Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs

Stalin

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I am a simple person. I was raised in a marxist household where relatives went off to the USSR and China to fight for the cause. My relatives were friends of major figures in the party of both countries. Luckily all returned without major injury but full of information and stories to impart.

Suffice to say that what I learnt, from second-hand experience is in complete contradiction to the lies pumped out by the capitalist lie factory.

If you apply science to history, the result is marxism.

If you apply science to nature, the result is is evolution, climate change, communication satelites and plama TVs. For marxists, the rigour of science is an obvious substitute for the nonsense of religion.

So far. so good, at least in my mind.

I am not a US citizen, and have never visited what is obviously a fascinating country. mainly because marxists are not allowed to visit, unless they are needed to serve the interests of capital.

So could someone please explain the following article.

"...Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse.

Paul Gibson, an alternate parent representative on the School Governance Council, said that information presented at council meetings suggests that the science labs were largely classes for white students. He said the decision to consider cutting the labs in order to redirect resources to underperforming students was virtually unanimous.

Science teachers were understandably horrified by the proposal. "The majority of the science department believes that this major policy decision affecting the entire student body, the faculty, and the community has been made without any notification, without a hearing," said Mardi Sicular-Mertens, the senior member of Berkeley High School's science department, at last week's school board meeting.

Sincular-Mertens, who has taught science at BHS for 24 years, said the possible cuts will impact her black students as well. She says there are twelve African-American males in her AP classes and that her four environmental science classes are 17.5 percent African American and 13.9 percent Latino. "As teachers, we are greatly saddened at the thought of losing the opportunity to help all of our students master the skills they need to find satisfaction and success in their education," she told the board.

more at http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/b...6fda29328dc547b948f1&sort=desc#readerComments

Comrade Stalin
 
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Having graduated in the early 70's and now working in the education field as a Paraprofessional with children of special needs; Autism is my speciality, ages 7-13.

I have been shocked/dismayed by the amount of marginal children that are not learning anything and are just being TRAINED in the finite ability to take computerized tests so that the Federal Government will not cut funding because of the possibility of poor reading/math scores. PE/Music/Science Lab/Library have all taken a back seat or just been allocated to once a week for 15 minutes if there is ROOM AVAILIABLE for this instruction...computer labs have gobbled up the majority of the available space and reading assistance for those huge numbers of illegals that can not read ENGLISH {they can speak it but cannot read/write it} that have blown our education dollars out of proportion!

Education in America has suffered enormous set backs and if we don't get our collective heads out of our A$$'s then it will be a perpetual problem for the next 50 years or more:mad:

So it's not surprising that this is impacting the Science Labs in High School age groups...disappointing and very sad but...no, I'm not surprised!
 
I am a simple person. I was raised in a marxist household where relatives went off to the USSR and China to fight for the cause. My relatives were friends of major figures in the party of both countries. Luckily all returned without major injury but full of information and stories to impart.

Comrade Stalin
You certainly-do have a vivid-imagination....maybe, even enough to decide taking-upon the identity of a "Marxist", when...in-fact...you're merely a garden-variety Town Hall Screamer, lookin' to get a rise outta the rest o' your herd.

:rolleyes:

"Berkeley High's plan apparently was surprising and shocking to tech blogger and Wired magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson. Author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More and Free: The Future of a Radical Price, Anderson mentioned the story on Twitter, and other bloggers picked it up.

"I'm not necessarily opposed to race-based proposals," Anderson told me via e-mail. "I just think the premise of this one—'science is for white people'--is absurd and deeply counterproductive."

TechDirt blogger Mike Masnick saw Anderson's tweet. "It seems like there must be more to this story than what's being reported," Masnick wrote. "The concept of cutting science labs because more white students take them just seems too preposterous to make sense."

Unfortunately, there isn't more to the story, and yes, cutting programs because they benefit white students is preposterous and doesn't make sense. But that's what misguided social engineers do."

Can you say BUSTED!!!!!!, Comrade Stalin??????

