Big Brother runs amok, again?

[RockofStrength]

Then you didn't go to school here, correct? We've had book rental fees as long as I can remember, and I graduated way back in the 1900's!

I didn't go to school at all past 1st grade: homeschoolers don't have book rental fees

 

[Mad Macs]

Oh jeez, everybody needs to lighten up. We deal with schools and their IT rollouts and nobody ever gives a crap what your kids are doing at home. Computer fees are rolled into book fees as well.

The teachers might need to either lock the students' computers in the class or display her own machine onto the students' computers to show a lesson.

Everybody just calm down.

 

[beararms1776]

It's amazing kids graduated in a time when there were no digital communication. I have to commend them on their hard work and dedication to being succesful.

 

[Expat]

Oh jeez, everybody needs to lighten up. We deal with schools and their IT rollouts and nobody ever gives a crap what your kids are doing at home. Computer fees are rolled into book fees as well.

The teachers might need to either lock the students' computers in the class or display her own machine onto the students' computers to show a lesson.

Everybody just calm down.

Mgderf was talking about a real case. There were school officials watching kids at home over the laptop. So apparently some of them are interested.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

There have been cases, and there's the potential for much worse. You let some people loose with the ability to monitor others, and they'll use it. Qui custodiet ipsos custodes?

 

[beararms1776]

Oh jeez, everybody needs to lighten up. We deal with schools and their IT rollouts and nobody ever gives a crap what your kids are doing at home. Computer fees are rolled into book fees as well.

The teachers might need to either lock the students' computers in the class or display her own machine onto the students' computers to show a lesson.

Everybody just calm down.

I agree. Your under no obligation to install someone elses video survailance web cam in your own home.
Thats why Gates gives you the option to disable remote network in windows.
Seriously though, they would probably leave the pc's locked at school. If the student has a problem, it's a way the teacher can help the student so they don't have to leave their desk when seat belted to the chair.

 

[beararms1776]

Mgderf was talking about a real case. There were school officials watching kids at home over the laptop. So apparently some of them are interested.

I understand his concern. It was an action that makes his concern totally legitimate. "Some" would call it paranoid. But if he didn't show concern, those same or a different group of "some" would say he doesn't care.

 

[Mad Macs]

Mgderf was talking about a real case. There were school officials watching kids at home over the laptop. So apparently some of them are interested.

We could sit down and take any given topic and come up with a situation where somebody did something totally stupid.

The point is, calm down and figure things out BEFORE going off the deep end.

 

[Mad Macs]

I agree. Your under no obligation to install someone elses video survailance web cam in your own home.
Thats why Gates gives you the option to disable remote network in windows.
Seriously though, they would probably leave the pc's locked at school. If the student has a problem, it's a way the teacher can help the student so they don't have to leave their desk when seat belted to the chair.

With the schools we deal with, the parents know the backdoor admin password so they can administer their kids's computers if they want to.

Know what? Most parents don't give a crap about parenting their kids so now they want US to monitor their kids' activities on their computers while at home.

 

[Mad Macs]

It's amazing kids graduated in a time when there were no digital communication. I have to commend them on their hard work and dedication to being succesful.

Very true, however the world is changing. Why carry around 100 lbs in books when an iPad will contain every book ever written? You can video conference people on different continents, compose music, write stories, do research on the Internet, all on a device the size of a small book.

 

[Expat]

It's too bad they can walk around with every book ever written, on their iPad, yet unable to do math, read or think for themselves.

 

[Mad Macs]

It's too bad they can walk around with every book ever written, on their iPad, yet unable to do math, read or think for themselves.

Not our kids, nor my wife's (she's a classroom teacher)

Here's the problem with education and it's only going to get worse in Indy. Tony Bennett and Mitch Daniels are out to DESTROY public education. To be fair, I've never met a bigger bunch of idiots than most of the education administrators I've seen in Indiana. Seriously incompetent people making horrible decisions that only seem to make people mad.

