Quit Bashing Our Teachers

It's a rare occasion when our local "news media" reports anything positive about teachers, schools, or education in general. In fact, right now, teacher bashing is in vogue due to recent reaction to the Saucon Valley teachers strike. And when it comes to education issues, our local "newspaper" provides a stage for lunkhead columnist Paul Carpenter to bloviate regularly his misinformed opinions.

Teachers strikes are not good news, but the overwhelmingly negative opinions about teachers expressed in the majority of letters published in the Opinion section of The Morning Call is bad news for our community. If those know-it-all critics who like to opine about education would volunteer and spend just one day in a classroom in the Allentown School District, I believe they would have a new appreciation for teachers and the extremely demanding job they do. And it's a job that benefits everyone in our society. Sadly, teachers have been labeled as liberal elitists who belong to corrupt unions and work less hours than everyone else. Bullshit. And if it's such an easy and cushy job, then why aren't you a teacher?

Because of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must now spend much more time doing paperwork and grading tests, so they are putting in many extra hours in addition to the very demanding school day of handling up to 30 or more kids in a classroom. But before NCLB and its mandated curriculum of teaching to the test, dedicated teachers spent extra time conducting after school clubs, preparing creative lessons, attending meetings and conferences, calling parents. What's expected of them now is unrealistic. And because of the unrealistic demands put on teachers due to NCLB, there is less time in the schedule for teachers to be creative. I could go on and on about the detrimental effects of NCLB on students, teachers, and society but that will have to be a topic for a future post.

Striking is a last resort for teachers. In Saucon Valley, one of the issues that the school board and teachers cannot agree on is tuition reimbursement for graduate work. The school board is discouraging teachers from becoming better, more motivated teachers because they believe teachers shouldn't be reimbursed for graduate work. They want to make sure that the already underpaid teachers don't make too much money by moving up on the pay scale! See this article

But in the private sector, it's common practice for companies to pay for employees to take graduate classes and to continue their education for the overall benefit to the company. This decision by the school board shows a disrespect for the valuable job that teachers do. And the commenters at the above article are saying "FIRE 'EM ALL." If this kind of negative attitude towards teachers is the norm in our community we are doomed, and I can understand why teachers may not feel motivated to do their jobs. Hopefully, the closed minded attitudes of some Lehigh Valley residents aren't representative of the rest of our community. If people really cared about children, they would not be bashing teachers, instead they would be supporting teachers.

This post was written by Mrs. Dottie, a former teacher.

Quit Bashing Our Teachers

It's a rare occasion when our local "news media" reports anything positive about teachers, schools, or education in general. In fact, right now, teacher bashing is in vogue due to recent reaction to the Saucon Valley teachers strike. And when it comes to education issues, our local "newspaper" provides a stage for lunkhead columnist Paul Carpenter to bloviate regularly his misinformed opinions.

Teachers strikes are not good news, but the overwhelmingly negative opinions about teachers expressed in the majority of letters published in the Opinion section of The Morning Call is bad news for our community. If those know-it-all critics who like to opine about education would volunteer and spend just one day in a classroom in the Allentown School District, I believe they would have a new appreciation for teachers and the extremely demanding job they do. And it's a job that benefits everyone in our society. Sadly, teachers have been labeled as liberal elitists who belong to corrupt unions and work less hours than everyone else. Bullshit. And if it's such an easy and cushy job, then why aren't you a teacher?

Because of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must now spend much more time doing paperwork and grading tests, so they are putting in many extra hours in addition to the very demanding school day of handling up to 30 or more kids in a classroom. But before NCLB and its mandated curriculum of teaching to the test, dedicated teachers spent extra time conducting after school clubs, preparing creative lessons, attending meetings and conferences, calling parents. What's expected of them now is unrealistic. And because of the unrealistic demands put on teachers due to NCLB, there is less time in the schedule for teachers to be creative. I could go on and on about the detrimental effects of NCLB on students, teachers, and society but that will have to be a topic for a future post.

Striking is a last resort for teachers. In Saucon Valley, one of the issues that the school board and teachers cannot agree on is tuition reimbursement for graduate work. The school board is discouraging teachers from becoming better, more motivated teachers because they believe teachers shouldn't be reimbursed for graduate work. They want to make sure that the already underpaid teachers don't make too much money by moving up on the pay scale! See this article

But in the private sector, it's common practice for companies to pay for employees to take graduate classes and to continue their education for the overall benefit to the company. This decision by the school board shows a disrespect for the valuable job that teachers do. And the commenters at the above article are saying "FIRE 'EM ALL." If this kind of negative attitude towards teachers is the norm in our community we are doomed, and I can understand why teachers may not feel motivated to do their jobs. Hopefully, the closed minded attitudes of some Lehigh Valley residents aren't representative of the rest of our community. If people really cared about children, they would not be bashing teachers, instead they would be supporting teachers.

