Comments for Texas School Business

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by A Real Teacher

A Real Teacher — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:34:13 +0000

This article is an example of propaganda at its finest. Numerous teachers on our campus have stood against this mess called CSCOPE. We have worked to shut the door and teach when administrators were out of the building. I love the way this author is trying to convince parents that their child needs to be prepared to live in a multicultural world and embrace radical viewpoints, when the children in our schools can’t compose a proper sentence, can’t recite their multiplication facts, can’t read on grade level nor spell to save their lives. The people that love this article are selling your child for profit. CSCOPE is big business. Your child is sold every single year when CSCOPE is leased for use in the schools. Read the online? teacher posts about CSCOPE and ask yourself: How can children get a quality education from a product that is despised by teachers across the state who are coerced to use it against their better judgment. Parents are pulling their children from public schools every day–I guess they prefer not to have their child brainwashed. Nothing can diminish the serious charges that have been brought against CSCOPE. Parents: stand up and force your school district to dump CSCOPE while you can reclaim your voice in your schools thanks to inroads made by Senator Dan Patrick.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Ann Kunkel

Ann Kunkel — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:31:48 +0000

Quote:
Thank you for covering this topic:
CSCOPE owners (TESCCC):
1. issued a user agreement (gag order) that teachers were forced to sign that threatened them with criminal prosecution if they revealed the lesson content.
2. petitioned the Attorney General of Texas twice trying to avoid public scrutiny of their lessons on the first petition and their meeting minutes and agendas on the second petition.
3. promoted Linda Darling Hammond as one of the experts behind CSCOPE. Linda Darling Hammond’s school in California failed and was closed due to poor results. Bill Ayers (Terrorist) petitioned Obama to make Hammond the replacement Secretary of Education instead of Duncan. Hammond on line has vowed to be a humanist. She is Common Core advocate and promoter. The Texas Superintendents who support CSCOPE are going to listen to her at the national convention (as stated on their website for TASA) in the near future.
4. hired a computer company, NER Inc. without taking bids. NER controlled the whole apparatus. NER, Inc. turns out to be one individual who lives in a rural area (a house) in the State of New York. There is no website for NER nor any record of doing business with any other state or school.
5. admitted TESCCC has no address, no employees.
6. admitted TESCCC directors (19) are the directors of the Education Region Centers. They lease the product to themselves and then in turn lease it to the schools. There is no concrete product-only computer access which ends each year and must be renewed year after year, costing the taxpayer a tremendous amount of money spent on air!
7. has on their administrators’ training material that the methodology that teachers are required to use is based on a theory of social constructivism-a basic tenet of Socialism. Social constructivism is proven to hurt minorities and the poor the most!
8. can not produce the authors of the lessons nor their advertised-expert credentials.
Thanks to Representative TOTH for his bill- but the program does not need to be monitored, it needs to be eliminated immediately.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Linda Smith

Linda Smith — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:32:21 +0000

I have no issues with CScope as a resource. My issues with CScope are the problems that arise when a school principal declares that CScope and ONLY CScope will be used in the classroom. There are too many good activities and lessons that veteran teachers have developed to say that these teachers can no longer use tried and true lessons because they are not a part of a certain curriculum. When this happens, there is bound to be some backlash. Especially from teachers actually using the product and seeing the weaknesses. It is NOT the be all and end all of education.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Cathy Wells

Cathy Wells — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:21:33 +0000

I believe that Mr. Walsh, et al have forgotten a few fundamentals of education. This is not surprising; it has been occurring since the inception of progressivism and social engineering in our schools since 1820.

I have noticed a real lack of awareness on the part of professional pedagogues in the realm of educational history. Let me fill you all in. Americans are getting stupider. Texans too. This has been going on for over one hundred years. Nothing that you are doing is helping. It doesn’t even appear that you are aware of this fact as you all seem intensely interested in rearranging chairs on a ship that’s going down.

It seems to me that people who really wanted to restore our educational system to some semblance of excellence might query, “What were we doing one hundred years ago that we aren’t doing now?” But that would be too rational. What we find, instead, is a group of people with advanced degrees in behavioral psychology that like to try out the latest theories on public schools. We are the grand experiment.