520.gif
 
Education in America has suffered enormous set backs and if we don't get our collective heads out of our A$$'s then it will be a perpetual problem for the next 50 years or more:mad:

So it's not surprising that this is impacting the Science Labs in High School age groups...disappointing and very sad but...no, I'm not surprised!
Back-up, there....take a breath....and, read Side 2.​

"I'm a Berkeley High School parent and I am totally against this proposal. But let's get the facts straight: Science labs will NOT be eliminated by this proposal. Right now, science labs occur either before ("0" period) or after (7th period) the regular 6-period school day. So lab classes, unlike all other classes, meet 6 times per week. However, these classes used to have TWO lab periods per week, for a total of 7 class meetings until 2003. This proposal would end the EXTRA period, so that labs had to take place during one of the normal 5 class meetings. I don't know what is normal elsewhere, but that is how labs were handled when I was in high school. I was never on a bus at 6:30 am headed to Chem Lab once a week in 1975! And I don't know how many other kids are these days anyway. But, given Berkeley High's traditional commitment to science instruction, this reduction to an already decimated program seems like a really bad idea.

On the other hand, I suspect that a lot of the crowing and cat-calling in the media is from commentators who spend a lot of time arguing for Intelligent Design to be taught in science class, so we do not expect serious discussion from them."

Ya' gotta quit takin' the Wingnuts' word, for much of anything....even the ones playin' Chairman Mao. :rolleyes:

When ya' (first) hear this kind o' crap....there's no need to read-between-the-lines. It takes a little-more work, than that. Ya' gotta dig-down-thru that ton o' B.S. the Wingnutter's use (to cover-up The Facts.)

;)
 
Back-up, there....take a breath....and, read Side 2.​

Ya' gotta quit takin' the Wingnuts' word, for much of anything....even the ones playin' Chairman Mao. :rolleyes:

When ya' (first) hear this kind o' crap....there's no need to read-between-the-lines. It takes a little-more work, than that. Ya' gotta dig-down-thru that ton o' B.S. the Wingnutter's use (to cover-up The Facts.)​


;)

Awww MAN...you mean I got PLAYED...:eek: Gotta Stop reading anything prior to my 4 cups of JAVA :p
 
Is there a guide that I can read to work out what this whacky mixture of colours and ad hominem attacks means ?

Comrade Stalin
 
Is there a guide that I can read to work out what this whacky mixture of colours and ad hominem attacks means ?

Comrade Stalin

Just pretend that you've got a 'old monochromatic monitor' and just read away...I should have just saved my comments until 'I' read the entire article...but it doesn't hurt anything that you brought it to this forum for discussion.

Don't be obtuse...there wasn't any ad hominem attacks...just some serious POV! :rolleyes:
 
There is a feeling among the left that minorities fail for lack of money being spent on them by the schools. This despite a record of failure where this has been applied.

Nothing new here.

What force drove whatever success you enjoyed academically ? I'm willing to bet it had to do with family expectations and a general sense of wanting to excel on your part. The left failed (exceptint Obama and a few others) to see this as absolutely essential.

I know, its nuts. Welcome to my world.
 
Can you say BUSTED!!!!!!, Comrade Stalin??????

520.gif

Nice work, Mr. Shaman. I feel home here already.

Uncle Joe, try not linking to tea bagging sites, next time. We'll just pretend this thread never happened. My belief is suspended... and you are free to troll along the aisle, again.
 
There is a feeling among the left that minorities fail for lack of money being spent on them by the schools. This despite a record of failure where this has been applied.
Yeah....you're really-convincing, as someone who's spent a lotta-time in under-financed/inner-city schools. :rolleyes:

You "conservatives" are as well-versed on life, within our prison-industry, as well. :rolleyes:
 
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I am a simple person. I was raised in a marxist household where relatives went off to the USSR and China to fight for the cause. My relatives were friends of major figures in the party of both countries. Luckily all returned without major injury but full of information and stories to impart.

Suffice to say that what I learnt, from second-hand experience is in complete contradiction to the lies pumped out by the capitalist lie factory.

I am not a US citizen, and have never visited what is obviously a fascinating country. mainly because
Marxists are not allowed to visit, unless they are needed to serve the interests of capital.

Comrade Stalin
.
relaxing-outside-smiley-emoticon[1].gif
.

Yeah....shoveling horseshit, here, doesn't pay....like it used-to....after the internal-combustion engine was developed.
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