| Jump to bottom |
Detroit School Board President
Margaret 59----
Yes, that was my first thought, that Mathis has a learning disability.
Read into the story and you find that the man skipped school, never worked at all hard, gamed the system, and tried to sue his way through Wayne State. Learning disability? How about a strong belief that working at learning is for chumps.
Detroit School Board President
Your comments about the state of the Detroit Public Schools and the President of the Board may have little merit. Looking at the emails that were published, and reading a bit about the story, it appears that there is a good chance that this man has a learning disability called dysgraphia. This learning disability impairs an individual's ability to convert meaningful thought into written communication. It appears to be a problem in the language centers in the brain. Some research into this type of disorder might be in order before any more inflammatory remarks are written.
Thank you.
Daniel Howes Did U Vote for W. Bush?
Its likely you did, twice. So as bad as Detroit is your cluelessness is foul on a national and international scale.
The educational decline of the USA is across the borders of city into the suburbs and out state and national. The only difference is the about of money being spent per student. It still results in the foolishness which elected W. Bush twice. Detroit is just the microcosm of the larger bumbling which is what you see when you look in the mirror.
Now I admit the DBE and DPS is governed by clowns but you clowned the state each time you voted for Engler and put this nation and the world at risk with your votes for Reagan and W. Bush. So you have no real creditability to speak on any political issue. Not that this will stop such a pompous windbag as you though.
Howes
You're right - that was a bit snarky. The point remains that however strong the intellect, people should not be in the habit of diagnosing problems and prescribing solutions for problems about which they have no idea. Neither Howes nor 99% of the elected officials who are making these decisions are in a position to understand what works in education. I wouldn't presume to suggest alternate methods for heart surgery or column writing, and if I did I would be a lightweight in the worst way.
Howes
Michael:
It's OK to disagree with Daniel--I do with about 1/3 of what he writes--but I'd take it easy on the "intellectual lightweight" stuff, were I you. I can't speak for them lately, but in Howes' youth, neither Wooster nor Columbia was in the habit of letting their deans sign parchments for anyone who hadn't demonstrated otherwise.
I fought hard in a losing cause for vouchers for all in this state. I had to settle for agreeing to pay tribute to the public school bureaucracy in return for the quid pro quo of their staying the hell away from my children's minds.
How disenchanted am I with public education in this state? I wouldn't even buy a MET, since it would have condemned my kids to a Michigan public college.
Disgusting
A picture of Mathis complete with a writing sample should be sent to every parent in the DPS. This way the parents can make an informed decision as to whether they wish the same high standards for graduation be applied district wide, as the board by it's vocal support of Mathis has deemed just fine.
I am so disgusted I need to take a break from typing to go vomit. My high school kids work so hard. They are hesitant to even leave school for an hour for a medical appt. so as not to miss something in class. This man did not work hard in high school or college. Once a week to attend class??? My God, Detroit accepts the bottom of the barrel as president of the board. Nothing and no one will ever be able to help Detroit schools. You can not cure pathological stupidity and laziness.
Howes
Yes, Daniel, we understand that you never miss a chance to bash a union, but what makes you think that there are any good ideas or transformational material in the "Race to the bottom?" The MEA is understandably reticent to believe that education can be improved by listening to the intellectual lightweights who occupy office - oh, wasn't that your original point? - and write columns. We prefer to believe that if you people would get out the the way, professionals could help. The problem is that everybody who has ever attended class believes that he or she understands how to teach, and should decide educational policy. You are the problem, the MEA is a solution.
Education a mess?
Daniel you hit the nail on the head. But most telling in your entry is this:
"Instead, we get excuses from MEA President Iris Salters in an interview on WJR and a reminder about her dues-paying members"
All need to remember, that is the union's first job, to their dues paying members and to protect the jobs of the union bosses. Nothing will change until that does...
