Ron DeSantis: What in the ever loving fuck is wrong with him?

[Nycturne]

school shootings kinda work for them if you go private you can afford security right?

Is that trained security, or rent-an-eyewitness style security? I can’t imagine private schools shelling out for the former unless it’s full of kids from rich families paying out the nose to attend.

But perhaps that’s the whole point.

 

[rdrr]

I’m not sure why you could not discern the crazy parents from responsibly involved parents with legitimate concerns. I would hope such reviews would be considered in the context of the other reviews and with the review of administration in conversation with the teachers.

I suppose the teachers here can comment further, but I would assume most of those problem parents submit excessive complaints about all their kids teachers, year after year, and become recognized as nuts by staff and admins.

What is the alternative to assess teacher performance? Getting reviews from the students many of whom are probably not mature enough to be entirely objective? Basing it on standardized test scores- which often require the bare minimum of knowledge. Or some administrator sitting in a class once a semester and basing their entire judgement on that.

I don’t think there is a single tool that can be used to analyze teacher performance. It has to be a multifaceted approach and parental feedback should be a component. If one parent is constantly complaining while none of the others are, that’s one thing. It’s another if nearly all the parents have negative feedback. And at that point the administration should talk to the teacher and find the best way to support them. If all signs point to the teacher not being effective and no improvements are made, then maybe it’s time to consider changing their position or termination as a last resort.

As for issues outside of teachers responsibility, I’m not talking about mandated reporting of issues like abuse. The most common issues in the news are issues around student’s sexuality and gender identity being reported to teachers and not telling the parents. While I commend these teachers for supporting their students, IF the student is clearly suffering emotional distress associated with sexuality or gender it should be required to inform the parents, even if the students say otherwise.

The argument against this is that some parents may not accept their children’s identity- though often than not children assume the worst when in fact their parents will be supportive. And while I understand these concerns can be entirely legitimate, schools should have the responsibility to inform parents if their child is struggling with a mental health issue (to be clear distress caused by their identity, rather than the identity itself) so that child can get the help they need. Teachers do not have the qualification to provide mental healthcare. And the legal guardians of children should have the right to know if their kids are having problems recognized by the school.

Where the schools could best be involved in such cases is supporting the student in talking to their parents in a safe and compassionate environment- and not necessarily talking about gender/sex, but rather the negative emotions they are suffering so they can get professional help.

My viewpoint/opinion is from someone who has two public school teachers in the family, and I have heard all about the issues of parents trying to end their careers over the slightest perceived wrong. I am pretty sure I don't know all the issues around being a teacher, but from what I have heard it is one of the most thankless jobs with brief moments of satisfaction. Teachers are attacked from every facet of their lives, they not only have parents attacking them and dealing with disruptive and over medicated children, but they also have to deal with a lot of bad school administration. A majority of the school administrations are very political and is only there to protect their own careers. One of my family members had a principal that had a personal grievance against them to the point that they had to leave the school that they had worked at for 15+ years.

As to the the top issue that teachers have to deal with, I agree that sexuality identity is in the top X list but the news is making it the top issue they have to deal with. I would guess in no particular order they have to deal with, home/family issues (abuse, poverty, sexuality), mis-diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disabilities/mental health, bullying, substance abuse, violence. Imaging trying to navigate where you can and should step in to provide guidance and not having the support from the administration or family. I often wonder how a lot of (not all) teachers stay in their job without totally giving up.

 

[Huntn]

The argument over standards is pretty daunting in this era where everything --everything-- is politically polarized in the USA.

And "good pay" is necessary, but won't be enough any more at least in K-12 school if things keep on as they've been doing: unruly behavior of the students, fear of mass shootings, lack of ancillary services at schools (teacher aides, school nurse teachers, counselors and social workers).

Some of the problems are from parents forgetting their own upbringing and somehow figuring kids will grow their own guardrails or be schooled AT school on "good behavior" once they're potty-trained and shipped off to kindergarten.

Some of the other problems are from parental micromanaging, figuring they invariably know what is best for their own kid and that that somehow translates into a right to mold a teacher's behavior and the curriculum to their own personal views.

But what's a parent to do? They're browbeaten all the time by dire warnings of what happens if they don't make every effort to see that their child is well educated. So we end up with the spectacle of parents struggling to learn "new math" or whatever just so they can help their kid struggling with homework to gain some kind of numeracy... or the spectacle of parents shrugging off the fact that their kid buys term papers (or will now use a chatbot). When push comes to shove the parent will stick up for the kid and show up to school and berate the teachers, who may or may not deserve the ding.

