Update On Pre-Kindergarten !
An update on the Pre-Kindergarten Program was given last night. It was announced that a total of 86 students are enrolled in the Pre-K Program. Plans were announced that these children, parents and other family members would soon be going on a bus trip to Limoland as an activity.
The budget for this program is set at $527,356.00. When the budget was being discussed earlier in the year it was stated by Mr. Jackson that the program would include between 94 and 100 children. With the current actual enrollment at 86 that is a cost to taxpayers of $6132.05 per child. That is more than it cost to educate a child in grades one through twelve. With all unbiased reports revealing no significant advantage to a child past third grade, over one not having attended Pre-K, this is one very expensive daycare program that is eating a huge hole in the education dollar.
Allen Barrett
The budget for this program is set at $527,356.00. When the budget was being discussed earlier in the year it was stated by Mr. Jackson that the program would include between 94 and 100 children. With the current actual enrollment at 86 that is a cost to taxpayers of $6132.05 per child. That is more than it cost to educate a child in grades one through twelve. With all unbiased reports revealing no significant advantage to a child past third grade, over one not having attended Pre-K, this is one very expensive daycare program that is eating a huge hole in the education dollar.
Allen Barrett
posted by Allen Barrett | 10:03 AM
89 Comments:
Perfect example of Federal Funding. Waste wast waste..Jennings is out begging to find children for this program. You don't have to be indigent anymore to attend just have a body for numbers.
That SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The PreK program in Giles County should be offered to 4 yr olds that do not qualify for the Head Start program to ease the cost of childcare on their parents. Minor Hill and Elkton had a problem with enrollment, not Pulaski or Richland. Fight to provide this educational opportunity to the right students.
I agree that the cost is high but we have to remember that this is lottery money not our tax dollars. The only problem I have is that I wish we had this kind of money to put into remedial tutoring for struggling high schoolers. I do think that Pre-K is important.
Money is money & every bit of it should be spent prudently. Lottery money comes from the poorest of taxpayers, who are promised riches they will never see, if they feed their cash to the lottery. I see evil in a foul process that advertises & tempts the poor, to take advantage of them!
Helping struggling students can be achieved by mentoring with other students. A masters degree isn't needed to teach someone how to count or read in k - 12. That's how it worked in the good old days when children could read when they graduated.
It's not lottery money that is paying for the facilities, the utilities, maintenance and cleaning that all comes directly out of county tax money.
Regardless of where the money comes from the school system nor the state should be involved in a daycare service. With no unbiased research supporting any long term benefit from this program it is simply a waste of money on every level. Allen Barrett
wab..
So it appears that, from your position, affecting lasting and positive change in even as few as one child is not worth the cost of the utilities and maintenance of a classroom that normally already exists within practically all school buildings? As I have told you before, changing the life of just one child is worth it all. After all, isn't that principle just as true in soul winning?
AMEN 2:53!! They are not paying for extra buildings to house pre-school. Some of those kids can use the time in "daycare" to get the extra push. There may be a problem right now getting enough students since those students are not bused. Some may not can afford to send their kids to pre-school or have the time to take their kids during working hours. I don't care what the statistics say. Maybe those folks with low income should not be spending money on lottery but they are so why should the children not benefits from it?
Damnit, obviously we need more underprivileged children! Otherwise, screw the ones we have and the opportunities they might get from Pre-K. I blame Tee Jackson. And Janet Vanzant. Any every member of the city council. And anyone who's ever been on the board of anything in this town. Wahhhh.
It may be worth a half million dollars of MY money for YOU to indoctrinate 1 child in your image, but I'd rather send that one child to a Christian day care center where they might learn the differce between right and wrong, between relativism and the real thing, ad infinitum.
I have no problem with you using your own money to screw up one more mind in your image, if you can find someone dumb enough to swallow your crap. I'm fed up with government interfering in private matters! If the "one" parent is so screwed up that the "one" child is doomed, sterilize the parents so they can have no more children to abuse & put that "one" endangered child in foster care.
Of course, any child that isn't brought up multisexual enviornment and drowing in communism will be a bell ringer for you to go into action.
You are tired of the government interfering in private matters but you want that government to sterilize parents. What do you call that? I hope you see your therapist soon. I think you are about to have a breakdown!
1244 excellent program for privitization! Probably need to start with you to see if it works.
Call it "WHACKITOFF"
I greatly agree with the person who mentioned sterilization.......I also think we should have Pre-First instead of Pre-K.
anonymous..
There you go again with the "relativism" thing. You love that word, don't you? And, with all your obvious intelligence, you would charge that pre-K messes up or indoctrinates the minds of children. In a sense, you are right. Pre-K seeks to instill moral values (among other things) in those kids. Why would you have a problem with that kind of brainwashing?
You may be a good person with good intentions, but the education system is run of itself, by itself, & for itself.
Would you want your child to be brought up to be like T Jackson (Director of the year!), Obama, or McCain? How about Barney Frank, Pellosi, or any random number of many so called leaders. Yes, we have some very good ones too, but they are out numbered & overrun.
