Utterly Meaningless » Blog Archive » LETTER OF THE DAY
  • LETTER OF THE DAY

    Filed at 11:30 am under by dcobranchi

    I can’t do this one justice with a mere excerpt. Sadly, you’re going to have to click over and read the whole thing. Just make sure you do it on an empty stomach.

    12 Responses to “LETTER OF THE DAY”


    Comment by
    Valerie
    May 29th, 2005
    at 1:15 pm

    “Attention, American citizens: Every time you fill out a job application, balance your checkbook, or simply read the song titles on the back of your favorite CD, you should get down on your knees and thank whatever God you believe in for the fact that he blessed you with teachers.”

    If we’re going into the “whatever God you believe in” area, howscome the reference is only to “he?”

    Yeah, I know that wasn’t the point of reading this on an empty stomach (thanks for the warning), but it was the shortest bit I could respond to.

    Now I’ll go eat lunch.


    Comment by
    Terri
    May 29th, 2005
    at 1:58 pm

    Don’t worry! I’m *sure* the teacher’s frustration, resentment, political beliefs and biases are in no way influencing how the students are taught.

    I’m finding it difficult to pull together a concise comment on this dribble. If only my teachers had given me the tools to write, speak and think critically instead of making sure I could count change at McDonald’s!


    Comment by
    Chris
    May 29th, 2005
    at 6:21 pm

    i fisked it. I had to.
    odonne...02.php


    Comment by
    Anonymous
    May 29th, 2005
    at 6:24 pm

    This teacher in a fit a rage over lack of proper appreciation states the following:

    “Attention, American citizens: Every time you fill out a job application, balance your checkbook, or simply read the song titles on the back of your favorite CD, you should get down on your knees and thank whatever God you believe in for the fact that he blessed you with teachers.”
    ********

    So here we have it folks. Those who incarcerate our children for 12 years and extort massive amounts of money from the public treasury in order to teach us “our place” think we belong on our knees.

    Kneeling is the position to show respect for gods, the position reserved for submission, the position prior to beheading or execution, and the position of white house interns.

    These are the people who insist on “raising our children”.


    Comment by
    Gene
    May 29th, 2005
    at 6:34 pm

    Prior anon post by Gene


    Comment by
    Anonymous
    May 29th, 2005
    at 6:37 pm

    There’s an interesting article about teacher pay here:

    educat...1.html

    It’s published by the Hoover Institute, which is a conservative thinktank. I’m nowhere near conservative but I think this article points out the most salient arguments to rebut the typical teacher claim that their pay is “too low”.


    Comment by
    Jessica
    May 29th, 2005
    at 9:22 pm

    Reading the article at educationtext.org reminded me of a conversation with an acquaintance who works as a 6th grade teacher. The conversation is unrelated to this, but she had mentioned that she makes $200/day. That puts her at $36k which is a good amount more than anything I’ve ever made in a year even when I was working two jobs or pulling 14-hour days admining for a Sr. VP of a large hospital. We have a friend who puts his life on the line every day he goes to work as a police officer that doesn’t even make $35k.

    Thanks for the post, and the link in the comment!


    Comment by
    Stephanie
    May 30th, 2005
    at 1:13 am

    I should thank a teacher for those things? Why? My mother taught me how to do all those things. And I went to public school.

    What amazing logic this author employs. Truly unique.


    Comment by
    Gene
    May 30th, 2005
    at 1:48 am

    Great fisk Chris. I thought the author was female. Are you sure it was a guy?

    I wonder why they didn’t sign it.


    Comment by
    Chris
    May 30th, 2005
    at 8:50 am

    It was signed in the dead tree edition, and I think it was a he. However, that secion of the paper got used as floor covering yesterday when I changed the oil in my car, so I can’t check.


    Comment by
    Hube
    May 30th, 2005
    at 11:21 am

    In reality though, teachers, for the most part, are not the problem with public education. I know this because my colleagues and I spend countless hours in staff-development workshops, where we learn to incorporate a variety of student needs and learning styles into our instruction.

    “I know this …”??? This is, for me, the biggest hoot of the whole article. The vast majority of those “countless hours” are a complete and utter waste of time. Ask any public school teacher how “beneficial” the average inservice is.


    Comment by
    don
    May 31st, 2005
    at 3:09 pm

    He does make a valid point though. Most people don’t care about education (of their own chilren or others). The rest of us homeschool.