The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: Texacon on July 28, 2023, 01:31:52 PM
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https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218127367
Jilly_in_VA
Largest School District in Texas Eliminates Libraries, Converts Them to Disciplinary Centers
The largest public school district in the state of Texas is converting libraries in 28 schools into disciplinary centers and eliminating school librarian positions, local news outlets reported on Thursday. The alarming change comes as part of a sweeping reform program led by the Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) new superintendent Mike Miles, who oversees 85 schools. Of the remaining 57 schools with libraries, the district said each will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, indicating more libraries could be closed.
Under Miles’ New Education System (NES) program, libraries in the 28 schools will become “Team Centers,” where “kids with behavioral issues will be sent,” per the Houston-based NBC affiliate, KRPC. The district has said librarians at these schools “will have the opportunity to transition to other roles within the district.” Miles was notably appointed by the Texas Education Agency despite fierce opposition from local leaders; he’s previously led Dallas’ school district and oversaw a controversial program that tied teachers’ pay to standardized test scores, which saw long-time teachers depart due to pay disparities.
Educators are understandably dismayed that libraries—an invaluable resource for young minds—are being taken away from kids, and converted into punishment centers, no less. “It was such a joy to help them find the perfect book,” one former school librarian in the district told KRPC. She continued, “My heart is just broken for these children that are in the NES schools that are losing their librarians.”
Miles has acknowledged that students in his district are behind on their reading levels, raising questions about how the elimination of libraries could worsen this. “Our less fortunate students are the ones that suffer the most; primarily because many of them live in situations that are reading deserts,” another former HISD librarian said. “They don’t have access to the reading materials. They don’t have a choice in the reading materials that they are given to read.”
The move has also been condemned by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner: “You don’t close libraries in some of the schools in your most underserved communities, and you’re keeping libraries open in other schools,” the mayor said at a city council meeting on Wednesday evening. “What the hell are you doing?”
https://jezebel.com/largest-school-district-in-texas-eliminates-libraries-1850686093
If I lived in Texas...I wouldn't any more. Inhumane political system, no medical care, and basically no educational system. Talk about a shithole country.....
Can the smartest people on the INTERNET explain to me why kids can’t get anything they need on the INTERNET?
How many kids utilize the library these days? They hold in their hands, literally, anything they want and use it regularly. Granted they use it mostly to shoot videos hoping to go viral, but that’sa different discussion for a different day.
Go look at the comments from the smartest people ever.
KC
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Jilly_in_VA
Largest School District in Texas Eliminates Libraries, Converts Them to Disciplinary Centers
The largest public school district in the state of Texas is converting libraries in 28 schools into disciplinary centers and eliminating school librarian positions, local news outlets reported on Thursday. The alarming change comes as part of a sweeping reform program led by the Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) new superintendent Mike Miles, who oversees 85 schools. Of the remaining 57 schools with libraries, the district said each will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, indicating more libraries could be closed...
DUm'Rat; stop for a second and forget that Texas - for the moment, no thanks to #JoeThePretender's border policies - is a red state.
- What city, specifically, is this unconsionable act against children occuring in?
- Which party is it that has run that particular urban shithole into the ****in' ground with their corruption, incompetence, and policies literally for decades now?
- Which borderline criminalorganization is it that rules the Houston Independent School District with an iron fist, from the District Superintendent all the way down to the lowliest blue-haired tranny Kindergarten teacher?
- Which party is it that the Texas Education Association is absolutely riddled with representatives of?
So, with all of this forming a pattern even a DUm'Rat could extrapolate from, WHAT PARTY IS IT ****ing with the education of these kids in Houston, mouth breather?
:thatsright: :whatever:
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Why do I get the feeling there's something more to this story that this news source isn't telling us?
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I guess they haven’t heard of the public library :thatsright:
And when the trouble makers turn out to be minorities it will be labeled racist!!!
On the upside now maybe the kids that want to behave and learn will be able to and the teachers will be able to do a better job and not feel threatened by out of control kids.
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Why do I get the feeling there's something more to this story that this news source isn't telling us?
Because there is. These schools were taken over by the state and their boards were removed because of mismanagement. It’s been big news down here. The DUmmies don’t want to tell you about all the problems these schools have had.
KC
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The story appears to be complicated (and Prog BS poutrage makes finding info less than easy). Mike Miles was appointed superintendent by the state ... after the state took over the ISD due to being horribly run.
