I think our next Governor will be predicted by the influences of Former Gov. Hunt. His endorsement will have a huge influence on voters. The people trust Jim Hunt and he did an outstanding job while in office. As noted in November 27, 2005 News & Observer article "Ex-governor still a force" found here: http://tinyurl.com/bwvzn
Comments
So where's he gonna land?
Moore? Beverly Perdue? Roy Boy?
Roy Cooper
I have published allegations, un-denied, of Roy Cooper's fraud before the U.S. Supreme Court for over 11 weeks at: www.ncjusticefraud.com
I often wish I were a lawyer
so I could understand such discussions. At first blush, this sounds like one of those instances where little guys get caught up in big dramas and ultimately get screwed.
Maybe Roy's lurking around BlueNC these days, eyeing early banter on his likely run. Want to put this issue to rest Roy? What say you?
Roy Cooper
If my charges of fraud by Roy Cooper before the Us Supreme Court were false, Roy Cooper could have sued me for libel. He hasn't denied the charges, although they have been published for 83 days,
becuase they are true. Roy Cooper lied in documents submitted to the Supreme Court.
Not impressed.
If you put up a website calling me a crook and a liar, I might have a cause of action but I probably would just ignore you. Not denying a charge doesn't make it true. Santa Claus hasn't denied rumors of his existence, but that doesn't make him real. (Sorry for always picking on the fat guy.)
I read about half of your front page, Chris, and it sounds like there may have been some apparent inconsistencies in the gov't's brief. That's not the same thing as fraud. In fact, NC's rules of civil procedure permit alternative arguments without allowing a negative inference to be drawn from their inconsistency. What I didn't see (before I gave up reading) was your argument that you should have won at the trial level.
If you've got a convincing argument that Cooper's office committed fraud on the court, you should find a way to make it convincingly in your first two paragraphs.
Roy Cooper
What you callinconsistencies by Roy Cooper are outright lies. While the Rules of Civil Procedure allow inconsistent pleadings, under strict, limited circumstances, the rules don't allow intentional deception. If Cooper was an honest person, he would have corrected his false statements with the Court, which he is obligated to do.
Two false statements by Cooper to the US Supreme Courtare: He alleged my Complaints were dismissed because of qualifed immunity (false); He alleged that the district court exercised its inherent powers (false); There are many more, too numerous to count. Cooper hasn't responded, because he can't do so honestly. Chris Langdon
Roy Cooper
Dear Lance,
Santa Claus is not the highest law enforcemnt officer in the
N.C. and he's not running for Governor. Anglico is right, my case is one of the little guy (in monetary terms) getting crushed by a hack politician, Roy Cooper. Cooper does many things to appear
to be a champion of the people but he steamrolled over me because it was easy and he thought he coudl get away with it. If I had an attorney, particualrly aheavy contributor to hsi campaigns adn to the judges campaigns, it would ahve been different. The media won't touch the story. Lance, you didn't read the whole article, just a few paragraphs. You had your mind made up before you read it. Are you a lawyer who suuports Cooper? Chris Langdon
Roy Cooper
It's been over one hundred days since I posted allegations of Roy Cooper's fraud on the US Supreme Court and he still hasn't denied the charges, althoguh he is well aware of them. Do you thing Gov. Hunt will still support him? Chris Langdon
February 9th, 2006
North Carolina Governor
The new Governor will need to strengthen the public schools. Much the same way that Gov Hunt did back in the 90's. Not sure who Former Gov Hunt will endorse, but I think that it will help if the candidate supports school vouchers.
I'm at a tipping with regard to public education
After years and years as an ardent supporter of public schools, I am now having serious second thoughts about the model we're using. My main objection: what I call "factory schooling."
This is true at almost every level of public education (K through UNC) and the more I see of it, the less I like it. In fact, I can find NO evidence to suggest that bigger is better in the area of schooling.
We're in a public pickle where schools, driven by illusions about economies of scale, have become unwieldy factories designed to maximize throughput with generally declining quality.
I don't know what the answer will be, but vouchers may eventually be part of the solution. My first instinct, though, is to set aside 20% of the public education budget for small school innovation . . . and let the natural entrepreneurs within public education take the lead on alternative programming.
And eliminate standardized testing.
I have a few thoughts
1. Eliminate ALL standardized tests (including the SAT).
2. Teachers must take the subject PRAXIS (or equivalent) every five years.
3. Raises will be based on continuing education (summer, online, seminars, whatever).
4. All lottery proceeds will go towards teacher bonuses, not raises, but bonuses based on principal evaluations.
5. The Principal will be held accountable for poor teaching (the science teacher who spends all year teaching about dinosaurs).
We have to let teachers teach without worries about the standardized tests or the twenty pages of required material that the state mandates. We have to make sure all teachers stay up to date, and give positive reinforcement to those teachers who try to improve themselves; including, bonuses for those who succeed. Improve the teachers, let the students learn, and hold the principal accountable.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Make that "tipping point"
:)
Well...you don't want to get me started
so I'll give you the short version.
Until we as a society value intelligence/education over athletics/celebrity we will never move forward academically. Until we value and show respect to teachers/educators we will never move forward academically. I'll give you the long version another time.
Um....Go Panthers. LOL
***************************
Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
You cracked me up with that one.
But seriously, I'd love to read your long version some time.
And I suspect I'd find it totally compatible with my abhorence of how athletics dominate the agenda for public education. So much so that we find we have to build gigantic schools with gigantic fields for gigantic boys to play dumbass sports. We could no more have a small urban public school in North Carolina than we could a US Senator worth a flying cluck.
