2006 Senate Bill 1306 (Mandate full day kindergarten for all five-year-olds )

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Introduced by Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman on June 14, 2006, to mandate that all children who turn five years old before December 1 must be enrolled in full-day kindergarten beginning in September, and require school districts to provide full-day kindergarten.
- Referred to the Senate Education Committee on June 14, 2006.

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Comments

Introduced by Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman on June 14, 2006. New Comment

1) NO Full Day Mandate [by Anonymous Citizen on October 30, 2008]
A full day mandate for Kindergarten is wrong-minded. It has the interests of the parents and not the children. Some 4-5 yo still nap in the PM. They would be "unteachable" in that afternoon!! Also what little academics they learn in K, you can teach kids BEFORE they enter K by just SPENDING SOME TIME with them. It's not hard at all to teach them abc's, counting, basic addition etc... It's actually fun. No structured daily program is needed - just a sincere interest in developing a love for learning. And you build a strong bond/foundation with your child to boot! (Before it's too late when they get older and want to be with their friends more and more.) I like the half day for it's introduction to socializing and people skills. Let's keep it that way and focus more on encouraging parents to be more actively involved with their children, especially in the younger years.
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2) Nice Try [by Anonymous Citizen on October 30, 2008]

No sale.

I first heard and saw the list of "why all-day K is bad for kids" assertions made here more than 20 years ago.

Actual experience then -- and since then -- refutes every one of those negative assertions.
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3) NO FULL DAY MANDATE [by Anonymous Citizen on October 30, 2008]
These are not assertions from any "list" (have never seen one on this subject). They are from my acutal experience and sincere belief. It is NOT hard to teach children those basic academics. And it's probably much easier one on one than in a class of 18 4-5 yos. And, again, you get to really know your own child.

I do like half day, though, for its social aspect - which is what K ought to be mainly about.
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4) You May Not Have Seen A List [by Anonymous Citizen on October 30, 2008]

But every one of the negative assertions based on your "beliefs" about all-day kidergarten are absolutely identical to those I heard parents and others list when my school district was attempting to establish all-day K more than 20 years ago.

It turned out that the actual experience of educators and parents with all-day kindergarten refuted every one of those negative assertions when I talked with them back then. Actual experience since then has continued to refute your negative assertions.

You need to do more homework and rely less on your beliefs and imagination.

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5) Um, homeschool? [by Anonymous Citizen on September 5, 2008]
Did you know that you can "homeschool" for core curriculum and still send your adorable child to public school for all the "specials": art, p.e., library, recess, etc.? This is a legal mandate, too. They HAVE to let you (my DH is a lawyer).

My son (4) is already reading chapter books and doing great at math. He's been writing me notes (okay, very simple ones) for almost 6 mo. He is going to kindergarten in 2009 at age 5.

He does not need full-day kindergarten for any academic reasons. I will just send him 1/2 day anyway for the fun parts and to see his friends. Thanks, Michigan. Love your mandates, JK.