This post was written by Mrs. Dottie, a former teacher.

Hope For Investigative Journalism

Here's an idea worth supporting: The Freedom Journalism School is a bold new program that will train 50 citizen journalists and bloggers from the South, giving them the tools and skills needed to carry out in-depth investigative journalism. As our corporate news media continues to deteriorate because ratings and profit have become more important than informing the public, there is a void that needs to be filled. Democracy cannot work unless the public is properly informed. According to their website, this is one of the reasons why The Freedom Journalism School was started:

"The media's fading commitment to public interest and investigative journalism to put a spotlight on injustice and hold the powerful accountable."

The project is modeled after the Freedom Schools of the civil rights movement. These schools taught children the value of asking the important questions, not just learning facts and figures, so students could become agents for change. In our local media and blogosphere we could really benefit from more citizens asking excellent questions that deserve to be answered, and holding our elected officials accountable. Don't let big corporate interests stifle debate or block reform on important issues. Speaking truth to power will light the way to a better future for all of us. If you would like to support this program and find out more information, here's a link: Facing South

Hope For Investigative Journalism

Here's an idea worth supporting: The Freedom Journalism School is a bold new program that will train 50 citizen journalists and bloggers from the South, giving them the tools and skills needed to carry out in-depth investigative journalism. As our corporate news media continues to deteriorate because ratings and profit have become more important than informing the public, there is a void that needs to be filled. Democracy cannot work unless the public is properly informed. According to their website, this is one of the reasons why The Freedom Journalism School was started:

"The media's fading commitment to public interest and investigative journalism to put a spotlight on injustice and hold the powerful accountable."

The project is modeled after the Freedom Schools of the civil rights movement. These schools taught children the value of asking the important questions, not just learning facts and figures, so students could become agents for change. In our local media and blogosphere we could really benefit from more citizens asking excellent questions that deserve to be answered, and holding our elected officials accountable. Don't let big corporate interests stifle debate or block reform on important issues. Speaking truth to power will light the way to a better future for all of us. If you would like to support this program and find out more information, here's a link: Facing South

Boycott Advertisers of Right Wing Hate

Where is the moral compass of the advertisers who are supporting Fox News and its hate speech? The unfair and unbalanced right wing media has created a dangerous climate in this country which has fueled an increase in violent racist hate crimes, hatred towards our President, and fear of a liberal government.

Voices on the right, like loudmouths Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck constantly cross the line, spewing hate and anger without taking into consideration how this kind of vitriol might impact public thought. It is disturbing how many people will believe the Fox "News" propaganda as truth, because they really think Fox News is a reliable and trustworthy source for news. 

Here in the Lehigh Valley, our local news media leans very heavily toward the right wingnut variety, with right-wing talk shows on WAEB all day. We have heard professional people we know casually and hopefully discussing the possibility of our President being assassinated by southeners, as if that would be not such a bad thing. It is unsettling when I walk into my bank and I am bombarded with Fox News on all their TV screens. Get me outta here!

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate crimes, reports that participation in hate groups in America has risen over 50% since 2000. According to the report:

"It attributed that growth mainly to fears about non-white immigration, but pointed out that the rise of a black man to the White House also appears to have contributed. And it said the ongoing economic meltdown, which some have already blamed on racial minorities and undocumented Latino immigrants, could well add to a worsening situation."

See the entire article: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=1052

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

After enduring eight years in the Dark Ages led by a President who had trouble putting a sentence together and couldn't care less about equal rights, we finally have an intelligent, diplomatic, charismatic, capable, and respectable leader in the White House who has to clean up the disastrous mess left by the previous failed administration and move us forward. And the leader of the Republican Party, radio host Rush Limbaugh, hopes that our President fails. Nice.

Our local "newspaper" endorses hate by allowing racist and homophobic comments at its website online Forum, and this creates a dangerous climate that is bad for our community. And then there's our overwhelmingly NeoCon local blahgassmear that our "newspaper" links to. 

Shame on The Morning Call and Fox News advertisers for endorsing hatred and violence toward liberals, our President, and our government. Boycott the advertisers at Fox News, and at our local "newspaper." Here's a list of Fox advertisers: http://www.debone.com/boycottFoxNewsSponsors.html

And here's a blog that makes it easy for you to send e-mails to companies:

http://foxnewssucks.blogspot.com/2009/04/boycott-fox-news-advertisers.html

Boycott Advertisers of Right Wing Hate

Where is the moral compass of the advertisers who are supporting Fox News and its hate speech? The unfair and unbalanced right wing media has created a dangerous climate in this country which has fueled an increase in violent racist hate crimes, hatred towards our President, and fear of a liberal government.

