So for Fox 25 to go and talk about how Deval did terrible on the immigration issue and how he could lose lots of votes for it is disingenuous. Poll after poll has shown that it's the media that cares about immigration, not people. Immigration ranks on the bottom of the national conscience, especially in places like Massachusetts where immigration isn't a big problem. Immigration is an issue similar to Terry Shiavo: the media ate it up and suspected lots of conservative leaning people would rally around the issue, but turns out not even Republicans cared - oh, and Steven Lynch.
So let's get off this fixation on in-state tuition and licenses. It's unlikely that the state will have the power to grant licenses to undocumented citizens anyway, with new federal rules (assuming the state will take the money). Immigration is such a loaded issue where facts are confused with the passions of
Instead, let's focus the debate on issues that matter: education reform, property tax vs. income tax, hastening permit approval and other issues where voters need to be better informed in order to make an educated vote. Let's discuss just how we're going to make our new healthcare system work; the new law could be a great thing if the right governor is elected - or it could be a complete and utter disaster. So, media, let's discuss issues that matter to people - not people on the fringe, but society as a whole. Let's target the debate on the nine out of ten people who care about issues that matter.
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Because the MCAS tests expose the poor performance of teachers, the Mass teachers want to get rid of them. And Democrats will do what the Mass teachers union wants.
Unions are scary. Good luck with that one, Anon. It's a wonder you guys are on the point of extinction here. Your message resonates so deeply with the people of the state.
Joe, did you have some kind of standardized test when you were growing up? Grades have always been "subjective," if you want to put it like that. Does that mean we should eliminate them? Do that mean that your education is worthless? What's an "easy school," do you really think there are schools out theer with no good teachers, no teachers with standards, etc? That doesn't make any sense.
I'm not a teacher, but the point is is that many students don't respond well to teaching to the test methods. Even students who do well on standardized tests don't always retain the information when the test is over. Some of the toughest teachers, the ones whose students do best on MCAS, don't like it because it limits their ability to adapt their teaching methods in a way that students will respond to. If students are responsive, they'll learn better. If one technique doesn't work, maybe somethinge else should be tried. Students get bored and overwhemled but it's hard to adapt when the test pressure is relentless. It really does limit opportunities for learning.
Illegal immigration is a big issue in this campaign. Illegal immigrants in Massachusetts have driven down wages in the construction industry and eliminated industries such as janitorial service as a viable business for honest employers and viable employment for documented workers. Illegal immigrants put a strain on state infrastructure (prisons, hospitals, public schools, etc.) that costs every taxpayer and homeowner in this Commonwealth money. It is the primary reason I will not be voting for Patrick.
Education is an important issue, but we actually put more money than we should to K-12 education at the moment. The problem is we waste far too much on school administration, pensions are bloated and the school day is far too short. We need to extend the length of the school day (something Patrick supports) and increase some of the down time for students in school. It is appalling that the average primary school in Massachusetts allocates only 20 minutes to lunch and 3 minutes to get from class to class. This needs to change. The most important change we could make would be to require teachers from 7th grade on to have a master's degree in the subject they teach. A master's degree in education qualifies one to teach nothing but educational theory. We pay our teachers well and are so overgenerous in their pensions that cities and towns are taxing people out of their homes to provide those pensions. On the whole, K-12 educators in the Commonwealth are better paid than professors in the private and public colleges and universities of Massachusetts. We should damn well require high standards of our teachers in return.
Finally, for many of the "nice to have" things each and every school district and each teacher would like to have to make teaching easier/better/more rewarding... why can't K-12 educators and administrators do what higher education faculty and administration do? Write grants to obtain the myriad public and private funds specifically ear-marked for educational activity.
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