This is being done in what appears to be selected schools, not all 274 schools in the HISD. From https://defendernetwork.com/news/education/lessbgreaterwhat-is-hisds-new-education-system-aligned-schoolsless-bgreater/ :
Outlined below are key elements of the NES plan and what can be expected from the expanded implementation:
Job Security and Compensation: Teachers at the 57 NES-aligned schools will not be required to reapply for their positions, and significant pay raises will be reserved for the 28 campuses targeted for the most extensive overhaul.
Extended Schedule and Centralized Support: The schools will operate on an extended schedule, from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., to offer flexibility for working parents. The district will choose and purchase curriculum materials, provide guidance for lesson plans, and assume responsibility for managing the campus budget, shifting it from principals to the district’s central office staff.
“Hospital Model” Support: A “hospital model” will be established in NES schools, with “teacher apprentices” and “learning coaches” working alongside teachers in classrooms. These support staff positions are responsible for preparing and grading instructional work for teachers.
Extended Hours and Enhanced Resources: NES schools will also modify their before and after-school care hours, operating from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., further accommodating working parents. The district has committed to providing upgraded facilities, including interactive smart boards in every classroom, and assigning highly effective teachers to underserved schools to promote equity.
It looks to be throwing people at the selected schools' problems (stooooopid question, if these schools' students do poorly at reading, how likely are those illiterate and semi-literate students to be using the libraries?). I.E. low student:instructor ratio.
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Quick look up of Houston School District racial stats.
Blacks 22.1%
Hispanic 61.9%.
Asian 4.5%.
White 9.7%
Limited English proficiency 35.1%
Diversity is our strength comrades.
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With only less than 5% Asians I wonder why they couldn’t have just used a broom closet
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Because there is. These schools were taken over by the state and their boards were removed because of mismanagement. It’s been big news down here. The DUmmies don’t want to tell you about all the problems these schools have had.
KC
When I read the article below, I "knew" there would be at least one DU poutrage-thread about this.
Houston's comeback: Structure, direct instruction are paying off
https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/houston-s-comeback-structure-direct-instruction-are-paying-off (https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/houston-s-comeback-structure-direct-instruction-are-paying-off)
"Traditional education, discipline, and careful monitoring and data analysis" (article link) are improving student performance in Houston's New Education System (NES) schools, writes Neetu Arnold of the Manhattan Institute in City Journal.
When Mike Miles was appointed superintendent in 2023, only one in five students could read or do math at grade level, she writes. More than 120 of the district's 274 schools had D or F ratings. The state education agency took over the district, and put Miles in charge.
Houston schools have a long way to go, but reading and math scores are improving, especially for disadvantaged students, Arnold writes.
Under NES, the district's worst-performing schools now use the highly effective and highly structured Direct Instruction (DI) method, Arnold writes. Teachers guide student learning instead of asking them to "construct" their own learning.
What DU-folk railed at has, 2 years later, brought progress in the right direction, improvement. I've posted this before, but author Joanne Jacobs is not conservative. She's a pragmatic non-crazy liberal (who probably should be listed under the Endangered Species Act).
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Is this part of Al Greens district?
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Is this part of Al Greens district?
The northern part of Al Green's (9th) district is in Houston Independent School District, roughly half of Green's district. The 9th and HISD are similar in area, HISD possibly being the larger, so ~50% overlap.
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When I read the article below, I "knew" there would be at least one DU poutrage-thread about this.
Houston's comeback: Structure, direct instruction are paying off
https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/houston-s-comeback-structure-direct-instruction-are-paying-off (https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/houston-s-comeback-structure-direct-instruction-are-paying-off)
What DU-folk railed at has, 2 years later, brought progress in the right direction, improvement. I've posted this before, but author Joanne Jacobs is not conservative. She's a pragmatic non-crazy liberal (who probably should be listed under the Endangered Species Act).
Good find!
^5!
KC
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So much in all these articles and comments as I sit here clinging to sanity by my fingernails for 4 1/2 more weeks of school. Things like "what do the parents of those less fortunate students think about this, assuming they know their kid's school has a library, and assuming they are teaching their less fortunate child that school, education and reading even matter" (this is a huge issue, kids don't care about school, which is nothing new, but in so many homes, there's no one telling them that it's important and the kids need to do well, not just take up space until drop out age). Things like "are those whining parents doing anything about their disciplinary problem children who would be put in those team centers cause others can't learn while your little crotch goblin is disrupting the class?" Also things like "you hand me a script to teach from, I'll tell you where you can stick said script".