My opinion: full-day kindergarten isn't for the kids. It's for budget reasons or working parents. If your schools suck, is spending more time there really going to help?? Sure, if you don't want to pay for daycare or mid-day busses.
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6) NICE PENCILS! Now, fork them over [by Anonymous Citizen on August 11, 2008]
NICE PENCILS!
Now, fork them over . . .
(From "Somebody's Gotta Say It" © 2007 by Neal Boortz, Published by HC Books, and imprint of Harper Collins)
What? I'm picking on government schools again? Don't I have anything better to do with my time?
No, I don't. A day spent slamming the concept of government indoctrination is a day well spent.
I love this country, but I believe it's in deep trouble. I believe we're losing our sense of individuality and our love of liberty. Americans have little idea of the sacrifices that so many made to create this country where we live our lives of plenty.
Most adults have no idea of how essential our system of economic liberty is to the standard of life we enjoy today, and are unaware of how American free enterprise has already lifted much of the world out of poverty, want, and despair.
Furthermore, most Americans don't understand something as basic as the importance of private property rights in maintaining freedom and promoting prosperity.
And for this state of affairs I place the bulk of the blame on our system of government-owned and -operated schools.
I'll go one step further: Many of our government schools today, perhaps even the one to which you have surrendered your child; start in from day one trying to discredit the very concept of property rights. How do they do it? Let's start by defining some terms.
Some of our brethren on the left denounce the idea of property rights by saying human rights are always more important than property rights. It's a clever line, but it's really a kind of misdirection, like a magic trick.
Why? Because property rights are human rights.
Think about it this way: Property has no rights. People have the right to property, and that right to property, the fruits of one's labor, is one of the highest human rights.
As if that weren't bad enough, the campaign to abolish private property starts with almost the first moment your child enters school.
Remember those weeks before school started for your brand-new first grader? There you were, you and your proud new student, walking the aisles of the local Wal-Mart, your list of school supplies in hand. Item by item you checked things off your list as you dropped them into the basket: pencils and erasers, notebooks and pencil holders, construction paper and paste. By the time you made it to the cash register, you had a full basket and a happy kid. As soon as you got home, your budding Einstein took the supplies to his room and spread everything out on the bed. This was his stuff, and it was important stuff, too—his very own tools and supplies, the things he'd use to learn and grow. And tomorrow he would be taking them to school. He couldn't have been more proud. On his last night before that magic first day of school, just before he went to bed, your young student would pack all his stuff in his backpack . . . then unpack it . . . then pack it again.
The next morning, it's show time! Off we go, full of apprehension and pride. Your young man is taking another grand step toward adulthood!
What could go wrong at school? Plenty. Remember, it's a government operation staffed by government agents.
As soon as the students are seated, the bell rings, and as fast as you can say the Pledge of Allegiance, the indoctrination begins: Your child is about to be introduced to the wonderful concept of "the common good."
Ready for class? Nope, not yet. There's a small matter that must be attended to first.
The government teacher steps in front of her virtual hostages and promptly delivers the first raw lesson in the power of government: She instructs her students to bring all of their precious new school supplies to the front of the classroom and put them into a huge box.
Wait just a minute here! Why am I putting my stuff into that box? My daddy took me to Wal-Mart and bought that stuff for me! It's mine! You can't take it away from me!
Oh, yeah?
As your child sits in stunned silence, the teacher tells him and his classmates that these supplies now belong to all of the class. What was once private property has been seized and transformed into community property, courtesy of the teacher's demands—demands that amount to a government mandate. There is no due process. No rule of law. After all, in school the teacher is the law. Your child's supplies are now everybody's supplies, and the teacher has assumed the responsibility of distributing them as needed.
Know this: This whole "dump all of your school supplies into this box" is no mere innocent exercise, no simple whim of a few individual teachers. It's a conscious policy, and it has a purpose that goes beyond simple expediency for the teacher.
Your child, and every other child in that classroom, is being taught that their private property rights end when someone in authority says they end. In this instance, that person in authority is the teacher—a government employee. And even if your child isn't able to understand that it's actually the government who's seizing his property, he certainly does understand that his property is being seized, and converted into everybody's property. Worse yet, he is told, very clearly, that this is a good thing.
And who is there to tell him otherwise?
I've talked about this property confiscation on the air many times. Some parents call in to scold me, convinced that I'm lying, that this doesn't really happen. But for every one who does, plenty others call in to confirm what I'm saying—to report that it happened to their own child! I've even heard from young parents who believed I was making it up . . . right up to the point when their own child returned home from his first day of school.
The most surprising thing to me is that some callers—even some parents whose children have had their school supplies confiscated— actually don't see the problem with the policy. Wake up, folks! The very concept of private property is under attack here, and government is leading the charge.
It is a simple truth that property rights are the very basis of human freedom. We come into this world with nothing but our bodies and our minds. Those are the assets we bring with us to the marketplace. And no society based on economic and social freedom has ever survived the loss of private property rights.
Nobody would seriously argue against the notion that we, as individuals, are the sole owners of our minds and our bodies. We present our physical and mental labor to the free enterprise marketplace and trade it there for wealth, usually in the form of money. It can be said that we have received that money in exchange for the expenditure of a portion of our very lives. When we convert that money to other forms of property, that property, too, represents a portion of our lives. That property is every bit as much ours as our very bodies and minds are. To demand that we forfeit that property to the government— even so trifling a piece of property as a schoolboy's notebook—is to demand a degree of involuntary servitude from us all.
Today we see property rights under attack from all quarters—as anyone who's ever confronted the idea of eminent domain knows too well. Government, after all, has an interest in weakening the concept of private property rights. The more Americans can be conditioned to accept the idea that the government has the right to confiscate our property for "the common good," the stronger government becomes and the weaker we as individuals become.
Come on, you say, my kid is only six years old! You don't expect him to realize what's happening and ask the teacher to respect his private property rights, now do you? What is he supposed to do, demand to be compensated for the seizure of his property?
Of course not.
Junior is a long way from understanding those concepts. But don't kid yourself: He certainly does understand, at least on a subconscious level, that his new teacher—someone he knows he is supposed to respect and look up to—thinks that the idea of seizing private property for general use is just fine. After all, the logic goes, there are other people out there who might need some of your stuff. And it's just not right for you to have something other people don't have or can't share in, is it? All you need to do to correct this perceived injustice, according to these teachers, is to let your superiors even things out a bit by taking some stuff from you and giving it to someone else.
Karl Marx had his own words for this concept. "From each according to his ability," he said, "to each according to his need." So what can be done to fix the problem? Well, I'll tell you what I did.
Actually, in my case, I didn't have to wait until my daughter, Laura, got into government school for this collectivist concept to rear its head. We learned this lesson in day care.
One afternoon I picked up Laura at her day care center. As she got into the car, I could see that her eyes were red; there were still traces of tears on her cheeks.
What happened? I asked.
"The lady," she said, had taken her candy.
You see, it was the day after Halloween and Laura had taken a bag of goodies to day care, to dip into throughout the day. As soon as the day care supervisor saw her bag, however, she seized it. She told Laura that it just wasn't right for her to have anything that every other child didn't have. If she didn't bring enough to share with everyone, then she couldn't have it at all.
As soon as I heard that, I spun my incredibly hot Ford Pinto around and headed back to the day care center. Once there, I asked for a private meeting with the director. I asked her if she was familiar with the concept of private property. She said yes. Then I asked why it was the day care center's policy to indoctrinate children into the idea that it was not right for them to have property that other children didn't have.
Blank stare.
Then I asked her how she would feel if the bank took her next deposit and distributed it evenly among its other customers, telling her it wasn't nice for her to have money that other people didn't have. She got it.
The next time Laura brought some candy or cookies to day care, the supervisors left her alone.
For nearly all children in America, Day Number One at school— whether it's in an informal day care center or a public kindergarten— is also their first time in an independent social setting. It's their first chance to experience how the world is going to treat them. Until we do something to fix it, however, Lesson Number One your children learn that day may be that their rights exist only as long as the government allows.
And that's just the first week! Wait a little while, and you just might get that call from Teacher with vague, dark hints of a better world for your child if you'll just allow him to go on Ritalin.
From "Somebody's Gotta Say It"
Neal Boortz

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7) Public Indoctrination Centers are Bad For The Children (cont) [by Anonymous Citizen on August 11, 2008]
How We Do It…..

"Non-intellectual, non-skill schooling was supported by a strange and motley collection of fellow travelers: from unions, yes, but also from the ranks of legendary businessmen like Carnegie and Rockefeller, Ford and Astor; there were genuine ideologues like John Dewey, yes, but many academic opportunists as well, like Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia; prominent colleges like Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago took a large hand in the deconstruction of American academic schooling as well as a powerful core of private foundations and think tanks. Whether they did this out of conviction, for the advantage of private interests, or any hybrid of these reasons and more I'll leave for the moment to others for debate. What is certain is that the outcomes aimed for had little to do with why parents thought children were ordered into schools; such alien outcomes as socialization into creatures who would no longer feel easy with their own parents, or psychologization into dependable and dependent camp followers
it was firmly in place by 1917 - all that remained to reach the target was a continual series of experiments on public schoolchildren, some modest in scope, many breathtakingly radical like "IQ tests" or "kindergartens", and a full palette of intermediate colors like "multiculturalism", "rainbow" curricula and "universal self esteem". Each of these thrusts has a real behavioral purpose which is part of the larger utopia envisioned, yet each is capable of being rhetorically defended as the particular redress of some current "problem".

