B.O.E. Meetings

[tomterific]

I just happened to catch part of the BOE meeting that was televised last night. It's hard to imagine the time they spend on trivia. The portion of the meeting I saw was a debate on changing the starting time for school days by FIVE MINUTES. Come on, people.

[WayneDalton]

Tommyboy, They will start at 5 minutes to get their feet in the door and the next thing it will be like West Hartford trying to start much later.

Like most of the left agenda, they will have to out do the rest of them and will start at noon or beyond.

Pinch me, was I watching the same meeting or was I dreaming.

[SyZyGy]

Hartford Courant - Letter to Editor

Image Problem Created By Union

September 27 2006

Edwin Vargas, former president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, attributes the public's negative view of teachers as being "media driven" [Page 1, Sept. 23, "Event For Teacher Draws Criticism"]. I would counter that the teachers' unions, with their self-serving work rules, are responsible for low ratings.

As a parent, I have witnessed my children being exposed to tenured teachers who have no business being in the classroom and who operate incompetently or abusively with virtual impunity. As a teacher in Hartford and South Windsor, I saw the work of talented and committed teachers compromised by colleagues who read newspapers and traded online during class, and who took all of their allotted sick days, even when they were perfectly healthy.

Tenure and union work rules handcuff administrators from maintaining accountability in the classroom. When was the last time you heard of a teacher being fired for cause, short of murder or having sex with a student? Many people who work outside of academia cannot understand why the union-driven system protects and defends even those who cannot, or do not, make the grade.

If Mr. Vargas wants to know why teachers collectively are not held in higher regard, he should take a good look in the mirror.

Ken Kenworthy
Glastonbury[/b]