Voices on the right, like loudmouths Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck constantly cross the line, spewing hate and anger without taking into consideration how this kind of vitriol might impact public thought. It is disturbing how many people will believe the Fox "News" propaganda as truth, because they really think Fox News is a reliable and trustworthy source for news. 

Here in the Lehigh Valley, our local news media leans very heavily toward the right wingnut variety, with right-wing talk shows on WAEB all day. We have heard professional people we know casually and hopefully discussing the possibility of our President being assassinated by southeners, as if that would be not such a bad thing. It is unsettling when I walk into my bank and I am bombarded with Fox News on all their TV screens. Get me outta here!

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate crimes, reports that participation in hate groups in America has risen over 50% since 2000. According to the report:

"It attributed that growth mainly to fears about non-white immigration, but pointed out that the rise of a black man to the White House also appears to have contributed. And it said the ongoing economic meltdown, which some have already blamed on racial minorities and undocumented Latino immigrants, could well add to a worsening situation."

See the entire article: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=1052

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

After enduring eight years in the Dark Ages led by a President who had trouble putting a sentence together and couldn't care less about equal rights, we finally have an intelligent, diplomatic, charismatic, capable, and respectable leader in the White House who has to clean up the disastrous mess left by the previous failed administration and move us forward. And the leader of the Republican Party, radio host Rush Limbaugh, hopes that our President fails. Nice.

Our local "newspaper" endorses hate by allowing racist and homophobic comments at its website online Forum, and this creates a dangerous climate that is bad for our community. And then there's our overwhelmingly NeoCon local blahgassmear that our "newspaper" links to. 

Shame on The Morning Call and Fox News advertisers for endorsing hatred and violence toward liberals, our President, and our government. Boycott the advertisers at Fox News, and at our local "newspaper." Here's a list of Fox advertisers: http://www.debone.com/boycottFoxNewsSponsors.html

And here's a blog that makes it easy for you to send e-mails to companies:

http://foxnewssucks.blogspot.com/2009/04/boycott-fox-news-advertisers.html

Liberal Media Bias ... Locally?

UpDate: Hear Bill Villa's WAEB Shows at You Tube

Where is this local "liberal media bias" that the minority local NeoCon lunatics (respectfully) are always kvetching about? Let's review, shall we ... 

Local news radio station WAEB-AM runs right wing-friendly shows all day.

WFMZ-TV carries conservative religious programming and provides Neo-Conservative-only commentary by that really spooky and sarcastic know-it-all (and station owner) Dick Dean. 

Then there's our stranglehold local monopoly "newspaper," The In-Mourning Call. It links to Neo-Conservative-only or apolitical blogs in its "Valley Blogosphere" lapdog club and the majority of its regular commenters at The Morning Call's online "Forum" sections are Obama-Hating and Pawlowski-Bashing misogynist-anti-semite-homophobic-latino-hating-bigots who are allowed to spew freely because hate sells-- it "attracts advertisers," according to Bill White.

The Allentown Commentator "blog" (really a "chat room" ick) is a far right-wing extremist gathering storm hosted by Scott Armstrong where we've read rile-'em-up racist comments aimed at our President and Allentown's Latino population. 

One would think there'd be some variety and divergence of thought in a local blogosphere. Not around here. Take a look at the Lehigh Valley blogs currently ranked by BlogNet News as being among the Top 20 Most Influential Political Blogs in Pennsylvania. 

Only the #1 Blog in The Lehigh Valley for 22 of the last 27 weeks (this blog, Lehigh Valley Somebody, #5 statewide) is openly and proudly liberal. 

All the other Lehigh Valley also-ran blogs at BNN are either NeoConservative (#6, #7, #16, #20) or politically neutral ("mellow"), #17. 

We local liberals do have an NPR affiliate community public radio station in WDIY-FM and a PBS TV station but they both lean conservative and Republican. 

In 2008, President Barack Obama won 57% of the vote in Lehigh County. 

In 2005, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski won with a 59% popular vote mandate over Republican Bill Heydt (38%) and nosey South Whitehall Township buttinsky neighbor Mike Molovinsky (3%).  

Allentown is a mostly deep dark blue city that has not voted for a Republican President since 1988 (and we regret that one). 

Our local NeoCon Biased Media & Blogosphere is not serving the majority of our population who are moderate and liberal Democrats.

Thankfully, this blog is. 

For a "liberal media bias" you won't find anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley, thanks for reading (#1) LVS regularly.