I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

Not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying, I doubt that Club hates all teachers (which was the title of his post). Rather, I bet Club hates the teachers union.

Ya see, we who are Right believe that Teachers Unions are a big part of the problem. You know, the whole ATLA/NEA kickback scheme that funds democratic candidates (warning: that last sentence is slightly over the top).

Its not to say that Teachers Unions are the whole problem with failing public schools. Nooo, it ain't even close to that. Hell, I'd put my Section 8 concentration at least as high on the list as the Teachers Unions for some schools.

But, insofar as Clubby should really hate the teachers unions (as do all Right people), I'm just saying, please try not to make it sound as if they are completely representative of view adopted wholesale by each and every one of their members.

Y'all must be reading something into it to disagree with that.

Hello

From the land of milk and Sebby
 

Although I find every one of Kos's idiotic assertions false:

It's nice to see I agree 110% with his conclusions

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

I find this a very confusing issue. While I certainly agree that people should have the freedom to send their kids to private schools, I still think the statistics club cites are a shame. It shows a lack of belief in the product one is producing. But it also compounds the problems in the public schools. Teachers kids tend to be smarter and more stable. Taking these kids out of the public school environment destablizes the schools even more.

I don't think this requires some sort of mandate against teachers sending their kids to private school, but do think it's a regretable phenomena.

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

It's more than a lack of belief in the quality; it probably reflects a pretty good assessment of the quality.

That said, I wonder whether there is to some degree conflation of two phenomena. We all know teachers are underpaid--so how do they afford private schools? Perhaps a number of teachers are either independently wealthy or married to high-income spouses. Either would skew the data from the average american, just as would looking at the percentage of, e.g., fortune 500 CEOs whose kids go to private school, although in that case we wouldn't make much of a conclusion other than "duh--rich people go to private schools".

Then again, maybe it's the quality (and it's worse than buying Honda if working for GM, unless GM still gives free cars to its employees).

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

Um... Yeah. I just don't see where you get to that from the quote Club posted. The choice to send one's kid to private school is personal. I interpreted Club's post to be a rant against the hypocracy of teaching in public schools but not believing in them enough to send your own kids there. You took it as a screed against the teachers' unions. I suppose we will have to wait for him to correct one or both of us.

It may be that 1 in 4 teachers in DC sends their kid to a private school because they think the teachers unions have screwed up the schools, but I doubt the level of abstraction is there: the DC schools suck, and I wouldn't send my kids there either; nevermind the cause.

From the land of milk and Sebby
 

Hunh?

You mean Bush believed the documents he received re: WMD to be true?

You mean Bush thoroughly investigated the facts?

You mean Bush didn't report the content of the reports re: WMD to the people to make his case?

From the land of milk and Sebby
 

The comparison is fucking idiotic.

BTW - I'm having a great time reading about how the Sunday 60 Minutes guys are hanging Rather out to dry. Blood in the water and all that.

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

I'm going to be quite ashamed of Clubby if this is what he meant.

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

I think this is probably correct. Both DC and Baltimore City have notoriously bad schools. I imagine the surrounding counties have much, much lower rates.

I've just gone back and read the whole original article and find its conclusions, um, interesting. Especially in light of my prior comment that teachers kids are disproportionately good for a school, relative to their socioeconomic status. "School choice" is the answer. Uh huh. So the best way to deal with the fact that teachers think that schools are failing is to make it EASIER financially for teachers and others to opt out the kids who stablize the school and make it functional. Okay then.

I agree I'd like to see comparatives against families with similar economic status. While you're correct teachers are underpaid, they're not exactly living in a box, either, especially once they've gotten to their kids being school age. And that's assuming there's not a trend that the teaching spouse isn't the lower income in a dual income house. If the average teacher in DC [I'm making these numbers up] makes say $50k and has a household income of $120k, it would be interesting to know whether what percentage of the general population making that money sent their kids to private school. My guess is higher, at least in DC, but I suppose we'll never know.

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

No fair trying to shame him into your anti-union camp now. Not that I would be surprised if he were anti-union, or that I disagree with you about the damage teacher unions have done. I just don't think it's what he meant.

Let me put it another way: I thought Club was expressing outrage at the hypocracy of teachers suckling at the government teat, lounging about their schools not caring about their charges and overpaid (yes, tangentally, all thanks to their union) while going out of their way to ensure that their own progeny were not victims to their laziness and ineptitude. It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

There are towns -- lawyers live in them -- where public school teachers cannot afford to buy a house, and have no choice but to send their kids to (presumably inferior) public schools in other districts, or to (gasp) private schools. When club gets agitated about that, and insists that the wealthy suburbs pay their teachers (and policemen, etc.) enough to live in them (oh, the hypocrisy!), sign me up for the crusade.

Here's a special post for club on Kerry's Iraq position. Someone at Slate has been reading my posts here and decided to do the leg work for me:

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

whatwehavehereis failuretacommunicate.
Ty you think any city where the average household income is less than 200K is poor. There are plenty of cities where the people are middle class and the schools fine. Most people (breeders at least) factor school district into their home search. Why would you not think a teacher would? I would think a teacher in an urban district who lives inthat district, might go out of his/her way to ensure em's kid gets a decent teacher, butt to claim thatsomeonewho earns em's bread by subjecting kids to the district should avoid the district? How is that not disturbing? If you knew little Ty's teacher lived down the road but sent her kids to St. Vitus, you wouldn't wonder WTF?

huh? can you do that in a 30 second spot?

I Hate the Fucking Teachers
 

Cheers!