In a world where we should embrace education and our children's future the people in charge of it are managing to mess it up to the point that everybody loses. Good teachers are going to quit, parents are too busy complaining about their stupid children getting bad grades yet don't sit down with them and do homework or study anything, and administrators are just pissing it all away.

 

[24Carat]

Why not just a piece of tape over the webcam lens ??

Not our kids, nor my wife's (she's a classroom teacher)

Here's the problem with education and it's only going to get worse in Indy. Tony Bennett and Mitch Daniels are out to DESTROY public education. To be fair, I've never met a bigger bunch of idiots than most of the education administrators I've seen in Indiana. Seriously incompetent people making horrible decisions that only seem to make people mad.

In a world where we should embrace education and our children's future the people in charge of it are managing to mess it up to the point that everybody loses. Good teachers are going to quit, parents are too busy complaining about their stupid children getting bad grades yet don't sit down with them and do homework or study anything, and administrators are just pissing it all away.

You are throwing around a lot of accusations there Mad Macs. Care to offer up anything substantial to back it up ?

Like how "Tony Bennett and Mitch Daniels are out to DESTROY public education" ?

"I've never met a bigger bunch of idiots than most of the education administrators I've seen in Indiana." You have evidence of decisions these Admins have made that qualifies them as idiots? Please expound !

Your whole post smells like a political diatribe.

 

[Mad Macs]

Why not just a piece of tape over the webcam lens ??

You are throwing around a lot of accusations there Mad Macs. Care to offer up anything substantial to back it up ?

Like how "Tony Bennett and Mitch Daniels are out to DESTROY public education" ?

"I've never met a bigger bunch of idiots than most of the education administrators I've seen in Indiana." You have evidence of decisions these Admins have made that qualifies them as idiots? Please expound !

Your whole post smells like a political diatribe.

My post is what it is. Here are some facts about Tony Bennet and his agenda:

Legal Clips » Indiana court preliminarily enjoins state department of education from requiring school districts to use teacher contract form

Oops, busted trying to screw teachers. Courts had to overturn this law as it was deemed contrary to labor laws in that it allowed the state to arbitrarily make teachers work more days/hours without financial compensation.

Tony Bennett | StateImpact Indiana

He states that teachers should be paid based on how well their students perform. Too bad the best teacher in the world can't get students to perform if parents aren't involved. Yet nowhere does he mention this OBVIOUS fact that everybody in education seems to understand, yet no politician will ever openly discuss.


Now, onto Administration. Eugene White is the Superintendent of IPS. He is fighting a move by the State of Indiana where the state is trying to reclaim the schools as they are HORRIBLY performing. White has been a complete idiot in all of this, having been given a decade to get the schools in question to perform better without any success.

Dr. Timothy Ogle is the Superintendent of Avon schools and when their referendum didn't pass, he thought it would be a good idea to publicly fire teachers in front of their students to "show the community we mean business". All he's done is make his staff hate him, the community hates him, and now the teachers have classrooms of 30-40 kids and work stupid hours to get their jobs done. I know several teachers there and they are ALL contemplating quitting after this year. These are good teachers, "Teacher of the Year" teachers for some of them, and they are done with this bulls**t.

 

[cobber]

This doesn't strike me as a privacy issue at all, any more than I have an expectation of privacy on my workplace computer. I use it for work and then it's off. I don't access it through my internet provider or account. I don't download personal stuff on it.

As far as my employer knows, I use my office computer for work. And they have no idea what I do on my home computer.

There are far more privacy concerns with the social networking sites than with school-issued computers (albeit one's the govenment and the other's not).

Now if the feds mandated that every household had to have an Uncle-Sam approved and wired computer, that we had to use for all internet access, THAT would be of concern.

Am I missing something here?

And just shut down when you're not actively working on schoolwork...

 

[jblomenberg16]

My post is what it is. Here are some facts about Tony Bennet and his agenda:

Legal Clips » Indiana court preliminarily enjoins state department of education from requiring school districts to use teacher contract form

Oops, busted trying to screw teachers. Courts had to overturn this law as it was deemed contrary to labor laws in that it allowed the state to arbitrarily make teachers work more days/hours without financial compensation.