"Shortly into the 20th century American schooling decided to move away from intellectual development or skills training as the main justification for its existence and to enter the eerie world of social engineering, a world where "socializing" and "psychologizing" the classroom preempted attention and rewards. Professionalization of the administrative/ teaching staff was an important preliminary mechanism to this end, serving as a sieve to remove troublesome interlopers and providing lucrative ladders to reward allies and camp followers."---John Tatto

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8) Public Indoctrination Centers are Bad For The Children [by Anonymous Citizen on August 11, 2008]
“Did you know that in Sweden, a country legendary for its quality of life and a nation which beats American school performance in every academic category, a kid isn’t allowed to start school before the age of 7? The hard-headed Swedes don’t want to pay for the social pathologies attendant on ripping a child away from his home and mother and dumping him into a pen with strangers. ... Did you know that the entire Swedish school sequence is only 9 years long, a net 25 percent time and tax savings over our own 12-year sequence? ...

“Did you know that Hong Kong, a country with a population the size of Norway’s, beats Japan in every scientific and mathematical category in which the two countries compete? Did you know that Hong Kong has a school year ten and one half weeks shorter than Japan’s? How on earth do they manage that if longer school years translate into higher performance? ...

“Or did you know that in Flemish Belgium with the shortest school year in the developed world that the kids regularly finish in the top three nations in the world in academic competition? Is it the water in Belgium or what? Because it can’t be the passionate commitment to government forced schooling, which they don’t seem to possess. ...

“If you trust journalism or the professional educational establishment to provide you with data you need to think for yourself in the increasingly fantastic socialist world of compulsion schooling, you are certainly the kind of citizen who would trade his cow for a handful of colored beans.”
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9) Age [by Anonymous Citizen on August 9, 2008]
I agree with the full day Kindergarten however they need to make the age cut off August 1 or September 1st. Their is a huge age difference between a child who turned 5 in January and a child who will be turning 5 the end of September.
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10) Full day Kindergarten [by Anonymous Citizen on August 20, 2008]
I agree with the all day kindergarten, but Michigan should change the birthday to September 1st. Michigan is the very few that still have the late date. Four year olds can't make all day, everyday kindergarten that long!
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11) Leave Our Kids Alone [by Anonymous Citizen on August 21, 2008]
you socialists just can't wait to start the indoctrination, can you? The state is broke. We should be cutting spending, not increasing. The schools are doing a great job turning out useful idiots the way it is, you don't need to start earlier.
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12) lou [by Anonymous Citizen on July 28, 2008]
It has never been and should not be the school's responsibility to cover day care.
How about educators deciding this instead of politicians????
Or...move to Sweden.
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13) They Want To Get Control [by Anonymous Citizen on July 28, 2008]
of the kiddies before their evil parents can teach them about the evils of socialism and teach them about true freedom. I'm surprised that the lefties don't want them at 3 years old.

"Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state." -- Adolph Hitler

"[State-run] education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." --Joseph Stalin

"Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all." (Nikita Khrushchev , February 25, 1956 20th Congress of the Communist Party)

How many Catholic schools do you think teach the students to question the authority of the Pope? Do you believe Christian schools teach students to question or challenge the authority of Jesus Christ? Do military schools teach the cadets to challenge the authority of superior officers? Well, why should we then expect government schools to teach children to question the authority of government?
--Neal Boortz

"Every child in America entering schools at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward belief in a supernatural Being, toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It's up to you teachers to make all these sick children well by creating the international children of the future."
Dr. C.M. Pierce of Harvard University 1973

"A student attains 'higher order thinking' when he no longer believes in right or wrong. A large part of what we call good teaching is a teacher's ability to obtain effective objectives by challenging the student's fixed beliefs. . . a large part of what we call teaching is that the teacher should be able to use education to reorganize a child's thoughts, attitudes, and feelings."
-- Benjamin Bloom, psychologist and educational theorist in Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, page 185, 1956.

"Education should aim at destroying free will so that after pupils are thus schooled, they will be incapable throughout the rest of their lives of thinking or acting otherwise than as their school masters would have wished. . ."
-- Bertrand Russell, quoting Johann Gottlieb Fichte, the head of philosophy and psychology who influenced Hegel and others -- Prussian University in Berlin, 1810.

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14) How about a choice? [by Anonymous Citizen on June 30, 2008]
I don't appreciate the term "mandate". I want a choice as to whether or not I decide to send my 5 year old to all day everyday kindergarten or not. As his parent I know him best and I want the right to decide what is best for him. This mandate really doesn't take into account individual children. It's more about economy, working parents, and less about the children and their developmental needs.

I want half day kindergarten for my son who will be new to school (2009), and then ready for home after 4-5 hours away. It's wrong for him not to have that year of adjustment. It's wrong for Michigan not to provide a choice by passing this mandate.

My school district still provides a choice and the principal is invested in maintaining a choice for parents. I am so thankful that she has the children's best interests as her guide.
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15) FYI, Part Deux [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]

Here for those who choose to be actually informed rather than base their rants on speculation and fantasy, are the Michigan kindergarten mathematics curriculum content expectations mandated by the state. Remember, kindergarten is for 5-year olds.

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*Count, write, and order numbers

… Count objects in sets up to 30.

… Use one-to-one correspondence to compare and order sets of objects to 30 using phrases such as “same number”, “more than”, or “less than”; use counting and matching.

… Compare and order numbers to 30 using phrases such as “more than” or “less than.”

… Read and write numbers to 30 and connect them to the quantities they represent.

… Count orally to 100 by ones. Count to 30 by 2’s, 5’s and10’s using grouped objects as needed.

*Compose and decompose numbers

… Understand the numbers 1 to 30 as having one, or two, or three groups of ten and some ones. Also count by tens with objects in ten-groups to 100.

… Compose and decompose numbers from 2 to 10, e.g., 5 = 4 + 1 = 2 + 3, with attention to the additive structure of number systems, e.g., 6 is one more than 5, 7 is one more than 6.

… Describe and make drawings to represent situations/stories involving putting together and taking apart for totals up to 10; use finger and object counting.

*Add and subtract numbers

… Record mathematical thinking by writing simple addition and subtraction sentences, e.g., 7 + 2 = 9, 10 - 8 = 2.

*Explore number patterns

… Create, describe, and extend simple number patterns.

*Explore concepts of time

… Know and use the common words for the parts of the day (morning, afternoon, evening, night) and relative time (yesterday, today, tomorrow, last week, next year).

… Identify tools that measure time (clocks measure hours and minutes; calendars measure days, weeks, and months).

… Identify daily landmark times to the nearest hour (lunchtime is 12 o’clock;
bedtime is 8 o’clock).

*Explore other measurement attributes

… Compare two or more objects by length, weight and capacity, e.g., which is shorter, longer, taller?