Our education system has been a floating dumpster fire for a long time. There's no cookie cutter solution. Campuses, cities, districts and states need to figure out what their students and staff need, parents need to be doing their parts, and funds need to be gathered and used well to generate fewer idiots with no skills, knowledge or comprehension abilities.
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To continue with what has happened since the state took over some of the HISD schools ...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/many-hisd-students-aren-t-making-a-living-wage-post-graduation-this-carnival-cruise-could-help/ar-AA1DsefZ?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=89fc8de55e0f45c39671bd6610b303aa&ei=70
Many HISD students aren't making a living wage post-graduation. This Carnival cruise could help.
How does an iPhone get from China to Houston?
That's one of the first questions posed to students at Stephen F. Austin Senior High School's Magnet School for Maritime Studies. Located 20 miles west of the nation's busiest port, the campus has become one of the largest maritime-themed high schools in the nation since its Port of Houston partnership began 15 years ago, according to the district.
With a new $62,500 infusion from Chevron Shipping - introduced this school year as part of the district's ongoing push for more career and technical studies programs-some of the program's students felt the sea breeze hit their faces for the first time Thursday.
The program's seniors were greeted with balloons, hand clappers and a crew of employees, all in Chevron blue, as they prepared to embark on a five-day voyage aboard the Carnival Breeze cruise ship Thursday morning.
Students spent six hours in a classroom each day learning from the ship's captain, chief engineer and crew while exploring the inner workings of the 130,000-ton vessel. Between tours of the ship's bridge, engine room, galley and steering gear, students took in the sights of the Port of Cancún.
As a recent transfer from California, Robinson hadn't heard of maritime studies until he enrolled at Austin.
After moving from a welding class to a maritime science classroom, Robinson and other students in the magnet program gained exposure to the industry through simulation equipment, working toward professional maritime-related certifications while in high school.
With Chevron's partnership, students were given more insight into "landside education," which includes operators that assist shipping vessels while still on land. The program's simulator equipment has also been upgraded, Chevron said in a release.
Programs like Austin's are vital to providing homegrown talent for the country's largest shipping port, Chevron Shipping's Brett Cooley said. The recent investment is part of state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles' emphasis on preparing students for the 2035 workforce, in part by expanding its career and technical education programs.
Programs like Austin's are vital to providing homegrown talent for the country's largest shipping port, Chevron Shipping's Brett Cooley said. The recent investment is part of state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles' emphasis on preparing students for the 2035 workforce, in part by expanding its career and technical education programs.
This is how you get stuff done!
KC
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[Prog-Speak-Mode] Horrors! Those students won't be going to go to a university and borrowing $150K to earn a degree in a major without a remunerative career path! [/Prog-Speak-Mode]
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[Prog-Speak-Mode] Horrors! Those students won't be going to go to a university and borrowing $150K to earn a degree in a major without a remunerative career path! [/Prog-Speak-Mode]
Not to mention that a lot of the funding is coming from *gasp* the O&G industry! My GOD! Chevron is trying to brainwash those kids!!
KC
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To continue with what has happened since the state took over some of the HISD schools ...
This is how you get stuff done!
KC
It all started going downhill when kids were convinced that the only way they would make it is by getting a degree and insisting on a desk job that pays a lot of money. The only ones who benefited from this were the secondary education assholes who charge 20K/yr just for tuition, and they prey on gullible teenagers who will sign for long term student loans. At 18, most kids see it as free money, and payback time seems like eons away. It is only when they graduate and find out an over the road trucker makes more than they do that they realize they got scammed. Then it takes them most of their adult life to pay that crap off... if they ever do. And now China makes all of our stuff
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A story (not mine) from ancient times ...
Once upon a time, a high school junior who had learned to weld in his high school's Ag program and worked at welding in the school's Work Experience program got his GF pregnant. They married, both dropped out, and he got a full-time job where he had been working part time. He supported his family got so skilled he became a supervisor at the company and worked there until he retired. His wife eventually completed her education, including college, and became a teacher.
Vocational education can work, quite well. It "just" requires that four-letter "W" word and a willingness to learn. FWIW, 50+ years later that high school's vocational programs have increased, not withered away.
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A story (not mine) from ancient times ...
Once upon a time, a high school junior who had learned to weld in his high school's Ag program and worked at welding in the school's Work Experience program got his GF pregnant. They married, both dropped out, and he got a full-time job where he had been working part time. He supported his family got so skilled he became a supervisor at the company and worked there until he retired. His wife eventually completed her education, including college, and became a teacher.
