I am glad to offer a forum for debate... I will also (as Dennis stated) retract when wrong and fix when necessary...however, to date, I do not feel any content here requires either action since the arguments coming forward are full of the same rhetoric that Mr. Robinson has been feeding the community for years...
First, Dennis, I place you in the same category as your mother for one reason, and one reason only.... both of you "attack" (my choice of word) people you have not had conversations with. I know both of you and am in fact on a first name basis with both of you and have found this fact to be true. That is why I was disappointed to see your webpage following the same sort of hearsay model as your mother's writings.
Second.... the money that comes from the government CAN, I repeat, CAN be used to purchase classroom teachers if the district will guarantee small class sizes. Mr. Robinson refuses to do that, so therefore, the commentor is correct... in that case, using the money to purchase teachers would be illegal.
Also.... the TOSA issue... take three... They can only help some, and there is no guarantee that those who need it will get it.... while smaller class size would help everyone.
And, just a tag.... there are some teachers out there who have cushy positions and favorite classes and programs because they have supported Mr. Robinson and the district programs, even though they are considered by many of their peers as inappropriate choices for those classes and programs due to their lesser educational skills than some peers who have "rocked the boat" and are now being retaliated against in the district's attempts to get them to be quiet or resign or retire.
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8 comments:
I think you miss a distinction: I don't know if Mary Northern, for example, is a bad person. I only know what she says in public, and that's what I comment on.
I don't know Rick Alexander (though I have met him), or what kind of person he is. (Increasingly, I hear he's a good person.) I base my blogging opinions on public statements and actions made by those people involved, and try to leave it at that.
That was mean. Personal attacks make me feel like voting against anything the person making the attack stands for; think about it. I'm sure people could make criticisms about you that they know as "fact" if your name was made public.
And what about the math teachers who are currently being attacked publicly and privately. Why do you not defend them? Or do you support the attacks and believe that they all should be reprimanded or fired? Of course they must be the problem, Mr. Robinson has been working with them to improve the presentation of math in the district. Never mind the improvements in the elementary programs are Mr. Robinson's initiative. We will ignore that and attack the high school. Change takes time, especially in a district where education is not highly valued. Your friend Mr. Alexander has said as much in that he proposes publicly to "lower the bar" for graduation. So be a one-sided, disgruntled blogger. The internet is full of them. As it seems is our school board. Unfortunately, the school board is hurting the students. You are just a waste of Internet ink.
Well, guess you've been around long enough now L.P. in the blog world that the Robinson groupies have found out about your blog and they are on the defense. Good! Keeps their blood circulating!
You are right about the cushy jobs that some teachers have. I personally know of teachers who laugh about "brown nosing" just so they can swing Robinson their way and get what they want. Sounds like government jobs at their finest!
Anon 09/30 @ 4.11pm:
If personal attacks are what you use to decide who you are voting against, you probably should read Lebanon Truth's blog. It started over a year ago and has been printing personal attacks since the day it started. I guess we can count on your "NO" vote if that's what you are basing it on!
Dennis,
Since you say you don't know Mary Northern or Rick Alexander personally, why don't you? Why don't you make an effort to know the people whose words you comment on? We all know you are Dennis Dugan, the 20-something year old son of A.K. Dugan (Lebanon Express editor), who graduated with a sociology degree from OSU, lives in Corvallis and has substitute taught in schools. You are the author of the blog Rhetorical Wasteland. So just go and talk to people and find out why they believe what they do. Wouldn't that make for better blogging? Wouldn't that be a step in the right and honest direction?
First, Dennis isn't an elected official or in charge of allocating a school budget formed with tax dollars. He's a blogger. There's a pretty big difference. Rick Alexander and Mary Northern are public officials. Why shouldn't he base his opinions on what they say in (*gasp*) public? I don't personally know the govenor, yet I'm able to form an opinion about him and his decisions without knowing him personally. I don't feel I have to shake his hand and ask him about his views on abortion, etc., to know where he stands, and I don't think Dennis (or any other concerned citizen) needs to accomplish a similar task with Mary or Rick either.
My decision to write about what people are saying in public is an intentional one. It allows me (and I'll admit I used to focus more on this) to write a little about rhetoric and public appearance vs. personal knowledge. I try not to comment on anyone's personal life, just what they are saying and doing in public and vis-a-vis the school district.
Also, I'd reverse the question: Why haven't Alexander or Northern contacted me? (I don't expect them to, but I also see this question as at least as fair as the reverse.)
For the record, technically I do know Rick Alexander. The first time I came to a board meeting with my laptop, he introduced himself. I think he figured out who I was.
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