Report today had Chris Christie responding to "town hall" question about reports that science and social studies are simply tossed aside in the name of test prep. Christie's laughable response was that such claims were an "exaggeration." Trust me, not one shred of that is an exaggeration. It comes from Lyles right down to the principals and out to the teachers.

I have also heard of multiple principals telling teachers and parents that students are not allowed to opt out of the tests. That isn't true at all.

The tests are God. An angry, vengeful God.

Pretty sure the cans were removed after 911 as a security measure.

Not to mention the disturbingly cynical and somewhat pitiful idea that dentists and teachers alike are only in it for the money, and not to help others. Especially teachers in this case who eat shit from know-nothings on message boards while working without contracts or respect. Give me a break, I feel sorru for you that you are so jaded.

It's weird to see such a comment or position when your previous posts demonstrate more than a modicum of understanding re the profiteers eyeballing public ed funds. Your take on vouchers and privatization is solid as is your dedication to public free schools. Thanks for that.

You aren't allowed to say "on the other hand" unless you understand the metaphor, which you clearly do not. A "crappy dentist" as you put it would only be accountable for what happens in their office. No dentist is accountable for the home-based personal care required for good dental health as known by everyone on earth and implied clearly in this image. It is that personal responsibility - brushing, flossing, studying, valuing education as a family- that is being noted here. Are you telling us that you believe dentists are responsible for whether or not their patients brush and floss their own teeth?

What's truly shocking here is that anyone would compare a school to a cucumber. As for vouchers, they have had literally decades t o prove their worth and have not done so one bit. That's why NJ voters currently oppose vouchers 2 to 1.

Neighborhood schools are a cornerstone of American communities. Having one privately run voucher mill that serves kids who only have the voucher, and another for the rich kids who have the voucher plus whatever else their parents can afford, is a recipe for economic apartheid of the most foul kind.

And ultimately, when you turn any endeavor into a profit-making enterprise, the priority is profit, and growth, which is a demand of success in so-called "free marker" constructs. In this case, your utopian voucher world will produce schools that are constantly trying to figure out how to make more money while giving customers (aka little kids) progressively less and less. It's an automated race to the bottom, where rich kids will get great educations, and everyone else will just get what they can afford. That is flatly un-American, as we as a country have decided that a free and appropriate public education is not only a right but a public good.

Students did not sue. This suit was financed by a Silicon Valleu mogul with zero education experience. Another ultra-wealthy aristocrat who thinks his wealth entitles him to decide what is best for other people's children.

"On its face, Vergara v. California was the case of nine students fighting a practice designed to protect educators' academic freedom that now occasionally entrenches terrible teachers. However, the case was part of a larger shell game orchestrated by one Silicon Valley tech mogul."

http://valleywag.gawker.com/silicon-v ... -1588947329/+laceydonohue

Thanks for the tips on form, but I don't need them. I may be a newbie here but I am certainly not new at dealing with ignorant dopes. Also, I like how you don't respond to the content of my reply, instead offering a "clever" bit of nothing.

Greatschools is useless garbage, has no scientific sample and is widely considered a joke.

As for your disparaging and potentially racist comments about the other neighborhoods in Jersey City, truly go to hell. You clearly know nothing about these places - the Heights, for example, has some of the best elementary schools in Jersey City (including P.S. 28 which has a recent Milken Award winner teaching there and P.S. 8 which has an outstanding school community).

But thanks for exposing/confirming the downtown attitude for all to see.

What a repellent and borderline inhuman comment. You do an enormous disservice and show embarrassing disrespect to the countless single moms (and to a lesser extent, dads) who do the heroic work of being a single parent. Shame on you.

Charles Epps used to come around to schools, speak to teachers, set expectations, etc. Say what you will about his time in office but at least he wasn't hiding in the office on the top floor of 347 Claremont Ave.

Older schools are being outfitted with camera systems right now. Is this Lyles' version of safety? How about rolling up her sleeves and working with the community instead of making our schools look and work more like prisons?

If the NJ state legislature passes that bill to put a moratorium on high stakes testing, this lady won't know what to do with herself.

I don't know who is suggesting anything draconian, and I see no fear mongering from the OP. The point is that Lyles' focus is standardized test scores - not culture, not climate, not community outreach, not parent involvement - test scores. Did you know that she instructed principals in JC to stop teaching science and social studies two months ago, and focus solely on test prep, district wide? What about community service? Intergenerational partnership programs?

Don't dish it off just because you personally don't know if it's true. You have a teacher in a school telling you the school is in crisis. If one school is suffering this crisis, it serves to reason that others may be as well due to the neglectful, test-obsessed attitude coming from Claremont Avenue.

Here we see a teacher imploring the community to press the sup't for safer schools, and that teacher is greeted with cynicism and hole-poking. Give me a break - some of you would just as soon see poor kids given manual labor jobs so you wouldn't have to pay for their education any more.

Shame on that cynicism. No, the superintendent can't control the children at a level that might prevent a sex tape. Yes, she can find ways to make the schools safer and healthier places for our kids. and YES, she can at the very least be honest and stop obfuscating the truth by omission and radio silence.

To respond to the OP with cynicism is embarrassing.