why, more money, of course. Well, we have thrown money at the education establishment for more than 25 years, and it continues to get worse, not better. She makes the plea for teachers to "become consumers of research and continuing training on how to teach and the best practices for individual classrooms." This is already available. It is called graduate school. It would seem to me that a person who holds a college degree in education should not fear taking a test to measure his degree of competence. After all, you give tests to the students for the same purpose -- at least I hope you do.

Testing teachers

AT FIRST glance, I thought Luana Gifford was on to something. I agree that teachers are not solely responsible for every student and that parents must take responsibility as well. However, it is the teacher who has the child in the classroom six to seven hours a day, and they must take some responsibility for a child's learning too. Gifford wants the taxpayer to come up with more money for professional development for teachers but still no testing. Why does she fear testing teachers for competence? Surely the teacher learned enough during four years of college to pass a simple test. Could it be that colleges and universities are turning out incompetent teachers and Gifford does not want this revealed? I sure hope this is not the case.

Politics involved

THE MISSOURI Achievement Program tests measure some learning to some extent. The trouble is that the test makers are directed to play political games with public schools concerning what specific things children are expected to learn and what specific things they will be tested over. Schools are given lists of meaningless glittering generalities, and teachers are expected to guess what specific things students should know in the content area but even to a lesser extent in skill mastery. If schools were told specifically what teachers should teach and students should learn, they could certainly do the job. Sadly, for political advantage, politicians like to play games with public schools. So this problem probably won't be remedied, much less addressed.

Just the basics

I BELIEVE SEMO should concentrate on business, teaching and nursing. Getting sidetracked with an alumni center and school for the fine arts are not helping the local youths. How many past graduates have gone on to the performing arts and made a responsible living? We need less tuition, better financial aid, more parking spaces and more help for the locals. Come on, SEMO, let's get with the program and stop our excessive waste of money.

Getting published

I HAD to laugh at the caller who said Twain and Thoreau would not fit the profile necessary to be published in the Southeast Missourian. His absurd conclusion caused him to contradict himself. This often happens when you try to get cute with twisted logic. Did he not himself get published in Speak Out?

Those regulations

I SEE David Broder, the liberal media darling, continues to bad-mouth the Bush administration. He calls President Bush's recent rejection of the ergonomics regulations a classic stealth maneuver. What kind of a maneuver was it when his beloved Bill Clinton, just days before his term expired, foisted these ridiculous regulations off on businesses through executive order? He also fails to mention that the Congress viewed Clinton's action as an illegal attempt to circumvent Congress' legislative authority. In fact, the Senate repealed this fiasco by a bipartisan 56-44 vote. Yes, elections do make a difference, so get over it. Al Gore lost.

A real landmark

ROUNDABOUTS are wretched architectural abominations. But, let's give credit where credit is due. The new East Rodney Street bridge is more aesthetically pleasing than the Eiffel Tower.

Status symbol

SMOKE FROM fireplaces is referred to as a pleasant aroma primarily because it is unnecessary to have a fire in a fireplace and is, therefore, a showy sign of upper-class status. Upper-class folks generally consider burning leaves a sign of lower-class status even though the aroma is the same, indicating one cannot afford to have lawn-care services rake and haul them off. If you can't afford to but want to give the appearance of upward mobility, you might dispense with all of your heating utilities, like electricity or gas, and use a fireplace to heat your house.

Spending our money

CLEARER THINKING should reveal that a lower cost of government is a better solution as to who ends up spending our money. For those who have decided that the government can spend their money better, then by all means send the government more money. But please leave the rest of us to yearn for smaller government and spending.

Ready to transfer

I CAN'T believe SEMO is going to build a new alumni building. I don't understand why the university needs a new meeting place for former graduates when many of the buildings for current students are a total disgrace. Many of the science and math buildings haven't been updated or even cleaned out in years. Johnson, Magill, Rhodes, Scully, and Brandt are in poor shape, just to name a few. I chose to attend SEMO because of the low tuition costs, but after a couple of years there, I can see that SEMO doesn't really even care about their students, who are paying good money to attend. Thank God I'm transferring soon.

Kicking Broder

A CALLER feels that neither Thoreau nor Twain would fit the profile to be published in the Southeast Missourian. He feels the profile excludes all but extremist, radical, right-wing Republicans. However, on the same page is a column by the always sanctimonious, left-wing Democrat, the venerable David Broder. In fact, much to the chagrin of those of us in the vast right-wing conspiracy, Broder appears all too often in the pages of the Southeast Missourian.

Big question

With all the testing of students, are we asking the right questions?