… Compare length and weight of objects by comparing to reference objects, and use terms such as shorter, longer, taller, lighter, heavier.

*Create, explore, and describe shapes

… Relate familiar three-dimensional objects inside and outside the classroom to their geometric name, e.g., ball/sphere, box/cube, soup can/cylinder, ice cream cone/cone, refrigerator/prism.

… Identify, sort, and classify objects by attribute and identify objects that do not belong in a particular group.

*Explore geometric patterns

… Create, describe, and extend simple geometric patterns.
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16) there are high school [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
graduates who can't do this in this state, and you want KINDERGARDENERS TO DO IT???

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17) Kindergarten [by Anonymous Citizen on September 24, 2008]
Kindergardeners creates a mind image of rosie-cheeked gardeners plucking children from a cabbage patch. The word I believe you meant to use is kindergarteners. :)
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18) Interesting [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
“Did you know that in Sweden, a country legendary for its quality of life and a nation which beats American school performance in every academic category, a kid isn’t allowed to start school before the age of 7? The hard-headed Swedes don’t want to pay for the social pathologies attendant on ripping a child away from his home and mother and dumping him into a pen with strangers. ... Did you know that the entire Swedish school sequence is only 9 years long, a net 25 percent time and tax savings over our own 12-year sequence? ...

“Did you know that Hong Kong, a country with a population the size of Norway’s, beats Japan in every scientific and mathematical category in which the two countries compete? Did you know that Hong Kong has a school year ten and one half weeks shorter than Japan’s? How on earth do they manage that if longer school years translate into higher performance? ...

“Or did you know that in Flemish Belgium with the shortest school year in the developed world that the kids regularly finish in the top three nations in the world in academic competition? Is it the water in Belgium or what? Because it can’t be the passionate commitment to government forced schooling, which they don’t seem to possess. ...

“If you trust journalism or the professional educational establishment to provide you with data you need to think for yourself in the increasingly fantastic socialist world of compulsion schooling, you are certainly the kind of citizen who would trade his cow for a handful of colored beans.”

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19) You don't have a clue. [by Anonymous Citizen on June 8, 2008]
Well, most of the Swedish must not be single parents trying to make ends meet and pay over-inflated child care costs!!!!!! Full day kindergarten would not only further prepare a child for school, but it would help the economy by helping parents who have to work!
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20) Free daycare [by Anonymous Citizen on June 8, 2008]
In Sweden and also in Denmark daycare is free so there is no over inflated day care fees.
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21) Re: Interesting [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
Two very important differences between those countries and ours regarding education are:

1. Parental/student attitude toward education. Theirs: Education is important and worth the hard work you put into it. You had better work hard and succeed.
Ours: Education is not important. I don't have to get an education because I'm going to be a professional (insert sport here) player. Or, I don't need an education because I can get a check from the government just for having babies. Sadly, I have had students tell me both of those things. Even more sadly, I've had parents tell me the first one quite a lot.

2. Curriculum
Theirs: Less topics to be covered. More freedom to cover those topics in greater depth.
Ours: Too many things to be covered per year. Always the pressure to be on page number whatever by a certain date. No time allowed to reteach if the kids aren't getting it. Not allowed anymore to zip through things they are getting easily to devote more time to the harder stuff.
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22) FYI [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]

For those who have the intellectual curiosity to actually learn about (rather than assume) what our state’s kids in kindergarten are expected to master, these are the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations (state curriculum) for reading at the kindergarten level.

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Word Recognition and Word Study

*Phonemic Awareness Phonemic Awareness

Students will …

... demonstrate phonemic awareness by the wide range of sound manipulation competencies including sound blending and deletion.

… recognize that words are composed of sounds blended together and carry meaning.

*Phonics

Students will...

… understand the alphabetic principle, that sounds in words are expressed by the letters of the alphabet.

… use grapho-phonemic (letter-sound) cues to recognize a few one-syllable words when presented completely out of context. Begin to associate letters and sounds, particularly initial and final consonants.

*Word Recognition

Students will …

… automatically recognize a small number (about 18) of frequently encountered, personally meaningful words in print.

… make progress in automatically recognizing a few of the 220 Dolch basic sight words.

… follow familiar written text while pointing to matching words.

… narrow possibilities in predicting words using initial letters/sounds (phonics), patterns of language (syntactic), and picture clues (semantic).

… know the meanings of words encountered frequently in grade-level reading and oral language contexts.

*Vocabulary

Students will ...

… in context, determine the meaning of a few words, familiar and repeated phrases including objects, actions, concepts, content vocabulary, and literary terms, using strategies and resources including picture clues, prediction, and other people.

*Fluency

Students will ...

… automatically apply the following aspects of fluency: naming of letters, association of letters and their sounds, recognition of a few words both when encountered in context and isolation, and demonstrating understanding of concepts of print.

*Narrative Text

Students will ...

… become familiar with classic, multicultural, and contemporary literature recognized for quality and literary merit that represents our common heritage as well as cultures from around the world.

… identify the basic form and purpose of a variety of narrative genre including stories, nursery rhymes, poetry, and songs.

… discuss setting, characters, and events in narrative text.

… identify how authors/illustrators use literary devices including pictures and illustrations to support the understanding of settings and characters.

… respond to individual and multiple texts by fi nding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to refl ect, make meaning, and make connections.

*Informational Text

Students will ...

… identify and describe the basic form and purpose of a variety of informational genre including environmental text, concept books, and picture books.

… with teacher guidance, discuss informational text patterns including descriptive and sequential.

… explain how authors use text features including pictures, illustrations, and icons to enhance the understanding of key ideas presented in descriptive (definitions, enumeration) and sequential (directions, steps, procedures) organizational patterns.

… respond to individual and multiple texts by fi nding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to refl ect, make meaning, and make connections.

*Comprehension

Students will ...

… begin to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and written responses.

… retell up to three events from familiar text using their own words or phrasing.

… begin to make connections across texts by making meaningful predictions based on illustrations or portions of texts.

… apply significant knowledge from grade-level science, social studies, and mathematics texts.

*Metacognition

Students will ...

… self-monitor comprehension when reading or listening to familiar text by using simple strategies to increase comprehension including making credible predictions based on illustrations.

… construct and convey meaning using strategies including story grammar to identify the author’s perspective (e.g., fi rst, second, and third person) and sorting and ordering information.

*Critical Standards

Students will ...

… recognize how to assess personal writing and the writing of others with teacher supervision.

