Similar to many people locally and nationally, I follow the political races with interest. John McCain or Barack Obama for president. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi for governor. I sat and watched the hour-long debate between the latter two last Thursday on KOMO-TV.
It's difficult to ascertain much about each candidate during a debate because the candidates only have a short time to delve into issues. The first 10 seconds usually are reserved to blast your candidate's position, and then you vaguely explain your stance in the final 10 or 20 seconds. I hate it, but it plays into Political Science 101: Taking strong positions on issues alienates a certain amount of people. The most successful politicians irritate few and stay in office.
Both candidates seemed to play into this political posturing, but I hope the media and public can press them into answers. I'm concerned with the latest on the economy — the unemployment rate in Washington state soared higher than 6 percent earlier this month. There also is the matter of a $3.2-billion deficit.
Gregoire blamed President Bush's "failed policies" for the problems the state faces. I don't question that issues at the national level affect states, but this response is unacceptable to me. Gregoire needs to take some accountability and explain how she plans to correct these issues. She, not Bush, is directly involved with the state's budget.
Rossi talked about how he created a surplus when he chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee, but only offered vague responses as to how he would lead us out of these problems.
Here's a message to the candidates from a voter: I want to hear a plan. Deficits are unacceptable. We all have a household budget and I expect you to create a plan to balance the government's with your constituents.
My vote depends on it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Bellevue teachers strike
I admittedly don't know a lot about all the issues as I'm not closely tied to the negotiations, but I agree that the district shouldn't be as stringent with unified lesson plans. Teachers should adhere to similar plans to ensure students maintain similar progress when they advance to the next level (i.e. first to second-year algebra).
It also is important for teachers to have flexibility with their lesson plans to incorporate current events. Can you imagine not being able to focus on 9/11 in a Contemporary World History class shortly after it occurred because it would deviate for the district-wide course outline? That seems asinine to me.
It's difficult to sympathize with teachers on another aspect of the dispute. Many claim that their salaries are too low to buy a home on the Eastside. I spent nearly 2 1/2 years commuting to Bellevue because it was the best job available locally in my profession at the time. I didn't sit around and whine about not being able to afford to buy a house in the most expensive area in the state — I just accepted it as reality and appreciated the opportunity to have a job I enjoyed.
The starving, underpaid perception that some teachers like to present in Washington is a myth. After the strike began, I elected to do some research on teachers salaries where I grew up. And it wasn't nearly as affluent as the Eastside. Here's some numbers I can up with from teachers I had growing up:
Kindergarten teacher: Retired
First-grade teacher: Retired
Second-grade teacher: Retired
Third-grade teacher: $73,480
Fourth-grade teacher: $78,786
Fifth-grade teacher: Retired
OK, that's a small sample size of two veteran teachers. Here's some other notable numbers from teachers I had:
Sixth-grade math teacher: $78,686
Seventh-grade math teacher: $74,237
Seventh-grade physical-education teacher: $88,943
Eighth-grade math teacher: $78,786
Ninth-grade science teacher: $83,686
Sophomore English teacher: $74,237
I could go on, but you get the point. I'll acknowledge that I've been out of school for a while, which means that many of these teachers have more than 10 years of experience and some — particularly my elementary-school teachers — are close to retirement. So I looked up a few teachers that I knew in college, or recently changed professions and became teachers. All of them have 5 years of experience or less, and all work in different districts. Here are their numbers: $51,805, $49,504, $45,413 and $42,680.
That's not exactly enough to buy a house on Mercer Island, but it's a profession where you can make a comfortable living in this state. The next time you hear someone waxing poetic about teachers facing poverty, understand they're either grossly misinformed or lying.
It also is important for teachers to have flexibility with their lesson plans to incorporate current events. Can you imagine not being able to focus on 9/11 in a Contemporary World History class shortly after it occurred because it would deviate for the district-wide course outline? That seems asinine to me.