In the end it may come down to a societal deterioration in the ability to trust anyone. Trust has to be earned and can be pretty fragile. Social media generally works against trust. It inflates the worth of anecdotal data, emphasizes the negative, stirs hostility and creates expectation of instantaneous remediation of bad situations. All this remotely and in a passive-reactive manner. Meanwhile half the Monday morning quarterbacks wouldn't get out of a chair to go to a PTA meeting at their kid's school even if their real life depended on it.

On the bright side: a kid landing up with even one good teacher can make for a lifetime of awakened interest in learning. Humans are innately curious and imaginative as well, and kids are pretty resilient. Good we evolved to have that combination of tools from the outset, since the adults around us in our childhood can be real pieces of work sometimes. It's why we do need good teachers, and yes to pay them well, and provide the ancillary support they need to be able to offer education in a setting where it's more likely to be effective than is often the case now, whether the school is private, charter or public.

The missing piece though is still too often a made-clear parental expectation that the child will respect the teacher in a classroom. If the kid doesn't even behave at home, there's about zero chance he'll give a damn about what some adult says to him in a third-grade classroom once a few kids get to being rambunctious in there. What was cute in kindergarten is less so by the time the kids are 8 years old. And you couldn't pay me enough to be a teacher's aide for 7th or 8th graders today, never mind try to be a teacher without the help of an aide.

Well you are right, my definition of high standards diverges with Right Wing Koolaid swilling, pseudo patriotism, pseudo democracy, self oriented ME standards. I’m talking about competence, management, and engagement. And we need to straighten out the parents who want schools to take over parenting duties.

 

[lizkat]

Is that trained security, or rent-an-eyewitness style security? I can’t imagine private schools shelling out for the former unless it’s full of kids from rich families paying out the nose to attend.

But perhaps that’s the whole point.

Security, yeah. A fantasy designed to get us from one end of the day to the next. Useful, but ephemeral.

The whole point of anyone trying to maintain the income/wealth gap (and the power gap thus underwritten), is to distract and entertain the left-behinds as that latter group expands over time... and becomes more ignorant.

Ignorance among the masses is the very foundation of "security" for those engaged in keeping wealth and power corralled where it belongs, at the top.

You'd think though that to ensure against dangerous leaks of actual education, the DeFascist et al wannabes would throw in some bans against teaching subjects like arithmetic, mathematics, statistics and their softer sides, e.g. economics and political science. Simply banning books that violate fundamentalist (or just Victorian?) views of the proper order of things doesn't work any more.

Everything's out there on the net, and there's that occasional pesky and "dangerous kid with a library card" who starts looking for answers to stuff like why all people are equal but some more equal than others. Invariably this search leads to matters of... well, bread on the table. Wages for work. Labor law. Discrimination... yowza, ripples in a pond.

DeSantis and his mini-Trump pals will never catch all these inquisitive folk because most of them fly under the radar. There's nothing sexy or clickbaity about some kid reading a book about the conventional guiding principles of the market economy. But there she is, and boom, one of these days she pops out with a degree in finance and even worse, a hankering to go to law school, the uppity thing. No wonder the Rs are so opposed to higher education for everyone. Almost anything can happen when someone takes the bit in their teeth after learning how to read and use a search engine. And now there are digital library cards. Jesus Christ, the peasants are getting ready to storm the castle!

As for "security"... eventually in any society run by the few for the few writing laws that apply only to the many, there comes a day when the only security is keeping a jet idling on the runway, as a presumed path to a safe and well heeled life in exile. That day heralds arrival of the situation implied by the phrase "no wall high enough".

We're not there yet. We still run newspaper articles about looting of "luxury" items like clothes and shoes during blizzards. Law and order must prevail, at least for common thieves. Why else have SWAT teams rolling out into villages to scoop up some pathetic meth dealer. After all, the real drug cartels must remain in the hands of players in the pharmaceutical sector of the marketplace that is properly managed by fintech, and enabled by laws written by the lobbyists who finance campaigns of our Congress critters.

We don't run articles (yet) about peasants storming the castles of mere millionaires like the ones supposedly serving us (for a paycheck ten times what most of us will ever realize). Sigh. Well when the era of castle-storming arrives, we'll probably see some fascist leader (congress will be long gone before then) finally telling the NRA to stick it. A bright idea is when the guy at the top of the heap finally gets it, even if by then it's too late.