*Reading Attitude

Students will …

… become enthusiastic about reading and learning how to read.

… choose books, book activities, word play, and writing on their own during free time in school and at home.
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23) My 22 month old grandson [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
already meets 90% of these criteria.
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24) it is doubtful [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]

that your 22 month old grandson meets 90% of those kindergarten expectations

but if fantasizing suits your fancy, be our guest

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25) Bet Me [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
oh wise educator
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26) i repeat [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]

it is doubtful

that your 22 month old grandson meets 90% of those kindergarten expectations

but if fantasizing suits your fancy, be our guest

btw, you make some very stupid assumptions for one who claims to have such a bright grandchild

s: a non-educator

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27) You Sound Like [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
a big part of the problem with so called education in this country.

"Non-intellectual, non-skill schooling was supported by a strange and motley collection of fellow travelers: from unions, yes, but also from the ranks of legendary businessmen like Carnegie and Rockefeller, Ford and Astor; there were genuine ideologues like John Dewey, yes, but many academic opportunists as well, like Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia; prominent colleges like Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago took a large hand in the deconstruction of American academic schooling as well as a powerful core of private foundations and think tanks. Whether they did this out of conviction, for the advantage of private interests, or any hybrid of these reasons and more I'll leave for the moment to others for debate. What is certain is that the outcomes aimed for had little to do with why parents thought children were ordered into schools; such alien outcomes as socialization into creatures who would no longer feel easy with their own parents, or psychologization into dependable and dependent camp followers
it was firmly in place by 1917 - all that remained to reach the target was a continual series of experiments on public schoolchildren, some modest in scope, many breathtakingly radical like "IQ tests" or "kindergartens", and a full palette of intermediate colors like "multiculturalism", "rainbow" curricula and "universal self esteem". Each of these thrusts has a real behavioral purpose which is part of the larger utopia envisioned, yet each is capable of being rhetorically defended as the particular redress of some current "problem".

"Shortly into the 20th century American schooling decided to move away from intellectual development or skills training as the main justification for its existence and to enter the eerie world of social engineering, a world where "socializing" and "psychologizing" the classroom preempted attention and rewards. Professionalization of the administrative/ teaching staff was an important preliminary mechanism to this end, serving as a sieve to remove troublesome interlopers and providing lucrative ladders to reward allies and camp followers."---John Tatto

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28) Full Day Kindergarten [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
Full day kindergarten should be available as an option but not as a mandate. We need to take a close look at the benefits and drawbacks of such a mandate before we implement it. The research that I have been able to find suggests mixed results. Some studies suggest that the benefits of full day kindergarten last until 4th grade, some others suggest the benefits last only until 2nd grade. The design of the kindergarten program also needs to be looked at closely before we implement anything. A well designed half day program is much better than a poorly designed full day program. We also run the risk of making too many academic demands on the kids if we go to a full day program. Kindergarten curriculum standards are incredibly demanding as of right now; we don't need the legislature saying, "Well, you have them for a full day now so we can add even more things to your curriculum." Whether or not a child attends for a full day should be a decision made by the parents and teacher working together on a case by case basis.
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29) Who Cares: [by Anonymous Citizen on August 9, 2008]
Honestly, we are really making a big deal out of nothing! As a parent whose child is on the verge of entering kindergarden next year (0)9 as a 4 year old turning 5 (Sept. 24)does it really matter. If it is half day of full day really it is a matter of what 4 hours? Children should be in school at 5 most people who hold their children back that I know all do it due to the fact they want their child to be the biggest and best at sports. That is a great reason to keep kids out of school. All in all let it go!!!
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30) The Problem With All [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
state run education and the teachers unions is summed up in your statement..."Kindergarten curriculum standards are incredibly demanding as of right now;"

B.S.

One hundred years ago the average fourth grader was expected to know what high school grads today struggle with. We need to get rid of self esteem based so called learning and get back to teaching. if the self serving teachers unions can't or won't do it then they should be abolished.
How many more generations are we willing to throw under the bus?????
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31) B.S. [by Anonymous Citizen on September 24, 2008]
I would like to know on what educational research you are basing your claim of "getting back to teaching" and "getting rid of esteem-based education"? Perhaps you're shooting from the hip? I urge your to respond intelligently with research-based evidence on which excellent educators (yes even public school educators)base their teaching.

So quick to criticize that which you do not understand.
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32) re: BS [by Anonymous Citizen on September 25, 2008]
Look at the grades and the idiot kids that your "self esteem" based mamby pamby, teachers union, force fed garbage educational ideas have turned out. You are delusional if you think that the state is doing anything well. There are probably some good teachers left but their hands are tied so tight by the union and political correct raging liberal idiots that they are impotent. Sorry, I just call em like I see em.
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33) Curriculum [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
"state run education and the teachers unions is summed up in your statement..."Kindergarten curriculum standards are incredibly demanding as of right now;"

B.S.

One hundred years ago the average fourth grader was expected to know what high school grads today struggle with. We need to get rid of self esteem based so called learning and get back to teaching. if the self serving teachers unions can't or won't do it then they should be abolished.
How many more generations are we willing to throw under the bus?????"

It is obvious from your post that you have no idea what students today are expected to learn. My kindergarten curriculum binder in language arts alone covers over 50 pages. Check out the Michigan Department of Education website if you want to see what we are expecting these 5 year olds to know. Also, you are laboring under a misconception when you imply that teachers' unions have anything to do with setting curriculum. Do you really believe that anyone asks the opinion of the people that actually work with the children when they are writing curriculum?
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34) Unbelievable Ignorance [by Anonymous Citizen on April 9, 2008]
It sickens me to read most of the comments about bills in Michigan, particularly about early childhood education. I am not a Michigan native, thankfully, and hopefully will not have to raise my children here. On the other hand, I am an early childhood educator and am saddened at the ignorance of people in this state.
It is a fact, the way the standards are now, Kindergarteners SHOULD NOT be allowed to enter when they are still 4. Michigan is one of the last states to still have this written into law. Additionally, Kindergarteners should attend full day Kindergarten. I have taught half day, full day and alternate Kindergarten and full day is by far the best. They get more attention, more practice, and more time to be a kid since we don't have to cram everything into 2.5 hours.
Think and research before you open you mouths to speak.
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35) I totally agree [by Anonymous Citizen on May 1, 2008]
I have taught kindergarten for seven years now, and I agree with you. Half day and every other day is not enough for these children. They need that extra time so that they can still be a "kid," but yet learning what is expected from our state. I also agree with you that the children should not be able to enter kindergarten at the age of four. The cut-off date needs to be changed!
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36) Re: Unbelievable Ignorance [by Anonymous Citizen on April 10, 2008]
You Say "It sickens me to read most of the comments about bills in Michigan"

I Say "It sickens me to read all the idiotic bills that they try to shove down our throats"

You should move to a true workers paradise like cuba or north lorea.