I seriously doubt if any of the new generation will have what it takes to fight for and preserve freedom. Fighting for any reason is BAD and punishable with due force in today's school system. Teachers can't discipline children, thus more and more children learn no bounds. If someone hurts you and you defend yourself, you should be given an award - same goes for defending someone who can't defend themselves.
Will you defend your country & it's resources, or will you whine about someone moving in, taking things over, and demanding you pay for all their demands? Some don't even have enough sense to whine about it! McCain & Obama are defending the invaders - giving them free education, medical care, welefare, and a chance to use and run the price up on our scarce national resources (energy). At least 10% of the population is illegal - run them back home and demand drops by 10% - imagine what that would do to oil prices! What if citizens had first call on university seats instead of foreigners & terrorists? MOney??? There's more than enough spent on the illegals to educate any and all citizens who have the desire & ability to learn!
I'd rather a fighter than a whiner. Whiners do little more than demand more from someone else. We need to work on a home life, not institutionalization! It's not hard to identify the rare bully & it's not hard to turn them around if you have a realitively free hand to do it. If they're rotten to the core & can't be salvaged, insitiutionalize them & move on with our cultural heritage.
I don’t want to steal this topic but I would like to post a topic. I don’t want to start rumors but I have been told the new EMA director is now a paid position and that he has a paid assistant. I was thinking the old EMA director Mr. Billard was not being paid for the work he was doing and did it alone. I have also been told that both the director and his assistant go on rescue squad calls while on the clock with the county government. If this is true then they should not be paid while working for the squad. I am not saying any of this is the truth because I don’t know for sure. I was just wondering if anyone knew what was going on.
I also have a topic that I would like to know more about....Milky Way Farms. What is going on there? I have not seen much action there and there are rumors that the owner has filed bankrupcy. Who knows what is going on?
To the anonymous poster of the 11 Oct 2:53 post.
Perhaps you misunderstood my original post where I stated “With no unbiased research supporting any long term benefit from this program it is simply a waste of money on every level” as you made no mention of that fact or offered anything to dispute it. Even the NEA has given up on trying to prove the benefits of this program and instead only put out more talking points like “if only one child benefits from this program it’s worth it”.
Nonsense, would you agree that allowing five children to starve in order to feed one would be worth it. I would hope you would try to do what would be best for all six of those children and share the resources to better all of them instead of only one, but I could be wrong. It seems with a drop out rate of over 20% more resources would be directed toward getting the older kids graduated instead of the younger kids indoctrinated.
I’m not surprised that you ignored my statement, “Regardless of where the money comes from the school system nor the state should be involved in a daycare service.” Are you supportive of a government run daycare service? Should the school system be raising our children or anyone’s children? If Pre-K is a good idea because some parents aren’t doing a good job of it then shouldn’t the government step in and take those children for Pre-Potty Training; Pre-Walking Training, Pre-Talking Training after all some of those parents are teaching their children terrible words to say. Perhaps you would ask yourself why the “Headstart Program” was raided to fill the Pre-K program. Were the children in Headstart not gaining a benefit?
You show an immense shallowness in your comparison of “Soul Willing” and failing Government programs.
One deals with the benefits of a lifelong relationship with the Savior and eternity afterward, the other offers a slight benefit that last no longer than third grade. Seems to be a tremendous difference.
To the anonymous poster of the 11 Oct 4:40 post.
You state, “There may be a problem right now getting enough students since those students are not bused. Some may not can afford to send their kids to pre-school or have the time to take their kids during working hours. I don't care what the statistics say”.
It seems from your statement that all that’s needed for this program to be a big benefit is to provide bus transportation for the children? I suppose that since buses already are picking up other children that it won’t cost anything extra if a few more are picked up. Having Pre-K children on the same bus with high schoolers should go over real great since it works so well with Special needs and kindergarten kids. Oh, they ride in separate buses!
Now, let me see if I understand your logic about the space being used but not costing the school system anything. Was the space now being used for Pre-K previously space that was not being used for anything and if the Pre-K program was not using that space would it go back to unused space once again? I’ll have to remember that the next time I hear a principal talking about their school being overcrowded.
It certainly does not surprise me that you don’t care about the statistics since they don’t support your preconceived notions, but what about the biased statistics used to justify this outrageous failure to begin with?
Allen Barrett
attaboy wab
WAB, since you bring up starving, that is a good point. These pre-k kids are being given good nutritious food while they are at school. How many are not receiving that a home? Good point! As to the busing, I believe you are wrong on the kindergarten and special ed kids riding separate buses. Yes, the physically handicapped are provided special need buses but other kids ride with them. The kindergarten kids ride with the rest. As to the overcrowding, I believe that the high school is over crowded. The schools being used had the room for the kids and I believe most were more than happy to accomodate the preschoolers. To put the preschoolers on a bus with high school kids may not be a great idea but I believe it was brought up as the reason for not having full classes. As to head start, would you drive to your neighborhood school or miles out of town to Bodenham.
