RM> Well... Following a contract is considered to be
 RM> a legal requirement; I hardly think that violating
 RM> one is cause for congratulations for being in
 RM> control and far-sighted....
CS>I'm sorry for being vague about this point.  I merely wanted
CS>to make the point that deep-seated negative attitudes follow
CS>these hard fought negotiations.
As with anything else, this depends on the attitude
of the negotiators.  One can drive a hard bargain
without causing antagonism..
CS>The contracts are just one part of the factors needing change.
To what?
 CS>If educators truly understood the simmering resentment toward school
 CS>districts, they would be much more conscious of the issue.
 RM> You're hitting me at a propitious moment... I'm
 RM> sitting here simmering myself... Allow me to
 RM> illustrate the reasons:
CS>Stories from the trenches are excellent examples of the
CS>product of this "operating in isolation" that I stirred all
CS>this up about in the first place.  I share your frustration in
CS>these incidents and the way the legal system has evolved to
CS>leave schools dangling.  My premise is that lawmakers (and the
CS>public at large) have so little respect for what fills your
CS>day, that they are willing to dump societies basic elemental
CS>problems in on the fray.  They respect your abilities enough
CS>to assume you can handle the additional tasks and you've
CS>become an easy dumping ground for every possible issue that can be
CS>labeled "educational" in nature.  I am absolutely aligned
CS>with your feelings on this issue.  You shouldn't fear
CS>retribution for dealing with students who should be in
CS>different settings than those originally designed for "normal"
CS>students.
So far so good...
CS>If schools had been conscious of the public relations fiasco 
CS>they were generating, many of the issues would have been handled 
CS>differently.
Seems a leap of faith.. In what way different,
and why?
CS>At a recent Kiwanis meeting, a middle school principal was
CS>giving a presentation and looking for some outside support for
CS>some school projects (not direct, but implied).  He was asked
CS>what the LCD projector and portable computer cost that he used
CS>in his presentation.  The projector was $8500 and the computer
CS>something over $5000.  Curiously, this was about what the
CS>project cost that he was out asking for support on.  He was
CS>asked if a slide projector would have presented the material
CS>sufficiently for his needs and he had to agree.
I'm not sure I accept your premise here.. True, 
in an atmosphere fostering austerity, I would 
certainly lean toward what is known hereabouts
as "poormouth" rather than affluence , but
it's equally true that he could have shown you
drawings instead of slides.. At what point does
one draw the line between convenience, money,
time, and appearance?
CS>.. it serves as a good illustration of schools' blindness to 
CS>these factors.
Hey, I'm a "basics" man.. I don't NEED computers
to do my job, but they add something to the mix.
What I NEED is students who will make a real
effort to learn what I teach.  The mere fact that
my former students return after one year in
college and tell me how little they worked in
their senior year, or in HIGH SCHOOL, for that
matter, is all the testimony I need.. If even
10% came back and told me that they were now
working just as hard as they did in secondary
school, I'd fall over!  EVERY ONE of them is 
now working harder than ever before (which,
with all the bitching from college professors,
is a sad commentary on how hard they worked in
their prior years)!  Anything which led to more
work on their part would help...
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 * MR/2 2.26 * "I believe OS/2...to be the most important OS...of all time" - 
Bill Gates, 1987
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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