I say "liberal control freaks sicken me"

I say "The "Unbelievable Ignorance" of most voters in michiganistan is what caused us to be the worst state in the nation for business.
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37) Unbelievable statism [by Anonymous Citizen on April 9, 2008]
"I am a taxfattened Marxist trough-feeder and am saddened at the ignorance of people in this state."
I'm saddened that liberty is such a scary concept for you.

"Kindergarteners should attend full day Kindergarten."
So sez the state youth indoctrination agent. Special hint--they're not your kids and its not your money.
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38) Re:early childhood educator [by Anonymous Citizen on April 9, 2008]
"I am an early childhood educator"

And I am just a common sense guy who believes that the best place for small chidren is in the home, not locked down in some liberal indoctrination camp. We've been doing it your way for over 50 years and the kids aren't getting any smarter.
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39) You May Be A Common Sense Guy [by Anonymous Citizen on April 9, 2008]

But all too often we see that common sense turns out to be nonsense.

The early childhood educator his it right. Of the various kindergarten formats that have been used over the years, all-day works best -- educationally and socially -- for kids five years of age and up.

It is amazing that in this day and age there continues to be any argument over that question. Most objections seem to come from parents who have exaggerated fears and abysmally low expectations regarding what their children can handle and thrive on.

If you object strenuously to this kind of thing, don't participate. Make an educator's commitment and home school your kids. Then you won't have the public schools to whine and gripe about, and assail, and everybody will be a lot happier and better off. Maybe even your own kids. Who knows?

(But don't forget that educator's commitment aspect of home schooling. One of the great common sense life lessons -- and in this case a valid one -- is, an inconvenient catch can be found in everything, especially utopian ideas. like home schooling.)

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40) You may be a socialist, but we're used to that here [by Anonymous Citizen on April 9, 2008]
"But all too often we see that common sense turns out to be nonsense."

And up is down and red is blue. That made no sense at all. Stop huffing the whiteboard markers.

"The early childhood educator his it right. Of the various kindergarten formats that have been used over the years, all-day works best -- educationally and socially -- for kids five years of age and up."

They're not your kids.

"It is amazing that in this day and age there continues to be any argument over that question. Most objections seem to come from parents who have exaggerated fears and abysmally low expectations regarding what their children can handle and thrive on."

That's nice (well not really), but they're not your kids. Step off.

"If you object strenuously to this kind of thing, don't participate. Make an educator's commitment and home school your kids. Then you won't have the public schools to whine and gripe about, and assail, and everybody will be a lot happier and better off. Maybe even your own kids. Who knows?"

But you statists now want to "register" the home-schooled kids, while the home-schoolers keep getting looted to pay for your reprogramming centers. You won't REALLY let us opt out. You will enforce ever more control over home-schooling until it's not really home-schooling anymore. Then you can abolish it like Commiefornia did last month. Let's Go State!

"(But don't forget that educator's commitment aspect of home schooling. One of the great common sense life lessons -- and in this case a valid one -- is, an inconvenient catch can be found in everything, especially utopian ideas. like home schooling."

So you'd like us all suspend common sense for the growth of YOUR collectivist "utopia" (dystopia) (and at gunpoint, of course). I see. Niiiiiice Marxist. I'll just back away slowly toward the door...
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41) A good idea [by Anonymous Citizen on April 1, 2008]
We definitely need to pad the teachers' union ranks, protect cushy administrator jobs, and get the leg up on indoctrinating "our" kids in Collectivism (our religion), locking kids up safe from the clutches of dangerous and subversive parents at as young an age as possible. I support this bill.
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42) No mandate [by Anonymous Citizen on September 19, 2006]
All day kindergarten should be available but not mandatory for children. Every kindergartner does not need a full day program. My children were already reading prior to kindergarten and had strong skills in the other areas of literacy. There was no need for them to have a full day program. Certainly have it available for those children who need the extra support to develop literacy but don't force it on the children who do not need it. Also, do not forget that this mandate will double the number of kindergarten teachers and classrooms that each district needs to have. Money expended for teaching materials will also double. How many districts have that much extra money available? Let's not forget that the state and federal governments love to pass mandates without providing funding. What are you willing for your children to do without so that the district will be able to afford mandated full day kindergarten for all children?
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43) Please [by Anonymous Citizen on April 1, 2008]
"2 day and one half day" no no good. Babies need structure people. some still nap.
Five day, half day. So wonderful! Child gets school, a half day with Mom learning things that shcool can not teach. 1st grade, child gets kicked out of the ole nest and is off to shcool full day.
Lets look at the childrens best interest here not the double income parents.
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44) The right thing to do! [by Anonymous Citizen on September 15, 2006]
All Day/Every Day Kindergarten is a must for student achievement. Early language development determines, in many ways, how well a child will learn. The more time spent helping children address possible deficits at the earliest age is time well spent. Too bad we are not pouring money into programs serving children ages birth to four, but this step with Kindergarten is in the right direction!
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45) ~10th year Teaching Kdg~ [by Anonymous Citizen on September 10, 2006]
This is my 16th year teaching in public education, and my 10th year teaching kindergartners. I love teaching these young children, but I feel like they are being cheated by the limited time they are with me at school each week, especially now that so much more expected of them much earlier. Telling time, tallying, reading graphs, charts, knowing 3 parts of the eye (really!!), addition and subtration, the list goes on and on. Could most of them learn this through many repetitions of hands-on activities, you bet! But I said many repetitions and that can't happen with alternate-day kindergarten.

I teach in a district where Kindergarten students attend school on an all day/alternate day schedule. They attend either Mon/Wed or Tues/Th and alternate Fridays. For some children this schedule works just okay, they have support at home and they do fine. But for the majority of children who have not had people in their lives who talk, explain concepts, answer questions, count, talk about shapes, letters and colors and read to them, this schedule is terrible!

