Teacher's New Contract

[alohabear]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

When HSTA said last week ,It was too close to call, I bet no one expected 2/3 to 1/3 ratio. It should have been closer.....anyone wanna buy a clean cup of pee?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

So now that the results are in, can we stop the feuding and tend to the dead and dying on the battle field?

Man this discussion had some intense casualties.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

So now that the results are in, can we stop the feuding and tend to the dead and dying on the battle field?

Man this discussion had some intense casualties.

On that note,

I charitably forgive eevvveeerryyyboooodddyyyy.

</pa'u queen sweeping hand gesture>

[sinjin]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

On that note,

I charitably forgive eevvveeerryyyboooodddyyyy.

</pa'u queen sweeping hand gesture>

I hope you're sincere. It truly pains me when I suspect I have incensed you.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

I hope you're sincere. It truly pains me when I suspect I have incensed you.

seriously, that is quite kind of you to say, Sinjin. I for one wasn't bent out of shape at this thread. I prefer spirited debate, actually. I wrote that because I saw an opportunity to make light of things. In the spirit of clearing air, I wish to apologize for offending anyone, and most pointedly I apologize to Scriv.

aloha, P

[1stwahine]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

On that note,

I charitably forgive eevvveeerryyyboooodddyyyy.

</pa'u queen sweeping hand gesture>

oK...oK....das mean....i picking up da KAKAS!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Auntie Lynn

[Miulang]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Unintended consequences of something that on the surface appears to have no downsides...

Hawai'i State Teacher Association executive director Joan Husted said the nearly 40 percent who opposed the contract sends a strong message that teachers are not happy.

"Teachers who voted 'yes' either felt they needed the money or could ill-afford to turn it down and wouldn't be tested positive for drugs so 'So what'," said Husted after results were released last night.

"They felt they were being held hostage," she said. "Almost no one was happy."

Big Island sixth-grade teacher Julianne Ostrosky echoed that statement.

"This is a sad day for those teachers who voted against the contract and who understand the ramifications of selling our Fourth Amendment rights," she said. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.

...But Husted also warned that when the random drug-testing provision goes into effect in 2008, she expects the state to be faced with even more difficulties than it already suffers in recruiting teachers. The state must fill approximately 1,500 positions every year because of retirements and turnover.

"It will be absolutely much harder," said Husted. "I've just talked to one of the teachers from the Mainland who will be leaving at the end of this year because she doesn't agree with this. I think you're going to see that. ... You're going to see morale sink to an all-time low."

It wouldn't surprise me if someone(s) have already contacted lawyers about challenging this in the courts.

Miulang

[Hellbent]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

big deal. alot of other professions already make you sign a waiver acknowledging the fact that you may be drug tested. if i had the option to get a pay raise but be subjected to a piss or hair sample, i would take it. especially if the nurse like help =)
seriously, for awhile i wanted to be a teacher, but after realizing the hours they work and the pay they get, how my fellow students at the time treated some of the teachers, and the conditions of the classrooms back then, i figured i'd do something else. so to the board members who teach, id fully support any kind of pay raise, you guys deserve it. too bad a few bad apples screwed it up for everyone, but a raise is a raise.
its not just teachers, but everyone is going mental. some kid was arrested/suspended for making a game map for this game called counter-strike of his high school. like he was going to use that for tactical purposes? there are thousands of maps out there, theres one of ala wai boulevard, one of king+keaamoku, etc. i hope his parents sue someone. oh yeah, the authoritays searched his room... they found a sword.

[joshuatree]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Of 13,500 teachers, about 8,500 voted...

So did the other 5,000 teachers not care?

[Miulang]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Of 13,500 teachers, about 8,500 voted...

So did the other 5,000 teachers not care?

Isn't that kinda the same thing that happens in other elections in Hawai'i, too?

Miulang

[Peshkwe]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Poppy seed bagels in the morning all 'round, then poppy snack cakes during the day...everyday.

