Tall Cotton: 04/11/10

Sunday, April 11, 2010

As Gabriel Heatter said, "There's good news tonight!"

Florida's Congress critters has a bill in front of Crist to eliminate tenure in Florida's education system.

And I just love the article.

Three years ago, Elena San Pedro was a single mother of two struggling in a dead-end job that required so many hours during tax season, she feared her children no longer recognized her.

That's when she turned to teaching.

Besides giving her tools to help her autistic son, the profession offered stability, time with her kids and, with a few more degrees, opportunities for advancement.

Uh, Elena. Do you think we would have more confidence in you if you took the job because you liked to TEACH?

"I've already discussed with my family the possibility of moving to Georgia," said San Pedro, 29, a junior honors student majoring in special education at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

May I suggest you don't let the door hit you in the fanny on the way out? And Be careful around Waycross. There might be a patrol around writing tickets for speeders from FL.

And I love this.

Sherman Dorn, a professor in USF's College of Education, said the trade-off mentality — less money, but more security — is alive and well among educators.

"What job conditions are necessary in order to attract effective teachers and keep them in their jobs and ensure that they stay effective?" he said.

Well Sherm, the rest of us work under a system that says if you become ineffective you can be fired without three dozen reviews, four law suits and ten years to get it done.

I mean it ain't like K-12 is known for turning out well educated students with positive attitudes about our country. Maybe you folks should spend less time singing "Barack Obama Hmmm Hmmmm Hmmmm" and more times saying things like "The square root of 9 is 3....The reading assignment tomorrow is the Constitution..."

That's just us, Sherm. But pay no attention to the folks who are paying for the schools. We're just the boss of bosses and we just spoke in FL.

Maybe Pedro will have room in his car for you.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

Muslim trends in Europe

The canary has been used for hundreds of years by miners as an early warning device of dangerous gases in the mine.

Do you want a look at what is now happening in Europe and where we will most likely follow? Read the complete article by clicking here.

European youth suffer from loss of identity, combined with widespread tolerance of deviant behavior. They see the legalization of drugs and prostitution, the continual lowering of jail sentences for various crimes, and the educational system's frowning upon or outright rejection of national cultural identity. Many of them are losing all moral and cultural standards, and live in a chaotic, no-responsibility world. And here is the key difference between native Europeans and Muslim immigrants of the second or third generation: While both groups suffer the same loss of identity and aim, the former have no obvious exit, since both Christianity and mass ideologies are largely dead in Europe, while the latter do—and it is Islam, especially in its most simplistic, and poisonous forms It is hard to avoid drawing comparisons between British and German "skinheads" — who are opposed to an undefined "system" and are quick to blame their own problems on an undefined "other," and to borrow the slogans of fascist or Nazi ideologies they know nothing about. Similarly, there are young Muslims in Europe who cannot read or understand the Quran but accept in its entirety—the Salafi interpretation of it—because it gives them an identity and a goal: to fight the infidel "other." Doing so conveniently gives them a reason to reject a system they cannot or will not adapt to, and offers even the most ordinary petty criminal, be he a Muslim from birth or a convert, the opportunity to feel part of a large, indeed global, struggle—something that many psychologists would agree serves to create unconditional loyalty.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1