Children thrive on routines, but teaching routines on this schedule is difficult because there isn't real routine in their school attendance. I have had children who were ill for a few days and miss their T/TH (or M/W, it happens to both groups of kids) on a week when they are not scheduled to attend on Friday, there have been times this schedule has made these kids not see their classrom for 11 days!!

I currently have more curriculum to teach than I have time to teach it, and I always feel as if I am skimming the surface with my students. They have little time to talk to me one-on-one, little time to share with their peers, if you remember Show-and-Tell time each week you may not have realized that that was your introduction to Public Speaking. The rest of the class that was their audience also learned about asking questions, and learned what questions were through Show-and-Tell. We now have little time to have Show-and-Tell or share and discuss stories as a group. Children are expected to come to me with many basic concepts already taught in preschool, but what about 20%-30% of my class who has not gone to any preschool? We have little time to teach about traditions and holidays, such as Thanksgiving, which is what much of our old Social Studies curriculum consisted of before it was decided that 4, 5 and 6 year olds needed to be taught more "mature" content earlier.

Although I don't think the alternate-day kindergarten program should survive after this academic year, 2006-07, if it does I will continue to teach it because I love teaching these young children, it is my passion.

One more item to consider...again, the cut-off date for kindergarten should be moved to August 1 or September 1 at the latest. At the beginning of each year my students ages range from 4 years 9 months to 6 years+. Their is often a range of 18 months within my class, which doesn't sound like much when you are in your 40s, but at this young age the difference in maturity is phenomenal.

Sincerely,
Mary Coonen
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46) If you love teaching and kids... [by Anonymous Citizen on September 10, 2006]
You must VOTE for DeVos. Give the kids a chance to have a bright future. A vote for jenny darkens their chances.
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47) K teacher [by Anonymous Citizen on August 25, 2006]
I forgot to add that the mandatory age cut off date should be moved to August 1 or September 1 at the latest.
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48) K teacher [by Anonymous Citizen on August 25, 2006]
I've been teaching K for 13 years and would vote whole heartedly for a full day program. The students need it, the families need it. We could do SO MUCH MORE with the additional time!!!!!!!!!! This would be a tremendous benefit to children preparing for reading instruction.
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49) What a sad day for our babies [by Anonymous Citizen on June 28, 2006]
A 4 year old doesn't need to be in kindergarten...especially not all day kindergarten! And yes, if your child will turn 5 by December 1st, that means there will be 4 year olds in all day kindergarten. 4 year olds need to learn by playing and helping around the house and having stories read to them...not by being made to sit still and do worksheet after busywork worksheet. Wake up and pay attention...little kids don't learn best this way! Let little kids be little kids and stay home with their moms where they belong.
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50) Available but NOT mandatory [by Anonymous Citizen on June 25, 2006]
I vote to keep kindergarten a half day program. Too many children are not ready for a full day away from home. It will come soon enough. Allow more time for nurturing at home tho I know that for too many it would still mean daycare for the other half of the day. Don't deny parental choice. Give parents the option. Kamille Karlson
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51) Yes!! [by Anonymous Citizen on April 1, 2008]
What is going on here. Why have children if you do not want to take the time to nurture, love and give them the security they need to go on to school. Full day kindergaten NO! YES, for some of the children who have no one to come home to after school. But no for the children who have families and a warm, HEALTHY lunch waiting for them in the afternoon.
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52) Get a Grip [by Anonymous Citizen on August 9, 2008]
My child will be 4 turning 5 next year and begs for school he loves to learn.(he is already reading and doing simple addition and subtraction) He would rather watch discovery than cartoons..please don't judge people and say they do not nurture their children just because they feel like me that my child would do best in school rather than at home...Both of my children get plenty of of love and attention. Spending a school day away from me will not change that.
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53) No Child Left Behind [by Anonymous Citizen on June 22, 2006]
This piece of legislation is nuts! What we need is to change the student teacher ratio. 1 teacher to 5 students! This can be done if the government quits giving billions of our dollars to foreign aid. No Child Left Behind is Joke! No funding exists to change the student teacher ratio- it only penalizes the teacher who has to deal up to 30 students, its nothing but penalites! No solutions! One Teaching position in Rockford, MI had over 1,000 applications of certfied teachers! We have the people power to solve our education problems! We have to write our congress and tell them- no more money to foreign aid! -Why should we give for foreign countries when all they do is tell how stupid we are and how dumb our students are!
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54) The next governor [by Anonymous Citizen on June 25, 2006]
Must be DeVos! Save our State.
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55) All Day No Way [by wjdayhome on June 22, 2006]
This is a terrible bill. 5 year olds do not need to be in school all day. Parent's need choice in this matter.
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56) How True [by Anonymous Citizen on August 25, 2006]
A parent can teach a child more in 4 hours a day that the schools can in a month. This is just an excuse for the schools to scream about needing more of your money.
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57) Some parents can, others, not so much [by Anonymous Citizen on August 28, 2006]
0-5 window of opportunity
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58) We had to know this was coming... [by Anonymous Citizen on June 21, 2006]
It's only a matter of time before this is in effect. With the increasing demands of state curriculum it's only natural that districts allow more time in the day for instruction. Half day kindergarten programs are challenged with the increased expectations placed upon them. It's imperative that we support this idea with INCREASED FUNDING! Districts will be in the position of maintaining what they offer now (1/2 day programs) if funding isn't increased. As it stands every 1/2 day K student recieves the same amount of funding as a full time High School student. Districts will loose funding if this is passed as is without the financial backing.