 

[AG_PhamD]

Is that trained security, or rent-an-eyewitness style security? I can’t imagine private schools shelling out for the former unless it’s full of kids from rich families paying out the nose to attend.

But perhaps that’s the whole point.

I went to college for my Freshman year and my brother all 4 years of undergrad was at one of the most expensive private colleges in the country, which just so happened to be the 9th most dangerous cities in the US at the time. Many student’s families there had a ridiculous amount of wealth.

Just beyond their property was an effective war zone. Criminals on the run would occasionally come onto campus, in one instance a man shot himself in front of my brothers dorm after robbing a store. His car was broken-into 3x in 2 years. Dorms have been robbed. I believe one girl was raped by a local resident shortly after I left (though students- both female and males’ biggest risk of rape is from its Frats, which has been well documented recently).

Yet this place had no police, no armed security, just rentacops from Securitas. Pretty absurd considering how much this school cost, how big their endowment was, and that much less affluent schools in far safer places have their own police.

I had the misfortune of going to Jewish day school preschool through 8th grade. We never had security guards, but now it seems like all of these schools have armed security, which is a sad state of affairs.

In Israel, nearly all schools have armed security and are designed with preventing attacks in mind. The guards are hired by the Israeli Police (federal law enforcement, their is no local) and are extremely well trained and continuously audited. If their skills are lacking or there is any lack of confidence, they are immediately replaced- not this US police Union Bs.

After every school shooting there are suggestions to look for Israel about how to improve school security. While this isn’t necessarily a bad idea, somehow the point is always missed that in the US school shooters are often students and that Israel is effectively in a warzone and their schools are targeted by terrorists, not students. It’s amazing how screwed up this is.

 

[AG_PhamD]

My viewpoint/opinion is from someone who has two public school teachers in the family, and I have heard all about the issues of parents trying to end their careers over the slightest perceived wrong. I am pretty sure I don't know all the issues around being a teacher, but from what I have heard it is one of the most thankless jobs with brief moments of satisfaction. Teachers are attacked from every facet of their lives, they not only have parents attacking them and dealing with disruptive and over medicated children, but they also have to deal with a lot of bad school administration. A majority of the school administrations are very political and is only there to protect their own careers. One of my family members had a principal that had a personal grievance against them to the point that they had to leave the school that they had worked at for 15+ years.

As to the the top issue that teachers have to deal with, I agree that sexuality identity is in the top X list but the news is making it the top issue they have to deal with. I would guess in no particular order they have to deal with, home/family issues (abuse, poverty, sexuality), mis-diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disabilities/mental health, bullying, substance abuse, violence. Imaging trying to navigate where you can and should step in to provide guidance and not having the support from the administration or family. I often wonder how a lot of (not all) teachers stay in their job without totally giving up.

Yeah, teachers definitely seem to be having a rough time, more so. The teachers I know seem to ultimately put a lot of the blame on their administrators. Even if you have unruly or underperforming students or crazy parents, that’s always going to be a problem to varying degrees when you’re working with the public. But if you don’t have administrators providing proper support and interventions in such cases, teachers are not going to be happy. On top of that, teachers have long been complaining of having to do more and more with less and less resources.

Plus, I think the pandemic move to online classes have been particularly challenging on everyone involved- teachers, students, parents.

Many schools apparently have had to cut special needs programs due to budget issues. School mental health services including psychologists and social workers have long been dwindling- reducing from at least one clinician per school to one per district. There’s a shortage of mental health practitioners in general, especially psychologists. And why would they want to work in schools with unmanageable case loads, limited resources, and less pay?

And inevitably that falls onto the teachers to fill in the gaps. And I think teachers taking on these roles are indeed well intended and demonstrate they truly care for their students. But teachers are not clinicians nor should they be expected to serve as such. And again that points back to the administrators.

On the other hand, I think there are probably a lot teachers, younger teachers, who need to recognize that unruly children and crazy parents is part of the reality of being a teacher- which also goes back to the review of teachers convo. Prior to the pandemic anyways, there appeared to be a millennial detainment issue. No one deserves to be mistreated, but to some extent that’s life. But again, the administration needs to be there for their staff.

I work at a psychiatric hospital and our patients are given the chance to review staff at the end of their stay, submit formal complaints at anytime, or go online and write whatever they want on yelp. There’s obviously a lot of unreasonable complaints about staff, but some of it can be legitimate. And there are always unfortunately patients who make up false allegations out of spite or psychosis or because it’s just who they are. And then there’s the fact that most people working in psych have been assaulted by patients at least once a year. But all of this is in the nature of the job. And then you can also have nutty parents of their adult children stirring up additional problems.