Tony Bennett | StateImpact Indiana

He states that teachers should be paid based on how well their students perform. Too bad the best teacher in the world can't get students to perform if parents aren't involved. Yet nowhere does he mention this OBVIOUS fact that everybody in education seems to understand, yet no politician will ever openly discuss.


Now, onto Administration. Eugene White is the Superintendent of IPS. He is fighting a move by the State of Indiana where the state is trying to reclaim the schools as they are HORRIBLY performing. White has been a complete idiot in all of this, having been given a decade to get the schools in question to perform better without any success.

Dr. Timothy Ogle is the Superintendent of Avon schools and when their referendum didn't pass, he thought it would be a good idea to publicly fire teachers in front of their students to "show the community we mean business". All he's done is make his staff hate him, the community hates him, and now the teachers have classrooms of 30-40 kids and work stupid hours to get their jobs done. I know several teachers there and they are ALL contemplating quitting after this year. These are good teachers, "Teacher of the Year" teachers for some of them, and they are done with this bulls**t.

Seems two different issues here.


The first issue you are describing is Tony Bennet's actions that affected how teachers are paid.

The second is around the state looking at ways to improve performance of underperforming schools, and reward high performing ones.


How is this trying to DESTROY Public Education? I will give you that not all the decisions that have been made have turned out to be good ones, but I don't see a malicious intent to destroy public education. And even if there was, what is the motive?

 

[Mad Macs]

Seems two different issues here.


The first issue you are describing is Tony Bennet's actions that affected how teachers are paid.

The second is around the state looking at ways to improve performance of underperforming schools, and reward high performing ones.


How is this trying to DESTROY Public Education? I will give you that not all the decisions that have been made have turned out to be good ones, but I don't see a malicious intent to destroy public education. And even if there was, what is the motive?

If they truly wanted to help public schools they would work with the parents to help their children out. Instead they gang up on the teachers (look at any story about teachers on the news, it's always something bad) and get everybody to bully them. I can't think of a worse profession to be in right now. You administration won't stick up for your decisions, always giving into parents who don't think their child should study, or do homework.

 

[Expat]

I think it is clear that if we can increase funding to the schools some more, we are bound to hit that sweet spot where it will really benefit the children's education. Oh and if we stop trying to measure whether the kiddies are learning or not, then the teachers can get back to teaching them the stuff they need to be teaching them. The teachers' unions clearly need more power and the ability to set the curriculum.

 

[Bunnykid68]

In Evansville the kids are required to get computers and we have to pay for them along with the same books they are supposed to replace.
Unless of course you are on welfare, then the rest of us pay for theirs also.

 

[Mad Macs]

I think it is clear that if we can increase funding to the schools some more, we are bound to hit that sweet spot where it will really benefit the children's education. Oh and if we stop trying to measure whether the kiddies are learning or not, then the teachers can get back to teaching them the stuff they need to be teaching them. The teachers' unions clearly need more power and the ability to set the curriculum.

Expat,

You are correct. There is a sweet spot, and unfortunately education seems to be a pendulum swinging back and forth never really hitting it. It's gotten too political with big school districts and government involvement. Back where I lived in Illinois, we went to a K-8 school all in one building that was the entire district. This was in a large suburb too, not a farm town. We knew all of the teachers from K all the way through 8th grade. It was a great school and I like that small school setting.

We're only teaching to tests now. We don't care if our kids are fat, lazy, can draw, think outside of the box, or even fully reason *WHY* things work how they work. Teachers are scared to even *TRY* and teach to anything not on a standardized test as their bosses will hear from angry parents and the administration won't stand behind a teacher at all at this point.

While I try and stay out of politics this is a direct result of Bush's "No Child Left Behind" which is just about the worst idea on how to improve our society. Nothing gets any better by bringing up the bottom, but rather by letting the top soar as high as they can.