Joan: I never gave homework in order for the parents to “teach” their children the content. In fact, of all the students I have had, I’ve never come across a parent who had the knowledge or ability to “teach” their children my content area. The truth is that I taught and reviewed the concepts in class, and homework was always used for practicing the concept. I also always allowed time to work on the homework in class, so that the students could ask me for help and clarification. And there was a huge difference in ability between those students who worked on the concepts in class and at home, and those who did not. Homework is a tool, just one of many, that I used in the classroom, and I very much resent your comments, which imply that I somehow used homework to get out of doing my job.

The idea that all progress should ONLY come to individuals who work hard is kind of strange to me and this is why in the US you have 10 days holiday and work 2 months more in a year than Swedish people. Obviously this is also a simplified comment and I’m not saying layabouts should get good wages. But if it is a law that everyone has 3 weeks holiday, then everyone has the same deal and companies are equally ‘handicapped’ so the there is no competitive disadvantage.

Re Q8 parenting blogs. I would recommend the books, ‘How not to F*&k them up’ by Jamie Oliver and’ How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk’. See also ’5 Ways to Avoid Your Terrible Parents’ Mistakes’ on Cracked. Also, when your kids are older, maybe ‘Free range kids’.

Tracey and Kristine, I now see how Kristine’s use of the word “liberal” may have been invoking a broader sense of the word. I maintain my points, though. As the racist roots of progressive labor show, not all things bearing the banner of “liberalism” are actually “humane in nature.” And even if you believe that most are, you cannot assume that this labor movement is also a humane pursuit.

Tracy, I don’t exactly see the relevance of your comment about teachers paying taxes and buying stuff, so I have no response.

As to Tracey’s and Kristene’s belief that collective bargaining rights are essential for the existence of unions, I would ask you to consider the fact that unions existed effectively well before the legislative enforcement of collective bargaining rights. They are not required, and the unions in Wisconsin will likely remain active in labor negotiations and the political process if they are taken away. Sure, it’s nice to have the government require employers to negotiate with you, but employers have a long history of voluntarily negotiating with labor unions before the age of government coercion.

I’m beginning to repeat some of the points I made earlier, and some (though certainly not all) of the comments I’m receiving are either unconstructive or semantic disputes. It has been a pleasure, but I’m done now, and Jim, Tracy, Kristine, et al can have the final word.

I agree that the political hyperbole of comparing people to dictators entices no one to constructive dialog. Sound bites are at best attention grabbing- at worst- polarizing and counter-productive.

Joan, comparing homeschooling to public schooling is apples and oranges. If a classroom teacher had 1-5 engaged students, then the results would be phenomenal! You also have the authority of parent, whereas many kids are taught a contempt for outside authority. I have been told by more than one student, who refused to pick up trash they threw on the floor, that they pay my salary to pick up that trash. (That in a Newsweek top 100 school, that churns out ivy leaguers.) But with 25-30 in a class, of varying attention spans, abilities, and behavior, the teacher must average out, or hit the lowest common denominator of understanding, while maintain the discipline of a large group of kids pushing the envelope. At the same time, we must maintain a sense of humor, understanding, nurturing, and goodwill, toward children for whom you will only be a memory, and never family.

But regardless of all that, the tests remain the same, and to cover all the ground, homework both compensates and reinforces classroom work. And in college, 90% of the work is done outside the classroom.

Wes- I was in fact, ignorant of the racist roots you mention- thank you for pointing them out. With past family roots in Levittown- I am similarly surprised that most people are unaware that “the birthplace of suburbia” was restricted at the outset as well, even to black vets, and anyone “non-caucasian”, including the Jewish. Disgraceful. Thank goodness that, and the redlining convictions of the 70s, have remedied things somewhat legally, if not de facto. I like to think that most unions have progressed well beyond that as well, as much of society has.

But by that logic, you might say that the US, at the outset, was tainted as well, in regards of the rights of women. But we all move on, thank goodness!

You do realize that members of the unions actually *pay taxes* on their salaries, don’t you? And buy goods and services with the money that they earn?

Kristine is clearly using liberal in the sense of reform/progress/breaking with tradition. All of the examples she gave fit that model and she even said ‘regardless of which political party’ – your counter-examples are all examples rooted in orthodox thinking based on political party and are NOT liberal ideas using the same definition.

And the fact that Walker wants to eliminate collective bargaining and take away the ability for unions to perform the function for which they were *designed* – even after the unions agreed to all of the other issues on the table – makes it clear that yes, he wants to do away with the unions – or at least, what they can accomplish, if not their actual name.

Yes, I would like a raise at work. However, I would like to earn that raise according to my own merits, and because my employer would rather give me a raise than see me leave for another company, not because an interest group lobbied the legislature to give me and my coworkers bargaining rights to coerce my employer into giving me a raise.

Yeah. Why should a parent ever have to do anything to contribute to the education of their own children!!! /sarcasm