I agree
As a former high school and college football player, I think we spend too much time and money focused on high school sports. College sports probably end up paying for themselves by the amount of money they bring into the school. In high schools, we pay lots of money for sports, yet we don't have enough computers, air conditioning, BOOKS, etc. I had several friends on the college team that had their own helmets and shoulder pads, and I asked why. They had to buy them in high school, they had to buy their own equipment because they were from a really poor inner city school. So, there is one way around this - make sports pay for themselves. If the boosters want sports, they can pay for the equipment and coaches salary.
On another note, being from the boondocks, we had several small schools that had no football team. They were really good at basketball, and they played on our football team. So, you could have small urban schools that pooled resources for sports.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
North Carolina Governor
I also have a couple of comments, which I think the next Governor will be able to help with.
1- Bigger is not necessarily better AND smaller is not necessarily better either. The recommended school size (for High Schools), according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (http://www.nassp.org), the ideal size is between 450-850. When schools are larger, students fall through the cracks. Governor Mike Easley, recommended small class size. However, according to Project Star, the ideal class size is 15 or below in grades K-3. This is the only way to make a significant difference in academic achievement.
2 - North Carolina Department of Public Instruction needs to provide the End of Grade and End of Course exams results (High Stakes exams) to students, parents, and teachers. Currently, no one knows the questions, which ones are wrong and which ones are correct. Texas and Florida provides these results to parents, students, and teachers, which can be used as an educational process learning where the student went wrong. However, when you ask North Carolina to do this, they tell you that it costs too much! "...Cost too much..." is at the expense of our students academic achievement. Our state will be "Left Behind..."
3 - To strengthen the schools, (charter, private, religious, and/or public), the Next Governor needs to allow statewide vouchers. Currently, there are six states and the district of Columbia that have laws on the books to provide vouchers to parents to be used on behalf of their children's education. They are, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Maine and Vermont. If North Carolina is to become competitive, we have to allow the same for the future of NC.
4 - The Department of Non-Public Education needs to allow the same educational equity to students as does the Department of Public Instruction. Therefore, needs to have the same educational funding. Currently, there is a huge disparity.
5 - The Schools of Education in Institutions of High Education (IHE) need to prepare pre-service teachers better. Teachers are ill-prepared to enter the classroom. More than 50% leave the profession in their first 3 years of teaching. This is an epidemic and weights heavy on IHE, parents and the public schools.
6 - Spending on education and per/pupil spending needs to increase. North Carolina doesn't fair so well among other states in the country. Furthermore, when you take a closer look at per pupil spending in rural areas of North Carolina it's inconscionable!
All of these issues, I believe, the Governor needs to help with and have number one priority on his/her agenda.
Much to think about.
But as a first reaction, I notice how much I hate the word voucher.
Second, I think it's a crime what we pay teachers. Why don't we have intense competition for the top end of teaching jobs? Because we're not paying enough. Duh.
Vouchers
Tell us how much you really hate vouchers and why. I never thought one could hate a word.
Will do
but it'll have to wait unti later today. I'm in a planning retreat starting in "yikes" fifteen minutes!
Thanks for the invite to vent! Stand by . . .
Anglico
You forgot to elaborate.
North Carolina Governor
I find it interesting that Beverly Purdue is working toward stregthening the schools by directing the BETA (Business Education Technology Alliance) BETA - And by appointing Bruce Friend to direct of the NC Virtual School. Lt. Governor Perdue appoints Bruce Friend to lead NC Virtual’s High School Effort. Where is Mike Easley in all of this?
Elaboration
First on the word itself. As a poet and all around word guy, sometimes words just grate on me because of their phonic structure. Voucher is one of those words. It reminds me off projectile vomit for some reason. (Hey, you asked.)
Beyond that, it's too smug an answer for a disastrously out-of-kilter educational system. I learned long ago that complex problems rarely have simple answers, and implementing vouchers (as I understand most proposals) seems likely to trigger a host of unintended consequences -- the most significant of which involve equity issues.
All that said, I am not a fan of North Carolina's current approach to factory schooling. Nor do I support standardized testing and bloated administrative bureaucracies.
Any redirection around public school funding/choice/innovation would have to address structural issues related to supply and equity. And that would require a Manhattan Project type effort by people intensely focused on the well-being of children rather than preservation of institutions. Sadly, I don't see any leadership around with the stomach for that.
Would vouchers stir things up? You bet. And at some point, that will probably become all we can hope for.
A
PS FYI, I've served in a broad range of roles related to supporting public schools, including an initiative called Teachers First which attempted to drive resources to where they matter most. I eventually gave up on all fronts . . . and even took my daughter out of a very good public school system. For better or for worse, I'm in a position to fund that decision . . . and I wish we had a system where every family could make the choice I made . . . with a rich array of alternatives to factory schooling in place. Maybe vouchers are the key to that possibility . . .
. . . but I still hate the word.
:)
Do away with state requirements
I have a thought. GWB wants to push NCLB, fine let him. Cut all state-mandated paperwork, tests, everything. Let the federal and local governments run the schools until NCLB is done away with, which it will be, and then bring back minimal state intervention.
How much does the state spend on paperwork? On testing? Take that money and put it into bonuses for teachers that complete advanced learning courses (in person or online). Increased teacher pay will lead to increased teacher retention, which will lead to better schools.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me