Vocational education can work, quite well. It "just" requires that four-letter "W" word and a willingness to learn. FWIW, 50+ years later that high school's vocational programs have increased, not withered away.
I took Vo-Tech in high school and learned to 'weld'. I thought I was a welder until I got a job as a welder ... I learned very quickly, from a very stern boss, that I was no welder. Not at that point.
A few years of working under this guy I was turned loose as a superintendent, running my own crews, all over the United States, building water tanks for communities and fire protection for large buildings.
I got out of that field in the mid '90's and did a couple of other things before I landed on real estate where I started as an agent and got my broker's license in the mid 2000's. After getting my broker's license I bought the real estate company and ran that until 2013 when I had my wife take the office over and I came back into the field I love.
I've been a project manager in this field for 12 years now and make a rather good living, while my wife does well with the real estate. She's far better at "people'ing" than I will ever be.
Going to college doesn't have to be your path. I hired a kid that grew up with my kids to build tanks. That was in 2014, 2 years after he graduated from high school. He now makes well over $100k/year and is a foreman working to become a superintendent. I'm really proud of what he's accomplished and he has zero college debt.
KC
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It all started going downhill when kids were convinced that the only way they would make it is by getting a degree and insisting on a desk job that pays a lot of money. The only ones who benefited from this were the secondary education assholes who charge 20K/yr just for tuition, and they prey on gullible teenagers who will sign for long term student loans. At 18, most kids see it as free money, and payback time seems like eons away. It is only when they graduate and find out an over the road trucker makes more than they do that they realize they got scammed. Then it takes them most of their adult life to pay that crap off... if they ever do. And now China makes all of our stuff
You are absolutely spot on. We have a problem in this country because too many of our young equate the word WORK with so many other 4 letter words. There is a fix for that though. Stop giving them stuff!
Once these people figure out that in order to eat and stay warm/dry, they will have to exercise some form of discipline and provide for themselves ... they will.
KC
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It all started going downhill when kids were convinced that the only way they would make it is by getting a degree and insisting on a desk job that pays a lot of money. The only ones who benefited from this were the secondary education assholes who charge 20K/yr just for tuition, and they prey on gullible teenagers who will sign for long term student loans. At 18, most kids see it as free money, and payback time seems like eons away. It is only when they graduate and find out an over the road trucker makes more than they do that they realize they got scammed. Then it takes them most of their adult life to pay that crap off... if they ever do. And now China makes all of our stuff
My district pushes college WAY too hard. Not everyone is built for college, not everyone is ready at 18 to go to college (I wasn't on several levels) and not everyone needs college to be productive citizens. The push feeds into young students short term thinking that "I don't like school, I'm not good at school, so I'm not going to college, I'll just take up space until I can drop out". I've got middle schoolers who are already planning on dropping out, and because of that, they see no point in working, learning, passing (which they will anyway, we don't fail or hold back students) obeying or listening. Which means they lose out daily on more and more basic information and skills.
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" Inhumane political system, no medical care, and basically no educational system. Talk about a shithole country....."
1. But don't you dare question DUmmies' patriotism!
2. Remember, Republicans are the ones who supposedly "Hate America" and its people.
3. This DUmmy is welcome to leave and move to another country. Maybe he or she could go to Saudi Arabia or North Korea, and see what THEIR political, medical, and educational systems are like?
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So the schools who lost their unused libraries adopted this new system. The results are trending positive. The student's test scores are improving. That eventually creates a more informed public. And, that's not good for inner-city lib's job security.
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If I lived in Texas...I wouldn't any more. Inhumane political system1, no medical care2, and basically no educational system3. ...
1 Does this comment have any meaning beyond, "I disagree with Texas voters' choices"?
2 In the real world, Texas has some of the best hospitals and medical research facilities in the nation. How ignorant does even a DUmmie have to be to not know this?
3 In the real world, Texas education is at or above US average in Math and Science. It is slightly below average for Reading (having a significant population for whom English is their second language probably affects this).
Several Texas universities are among the nation's best. How ignorant does even a DUmmie have to be to not know this?
Jilly_in_VA's two years old snark about Texas education didn't hold up well. Two years onward, Mike Miles' program is making progress, not regression or staying static. Chances are, this has been accomplished in spite of teacher-union and educratic foot-dragging and hindrance.
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Houston is not just run by democrats but BLACK democrats. DUmmys are racist AF!