Oct 13, 7:45
You are correct on all counts!
The position was created by Janet Vanzant claiming the state required it. Nobody saw the paperwork supporting her claim. Barry Whitt was the chosen one from the get go. Same with his assistant. They also have a room in the annex building with all the equipment and a different 4 x 4 vehicle. Billard did everything as a volunteer, only thing in his last few months of being EMA director he did get some of his gas expense paid.
wab..
You continue to miss the point. Then you condescendingly ask me if it's worth it to let a few kids starve for the sake of one. That was an ignorant (describing your behavior) remark, and I would have thought you knew better.
Let me ask it in simpler terms for you. If a Pre-K program succeeded in turning just one life around (let's say a future serial killer), would you then say the program is worth it? Could you then extrapolate that to how much it is worth to save just one sinner from a devil's hell?
You talk about unbiased research on the long-term effectiveness of the program. Well, if there is NO substantiated research, then what on earth is wrong with letting it go forward and see just how effective it might be? You know, all programs, successful or not, had to start at the bottom, and it is idiocy gone to seed for someone to suggest that it's a communist program intended to brainwash the minds of youngsters. Hogwash!
Uh, wab, NOBODY said there would be no cost involved in having pre-K classes within an already existing building. I was merely trying to get you to understand that there would be no actual building cost. Anyone with one brain cell knows there are nominal maintenance costs involved. I say nominal because the same central heating and cooling goes into all rooms withing a school building. Are we splitting hair here?
So there you have it....my preconceived notions. Don't you have anything better to do with your time? Here's a suggestion. Why not go volunteer for just a day at a pre-K class and then tell me it's not worth it?
What you consider ignorant I obviously consider to be common sense. Is it common sense or ignorance that dictates when you find yourself in a hole you should probably stop digging. This, my friend, is the crux of the problem. The education system has dug an incredible deep hole and instead of throwing away their shovel they continue to use untried, unproven, and disproved shovels to deep deeper. Putting millions of dollars in a program that has proven to have no long term benefits is absurd when compared to the need for improving the graduation rate of high school kids. There is no question that a mentoring program implemented in the sixth or seventh grade and used through out the rest of the school terms has greatly improved the graduation rates with an increase in knowledge, preparedness and desire to attend higher education. It is the same with a good Vo-tech program. Do you really think there is a greater benefit in spending millions on a proven program with no long term benefits is better than a good Vo-tech program that is teaching auto mechanics, plumbing, hairdressing, cooking, wielding, ROTC, HACV etc? It doesn’t take a mental giant to figure it out.
It is a sad reality that not everyone will be saved from the failure of life but putting all the resources in one person that may or may not have a desire or support to succeed is absurd when the possibility those same resources could help hundreds of others with that desire to succeed if their energies are channeled correctly. A four year old has far greater opportunities before them than a sixteen year old. It’s seldom you see a four year old who has dropped out of school or is sitting in jail for some stupid crime but you certainly see a lot of eighteen year olds doing both.
We must get smart in the use of the education dollars, get the administrators off the teachers backs and let them educate, give them full support in disciplining their classrooms, and give them the full support and knowledge that they are important and will never be thrown under the bus when they are right. As for volunteering in a Pre-K class I don't have to be a mechanic to know when my gas tank is empty.
Allen Barrett
605 your BS is the reason schools are failing! You have zero moral or economic comprehension beyond the idiocy you learned in an accredited institution of higer indoctrination. Serial Killer?? - You might create one, but will never save one!
You want more money to improve your extremely high rate of failure! Ever hear "NO"? What are you going to do when the funds dissapear & no rational person will listen to you? That time is here!
wab..
Oh exalted one, you may not see a four year old sitting in some jail cell for some crime, BUT I'll bet you a lot of criminals in prison today could have been helped at that age. Since neither you nor I are "mental giants" and do not yet know the effectiveness of the Pre-K program, why don't we just wait awhile and see.
Since you didn't think like my suggestion that you spend some time in a Pre-K clasroom, let me alternatively suggest that you call and talk to one of the teachers.
anonymous 9:04
You strike me as one of the most bitter of all the complainers. I wonder why. What a waste of an otherwise good mind.
There have been many studies already about the effectiveness of the Pre-K program and not one that was funded by other than the education monopoly has found any benefit past third grade. Even the education monopoly is beginning to back off their unqualified support for Pre-K. Allen Barrett
1157 - nothing to be bitter about & little to complain about. You have been trying to take my money so you can create a position of self importance, but you are pounding your head on a brick wall. You want everyone to be a loser like yourself, pounding heads on the wall in rhythmic synchronous surges. A lot like the wailing wall, except the god you pray to doesn't exist - it's just old slick in a zoot suit!
problem is, you aren't ever going to get that money & you'll just have to keep splashing those dead brain cells on the wall.
I have my money & I'm happy! You can't have it & stay in a rage! You can't corrupt children because you have no money or power. Your cause is broke because you are broke. As a result, you & your cause are bankrupt.
