[Vision2020] RE: [Vision2020] Idaho Public Schools 15-year Trends

[Tom Hansen]

I agree with you 100%, Mr. Arnold.  This reminds me of an old saying that I
strongly believe in.

"Don't tell me why I can't.  Tell me how I can."

Take care,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com]On
> Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 10:53 PM
> To: dale@courtneys.us; vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Idaho Public Schools 15-year Trends
>
>
> Visioneers,
>
> Thinking that if we strip our schools of teachers won't effect
> the quality
> of the education a child is receiving is just fooling oneself so they can
> sleep at night instead of realizing that they are screwing
> children out of
> an education that the generation before them worked and slaved
> over to give
> them when they were children in the public school system.
>
> Would it not be great if people thought, "How can I selflessly help my
> community" Rather then "How can I come up a with a graph, chart, or
> statistic I can use to justify my lack of sacrificing for others
> and spend
> more time, energy, and wealth, on myself"
>
> Donovan Arnold
>
>
> >From: "Dale Courtney" <dale@courtneys.us>
> >To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> >Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho Public Schools 15-year Trends
> >Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 20:11:15 -0700
> >
> >Jessica Lipschultz wrote:
> >
> > > The Winter 2003 Idaho Reading Indicator test results reveal
> > > that 29% of third-grade students in the Moscow School
> > > District and 38% of third-grade students in the state read
> > > below grade level.
> >
> >David, Jessica, Matt, and Natalie:
> >I applaud your desire to better the state of reading for our children.
> >
> > > We are in the midst of a crisis. A concerned group of
> > > students at the University of Idaho has decided to take
> > > action. We refuse to stand by idly when children are lost
> > > every day because our elected representatives have not made
> > > education a priority.
> >
> >At this point, I was hoping that you all would say that you were going to
> >volunteer your time in the classrooms; that you were going to "adopt" a
> >child to help him/her read better; that you were going to become a
> >teacher's
> >aid.
> >
> > > Over 600 students, staff, and faculty
> > > have signed postcards to Governor Kempthorne, Representative
> > > Trail, Representative Ringo, and Senator Schroeder. We are
> > > tired of hearing empty promises. Please join your voice with
> > > ours and demand that more funds be allocated for education.
> >
> >I would remind you that throwing money at the problem has done nothing to
> >solve the problem. In fact, there is an inverse relationship between
> >inflation-adjusted spending and test scores (see the chart below for the
> >state of Idaho).  If you really think that increased funding is
> the driver,
> >then logically you would call for decreased funding (since increasing the
> >funding has only driven down test scores).
> >
> >Your solution to the problem is exacerbated in Moscow, where the
> number of
> >children in school has been decreasing precipitously  (420 students in 7
> >years; a 15.4% decrease in the number of students). In Moscow,
> the teacher
> >to student ratio continues to climb; the funding continues to increase;
> >yet
> >the test scores continue to decline.
> >
> >If you really care, and if you really want to help the children learn to
> >read, then throwing money at the problem will not fix the
> problem. You need
> >to think out of the box and try something completely different. Throwing
> >money at a failed model will not fix the problem.
> >
> >Best,
> >Dale Courtney
> >Moscow, Idaho
> >
> >  Idaho Public Schools 15-Year Trends
> ><http://courtney.dns2go.com/msd/Trends_files/Roberts1_15189_image001.gif>
>
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