"the transformation of standards
CB>GP>from rhetoric to reality does not occur by decree from above."
CB>GP>It holds that parents, educators and students must "adopt, adapt
CB>GP>and take ownership of their standards, and they must believe them
CB>GP>to be worth striving for."
CB>Great, after stating what businesses can do to set standards for educators 
-
CB>concludes with what should have been the beginning statement, and even 
hen
 
CB>Business needs to understand that regardless of the education of the 
incomin
CB>employee, constant training, empowering employees in decision-making 
process
CB>and building trust are items that need to be developed at all levels of 
ny
CB>businesses (including education). Until educators and parents feel that 
they
CB>have a say in what goes on, not much changes.
 
        How are educators, specifically teachers, suppose to take these
business leaders seriously?  The federal government buys
submarines for a navy who told them they didn't want it.  In the
meantime, the same folks who want to step up national standards
want to close shop on the United States Department of Education.
Now, they want to set national standards?
 
        I have one question, what are they going to do to help
facilitate those standards?  How are they going to help the institution
of education reach those standards?
 
Sheila, you call it like it is!
I'm
not excited about businesses attempting to raise standards.  If these
guys really wanted to help out the country they negotiate labor unions
for fair contracts and stop the sinful acts of scale down (where they
everybody off to increase quarterly profits; then turn around and hire
folks back at 75% of their last wage).  According to the United States
Department of Labor, people are less mobile in their current employment
than fifteen years ago.  In other words, they stay at their jobs for
more than ten years.  The reason is that they are afraid to be jobless.
People are not secure in their jobs.  This insecurity was created by the
business community. Now, these same folks want to control our schools?
 
        I recently finished my Masters' on interactive confounding
variables which conflict with math computation scores on the Iowa Basic
Skills Test.  During the research section of the work, I read some
serious data composed by the Department of Education that was
remarkable.  The rate of proverty, divorce, violence, drug abuse, all of
those not so wonderful things - which are driven by proverty - were
increasing up until 1992.
 
        If business is serious about solving "the problem with
eduation", don't spoon feed the public common slogans which mean
nothing, they should work to improve the quality of life in this nation.
 
Keep your Stick on the Ice,
Paul
 
 * SLMR 2.1a * hAS ANYONE SEEN MY cAPSLOCK KEY?
--- TriDog 6.1
---------------