I'm having a good day. Smile & maybe the world will smile back at you??
Hope you keep that money when Obama comes in, I thought he said he was going to spread it around.
Okay, let's look at the situation this way. There are lottery dollars out there for school systems to have pre-school. Instead of taking those dollars here and helping our own kids we should say no thanks and let someone else have it. That would be really stupid. The dollars are there and they are earmarked for pre-school why not take them for ourselves? It is not like we can say give us those dollars and we'll do what we want to with them. They were there for pre-school, we applied and we got it. Good for us. Give a almost 100 kids in Giles County two healthy meals and a snack even if they don't learn anything and the gain is lost by 2nd grade, so what, we have given them a fighting chance.
Why not take them to McDonalds instead.
maybe the problem is not with pre-K, but with K, 1, & 2nd grades. If ALL children had the same head start, could not K, 1, & 2 not continue to teach the same ole same ole, but progress past this? Or, maybe, just maybe, the students aren't psychologically ready for the "higher thinking skills"? Even though Dubya doesn't believe this (as well as most of those folks elected and sent to Wash. D.C.) not all children progress at the same level. Ask any mother of more than 1 child. They can tell you even children with the same gene pool develop at different rates. So, is pre-K worth it? Sure it is. Ask any kindergarden teacher which children had either pre-k or parents that worked with their children and read to their children and played games with their children. That teacher can tell you. That teacher can also tell you which children sat in front of TV for the first 5 years of their lives while eating potato chips and sipping on a YooHoo for breakfast while mom, dad, or whoever was blissfully asleep in their beds. So, WAB, if all pre-K does is gives the parents a free day care, it also gives these children an OPPORTUNITY!
344 going to bury the $$$ in the back forty under a bodock tree, turn a few rattlers loose, & tie the meanest biggest bull in the country to the tree. Ain't that much money, but one or two things are for sure -
If Obama hears about it, he'll try to negotiate with the snakes & when it comes time to seal the deal with a kiss, bye bye Obama.
If not, TJ will sniff it out, appear & try to out BS the bull & drown in it before he can find the $$$.
If not, it'll be there for me!
to the anonymous complainer...
You say that I have been trying to take your money and that I want everyone else to be a loser like me? Are you insane? By the way, the God I pray to does exist, so please spare me the rhetoric.
You can keep your money if it makes you happy. I certainly don't want it.
You say I can't corrupt children since I have no money or power? My cause is broken? What on EARTH are you talking about? I honestly think you need to seek professional help.
You say that you are smiling and happy. Well, I have found from experience that even imbeciles and idiots (professional terms) are generally happy people. That's because they don't know any better. However, you are apparently a complete nut! Again, seek help.
Skidmarks in the schoolers underware!!!???
Got some money = got to spend it!
You've depleted your reserves, rewarded every looser that follows your every suggestion, & purchased a golden throne (toilet).
Supposedly teachers & the loyal conscientious school workers haven't received pay raises in times of runaway inflation. Worse yet, no one in authority can tell us if they got any raises or how much they were over the past several years!
You've depleted reserves in times of unreal inflation related tax revenue increases & now have nothing to cover the time of recession & substantially less tax revenue.
Good news - 1) times will get better. 2) Children will learn in spite of your education machine.
bad news 1) You're going to wallow in your dung without a tax increase 2) your drawers will be hanging on the line for all to see.
To 8:09 There is no one more willing to tell you how important their job is than the person doing it. While all work may be honorable not all work is of the same importance.
Would you think a banker cashier will tell their boss they are making to much money and cashiers salaries should be cut back? Then why in the world would you consider simply asking a teacher if they are doing an important job. I agree they have an important job to do but are given less resources for more important aspects of their career. As Mr. Barrett has stated on more than one occasion "there is no credible research that show any benefit past third grade for those who attend Pre-K". So far not one person has presented anything other than a belief that Pre-K does anything other than give the parents a break from raising their kids. Stick to the research and the facts and leave the emotions for your spouse.
How about we lower taxes so that Mothers can stay home and raise their children? How about we start school with first grade? Because if the children were home with their parents, instead of in daycare, they'd be learing all those wonderful pre-K lessons..and the Kindgergarten ones too.
I'm a homeschooler and proud of it. We live on one income, and always have. It's not a great income, but with work and alot of sacrifices, we get by financially. It's worth ANY sacrifice to us to have our children home and not in the public school system. Reading comments here just serves to reinforce that ideal.
anonymous complainer..
Yep, there's no doubt about it; YOU are nuttier than a fruit cake! Please see a psychiatrist.
To your cohort (8:09), please don't try to talk down to me about my remarks concerning the Pre-K program. I wasn't talking to you anyway. Believe me, wab can certainly speak for himself! Since there's no "credible" research, you seem to think the program should be abandoned? Ridiculous. It takes the passing of time for anything like a longitudinal study to be done anyway. Why don't you let the exalted one speak for himself and you consider taking up birdwatching? Just a suggestion.