It's difficult to sympathize with teachers on another aspect of the dispute. Many claim that their salaries are too low to buy a home on the Eastside. I spent nearly 2 1/2 years commuting to Bellevue because it was the best job available locally in my profession at the time. I didn't sit around and whine about not being able to afford to buy a house in the most expensive area in the state — I just accepted it as reality and appreciated the opportunity to have a job I enjoyed.
The starving, underpaid perception that some teachers like to present in Washington is a myth. After the strike began, I elected to do some research on teachers salaries where I grew up. And it wasn't nearly as affluent as the Eastside. Here's some numbers I can up with from teachers I had growing up:
Kindergarten teacher: Retired
First-grade teacher: Retired
Second-grade teacher: Retired
Third-grade teacher: $73,480
Fourth-grade teacher: $78,786
Fifth-grade teacher: Retired
OK, that's a small sample size of two veteran teachers. Here's some other notable numbers from teachers I had:
Sixth-grade math teacher: $78,686
Seventh-grade math teacher: $74,237
Seventh-grade physical-education teacher: $88,943
Eighth-grade math teacher: $78,786
Ninth-grade science teacher: $83,686
Sophomore English teacher: $74,237
I could go on, but you get the point. I'll acknowledge that I've been out of school for a while, which means that many of these teachers have more than 10 years of experience and some — particularly my elementary-school teachers — are close to retirement. So I looked up a few teachers that I knew in college, or recently changed professions and became teachers. All of them have 5 years of experience or less, and all work in different districts. Here are their numbers: $51,805, $49,504, $45,413 and $42,680.
That's not exactly enough to buy a house on Mercer Island, but it's a profession where you can make a comfortable living in this state. The next time you hear someone waxing poetic about teachers facing poverty, understand they're either grossly misinformed or lying.
Monday, September 1, 2008
First week of college football ...
How about UCLA? Admittedly, I wondered if there might be a transition period when the Bruins' top two starters were injured. And then Kevin Craft went out in the first half and did his best impersonation of former Washington quarterback Casey Paus with four interceptions in the first half. But UCLA's defense was tough throughout, and Craft settled down with an outstanding second half. It reminded me a lot of Rick Neuheisel at Washington — his teams always seemed to will themselves to victory if the game was close in the fourth quarter.
Here's some thoughts on the other games I watched this weekend:
Colorado vs. Colorado State: It's always fun to catch a rivalry game, but this one is a little different than most because Colorado is able to recruit better talent as a BCS school. Unlike other in-state rivalries, where recruits are divided, there's just about no one in the Centennial State that would choose an offer from CSU over CU. The Rams did a good job of staying in the game for a while, but the Buffaloes' superior talent ultimately won out.
Washington at Oregon: "Only Believe" ... in second-half meltdowns? Unlike Neuheisel, the Huskies always seem to struggle in the second half. Oregon outscored them 30-0 in the second half en route to a 44-10 win. It's difficult to imagine a worse start for a young team or Willingham, who likely needs to reach a bowl to retain his job. Jake Locker only completed 12-of-28 passes, but was under pressure throughout the game. UW's offensive line, supposedly the strength of the team before the season, looked anemic. It doesn't get a lot easier for the Huskies, who have two teams ranked higher than Oregon — Brigham Young and Oklahoma — the next two weeks. The Ducks looked impressive in just about every aspect of the game. Their defense allowed just 242 yards and the secondary was impressive. Offensively, Oregon is fine with Jeremiah Johnson replacing Jonathan Stewart as the No. 1 running back.
Oklahoma State vs. Washington State: Atrocious special teams play prevented the Cougars from any shot at winning this game. It probably was unlikely anyway after a tumultuous offseason greeted the new coaching that with several arrests and scholarship losses because of academic issues. WSU's defense provided some hope — OSU was limited to 367 yards — and should improve if cornerbacks Markus Dawes and Alfonso Jackson get healthy. The Cougars will need continued strong play on that side of the ball to help compensate depth, experience and talent issues — particularly on offense and special teams. OSU seems to have fixed some of its issues on the defensive side of the ball from last season. With their talent on offense, the Cowboys should reach at least a mid-level bowl. I don't know if they're strong enough to get past Oklahoma and Texas, though.