Let’s just say it could be worse for teachers- unless those teachers happen to work at a school for kids with mental/behavioral health problems.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Florida Teacher Is Fired for Posting Viral Video of Empty Classroom Bookshelves

The state is cracking down on books about racism and LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and teachers are now being punished for sounding the alarm.

jezebel.com

And somehow he’s the top contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

 

[Huntn]

Florida Teacher Is Fired for Posting Viral Video of Empty Classroom Bookshelves

The state is cracking down on books about racism and LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and teachers are now being punished for sounding the alarm.

jezebel.com

And somehow he’s the top contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

Just how low can the GOP and Florida go? <Cough> “Drumph”

 

[fooferdoggie]

Just how low can the GOP and Florida go? <Cough> “Drumph”

Well Idaho is trying to ban all Mrna vaccinations.

 

[Huntn]

Well Idaho is trying to ban all Mrna vaccinations.

The infection is Nationwide, some areas worse than others, but the symptoms are all different degrees of the same malady, a loss of previously accepted moral standards. For example honesty is now considered a liability on the other end of the political spectrum, and the STUPID factor as always, explain to the Dummies why down is now up, they’ll swallow.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Just how low can the GOP and Florida go? <Cough> “Drumph”

May be wishful thinking but some are saying the majority of electorate are starting to see these culture war stunts not solving any actual problems.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Of course he goes even deeper into christian nationalism.

Mack tweeted Thursday that the test “offers the opportunity for all our colleges & universities to rightsize their priorities.”
On Friday, he was more succinct: “CLT, not CRT!” (CRT, or critical race theory, has been a conservative boogeyman for years in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement.)
Mack has said that the American public school system “often compels or cultivates the treacherous belief that students should be taught to either hate others based on race or that the free society we are so fortunate to enjoy is inherently racist, stacked against the marginalized.”
“We’re thrilled they like what we’re doing,” Tate told the Miami Herald of the Florida officials. “We’re talking to people in the administration, again, really, almost every day right now.”

Florida Mulls 'Classical' Christian Alternative To SAT And ACT Testing​

Florida Mulls 'Classical' Christian Alternative To SAT Testing

The College Board's standardized tests are the latest target of Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign against the organization.

www.huffpost.com

 

[Huntn]

May be wishful thinking but some are saying the majority of electorate are starting to see these culture war stunts not solving any actual problems.

And hopefully where the source of the poison that is dripping into our veins.

 

[fooferdoggie]

this is great.​

Florida woman argues her unborn baby should be released from jail​

Florida woman argues her unborn baby should be released from jail

Natalia Harrell's lawyer argues her foetus is a person being unlawfully detained in a Florida jail.

www.bbc.com

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

this is great.​

Florida woman argues her unborn baby should be released from jail​

Florida woman argues her unborn baby should be released from jail

Natalia Harrell's lawyer argues her foetus is a person being unlawfully detained in a Florida jail.

www.bbc.com

As a former fetus I don’t accept this argument. Fetuses today don’t know how good they’ve got it!

 

[Roller]

As a former fetus I don’t accept this argument. Fetuses today don’t know how good they’ve got it!

Actually, it's a foetus — the "o" makes all the difference. But, if the attorney can get the baby to testify from in-utero, he may have a case.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Florida county Republican Party votes to ban the COVID-19 vaccine

Lee Co. Republican Party member Joe Sansone called the vaccine a bioweapon

www.cbsnews.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

Florida county Republican Party votes to ban the COVID-19 vaccine

Lee Co. Republican Party member Joe Sansone called the vaccine a bioweapon

www.cbsnews.com

like we needed more proof the Republican Party is a bunch of ignorant idiots. of course he will sign it he has been working towards that anyway.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

like we needed more proof the Republican Party is a bunch of ignorant idiots. of course he will sign it he has been working towards that anyway.

Just when you think it isn’t possible for Republicans to pull off another policy or stunt to turn off even more voters Florida knocks another one out of the park.

 

[Yoused]

DeSantis-backed bill would make it easier to sue news media

Gov. Ron DeSantis-inspired push to make it easier for prominent people to sue media outlets for defamation, setting the stage for a potential First Amendment clash in the courts.

www.orlandosentinel.com

This bill is an obvious attack on "the media" and 1A. One of its provisions would make it possible to win certain defamation suits without having to establish malice, which sounds to me a lot like they want to outlaw satire/mockery, or just words that make them feel bad.