Archive for April 3rd, 2007
I’ve got two more photos to share from wanderings around the city. The first one is the building located at the corner of Niagara Street and Carolina. I’ve always been intrigued by the design of this building. I have a hunch that Mike Miller will like it since he professed his unrequited love for rounded-corner buildings.
The flower shot is one that I photoshopped a bit. It was taken from a window display photo I took last week during a walk down Hertel Avenue.
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Do you think the government should tell you which books to read to your child? What games are ok to play? What clothes they should wear? What food they should eat? (the gov’t is working on that one) The answer in most cases is NO! SO, why do so many people just blindly accept the fact that the government tells them which school their child should attend? Does the government have some innate knowledge that makes them know what is best for the children’s education? I don’t think so. In fact, empirical evidence would lead to the conclusion that the government has no idea what to do about education except to keep pouring more tax dollars into a failed program and promising results that don’t materialize.
There are many different reasons why we don’t have school choice. The government has a vested reason for denying true choice. The public schools are set up to churn out dutiful citizens who accept the government’s view on what is best for us. Everything from the official versions of history to the state of our welfare state is crafted to let the government have increasing control over our lives. Anyone that looks back 40 years or so can surely see a huge difference between life now and freedoms lost since then.
Another strong factor in the lack of school choice is the power of the unions. The unions have successfully lobbied for a law that requires all charter schools with an enrollment of 250 students in its first year to automatically assign union membership to the teachers and staff. The union would be the same union public school teachers in the district belong to. That is enough to make my blood boil and should have parents up in arms across the state. The politicians who voted for this despicable law should be recalled. There are new draconian proposals contained within the State’s new budget.
However, the budget will require new charter facilities in a select number of districts — including Buffalo — either to get the approval of a local school district or provide evidence to the state how they will improve the academic performance of students, which the state already requires as a policy matter.
“It’s not a big deal,”’ Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, said of the provision.
If it is not a big deal Mr. Hoyt, why vote for it? The complicity of the politicians with the unions is inexcusable.
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Due to some technical difficulties changing IP accounts I’ve had a weeklong break from blogging. Happily, I am back! To kick of my return here’s a few photos I snapped while downtown yesterday. Click on any of them for a larger version.