If you had a tick on the end of your nose, you would probably get seven medical opinions regarding the danger assessment; seven more entomologists to determine the species, sex, and age of it; religious consultation on the tick's right to life; and in the end and army of PITA nuts to remove the tick & carry to the safety of another brush pile near your sidewalk. Your PHD in organizational claptrap didn't prepare you for the most mundane of natural common sense situations. Remove & kill it. Pre K - kill the funding & stop it!
People need to realize that the "assessment" will be done by the promoters of the program & there is little doubt that it will say what they want it to say. Of course, the real results are failure, like all of the liberal gobbleydegook. Stop the funding & it'll go away. When it goes away, all of the blood suckers will disappear with it!
anonymous whiner..
So, according to you, any future assessment of the Pre-K program would be conducted by a bunch of crooks who would be dishonest and misrepresent its effectiveness? That's the same argument you guys made about turning over to the proper authorities any evidence you have against those officials you dislike. Those in positions of authority who can prosecute wrongdoing are a bunch of crooks as well? Again, Hogwash!
You talk about PITA and other liberal concepts. Well, save your breath on accusing this conservative of being ANYTHING close to a liberal. I'm a little embarrassed that people like you also seem to be of the same political persuasion. Being a conservative doesn't give you or me the right to behave as you do toward those you disagree with.
Pre-k has nothing to do with a teacher's salary. Again those are lottery dollars give to Giles County for that purpose. Those funds cannot be used for teacher's salaries. I know that teachers, principals and administrators have had raises every year either throught the state or county, the same cannot be siad for support staff, those have less have been given even less. Yes, teachers are invaluble and not all parents are capable of homeschooling. I wish that I could have but I don't have the patience nor the knowledge to teach upper level. I did stay at home with my children but I could not have taught them. Mine knew things like ABC's, numbers and other simple things when they started to school but I would not and could not teach high school. Most people are not capable of doing that effectively. When teachers are teaching high school they specialize in subjects because those are more difficult to teach. We have the pre-school dollars we should put them to use.
235 You are probably the logical reason we don't need preK. I'll bet you are a loving person who has taught your children old fashioned values and ideals - the exact foundation that is needed before school days begin. If you are a reasonably good person, you are more than qualified to bring your child up with your values! Guess where you are when you can't do that! Fight for your right to raise your own child!
1132 Sooo sorry I rubbed your fur the wrong way & got your tail caught in the door. Seeing as I'm here & you're there, wherever there is, you'll just have to kiss your own tail and hope it gets better.
Go our & register a couple more illegals & pass out some more Obama stickers, it might help your cause. You have to do what you do, cause you're you. Pretending to be someone else might help your identity crisis.
The school does not raise children, they teach children. Values, morals and manners are taught at home. Teachers are good at what they do with the exception of very few. Most teachers go into teaching because they have a calling for that just like a preacher has a calling to preach. Not everyone can preach and not everyone can teach.
anonymous..
I must respectfully disagree with your statement that values, morals, and manners are taught at home. While that is partially true, a vast number of children come to school with all kinds of baggage. These are the kids who are taught nothing in the way of values, morals, and manners at home. A majority of these kids come from highly dysfunctional homes. Still others come from homes where the parents pamper them and even teach that they do not have to show respect to anyone, including teachers, they dislike. When the disrespected teacher atempts to correct that student, he or she is usually called on the carpet to explain his or her actions to the "offended" parent. Anyone who has taught long knows this to be true. It is shameful and strikes at the very heart of why so many teachers leave the profession as soon as they can! With liberal lawyers and policymakers, I don't see the problem lessening anytime soon.
I stand corrected. Those things SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT HOME. Those things are not in every home. Some parents have none of those to teach, therefore we should get as many kids into pre-k to help them at an early age. I would not be a teacher. When we were children we had our teachers on a pedestal. We learned at an early age to respect them both as people and authority. We knew that there were consequences to our actions at school and that our parents would back them up. The authority has been taken away from teachers. Parents no longer show any respect to teachers. Junior is taught that the teachers are mistreating them and parents run to the school to let them teacher and principal to back off. When they get into the real world they cannot deal with authority so they don't keep jobs and are drop outs of life.
anonymous..
You are absolutely correct. When kids see their parents misbehaving and talking in a vulgar and/or disrespectful manner toward teachers and any other adults they don't particularly like, we can't expect much better from them, can we? This is why school districts spend a lot of money on social skills, anger mannagement, and character building materials. It's truly sad and only getting worse. Some of the kids who need their rear ends warmed up are the very ones who are on a "no paddle" list. They know that and some actually boast about it in front of teachers. I KNOW what I'm talking about on the matter. There's no real solution to it either. Teachers have to teach IN SPITE OF the troublemaking kids. And that is not fair to the ones who know how to conduct themselves in the public arena of life.
We have four intelligent assessments of the problem, but PC says we can't discuss the real solution.
PreK is not a soultion. No matter how hard teachers try, learning will not occur in chaos. Money is an accelerant, like gasoline when poured on a fire!