Michigan State at California: Admittedly, I didn't see much of this game. But I know this much — Jeff Tedford needs to forget about Nate "Interception" Longshore and stick with Kevin Riley. Longshore's two interceptions made this 38-31 win closer than it needed to be.
Oregon State at Stanford: This technically wasn't a weekend game, but I was able to see a lot of it Thursday. The rest of the Pac-10 should hope that Jim Harbaugh ends up in the NFL soon because the Cardinal will be a bowl team before long. That's pretty impressive considering Stanford was 1-11 just two years ago. Stanford doesn't have the talent of many teams in the Pac-10, and it showed when they were outgained 490 to 301 by the Beavers. But they're well coached — OS had three turnovers to none by the Cardinal. If Mike Riley ever wants to reach a BCS bowl, his teams need to find a way to play as well in the first month as they do in October and November.
Here's some thoughts on the other games I watched this weekend:
Colorado vs. Colorado State: It's always fun to catch a rivalry game, but this one is a little different than most because Colorado is able to recruit better talent as a BCS school. Unlike other in-state rivalries, where recruits are divided, there's just about no one in the Centennial State that would choose an offer from CSU over CU. The Rams did a good job of staying in the game for a while, but the Buffaloes' superior talent ultimately won out.
Washington at Oregon: "Only Believe" ... in second-half meltdowns? Unlike Neuheisel, the Huskies always seem to struggle in the second half. Oregon outscored them 30-0 in the second half en route to a 44-10 win. It's difficult to imagine a worse start for a young team or Willingham, who likely needs to reach a bowl to retain his job. Jake Locker only completed 12-of-28 passes, but was under pressure throughout the game. UW's offensive line, supposedly the strength of the team before the season, looked anemic. It doesn't get a lot easier for the Huskies, who have two teams ranked higher than Oregon — Brigham Young and Oklahoma — the next two weeks. The Ducks looked impressive in just about every aspect of the game. Their defense allowed just 242 yards and the secondary was impressive. Offensively, Oregon is fine with Jeremiah Johnson replacing Jonathan Stewart as the No. 1 running back.
Oklahoma State vs. Washington State: Atrocious special teams play prevented the Cougars from any shot at winning this game. It probably was unlikely anyway after a tumultuous offseason greeted the new coaching that with several arrests and scholarship losses because of academic issues. WSU's defense provided some hope — OSU was limited to 367 yards — and should improve if cornerbacks Markus Dawes and Alfonso Jackson get healthy. The Cougars will need continued strong play on that side of the ball to help compensate depth, experience and talent issues — particularly on offense and special teams. OSU seems to have fixed some of its issues on the defensive side of the ball from last season. With their talent on offense, the Cowboys should reach at least a mid-level bowl. I don't know if they're strong enough to get past Oklahoma and Texas, though.
Michigan State at California: Admittedly, I didn't see much of this game. But I know this much — Jeff Tedford needs to forget about Nate "Interception" Longshore and stick with Kevin Riley. Longshore's two interceptions made this 38-31 win closer than it needed to be.
Oregon State at Stanford: This technically wasn't a weekend game, but I was able to see a lot of it Thursday. The rest of the Pac-10 should hope that Jim Harbaugh ends up in the NFL soon because the Cardinal will be a bowl team before long. That's pretty impressive considering Stanford was 1-11 just two years ago. Stanford doesn't have the talent of many teams in the Pac-10, and it showed when they were outgained 490 to 301 by the Beavers. But they're well coached — OS had three turnovers to none by the Cardinal. If Mike Riley ever wants to reach a BCS bowl, his teams need to find a way to play as well in the first month as they do in October and November.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)