I repeatedly hear about the liberal media slant and how evil it is. Television, radio and the internet are tools of the left to spread their liberal propaganda and ruin our country. Artists and celebrities are pawns in this battle for control of our minds, actions and money.
In an effort to provide full disclosure I admit that for years I was just another prisoner in the cave watching the shadows on the wall thinking they were reality. Unknowingly, I believed that all I saw on the news was unbiased and objective.
So this idea that I was being fed biased perspective sounded ridiculous to me.
As I matured, read more, saw more and learned more I also became more cynical and realized there was a slant.
Point well taken. Watch and listen with a grain of salt.
I once heard from a "uber conservative" that the Right Wing has no voice or platform in the media whatsoever. That Fox News is unbiased. That CNN is so slanted to the Left that it's falling over.
Now I read that CBS is airing a Pro-Life commercial featuring Tim Tebow whose parents were facing a decision about aborting him or not. Does this sound like an overtly liberal stance to you?
This commercial will be aired despite a statement several years ago from "a CBS spokesman, Dana McClintock, (who) said, 'We have a longstanding policy of not accepting advocacy advertising."
"In the letter from the CBS official to the United Church of Christ, the network said it refuses advertising that ''touches on and/or takes a position on one side of a current controversial issue of public importance." (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/12/02/two_networks_bar_church_ad_welcoming_gays/)
For the record, NBC and ABC also did not air this commercial on their broadcast networks. FOX did.
This particular statement was in response to a pro-gay ad from the United Church of Christ while the current ad in question is regarding abortion. Two different subjects, but both controversial and the generally assumed, liberal side getting the short end of the stick.
Before I continue let me make this point that people who want to disagree with me will ignore. Many conservatives or other readers that want to take the counter point to my discussion will forget this next paragraph. They will focus on the other points I make and selectively disregard it. But....
In my humble opinion, I am glad they are airing this Tim Tebow Pro-Life commercial in and of itself. I think it is a good story to hear about people who chose NOT to abort their children. I don't see how I can speak negatively about a story like this and feel OK with it in my heart.
So the specific point of this particular commercial or even message is not one I am criticizing.
At the same time, not every abortion story is the Tim Tebow story. In reality, there are countless variables and situations where the question of abortion arises and I do not feel like a blanket law banning abortions is pragmatic. I realize this. I have even lived this.
I do not want babies killed. I like hearing inspirational stories. But I think we need to approach this greater issue from an angle other than illegal or legal.
With the disclaimers out of the way, I want to quit meandering and get back on point.
The Super Bowl commercials are all about superficial topics that Americans drown ourselves in. Serious messages should probably be left for another time. But if people are going to take advantage of the mass audience and try to spread their message, then it should go both ways.
I don't like the idea of shutting down one commercial about a controversial subject but allowing another. Doesn't sound fair to me.
We seem to be in a time when everyone is ultra-concerned about fairness and our freedoms. People are walking to rallies with loaded guns. We got tea baggers (which just sounds wrong). Free speech is apparently being threatened and many will not stand for it as they yell at me and pound their fists. One year with a liberal President who hasn't done much of anything but balloon our debt (much like our previous President but little was said about it compared to now), and everyone feels like we need a revolution.
Maybe so. Listen, I agree that we should be vigilant about our rights. We should not be afraid to speak our opinion and stand up for what we believe in. But we are getting to a point of hysteria. That is not ok.
I won't sit here and write or act like I know anything about politics and government.
I don't.
Unfortunately, many I talk to don't realize how little they know either. They may know more than me, but that doesn't mean you know enough.
My point here is this: If you are so damned concern about free speech and censorship, you can't let this one go. You can't tell me CBS is a tool of the Left either.
Air the Pro-Life commercial, but then air the UCC commercial too. Or better yet, a Planned Parenthood commercial giving information about women's health.
How about this?
Air more commercials promoting birth control?! Maybe promote NOT getting pregnant in the first place?
The media may be slanted to the left, but I think conservatives are going to be able to promote their messages. This instance is one example that things are not as one sided as all those AM radio blowhards want to make us think.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Teachers Are Paid Too Damn Much
My wife teaches in a school district just outside Columbus, Ohio where the voters refuse to pass a levy. I had a conversation with a resident living in this district. Her opinion corresponds with the findings from the polls regarding the voters' overall opinions on the levy.
She told me she doesn't want to pay more taxes for teachers to get paid more when they already make too much money as it is.
She continued, "If the districts need money, they should take it from the teachers' paychecks."
I mean we only work 3/4 of the year anyway, right?
(Insert old babysitter wage analogy here)
Meanwhile, as levy after levy fails, teaching positions are cut and the remaining staff is instructing growing class rosters which leads to less attention paid to students, more behavioral management issues, significantly lower teacher morale and higher stress.