Beginning solution for child on no paddle list? Make parent come and get child at their expense. Refuse admission if bad enough & maybe add a detention center (mini jail) boot camp thing until they are behaved - take it through the court nice & legal.
Teachers need to revolt & get things under their control.
amen to 8:00
The Pre-K is a good program!!!!!!!!!!
Good for nothing!
anonymous,
Look, you are entitled to your opinion about pre-K, and so is the person who speaks in favor of it. So why don't you just give it a rest?
Think back with me to the drama king who started all this bickering about Pre-K. Once again, it's wab!
I think the Pre-K is a good program bc I can see how much it is helping my niece/nephew. They werent fortunate enough to go to The Growing Tree or even Headstart bc of the hours and the money for their parents at the time. They have gotten that worked out and now they are both able to go to Pre-K.......I just dont see what is so wrong about sending kids to a Pre-K when it is truly helping. They love it!!!!!
519 Just think of how many children we could save if we just eliminated transportation! We'd solve Al Gore's Global warming threats (or is it cooling). We'd save zillions of dollars that are going to terrorist nations for energy. Think of how wonderful if we could just save one child from a car wreck! Maybe you could start a pilgrimage to Mt. St. Helens & free all the Katrina victims from the terror of hurricanes! You need to start working on the big problems & let the PreK garbage disappear all by itself!
Well you know the saying, one person's trash is another person's treasure!! Go pre-school!!
barrett and company seem the only ones around here who are against pre-k. But...what are they in favor of, other than being in charge? I don't see that happening.
6:44 pm
Besides Mr Barrett, who do you refer to when you state "and company"? I always thought Mr Wab Barrett does his own thing all by himself. Please answer my question.
Think about this video and you may not have to worry about Pre-K.
http://www.youtube.com/v/4FCNKwHRCQM
It is worth it to save one child! Every year school children face several deaths, thousands of lifetime injuries, and countless painful injuries that leave scars & bad memories. There is no telling how much money the nation spends to make all of this pain and suffering happen. Saving money, lives, and endless pain & suffering should be worth doing!
I asked, how can we do it? The response was simple! Git rid of all school sports programs! Get rid of the coaches. Retrain those who can, to add & subtract & teach kids how to do the same. Turn the ball field into a vegetable garden so the children can raise their own free meals. Set up a spot for busting up rocks to teach the unmannerly how to be mannerly. Then we could take all the money saved by making our own food & gravel plus the huge savings in busses, fuel, electricity, cops, and everythig else imaginable ... and give it back to the poor broken down taxpayers!
On top of all that, not one child would ever be hurt or killed chasing a ball, getting splattered trying to run through a 300 pound lineman, kicked through the uprignts, or molested by a teacher that can't resist big little boys with endless energy. The opportunities are endless!
It's a lot like saving one poor taxpayer from going under because the schools want more money. Think about it, God loves taxpayers & workers a lot more than tax collectors & liars!
Maybe we need to really think this one child bulldung through & see what we can eliminate, instead of adding to the public burden!
Good subject for TJ & his elves to tackle.
No, the "great one" has his blind followers, and you apparently are one of them.
You got me wrong. I read on this blog about the high alue of one life & think it's the only real truth. I want to save the children! If it's profitable, so much the better. Need lots of ideas caause budgets & the wailing wall are just around the corner.
Maybe we could save the people to.
Do you think we should make a profit off pre-K? What are you proposing - put these young people to work? doing what? How do you measure profitable? Do you think all teachers, aides, etc. should do this for free? How will they pay their bills? Profitable???
I think what WAB and others have said is when you have a 20% drop out rate, that's high school kids who do not graduate, the greater need seems to be for those in the upper grades since there is no proven benefit past third grade for those who attend pre-K.
When more money is spent per student on pre-K than on high school students then something is out of whack.
I think there's a greater point to be made that the lives of the individual is affected either positively or negatively during those early and formative years. For example, Lee Harvey Oswald didn't just wake up one morning a Marxist.
There may not be any credible evidence that Pre-K helps to mold the child, but most of us know that it does. I don't understand why there is even an argument about this. Again, if it helps just one child, it has to be worth it. Look at it thius way. If by helping to shape the character of just one child who might otherwise grow up to be a mass murderer, would you say the program produced results? Of course! But there's no empirical evidence pro or con. Some things are just common sense.
The point that everyone is missing is that this money was for pre-k not graduates. There was not a choice for Giles county to use it otherwise. Don't blame Giles County for using those dollars for pre-k. If someone would find a grant available for high school that would be absolutely wonderful. There is a definite need there. Maybe someone like WAB, who is a very intelligent person, could help to write an application for grant money for high school students. We need it desperately. Grant money has to be spent on what it was given for. That money is carefully audited. I know that other counties have a Leaps Grant used for high schoolers. Maybe someone should look into that instead of using Leaps money for after school care and field trips. That is where the money is being wasted. How are those kids benefiting from the Leaps Grant that we now have. Most of the kids are not low income or at risk but children of school employees. Money used for high school students would be much more helpful toward the progress of our students. Our Leaps program is now being used for latch-key.
wab..
