But think of the children
I’ve been biting my tongue on the education funding issue for some time now, it’s an issue where I agree with too few locals to even bother with, but it’s really getting silly now. I just noticed on the Whos of Who-cester blog another call for more ‘strongly worded letters’, as if the solution to Worcester’s problems is paper cuts for politicians. Unfortunately things are starting to get disingenuous at an exponential rate and positive arguments are lining up to do more harm than good.
Over there Tracy writes:
At-Large Councilor Rick Rushton. His request that the School Department find five new places to cut spending make one wonder if he’s been anywhere near a school budget over the past six years. One suspects not. He’s standing in front of a skeleton, trying to cut more fat. It isn’t there.
Are you telling me there is not one no-show job in the […]
Original post by Brendan
WPS - Making life miserable one child at a time
I was just poking around the Worcester Public Schools website looking for the types of ‘fun’ we’ve banned in town. Spurred by this story in the Washington Post, I have a feeling my decision as to whether or not my son will attend public schools will hinge less on issues like funding and quite a bit more on the degree of bat shit insane authoritarianism ruling the day. While I couldn’t find out for sure if tag and dodge ball are banned in the WPS, I did find some things that made me giggle before getting mostly depressed.
Rule 15 of the WPS code is a great one:
Rule 15. - Cellular Telephones, Beepers, and Laser Pointing Devices
A student shall not possess a beeper, pager or other mobile telecommunications or two-way radio communications device of any type on school premises or at a school-sponsored situation, provided, however, that a […]
Original post by Brendan
Worcester Public School funding blog
A kind reader just pointed me in the direction of what appears to be the early (very early) stages of a public call for increased funding of the WPS. There is not a ton of info up right now, but they have drafted some nice ‘fill in the blank’ style letters to the City Manager and City Council as well as collected contact info for just about every player involved. There is also a link to a google group that has been set up for communication.
I hope to see something come from this, my son will be of age for public schools next year and there is absolutely no way we’ll even consider them in their current state. Which feels pretty terrible for someone raised in a family of educators, mostly in the public sector.
link (thanks for the tip, T!)
Original post by Brendan
The Telegram and Education
I think I’ve finally figured out the Worcester Telegram and Gazette’s editorial stance on public education: Any policy that Worcester taxpayers don’t have to fund is good. Any policy that costs Worcester taxpayers more is bad.
Pilot schools with money from the state? Good.Compensating teachers with expensive health care benefits? Bad.Increased state aid to reduce the number of high school dropouts? Good.
And so on. The next time you see an op-ed on local public education in the Telegram, apply the simple test above, and see how it works.
Original post by urbansocrates