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59) Give Time [by Anonymous Citizen on June 19, 2006]
Make sure you have planned time for implementation if you go through with this. Give schools a chance to meet the demands of new legislation.
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60) Good point. Schools would need to plan ahead in their budget. [by Anonymous Citizen on June 19, 2006]
Talk this through with educators, please, before jumping in. Make a sound decision on this one.
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61) Support full day kindergarten [by Anonymous Citizen on June 19, 2006]
How many studies must we have, how many more debates, when we know that early childhood education is the best predictor of success in later school years. It has been said, if you want to increase high school graduation rates, fund pre-school. So two things are required: full day kindergarten for children turning 5 by Dec. 1 and the funding to assure they are receiving high quality instruction.
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62) Great bill, don't forget the funding [by Anonymous Citizen on June 19, 2006]
PLEASE.
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63) Funding [by Anonymous Citizen on June 17, 2006]
Full day kindergarten is a good idea but where is the funding? This is going to require additional funds for more teachers, more classrooms, etc. Also, I think we should change the word "shall" to "may" when we're talking about enrolling children in kindergarten. Some kids will be starting school at 4 (because they don't have to turn 5 until Dec. 1)under this bill, as they do now but with the word "shall", it doesn't appear that parents have the option of holding their kid out for that extra year. Some 4 year olds simply aren't ready to start school (especially a full day). Parents should be given the option of holding their child out until they are 5.
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64) very true [by Anonymous Citizen on June 17, 2006]
good point
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65) Good job, Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman, looking out for children [by Anonymous Citizen on June 16, 2006]
Very thoughtful legislation.
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66) Good idea. Window of opportunity 0-3,4/5 remediation time really [by Anonymous Citizen on June 16, 2006]
The earlier we can get those kids in there, the better BUT not for the same old, same old. Our state would do WELL to make sure that every kindergarten teachers is trained in Lindamood Bell's LiPS phonemic awareness program. Phonemic awareness is a hallmark of dyslexia. Therefore, statewide emphasis on it in Kindergarten would prevent problems down the road. LiPS is an EXPLICIT researched based way to teach it. It helps kids using mirrors if necessary to see how their mouths should look when they make a particular sound. Some kids need instruction that specific to hear separate words in a sound. SPEECH teachers have been using this program for YEARS or if not LiPS then some similar program.
This program would easily integrate with the MLPP and balanced literacy already in place. It would enhance it as they address phonemic awareness already. LiPS in a more explicit way of teaching phonemic awareness skills and addresses its importance in reading failure prevention.
SENATE BILL No. 1306

June 14, 2006, Introduced by Senators CLARK-COLEMAN, SCOTT, LELAND, THOMAS, JACOBS, SWITALSKI, SCHAUER, BASHAM, BRATER, EMERSON, WHITMER and BARCIA and referred to the Committee on Education.

A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled

"The revised school code,"

by amending sections 1147 and 1561 (MCL 380.1147 and 380.1561),

section 1561 as amended by 1996 PA 339.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 1147. (1) A person, resident of a school district not

maintaining a kindergarten and at least 5 years of age on the first

day of enrollment of the school year, shall have a right to attend

school in the district.

(2) In a school district where provision is made for

kindergarten work, a child, resident of the district,

(1) A school district shall provide kindergarten. The length

of the school day for the kindergarten program shall be the same as

for other elementary grades provided by the school district.

(2) A child who resides in the school district is entitled to

enroll in the kindergarten if the child is at least 5 years of age

on December 1 of the school year of enrollment. In a school

district which that has semiannual promotions, a child ,

resident of the district, who resides in the school district is

entitled to enroll in kindergarten for the second semester if the

child is at least 5 years of age on March 1 of the year of

enrollment.

Sec. 1561. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,

every parent, guardian, or other person in this state having

control and charge of a child from the age of 6 5 to the child's

sixteenth birthday shall send that child to a public school during

the entire school year. The child's attendance shall be continuous

and consecutive for the school year fixed by the school district in

which the child is enrolled. In a school district that maintains

school during the entire calendar year and in which the school year

is divided into quarters, a child is not required to attend the

public school more than 3 quarters in 1 calendar year, but a child

shall not be absent for 2 or more consecutive quarters.

(2) A child becoming 6 5 years of age before December 1

shall be enrolled on the first school day of the school year in

which the child's sixth fifth birthday occurs. A child becoming

6 5 years of age on or after December 1 shall be enrolled on the

first school day of the school year following the school year in

which the child's sixth fifth birthday occurs.

(3) A child is not required to attend a public school in any

of the following cases:

(a) The child is attending regularly and is being taught in a

state approved nonpublic school, which teaches subjects comparable

to those taught in the public schools to children of corresponding

age and grade, as determined by the course of study for the public

schools of the district within which the nonpublic school is

located.

(b) The child is less than 9 years of age and does not reside

within 2-1/2 miles by the nearest traveled road of a public school.

If transportation is furnished for pupils in the school district of

the child's residence, this subdivision does not apply.

(c) The child is age 12 or 13 and is in attendance at

confirmation classes conducted for a period of 5 months or less.

(d) The child is regularly enrolled in a public school while

in attendance at religious instruction classes for not more than 2

class hours per week, off public school property during public

school hours, upon written request of the parent, guardian, or

person in loco parentis under rules promulgated by the state board.

(e) The child has graduated from high school or has fulfilled

all requirements for high school graduation.

(f) The child is being educated at the child's home by his or

her parent or legal guardian in an organized educational program in

the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, science,

history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar.

(4) For a child being educated at the child's home by his or

her parent or legal guardian, exemption from the requirement to

attend public school may exist under either subsection (3)(a) or

(3)(f), or both.

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67) NCLB [by Anonymous Citizen on June 22, 2006]
This piece of legislation is nuts! What we need is to change the student teacher ratio. 1 teacher to 5 students! This can be done if the government quits giving billions of our dollars to foreign aid. No Child Left Behind is Joke! No funding exists to change the student teacher ratio- it only penalizes the teacher who has to deal up to 30 students, its nothing but penalites! No solutions! One Teaching position in Rockford, MI had over 1,000 applications of certfied teachers! We have the people power to solve our education problems! We have to write our congress and tell them- no more money to foreign aid! -Why should we give for foreign countries when all they do is tell how stupid we are and how dumb our students are!

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68) Okay [by Anonymous Citizen on August 25, 2006]
"We have to write our congress and tell them- no more money to foreign aid!"

We'll do this right after the schools tell us how much of their bloated budgets go toward teaching. We also would like to know the number of teachers that consider themselves liberal vs. conservative. I don't want one more dime of my money going to indoctrinate the children. The once grand teaching profession has become a cesspool of liberal slackers that can't cut it in the real world so they teach the evils of capitalism to the children.
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69) Schools [by Anonymous Citizen on September 19, 2006]
How long has it been since you've actually spent any amount of time in a school? 20-30 years? Why don't you actually go into a school and see what teachers actually do before you spout garbage like "cesspool of liberal slackers who can't cut it in the real world"?
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70) Facts... [by Anonymous Citizen on September 20, 2006]
Most teachers admit to being leftist/liberal

Most teachers come out of the bottom 10% of any
college.

Throwing money at the problem doesn't help.

In the teachers defense, the one thing that matters most is having parents that are involved and care.
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71) Facts? [by Anonymous Citizen on October 13, 2006]
Cite your source for those statistics, please. Without documentation and source material to back up what you say, its all libel and innuendo.
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