The experiments aren’t working. The realm of education has become a quagmire of ideologues and theories….the “latest and greatest.” But Texans don’t care about your theories or your grandiose plans or your experiments, Mr. Walsh. Texans want their kids to graduate from high school KNOWING things. This seems to be the very area in which all the theories and ideas fall short. We don’t seem to be GETTING anywhere, do we? For all the ideologues, administrators, grand plans, etc., our kids still seem to know less and less every decade. Is this even registering with anyone? Have any of these educational engineers ever glanced at a reader from the 1850s? Have you ever studied mathematics texts from that era? Does anyone ever simply ask the question, “Why don’t we know as much now as we did then?”

Furthermore, Texas has veteran teachers quitting over CSCOPE. It seems strange to me that Mr. Walsh and others would simply gloss over this fact. Apparently these veteran teachers who have served Texas so well for so many years aren’t intelligent enough or progressive enough to understand CSCOPE. What a shame.

As for socialism in the curriculum itself, one lesson will not suffice to pinpoint the problem. CSCOPE is based on educational theories developed by a socialist/communist; trying to extract the socialism out of the curriculum to examine it would be akin to extracting the color brown from chocolate.

In short, the attitude I sense in this article and elsewhere is elitist and smug. I don’t see a lot of talk here or anywhere about serving the parents who are footing the bill for all of this experimentation. I don’t see Mr. Walsh or anyone else asking Texas parents, “Do you think this is a good idea? What do you all want your children to know upon graduation? What is our job?” What I have seen in my own community is an arrogant leadership dismissing the concerns of parents and teachers out of hand.

Perhaps a bit of PR work on the part of administrators is necessary. Instead of being so combative and treating CSCOPE like the prized possession and holy grail, perhaps you could try treating parents, students, and teachers as the most cherished thing? Perhaps you could unplug your ears and really listen to what opponents and parents are saying. Perhaps you could remove your “educational expert” hat of superiority and give parents and teachers a little credit and deference?

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Brandy Wood

Brandy Wood — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:03:12 +0000

It is a very interesting article and opinion. I have been a teacher now for 20 years and I can honestly say that CSCOPE, from a teachers standpoint, is far from superior. As with everything else in education, I am hoping it is a fad before all of our excellent teachers decide to do something else. It appears to me that the ones that think CSCOPE is the answer, have in fact never taught using it and have not had children going through it. I have had both and I fear for my youngest in hopes that she can overcome the gaps and the peculiar teaching strategies when she goes to college.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Richard Chambers

Richard Chambers — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:43:22 +0000

Great article, I especially like the “cherry picking” analogy. I would also say thanks to the many teachers and ESC personnel that worked so hard to develop a worthy product. C-SCOPE is a work in progress, as teachers teach the material there is a place to send comments to C-SCOPE to make suggestions on the material

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by WL

WL — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:37:05 +0000

Need to check the pockets of our legislative leaders.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Max Newman

Max Newman — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:21:01 +0000

Well put Mr. Walsh.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Linda Rowntree

Linda Rowntree — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:24:10 +0000

Thanks so much for bringing some perspective to this issue. Far to many of our politicians do not live in, nor do they desire, a multicultural world and do not welcome points of view other than their far right agenda.

Comment on What’s the scoop on CSCOPE? by Ginger Russell

Ginger Russell — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:12:52 +0000

Cscope is nothing but Marxist indoctrination. The fact that you Mr. Jim Walsh and the Education service Center Directors support this indoctrination speaks volumes that want our children to learn that America is an Exceptional Place and that our freedom must not be taken for granted.

I have investigated Cscope for over year and the truth is not outlined in this article. The relieve their butts form any liability TESCCC change the rules daily in regards to Cscope. You don’t need text books, the material is copy righted, parents can’t see the lessons, now parents can see the lessons, it is part of last years lessons,, etc….. . Cscope is all about controlling teachers, eliminating parents and indoctrinating children.

The fact that you write the article supporting a product that you more than likely have not reviewed is unacceptable. You don’t mention the teachers that have quit their jobs or been fired because they actually know how to teach children with out the control of Cscope. You don’t mention the children that have been indoctrinated with skewed history. You don’t even mention the fact that it appears that the ESC directors have set up a ponzi scheme.

On what side of the fence do you stand on?

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17