Although the amount of success varies, it has been generally found in numerous studies that smaller class sizes lead to positive results in student achievement.
In addition, so much support staff is getting reduced that they are now responsible to clean their own rooms each night and perform added duties outside the classroom. These duties are in addition to the outside tasks already performed like lunchroom monitoring, hallway monitoring, and any other programs the schools may have.
In essence, teachers do the job of preparing adequate and appropriate lessons for students and instructing these students. Then we assess the students' performance, to gather and organize data from the assessments to use in future researching and planning for remediation for any students falling behind or to challenge others who excel.
Then we must follow up on why certain students' attendance is sporadic, break up fights, settle disputes, find resources for families in need of food, shelter, coats and other help, report signs of possible abuse, mend injuries, make sure medicine is taken correctly and on time, clean the room, interpret other languages and communicate with people who don't speak yours, motivate unmotivated people to perform tasks that many times are challenging to them and performing them with mastery, play detective to solve minor offenses like who stole some one's personal items, search for said missing items, read someone to determine if they are lying or telling the truth, provide supplies (usually out of our own deep, well paid pocket), change light bulbs, fix broken tables, chairs, pencil sharpeners and so on, make sure the students are fed, babysit at recess, provide a shoulder to cry on, create a school presentation, run the practice of said presentation, lead the presentation to the student body and even more if we choose to contribute to after school programs or tutoring.
No one of these particular items are a problem in and of themselves. My point here is that we are held accountable for a students' learning but have countless other duties to perform and do not have the support, resources and sometimes training to do them.
I am beyond the argument of my salary. Quite honestly, I am satisfied with my lifestyle. Granted, I am in debt that could have been paid off by now living this same lifestyle had I entered another field that I am fully capable of having entered, but I've accepted that. I knew that coming in.
Also, there are people who get paid as an intern as much I as did in my 5th year of teaching WITH A MASTER'S DEGREE in a district that pays well. This is not to mention that when I did my internship, I WAS THE ONE PAYING!
But seriously, I'm over it.
I don't want more money. Don't pay me more.
Just pass a levy so I, my wife and our colleagues and get some people in here to HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She told me she doesn't want to pay more taxes for teachers to get paid more when they already make too much money as it is.
She continued, "If the districts need money, they should take it from the teachers' paychecks."
I mean we only work 3/4 of the year anyway, right?
(Insert old babysitter wage analogy here)
Meanwhile, as levy after levy fails, teaching positions are cut and the remaining staff is instructing growing class rosters which leads to less attention paid to students, more behavioral management issues, significantly lower teacher morale and higher stress.
Although the amount of success varies, it has been generally found in numerous studies that smaller class sizes lead to positive results in student achievement.
In addition, so much support staff is getting reduced that they are now responsible to clean their own rooms each night and perform added duties outside the classroom. These duties are in addition to the outside tasks already performed like lunchroom monitoring, hallway monitoring, and any other programs the schools may have.
In essence, teachers do the job of preparing adequate and appropriate lessons for students and instructing these students. Then we assess the students' performance, to gather and organize data from the assessments to use in future researching and planning for remediation for any students falling behind or to challenge others who excel.
Then we must follow up on why certain students' attendance is sporadic, break up fights, settle disputes, find resources for families in need of food, shelter, coats and other help, report signs of possible abuse, mend injuries, make sure medicine is taken correctly and on time, clean the room, interpret other languages and communicate with people who don't speak yours, motivate unmotivated people to perform tasks that many times are challenging to them and performing them with mastery, play detective to solve minor offenses like who stole some one's personal items, search for said missing items, read someone to determine if they are lying or telling the truth, provide supplies (usually out of our own deep, well paid pocket), change light bulbs, fix broken tables, chairs, pencil sharpeners and so on, make sure the students are fed, babysit at recess, provide a shoulder to cry on, create a school presentation, run the practice of said presentation, lead the presentation to the student body and even more if we choose to contribute to after school programs or tutoring.
No one of these particular items are a problem in and of themselves. My point here is that we are held accountable for a students' learning but have countless other duties to perform and do not have the support, resources and sometimes training to do them.
I am beyond the argument of my salary. Quite honestly, I am satisfied with my lifestyle. Granted, I am in debt that could have been paid off by now living this same lifestyle had I entered another field that I am fully capable of having entered, but I've accepted that. I knew that coming in.
Also, there are people who get paid as an intern as much I as did in my 5th year of teaching WITH A MASTER'S DEGREE in a district that pays well. This is not to mention that when I did my internship, I WAS THE ONE PAYING!
But seriously, I'm over it.
I don't want more money. Don't pay me more.
Just pass a levy so I, my wife and our colleagues and get some people in here to HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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