DPS
How can anyone in Detroit justify this man's position? It's abundantly obvious that the man is simply not qualified to be the head of DPS. Even giving this fool the benefit of the doubt and raising that .98 to 1.98 it is still under a solid "D" grade. That grade point average would disqualify him from even participating in sports today, let alone put him in position to be the leader of an educational system he shunned. This is why the children of Detroit and other cities in America can't read or think outside the box, we simply have not cared enough. We have been too busy finding cheaper ways to make our lives easier without any regard to the future generations and playing games in pursuit of worthless paper that only has value because we are fools to keep this current economic system we have in place over the world. Reckoning is coming, the sooner the better.
GOODBYE TOYOTA
In a recent column on gays in the military, WSJ writer Bret Stephens noted that although it was a legitimate issue (Israel has gays who openly serve in the IDF) there were more pressing problems that Congress could be bloviating about, such as the violent, dangerous and abusive world of US public schools. Well, Toyota has messed up in a big way, but obviously the outsized reaction of members of Congress has more to do with video clips for their next election campaign than harm to the public. So the following prediction is fairly easy: Toyota will never build another major facility in America again. The company is already concerned about their dependence on the North American market. Add to that the attractions of Brazil, India and China plus the moral outrage of politicians (more than just an oxymoron) humiliating the heir to Toyota and you have another company investing somewhere, anywhere, but the United States.
CALLING CLAUDE RAINES...
I've been reading MY GRANDFATHER'S SON by Justice Clarence Thomas. He inherited an EEOC agency in chaos and recreated it in eight years. But, he always said his job was to create opportunities -- he couldn't PREPARE minorities for these opportunities. Why is anyone shocked that after decades of affirmative action -- now a middle and upper middle class entitlement -- trimming is going on. Work ethic, EARNED degrees, and experience mean less and less to so many in "human resources." More to the point, today's papers announce yet another 200 MILLION DOLLAR scheme to "revolutionaize" Detroit's schools. How? When I look at the reading lists of high school students in the Detroit area, I wonder how they could NOT end up demoralized, cynical, and disincentivized. We know what's wrong. We know why. Race to the Top isn't going to change anything. This president killed the opportunities for over 1500 working class and working poor students in Washington DC and there was no outrage. GAME CHANGE was right, he is cold and calculating. Boys of any color and ethinicity are now at risk in a way they haven't been in recent history. We don't hear much about that in the Detroit media. A hyper-politicized, hyper-secular education has been tried for decades and it isn't working in any part of the English-speaking world. What a cruel, heartless, cynical mess education has become in this country.
DEFECTIVE VEHICLES
Does anyone remember why there was a law passed called
"THE LEMON LAW" in the 1980's. It mandated that the dealer either replace or negotiate a settlement with the owner. At the time the quality of our U.S,A. manufactured cars was deficient and dealers/manufacturers could not or would not repair design or repetitive problems.
"I REMEMBER"
I OWNED AT LEAST ONE
Recalls
I am glad your not my dad
Recalls
So Mr Howes you say Toyota recalled more cars in one yaer than they sold?? It took a dozen key stokes on Google for me to find out the truth. From 1990 to 2010. Ford Products 2,691 recalls GM Products 3,810 recalls, Chrysler/Dodge 2,039 Toyota 570. I think Toyota has got a long way to go before they can strive for the medoicrity that the Big 3 have so long embraced. And do some research and look at what Toyotas recalls were about. The majority of them were on none safety issues. Over 300 people died in Fords when the tires blew out before the government got involved. A possible 34 deaths in Toyotas of the 20 miliion sold. You got a better chance of getting struck by lightining 5 times in the same place in one day than being killed in a Toyota. But its tough to see how a paper in the city that has the most to gain from Toyotas failures can be objective on this issue. I guess Ray Lahood's background isn't a conflict of interest as well. I love Toyotas and will never drive another domestic. Its not worth the risk
In Toyota recall, it can't be about cars when it can be politics
The Toyota problems started long before the Obama Administration, it was allowed to be covered up during the Bush administration.General Motors has been making payments and plans to have the government paid back by June 1st of this year.None of the Big 3 have used this Toyota fiasco as a way to gain market share.Toyota knowingly with held info that caused the death of Americans, they should be prosecuted in a criminal court of law. At the very least it should be manslaughter.It is about time that the American govt stood up for it's people and not buckle down to lobbyists for foreign companies.
| Jump to top |
