Thursday, May 1, 2014

Share your thoughts

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bob Unger should be very proud of himself for blindly supporting a superintendent whose policies are destroying the school system. Good job, Bob.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if our inept school committee is still in love with Pia. They must be so proud of how her rigor is improving our schools.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Durkin has clearly shown that she can't run the schools. She needs to resign or be fired.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mayor;

What you said last night on WBSM was wrong. Dr. Durkin is not leading our school department in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Durkin, please resign immediately.

Anonymous said...

I have an idea for Craig Dutra and Tom Davis. I think you two pillars of the community should write a nice letter showing your support and love for Dr. Durkin. You could also get the cocktail crowd to co-sign the letter. I'm sure she would appreciate the warm sentiments.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Craig and Tom could make her the superintendent of Westport. She could duplicate her success in New Bedord in Craig's home town. On Sundays, Carolina could have Pia over for drinks.

Anonymous said...

"Mayday Mayday Mayday!" (venez m'aider)

Please save NBPS!

Anonymous said...

I am a retired teacher and recently was talking to a young mother about the feeding of infants. I was shocked to hear that an acquaintance of hers disclosed that she fed her infant watered down regular milk during the crucial brain development years. I do believe we are dealing with not only children that are neglected and abused, but who have been denied the opportunity to have fully developed BRAINS!

Anonymous said...

New Bedford’s academic history is buried deep between the cobblestones of its streets. New Bedford has educated the likes of Daniel Ricketson, the Rotch, Wilks and Green families. It can boast of exemplary citizens Frederick Douglass, who escaped the savagery of slavery and Lewis Temple, whose ingenuity developed a toggle tip for the whalemen’s harpoon. Even Herman Melville walked the streets of New Bedford to become educated in the realm of whaling before writing Moby Dick. Irwin Jacobs, Co-founder of Qualcomm Industries is a proud graduate of New Bedford Public Schools.
Today and everyday New Bedford’s young citizens deserve the very best education we can give them. In a climate of charter and innovation schools coupled with budget constraints, sweeping change is needed to right our schools. The antiquated way of doing business here should go the way of the harpoon. It must include technology and resources for our educators and schoolchildren. I ask the Mayor, City Council and School Committee to find solutions to funding, so that staffing and discipline problems can be addressed.
Despite the issues plaguing New Bedford Public Schools, our wonderful students and athletes are attaining greatness. They will be attending Harvard, Yale, Brown, Northeastern and Boston College this year as in the past.
In the late 19th Century, New Bedford was a beacon of light in the Whaling industry. I propose that New Bedford schools can once again- “Light the World.” Help us to continue to communicate to the world the accomplishments of our bright students by doing the right thing.

Anonymous said...

It makes perfect sense in these troubled times to reduce the number of school adjustment counselors in elementary schools. Oh Yeah, not many people know about that. We all know that kids and families don't develop the bad habits until high school! Oh.. not enough funding...I think we need a new data specialist. No SRO's no SAC's....few administrators with sac....yup violence will end and manners will be learned...parents will be engaged....if we keep rigorously wishing

Anonymous said...

I would like to walk through PRAB and remove all but ten boxes of paper. Leave 4 staplers. Take away all but 2 secretaries. Leave only 1 Assistant super ...you get the picture.. and say if you work hard enough for long enough hours, you'll get it done and should achieve excellence!

Anonymous said...

I am not a teacher, just a concerned citizen... Teachers of new bedford stop buying school supplies, office supplies and other "enrichment" products... Do you see police officers buying their own guns? Do you see firemen purchasing supplies for the trucks, No WAY. My Feeling is that because teachers on a whole are mostly women they do not garner the same respect as other people in the public sector. If Teachers were mostly men things would be much much different.

Anonymous said...

Gotcha! I bet no one at PRAB has to buy their own staplers, paper, ink, and wait, how about their own PRINTERS!!! What an F'd up situation……only in urban public schools. And as long as we're told "you must get this done, and you must get that done" and they don't give us the supplies, they will keep taking advantage of people who make 30-80 thousand dollars less than they do. Very sad…….

Anonymous said...

I think the post about how easy it is to disrespect women in the field of teaching is spot on. We continue to give beyond reason. We seek approval from people unworthy of our efforts. Those females that have positions of power have betrayed us.

Anonymous said...

School adjustment counselors,don't counsel their to busy running around doing iep's And running errands and doing fund raisers for the principals....and other non counseling things

Anonymous said...

I agree with the post above.

Anonymous said...

These behavior problems-violence, disrespect, lack of motivation, failure to complete work, etc. do not START in high school. For many students that start before they attend school. I have seen many serious behavior issues with preschoolers and all the way through elementary school. The previous post was correct. SACs do not have time to counsel students in need. DCF fails to act to protect children when a teacher files a 51A. I filed for a child suffering neglect in 1st grade. When the social worker went to investigate the mother told her to get the "F" out of her house. The law says she had to leave. The case was opened, the child not removed, and several years ago I read in the paper that this boy was arrested for robbery! How sad. I tried to get him help in school and out of school but the parents' rights are more important and protected than the child's. Nothing will improve until we protect and care for children who have parents who can't or won't care for them. This was not an isolated case-it happens every day.

Anonymous said...

Problems in NBPS can be explained by the article in Sunday's S-T detailing the behaviors in New Bedford's court systems. When parents and adults do not care how they look when they appear in court, they condone the abysmal dress of their high-school aged students. When they argue with Court security officers about possessing their cell phones, they condone demands to use and charge cell phones in school by their children. The apple(s) don't fall far from the tree.

Anonymous said...

Yes, because we, as women and mothers, are born nurturers. Our students carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Only the intuitive get that. Others prey on our kindness.

Anonymous said...

Teachers, don't stop caring. The students need you.