Now there is a great idea for you to consider. Instead of being inflammatory and negative, how nice it would be for you to engage in something that could be highly productive. I really think it would be a refreshing change, don't you?
8:45 said, "Lee Harvey Oswald didn't just wake up one morning a Marxist".
You are right it took years of indoctrination by a liberal government school system to make him that way.
The same person also said, "There may not be any credible evidence that Pre-K helps to mold the child, but most of us know that it does". Now that's a person who isn't going to allow facts to get in their way of thinking.
This is going to be the kind of fool that elects a race baiting, America hating socialist as president. He sounds good so don't let any facts or truth be entered into the record. Facts are confusing so it's better to ignore them. What wonderful logic.
107 & 331 two excelent assessments.
Yes the issue is bigger than Giles County, and it is creating illiteracy.
We forget, money is the problem! Every time something goes wrong school systems scream for more money to do more things. Unfortunately, more things take away from things children need to be learning!
Yes, Money is the problem - too much money and near zero learning to make what you have work! All you need is a book and someone who can read to teach the little tads how to read, how to add, and the simple definition of truth! From there you can read about history so you don't let the bad things repeat and destroy you and your country.
If the book content is intended to convert the wee one to communism, history and the lessons paid by forefathers will never be comprehended. If the addemup book is about two daddys equals one family, the kid will never be able to make change.
You see, the history lesson of spending a million dollars on a posh nest for fat cats is presented as a wonderful place to learn ... that fat cats will rule and there won't be enough money to buy books. They teach you how to write a check, but you'll find out where it goes, or learn to tell the fat cats to kiss your rear end.
The real reason for all this madness is money. Money for fat cats, not the wee ones who get behinder & behinder, as the success charts get bigger & bigger, while the dumbed down plebisite works harder & harder for more of the same old crap!
Maybe we should call the game "MORE"
There was a fall festival thing going on at Southside for the leaps and bounds program this past Saturday night that was suppose to last from 5-8. When we got there, we were told it was being cut short by an hr. bc the teachers wanted to go to the mexican restaurant to watch the TN/AL ballgame and drink margaritas. This came straight out of a teacher mouth to me.....I was there with my child.Also when I signed my child up for the program.......I had to pay a $40 registration fee. I dont have that kind of money to be spending right now......We're doing well to put food on the table. I think something strange is going on. I thought this was suppose to be a program for kids who need a little extra help with their schoolwork and it was for kids who do well to help others. I also cant understand (and have doubts)with the budget the program has why there is a fee and why the kids are being told at the end of the year if they have enough voluteer points they will be taken on an all expenses paid week long trip to Disney World in Orlando. I understand a few field trips(local) but they have trips to Memphis and Atlanta in the works but no one Saturday night could tell me what the plans are. I think this needs to be checked out.
There isn't anything to check out the person in charge is answerable to no in Giles County, sets her own hours, schedule and pay. The budget is almost unlimited based on the number of kids in the program and a trip to Disney World will take place with the director no doubt in attendance, and the full expense will be at tax payer expense. Ain't it a wonderful country? I'm sure the apologist for the government AKA Dumbo will be on here talking about how it's really WAB's fault for stirring up the questions, even though WAB hasn't even been on here very much lately. So just bit the bullet give your money to the government then stop by Burger King and pick up a few free packages of ketchup
take it home and mix with a little water for tomato soup. For entertainment just go to the Mexican restaurant and watch the teachers stagger out after the ball games.
I have more of problem with the Leaps and Bounds than the Pre-K. The Pre-K seems to be a good thing........Leaps and Bounds........not so.
Howard..
Of course you guys are always right and know more than the rest of us. Dang, I forgot that.
I would agree that Oswald received some "indoctrination" in the United States, but it was NOT Communism, and it was his decision to embrace Marxism.
Your calling me a fool almost makes me ashamed that I share the same political party with you. Shame on you. I just have to remind myself that there are kooks in both parties. Just because I have a different view doesn't entitle you to call me a fool. But, then again, that's the usual response from you guys, isn't it? That would include your cohort who likes to call me dumbo. You two would make fantastic democrats, because they love to delve into evil and sleazy methods of operation.
Finally, I think the both of you should see a psychiatrist if you think I'm an apologist for the liberal left. I stand firm on Republican principles and will not waiver, even though there are nuts like you two in the pqarty!
Howard, I can't believe you're Dumbo! If you are schitzo, just lay off the old meds, hang in with the new stuff, enjoy life, & give us some more of the good stuff you're capable of.
flabberghasted
To my anonymous friend who took exception to my statement.
First of all I did not call you a fool or any other name. I responded to your statement that, “There may not be any credible evidence that Pre-K helps to mold the child, but most of us know that it does”. What I stated in response to that was, “Now that's a person who isn't going to allow facts to get in their way of thinking. This is going to be the kind of fool that elects a race baiting, America hating socialist as president. He sounds good so don't let any facts or truth be entered into the record. Facts are confusing so it's better to ignore them. What wonderful logic”.
