When word got out on short notice that Phyllis Bush and Donna Roof were getting married, former students of the retired teachers flocked to the courthouse to surround them with love.
That’s the ultimate reward of teaching: the love and respect of your students. It’s no substitute for professional pay. But money can’t buy it.
Politicians don’t get it. Billionaires don’t get it. Hedge fund managers don’t get it.
Teachers get it.
Love. The love of the hundreds and thousands of students whose lives they touched.
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20181219/affection-for-couple-clear-in-no-time
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wonderful show of respect and affection.
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I’m SO happy for Phyllis Bush and Donna Roof. How beautiful that love and happiness does come to Indiana. My blessings go to both beautiful people. How fantastic to have former students recognize their former teachers.
Congratulations!!!!!
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https://preaprez.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/kentucky-supreme-court-strikes-down-pension-reform-law-but-the-fight-is-far-from-over/?fbclid=IwAR1P1zxifXirLwXYzBuX8Ezt_osO-fVEAWOPO-J2hMGVh40U3iJ5Lq2vBOI [https://preaprez.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/120617egrandywieck02tde.jpg]
Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down pension reform law, but the fight is far from over. A week ago the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a pension theft bill that was passed by the Kentucky legislature in the dark of night last March under false pretensions as a sewage bill and signe… preaprez.wordpress.com
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I just received a survey from my Senator Niemeyer [R-IN]. One of the questions asked was:
“Indiana voters will elect a new State Superintendent of Public instruction in 2020 to serve one term, but in 2024, the Governor will begin appointing an individual to that position. Should the legislature move up the appointment date to 2020?”
Hoosiers will eventually have to live with a governor appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The appointee will be sure to be one who wants more vouchers and charter schools. This is one more step down the drain for public schools.
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The charter movement is beginning to wither. That’s the good news. And kids who take vouchers do poorly, and half of them move back to public schools.
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Diane, Senator Niemeyer actually responded to my comment. “…the Governor and the Superintendent to be comprehensively engaged in a united effort for Indiana’s students and teachers.” This means more vouchers and charters. I sincerely doubt that he keeps my thoughts in mind when he makes decisions. I’ve made comments and sent your blog articles on what is happening to education in Indiana. He should be aware of my name, and not in a pleasant context.
Here is what Niemeyer says:
senator.niemeyer@iga.in.gov
7:45 PM (1 hour ago)
to me
Dear Ms. Ring,
Thank you for your recent email concerning your opposition to the appointment of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. I appreciate you taking the time to write me about an issue that is important to you.
The educational policy that both the Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction support and carry out is deeply significant due to the fact that Indiana appropriates over 50% of its biennial budget to K-12 education. As such, it is critically important for both the Governor and the Superintendent to be comprehensively engaged in a united effort for Indiana’s students and teachers. Working together ensures that the executive branch can operate at peak performance to carry out their constitutional educational duties.
Again thank you for taking the time to share your views with me and I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind. Your input is important for me to better understand the thoughts and concerns of my constituents.
Sincerely,
Senator Rick Niemeyer
Indiana State Senate
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Here is my response back to Senator Niemeyer [R-IN]
Dear Senator Niemeyer,
Thank you for responding to my comment. ” Working together ensures that the executive branch can operate at peak performance to carry out their constitutional educational duties.” This sounds good but the history of what our governor does is not in the best interests of Hoosier students. Therefore, the State Superintendent and the Governor working together is something that should NOT happen. We need a State Superintendent who understands the needs of children, not a voice that echos whatever the GOP governor wants.
“I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind,” sounds good but isn’t happening. You do not listen to my comments.
I am a retired teacher and I know exactly what is happening to eduction in Indiana. Here is what is/has happened to Hoosier Schools. This is a letter-to-the editor of The Times of NW Indiana that I wrote and was published:
What is happening in education in Indiana? Teachers have had a 16% decrease in pay since 1999-2000, the largest drop in the nation. Their pay is ranked 31st in the US. That has forced some teachers to work two or three jobs to keep their families afloat.
Regardless, we continue to ask for more from our teachers. They are expected to cover living expenses, additional mandated professional training, student debt and their own classroom’s supplies. Our Republican-led legislature is burying them in endless testing which is stifling creativity and love of learning.
More than half a billion taxpayer dollars have been pulled out of public schools and diverted into for-profit and private schools. Indiana has one of the lowest per pupil funding levels in the country, according to the National Education Association. Indiana’s per-pupil funding — $7,538 – was 36 percent below the national average, according a 2017 NEA report.
Voucher programs have contributed to school closings and consolidations across the state.
There is a severe teacher shortage. The Statehouse’s response to the shortage of teacher’s onset from low pay is to allow schools to hire unlicensed teachers to make up at most 10% of their staff. This stagnation in pay over the years has made it difficult for school to recruit and retain the most qualified educators.
