Comment Re:I'm going to become invulnerable here for a sec (Score 1) 1141
Mr. Youseff needs to get his facts straight.
In the city of Buffalo in the 1970's, the school board balanced the budget on the back of City of Buffalo teachers. In New York, we have something called the Taylor Law that provides, among other things, that government employees like teachers will not only not be paid but be fined a day's pay in addition for every day they go out on strike. In the '70's, the local school board took advantage of this by bargaining in bad faith and using the law, when the teachers responded with a strike, to cash in. Don't just take *my* word for it, though. The school board was convicted of doing this in court. Somehow, though, they were never ordered to make restitution for their crime--a "punishment" that's right up there with the Microsoft Travesty. In fact, so "oracular" and "professional" was the school board that they even took the *special step* of delaying the fines so that they were taken out of the teachers' Christmass paychecks.
The school board tried to do the same thing again in the early '90's, but, this time, the teachers took the battle to court instead of striking. In their arrogance, the school board let the case proceed even though they could have, by making certain legal compromises, have settled it. They lost the case. It did nothing to bring their swelled egos down to reasonable size. Not long afterward, there was an apology in the Buffalo News from the President of the school board--NOT for breaking the law and NOT for the all-too-commonplace-but-still-idiotic practice of trying to balance their budget on the backs of their workers, *but for letting the case continue when they could have stopped it.*
In the late '70's, Buffalo elected a man named James Earl Griffin to the mayor's office. He ran as an independant, and destroyed the Democratic Party in the city when he did. It has not yet recovered, though the controvertial Mr. Griffin, who rejoined the Democratic party but was referred to in the local papers as "a Democrat in name only" was eventually replaced. One of Mr. Griffin's favorite tactics was to take any increase in state aid for education and transfer a corresponding amount out of the city school budget for that year. Needless to say, the folks in Albany were not amused. Nor is the school system in such great shape after what amounted to a 12-year budget freeze. When I wrote "schools crumble," I was quoting The Buffalo News.
Of course, Mr. Youseff says that the teachers are arrogant. Yet, he can't come up with one true fact to support his claims--it's all based on a pack of lies.
BTW, is it arrogant of IT workers to ask the rates that they get paid (I charge about half the going rate as a freelance web designer), or is it arrogant of Mr. Youseff to claim that they're not worth it? Is Mr. Youseff the Lord God Final Arbitrator who sets all wage standards?
My father *did* "find his niche" as a teacher. He held that job for over 20 years and then retired. I would like to see Mr. Youseff stand up to my father in a test of wits or wisdom--my father has the intelligence to keep his mouth shut when he doesn't know what he's talking about.
City of Buffalo teachers don't average $40K/year (if Mr. Youseff is trying to tell me that going several weeks without pay is the same as continuing to work, then he needs to have his head examined), and they don't go out on strike--at least, they haven't in over 25 years. They don't push methodologies on their students, either--these are imposed by outside agencies. The teachers just try to roll with the punches--including a few sucker punches from people who have no clue about what they're throwing punches about--as best they can.
I don't really care if Mr. Youseff doesn't feel sorry for my father and the honest, hard-working people who shared his profession. I will **not,** however, allow my father's name to be liabled based on ignorance, half-truths and out-and-out lies, as Mr. Youseff is attempting to do in his response to my post. It would be a matter of debate if Mr. Youseff could come up with some facts that had ANY RESEMBLANCE TO THE TRUTH, but that seems to be too much for him.
In the city of Buffalo in the 1970's, the school board balanced the budget on the back of City of Buffalo teachers. In New York, we have something called the Taylor Law that provides, among other things, that government employees like teachers will not only not be paid but be fined a day's pay in addition for every day they go out on strike. In the '70's, the local school board took advantage of this by bargaining in bad faith and using the law, when the teachers responded with a strike, to cash in. Don't just take *my* word for it, though. The school board was convicted of doing this in court. Somehow, though, they were never ordered to make restitution for their crime--a "punishment" that's right up there with the Microsoft Travesty. In fact, so "oracular" and "professional" was the school board that they even took the *special step* of delaying the fines so that they were taken out of the teachers' Christmass paychecks.
The school board tried to do the same thing again in the early '90's, but, this time, the teachers took the battle to court instead of striking. In their arrogance, the school board let the case proceed even though they could have, by making certain legal compromises, have settled it. They lost the case. It did nothing to bring their swelled egos down to reasonable size. Not long afterward, there was an apology in the Buffalo News from the President of the school board--NOT for breaking the law and NOT for the all-too-commonplace-but-still-idiotic practice of trying to balance their budget on the backs of their workers, *but for letting the case continue when they could have stopped it.*
In the late '70's, Buffalo elected a man named James Earl Griffin to the mayor's office. He ran as an independant, and destroyed the Democratic Party in the city when he did. It has not yet recovered, though the controvertial Mr. Griffin, who rejoined the Democratic party but was referred to in the local papers as "a Democrat in name only" was eventually replaced. One of Mr. Griffin's favorite tactics was to take any increase in state aid for education and transfer a corresponding amount out of the city school budget for that year. Needless to say, the folks in Albany were not amused. Nor is the school system in such great shape after what amounted to a 12-year budget freeze. When I wrote "schools crumble," I was quoting The Buffalo News.
Of course, Mr. Youseff says that the teachers are arrogant. Yet, he can't come up with one true fact to support his claims--it's all based on a pack of lies.
BTW, is it arrogant of IT workers to ask the rates that they get paid (I charge about half the going rate as a freelance web designer), or is it arrogant of Mr. Youseff to claim that they're not worth it? Is Mr. Youseff the Lord God Final Arbitrator who sets all wage standards?
My father *did* "find his niche" as a teacher. He held that job for over 20 years and then retired. I would like to see Mr. Youseff stand up to my father in a test of wits or wisdom--my father has the intelligence to keep his mouth shut when he doesn't know what he's talking about.
City of Buffalo teachers don't average $40K/year (if Mr. Youseff is trying to tell me that going several weeks without pay is the same as continuing to work, then he needs to have his head examined), and they don't go out on strike--at least, they haven't in over 25 years. They don't push methodologies on their students, either--these are imposed by outside agencies. The teachers just try to roll with the punches--including a few sucker punches from people who have no clue about what they're throwing punches about--as best they can.
I don't really care if Mr. Youseff doesn't feel sorry for my father and the honest, hard-working people who shared his profession. I will **not,** however, allow my father's name to be liabled based on ignorance, half-truths and out-and-out lies, as Mr. Youseff is attempting to do in his response to my post. It would be a matter of debate if Mr. Youseff could come up with some facts that had ANY RESEMBLANCE TO THE TRUTH, but that seems to be too much for him.
