Gov. Paul LePage drew attention with his July 25 assertion that, at universities in other parts of the country, “if you come from Maine you’re looked down upon.” LePage apparently made the claim based on his “life experience,” according to a spokeswoman.
But effective public education reform must rely on good scholarship, not life experience.
The life experience relevant to public education policymaking should be that of Maine students or recent graduates whose exploits in the global marketplace provide a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of instruction in our schools. That information can be quantified with college graduation rates and wage figures — not personal observations.
Good teachers correct students who defend theses with anecdotal evidence. Legislators, educators, parents, students and taxpayers should hold the governor to a similar standard.
As the administration releases the details of the governor’s “ ABC plan” to address what LePage calls Maine’s “stagnant” public education system, claims must be substantiated with data.
Likewise, representatives of Maine’s teachers unions and school management associations must do more than lambaste LePage’s “political agenda” if they choose to make a case against the ABC plan. The plan, details of which will be announced in the coming months, emphasizes “accountability, best practices and choice” as ways to boost student achievement.
If the answer can’t be found within ABC, then Maine’s professional educators must offer concrete initiatives. It is not helpful to repeat the need to increase state funding to 55 percent of the total cost of public education without providing examples of how to get there — and the correlation of how doing so would benefit students directly. Maine’s education system might not be as dismal as LePage claims, but it clearly needs to show more improvement.
Paul Peterson, professor of government at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance — which completed a study to which LePage referred on July 25 in trumpeting school reform — made clear the need for more progress when he told the BDN, “Maine is one of those states that hasn’t shown much gain over this period of time … There’s no reason why a high-performing state can’t move up.”
LePage has the forum to show how he proposes to improve Maine schools. But commenting about others looking down on Maine students will only distract people from the real issue at hand: how to remake the public education system into one in which Maine schools consistently show measurable improvements.
His other recent assertion that Maine might be the first state to explore charging school districts for postsecondary remedial programs is an additional example of speaking before having all the information. It would have been more instructive for him to state why legislative committees in New Hampshire, Missouri and Oregon rejected similar proposals and how it could be different in Maine.
In the future it would be more effective for the governor to build his case with fact-based arguments. After all, isn’t that what he wants teachers to impart to their students?
LePage doesn’t have the qualifications to make decisions concerning education.
No he does not and neither does Bowen. It is all just tea party rhetoric. The puppet master has them both strung up and dancing. They will be gone soon along with their careers.
“Tea Party rhetoric”. and Puppet Master, so who is the Puppet Master here in Maine? Surely not George Soros as he is busy being the Rothchild’s puppet. LOLS.
Google it. (ALEC and others)
“Tea Party rhetoric”. and Puppet Master, so who is the Puppet Master here in Maine?”
It is all outtta State money and string pulling.
Maine conservatives are looked down upon by the real 1% ers.
That is based on my personal experience, so no compromise !
….
No need to google ALEC. It is still not decided if ALEC is totally legal. From what I know of ALEC, I do not see Gov. LePage getting any scrap from ALEC. NOTHING.
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Go away. You like to antagonize and stir the pot. Go away. I will not engage in your adolescent behavior. Pffft.
Hammockbear got put on my “ignore” list a while back. Not worth my time.
Smart move…he is just so rude.
Rude in your eyes. You can shovel it but cannot take the heat.
GREAT. you made my day. the spew from you is never kind. Be proud.
LOLS. as if your time is so important.
Just like it here and will safely tell you that you are not always correct. Sorry if it hurts.
Ha! “Just like it here” think you missed “is” in that sentence. You it is.
You could use another course in English. It totally shows.
Stir the pot comes from most commenters here. You all simply supply the fuel. Keep it up.
“So far this year, 26 billionaires have donated more than $61 million to super PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that’s only what has been publicly disclosed.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/opinion/blow-wheres-the-outrage.html
And you are complaining about 1 billionaire who supports Democratic candidates.