Sooner or later all that retesting is gonna break the bank.

[Miulang]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Poppy seed bagels in the morning all 'round, then poppy snack cakes during the day...everyday.

Sooner or later all that retesting is gonna break the bank.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the cost of all the tests actually prevents future raises for the teachers in the next contract after the one just ratified? Another unintended consequence? Fewer teachers making less money.

Miulang

[waioli kai]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Wouldn't it be ironic if the cost of all the tests actually prevents future raises for the teachers in the next contract after the one just ratified? Another unintended consequence? Fewer teachers making less money.

So the DoE has to pay for all the testing? And this whole charade is about the welfare of Hawaii children where teachers have to teach classes wherein they cannot assign textbook homework because classes only have textbooks that must remain in class? Where students don't have lockers? Where science classes have labs, maybe, but virtually zero labware? Where white boards are so grey/black if there any at all, and usable chalk boards are non-existent that teachers must "improvise" with photocopy handouts that number only enough for one class and must be turned in, grafitti and all to be used for the next class because photocopy paper and ink costs must be minimized? Where classroom floors resemble spit stained and gum-covered sidewalks in Chinatown? Where classrooms get so hot and humid that being outside in direct sunlight feels cooler? Where teachers receive pay per hour per student (just considering in the classroom hours, not take home or before and after school work) that is a small fraction of what teenage babysitters or restaurant waiting tips provide?...and on and on... what a bunch of crap it is to hear all the phony, hypocritically righteous rhetoric "we care about our kids in school" stuff!!

"Our kids" ? Care about the teaching of "our kids" do we? What about the raising of "our kids"? What's more important? Isn't it time to drug test parents? Random checks! Check the parents when they drop their kids off at school to make sure the kids are not being raised by drug users, or worse, being delivered or picked up from school by parents or guardians under the influence of drugs not prescribed by their physician. If we really care about the kids let's have DoE or social service police random check parents at their homes. And if we really, really care about our kids lets random check our kids at school and when they test positive lets interrogate them to see where they get their drugs from and then make sure they receive the benefits of rehabilitation treatments.... if we really care.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Good point Waioli...we should test parents too! I'll be the first in line. I think parents should be held accountable for their children's welfare. Just today I was driving up Puainako to pick up my boy at school when I saw this car coming down the street.

The father driving the car swung and cracked this boy seated in the front driver's seat. Man this kid got a solid blow to his face as they drove past me.

Now maybe this kid was mouthing off to his dad but wowzers! That was one mean right hook to the jawbone. I think that action constituted child abuse. Too bad I couldn't get his license plate as I'm sure this kid was in for some more beatings when they got to their final destination.

But yeah, add parents to the list of responsible adults for the well being of children, I'm all for it, maybe only then will kids get the benefit of a clean home and school enviroment eh? Good one Waioli, I like that one.

[waioli kai]

Re: Teacher's New Contract

Since every teacher is basically a suspect, albeit of a random nature, what is to become of a suspect who cannot pee on demand? Is he or she considered guilty until proven innocent? Will she or he be suspended until the ability to pee presents itself, literally? Shouldn't someone be watching the presentation from start to finish to ensure the pee is from a genuine donor? Wouldn't the suspect/donor prefer to have a witness to prove the presentation is genuine and beyond question so that all suspicion could be arrested at the source? What is to be the nature of the enforcement official and the collection official? What will be their credentials as peelice officers for the State since the DoE should not be peelicing itself? Should students be trusted to turn in suspect teachers? Should teachers daily or at least routinely profess their disdain for nonprescription drugs to their students like politicians and some in TV media routinely profess their nationalism and wear miniature flags to dispel vibes of political incorrectness?

This random testing thing could prove to be a boon for mediocrity and homogeneity of personal expression and belief. In the end not only will no child be left behind, but no one will be left behind or in front! We will all be the same and it will not have required biological cloning to make it so.