Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "The news agencies will tell you that the public has a right to know some facts . A teacher who is not doing their job may be someone who the public needs to know about.If he was the person who was teaching my child I would like this info. If the fault lies with my child then I need to know that also." It's not as simple as "bad teacher". The evaluations factor other things into the equation, so it's not necessarily that anybody is "bad". However, when scores are published without context, people get upset and demand firing teachers. It's just a little unreasonable.
Originally Posted By ecdc Post 60 is right. And hey, I'm glad people like churro can respond more rationally to this kind of thing. I don't think anyone is arguing the kid's decision to kill himself was a wise one or the only response. "Oh they videotaped him? Well really he had no choice then but to jump." Not the issue. The issue is that for a lot of people, being gay is so stigmatized and such a traumatic experience to try and navigate through as a young person that they aren't thinking clearly, they are running on only emotion, etc. We can't just say, "Well I didn't or wouldn't respond like this, so it's dumb this guy did." He did what he did not just because it was videotaped, but presumably because of the fallout that he feared from an intolerant, judgmental culture.
Originally Posted By queenbee "The news agencies will tell you that the public has a right to know some facts . A teacher who is not doing their job may be someone who the public needs to know about.If he was the person who was teaching my child I would like this info. If the fault lies with my child then I need to know that also." If the public needs to know the facts, all of the facts about why a child is not succeeding. How do you feel, dd109, about publishing information about the parents? Research strongly supports idea that parents have a lot of influence on the child's school performance. Does the public need to know about a parent "not doing their job?"
Originally Posted By disneydad109 I don't think that the public needs to know everything. That seems to be the line when the news folks put this junk out.I feel some matters are best left out of the public eye.
Originally Posted By queenbee I think both matters, information about parents and teachers, are best left out of the public eye. Poor teachers should be dismissed but there is no need for public humiliation.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I am a gay American who feels very safe here." Given the size of this country "here" is relative to the discussion. Where exactly do you live Churro? I'm curious.
Originally Posted By DAR I'm not a gay person so take this as someone looking from the outside but apart from a rights issues (yes that one) that needs to be fixed I would imagine that with the exception of Europe it's probably a little easier here if you're a gay person than say Bolivia. Again looking from a different point of view.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt That all depends on where you live. Even in NYC there are places you'd want to avoid being outwardly gay.
Originally Posted By disneydad109 Do you have to do something to yourself to be outwardly gay? I would have though that most gay people look just like me and you , just people.
Originally Posted By hopemax I've never had a second thought about holding my DH's hand while walking to the grocery store from the parking lot. He's never had a second thought about giving me a small kiss in a public place. We've never wondered what someone's reaction would be if asked by someone, "If I had any plans for the weekend?" And I responded with " <name of person> and I are going away on a romantic weekend."
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I am replaying Wednesday night's episode of Modern Family over and over in my mind and the tumble over the couch. If you didn't see it....man that show is funny.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Do you have to do something to yourself to be outwardly gay?" I'm sorry, but that's a silly question. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/11/gay-couple-detained-after_n_230016.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...016.html</a>
Originally Posted By DAR RE 71-Yeah that was very funny. Though I wouldn't mind seeing Claire and Gloria backing up that affection talk. <<Do you have to do something to yourself to be outwardly gay?>> Maybe our gay posters can back me up on this but I believe you throw a parade. (rolls eyes)
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster ~~~Given the size of this country "here" is relative to the discussion. Where exactly do you live Churro? I'm curious.~~~ Currently I live in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.
Originally Posted By DAR I think people there are too angry at Lebron James to deflect it anyhwere else
Originally Posted By dshyates "Currently I live in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio." Well, that explains it. Cleveland is like the gayest city in....umm....northeast Ohio.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 I found a link to the story that works, thanks for the joke about my double post, but a reply with a workable link would've been more appreciated. As far as the teacher who committed suicide, apparently he chose to work in an area of LA that had a lot of people from ESL backgrounds and was also from the lower end of the socio-economic scale. He dedicated himself to turning the lives of the students around, spending his free time to reach the kids. Since the came to his classroom lacking the skills that students from different backgrounds would have, a standardized test would never show the effect he had on the students. If a student comes to a teacher reading at grade 2 level, and in one year they achieve the level of grade 5, but they are supposed to be reading at grade 7... then the amazing work of the teacher will never show up in a standardized test. Instead it will say that the teacher is below standard. Apparently the principal of the school was using the test results to harass the teacher, and after the LA times published the scores of his class, he became despondent. I don't know about you, but there is something wrong with that picture. If a cop works in Pacific Palisades and the crime rate of his area is very low, and a cop works in Compton and the crime rate of his area is very high, does that make the cop who works in Pacific Palisades the better cop because his area has the lower crime rate? Sorry to hijack this thread. If someone starts another thread for this topic, I will post there. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Currently I live in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio." I'm unfamiliar with that part of the country. It sounds like a very tolerant place.