Would you start looking for another job if your paycheck continued to shrink since 1999? Lawmakers must act or this shortage will continue to hurt communities.
Sincerely,
Carol Ring
Schererville, IN 46375
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“That’s the ultimate reward of teaching: the love and respect of your students. It’s no substitute for professional pay. But money can’t buy it.”
A truer word was never spoken. I recently pulled into the path of an oncoming van and was involved in a traffic accident that could have been much worse than it was. The outpouring of support and concern, not just in the school, but in the whole community was heartwarming. People called the school all day as word got out of my demise. As Twain famously said, it was exaggerated, all I got was cracked ribs. When I returned to school a week later, a huge piece of paper had been taped to the board with students’ well wishes all over it.
School can be a lot of trouble, but it can be a great place.
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I LOVE TEACHERS! They ADD VALUE and certainly don’t teach for fame and money.
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I’m not sure where to post this. It comes from the Borneo Post, an English newspaper from Borneo. I worked for two years [Peace Corps] in the Malaysia state of Sarawak which is located in NW Borneo. Putrajaya is located on the mainland of Malaysia and any changes in educational policy come from the mainland. [Much like educational dictates that come from D.C.]
It looks like early elementary students in Malaysia are now going to be assessed by their classroom teachers by using fun activities instead of mid-year and year-end exams.
“…the focus will be on developing pupils’ learning and not emphasis on exams.”
Indiana could learn more about lessening the emphasis on exams that demean low achieving students and is poorly used to evaluate teachers.
……………………….
More fun in learning for young pupils
December 20, 2018, Thursday at 12:00 AM
No more exams in the first 3 years of school next year, progress to be gauged by classroom-based assessment
Dr Amin showing the book to the media during the briefing. – Bernama photo
PUTRAJAYA: Classroom-based assessment (CBA) will be strengthened for pupils in Level One (Year One, Two and Three) in all primary schools by focusing on fun learning and student-centred learning methods.
Education director-general Datuk Dr Amin Senin said CBA, which was introduced in 2011, would also build and reinforce the 4M basic skills of reading, writing, counting and thinking besides character building and developing the personality of pupils.
He said pupils were evaluated on an ongoing basis by various forms of assessment, which was part of the teaching and learning process, which includes an assessment of knowledge, skills and values.
“This means that from the beginning of next year there will be no more mid-year and year-end examinations and the focus will be on developing pupils’ learning and not emphasise on exams.
“This will enable parents to know the strengths and weaknesses of the children and to determine the kind of support they can be provided,” he told reporters at a media briefing on CBA here yesterday.
Prior to this, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik had announced that examinations for Level 1 students would be abolished and replaced with a more objective assessment system beginning next year.
Commenting further, Amin said the assessment will replace formal examinations to create a more fun and meaningful learning culture where teachers can give more attention to the value of love, joy, respect and focus on developing the personality of individual students.
He said it was up to the creativity of a teacher to use various methods in evaluating his/her students through activities such as quizzes, games, role playing, storytelling and simple projects.
However, he said teachers still have to report on the educational progress of their students to monitor the development of students based on certain scales.
“Parents need not worry about this form of formative evaluation because such an assessment has long been conducted. With the assessment, teachers will focus on the development of individual students,” he said, adding that they have been aware of parents’ concerns over the implementation of the CBA. – Bernama
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So, here is more news from Indiana. How awful to treat a child like this. It also provides Trump with ammunition against Syrians.
………………………….
[NWI Times] FBI-obtained videos show ISIS terrorist coaching Elkhart child on assembling rifle, using suicide belt to ‘Go to heaven as a martyr’
Anna Ortiz anna.ortiz@nwi.com, 219-933-4194 Dec 19, 2018 Updated 9 hrs ago
The child was in Syria under the care of his mother, Samantha Elhassani, and her husband, Moussa Elhassani, an ISIS terrorist fighter who was later killed in Syria.
Samantha Elhassani, originally of Elkhart, was charged in federal court with aiding and abetting her husband and his brother by providing them tactical gear and funds between March 2015 and April 2015 “for their use in fighting for ISIS,” court records state. In July, Elhassani was initially charged with making false statements to the FBI, according to a statement released by the U.S. attorney’s office…
A second FBI-obtained video also shows an off-camera Moussa Elhassani telling the boy that if he successfully assembles and disassembles the assault rifle in front of him, he would reward the boy with a “suicide belt,” an explosive device that attaches to the wearer’s body. The boy is seen in the video successfully completing the task, court records state.
Another video shows the child assembling a suicide belt and talking about the components, including metal balls, three kilograms of TNT and C4. Moussa Elhassani, who is off camera, asks the child what type of fuse he should use to operate the suicide belt and what he should do if “American pigs,” come to kidnap the boy and his mother…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/fbi-obtained-videos-show-isis-terrorist-coaching-elkhart-child-on/article_334ccdc6-b900-5dae-91c9-49a09a7b0a8c.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
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