To me it takes a fool to totally ignore the facts of a matter and continue ignoring them to everyone’s detriment. Of course if the facts dispute your feelings then by all means discard the facts. The Mad Hatter used that type logic on Alice.
For me the statement “there may be no credible evidence but most of us know that it does” is the equivalent of saying I like the way a person talks so I’ll ignore the fact that he is lying because he sounds so good.
To the second poster. I am not always right even though I try to be. I certainly know more about some things than some do but much less about some things than others do. I apologize if that is the attitude I portrayed it was certainly unintended.
As I told the other poster I did not call you a fool nor did I call you dumbo. Even if I knew you it’s unlikely that I would call you any name without a very good reason.
As far as political party goes I am not necessarily a republican I usually vote republican because they usually most closely reflect my very conservative ideology. As for the “you guys” comment does it seem strange that you would criticize me for a supposed name calling incident but have no problem referring to me with an unjustified name. I am an individual, not a member of any group. When I speak, I speak for myself and about myself so please don’t include me in your paranoia.
A trip to Disney World with the Leaps and Bounds kids???? Oh please....tell me it isn't so! That's nothing more than an all-expense vacation/party week for Polly and a few of her partying Leaps employees. Come on Mr. Jackson....you are really asking for trouble with that idea!
To the parent complaining about paying 40.00 dollars for the whole yr. Give it a rest!! That program is excellent for what it does.There are hundreds of parents
trying to enroll their children. It is as cheap as it can be. Damn you moaning about 40.00 a yr. bet ya NET ACCESS so you can cry COSTS more. Is it helping your kid like leaps. Some folks would complain if you gave them a million dollars; "what you won't pay the taxes too"...Grow up...
Howard..
Ok, then my apologies. But please try to remember that condescension and name-calling are inflammatory tactics that are not conducive to positive discussion and problem-solving.
I would say that I am more a conservative than Republican, but I proudly vote GOP.
If you get free lunches then the fees for this program can probably be waived. If your children qualify you need to check.
Just so you know............I dont have net access at home......I use it at my siblings home so I can complain about $40.
Im sure Leaps personnel would setup installments for the 40.00dollar yearly fee.I've heard the money goes to help defray the cost of two daily snacks. Do the math kinda cheap for the entire yr.The State of Tennessee strictly audits Leaps and it is highly regarded for its successes.Rest assured the 40.00 dollar fee and all monies are accounted for and their use. There are dedicted staff that truly care about the kids in the program. Homework tutoring,character building,technology classes and nature studies with david crane help make for a well-rounded program.Leaps nor its staff is perfect but then, who or what is.It has enabled children to see and experience things not otherwise possible, due to lack of resources available to parents. Contrary to local myth and legend unclaimed lottery winnings are not tax surpluses. The State dictates where and for what these monies may be used. You can't dictate the use of unclaimed tax refunds or the celebrated rebate checks that go unclaimed either.I for one am happy that these unclaimed winnings are making a difference in young lives. I challenge the Leaps detractors to visit and see rather than believe all that is spread thru blogs and rumors.
At $90,000.00 a year salary seems the director could have written a better entry.
The director ain't the anti-christ; as some want the county to believe.There are still some fair minded people in giles county that don't have an axe to grind. As i said earlier; if you really want to see what Leaps does, turn off ya computer and take ya happy butt over and see first hand.Oh ..by the way stop assuming the director is only defending herself.There are more in this county that know whats happening really??
There are even more that are trying to deny that anything wrong could be happening. With corruption going on all over the world, how can anybody deny that there could possibly be some in Giles County?
We are not talking about the world at large ;of course there is, i'm merely saying the books are open as is the program. Just be fair and objective is all anyone can ask.As for possiblities, there could be lil' gray aliens; ain't proved that either...
So you are approving lil' gray aliens. What does that say for you and a few other people that turn a blind eye to everything that is going on?
Approving lil' gray aliens???Huh!! I was drawing a parallel, to point out lots of things are said and belived,but not many are rooted in concrete evidence. As aliens may exist, so too can corruption. As i stated previously, i'm sure it does ,BUT according to yearly audits and checks not in the Leaps program.The one thing in all of this that is based on fact is the unending dislike and contempt for the director of that program. MONEY is the root of all evil and drama in this case ;87k worth. If she were making say, min. wage or even half the reported salary, Leaps would be the best thing since the flush toilet. In conclusion;if there were irregularities by all means we need to know,but spreading rumors and lies on anyone without the basis of fact is patently wrong. The burden of proof is on the accuser/accusers and for a good reason.Does the director always make the best decision, of course not , does the President, cops,doctors..well you get my drift..we all are just human.
According to the financial fiasco - sounds like pre K is gonna be gone K
To Oct. 25-10:50 Did you call a board member about this comment and did others get the same message?
There was no Oct. 25-10:50.
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