How about the richest man in America, Warren Buffett? There are plenty more billionaires supporting Democratic candidates. How about the multimillionaires too? If I recall correctly, George Soros, one of the biggest offenders of humanity, made over 1 billion dollars in 2008 manipulating foreign currencies. Where’s the media coverage on this?
Where’s the media coverage on this?
They aren’t evil entities trying to destroy democracy!
Actually Dlbrt, you may want to google, One World Order or New World Order. That pretty much sums it up about Soros. And have you forgotten his MBNA in Camden? Came, built, hired, closed up and left many to nearly say goodbye to their homes.
I have read all those conspiracy theories and anyone who is a billionaire falls into that potential possibility, However, the Rockerfellas and the Rothschilds fit into those theories much more neatly!
Theory not. Wake up and smell the coffee. It is just as real as Dunkins has coffee.
But I thought all liberals were lazy welfare cheats who hardworking conservatives like yourself support?
How could there be so many rich liberals out there?
You thought wrong.
And the Koch Brothers made over $20 Billion from the heaviest poluting businesses in the country last year.
Why else do you thing they support the Republican’s with so much cash and “ideas”? To make sure that the people they want in office get elected so that they can start to dismantle the EPA and environmental laws.
Have the Koch Brothers told you they support Republicans in order to dismantle the EPA and environmental laws? Have the Republicans told you likewise? Have you seen a secret memo anywhere? Come on, quit the spinning. The election cycle is already too long and nasty as it is, and replete with people who are trying to create confusion for political ends. You and I know what the Republicans and businesses want: less burdensome regulations that make little or no sense.
Sorry but I do not trust the NYT. The only complaint I have is reading such rude comments in the BDN.
Who is this George Soros, for whom you are fixated is that like; The Koch brothers now have the Tea Party by the shorthairs, two of the wealthiest people on the planet manipulating the populism of the tea party for their own benefit… and the Tea Party doesn’t so much as flinch that they are being played like a fiddle all to the benefit of the 1% and the party that represents the 1%.
Soros is a billionaire.
He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and has way more money than the Koch boys ever thought of having.
Capital Rivals: Koch Brothers vs. George Soros – OpenSecrets Blog …
http://www.opensecrets.org › News & Analysis › OpenSecrets Blog21 Sep 2010 – For starters, both Soros and the brothers Koch (pronounced “coke”) are incredibly rich. No. 24 on Forbes top billionaires list with a personal fortunes of $17.5 billion
each.
Soros is No. 35 on the list with a net worth of $14 billion.
Proof, once again, that you conservative Neo- Know Nothings know nothing.
Next lie.
Don’t forget Karl Rove whom the Republicans signed a pledge to and are afraid to go against it.
Also Adeson who is being investigated for money laundering. Just donated millions to Romney
It’s actually Grover Norquist who had them all sign the pledge, but Rove is a piece of work as well. The further we can get these men from government the better off we all are.
Sorrry got the names mixed up they both just as bad.
I think you mean Grover Norquist pledge. All but a small handfull of Republicans in Washington have signed his pledge to never raise taxes no matter what the reason.
I don’t think Soros does much for culture and the arts like the Koch brothers do. The good they do easily outweighs the stuff you don’t like…is it you don’t like it, or that they are so damn successful at it and you’re not?
The Koch brothers would be better served to help mend Europe rather than stick their noses over here and create misgivings. You are German, help your own people.
Koch Bros. are old news as is George Soros. You seem threatened by the mere words, Tea Party. The comments in the BDN articles reflect negativity to the Tea Party and many say it is merely due to lack of knowledge of the Tea Party.
Perhaps this is pure and simple jealousy. Some have money and others have less. So penalize the wealthy with a hefty tax. What a stupid outlook the libs have.
MHPC plus ALEC et al. and other carpetbaggers from out of state.
Who are the carpetbaggers from out of state?
The Rothchilds? How about the Medicis? Maybe the Carolingians?
You forgot to add the “KOCH BROTHERS” in your screed.
And the Illuminati…he needs to stay on message.
Actually the Koch brothers do heavily fund the Tea Party. Just type “Tea Party Koch Brothers” into a google search. For instance:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/Peter-Fenn/2011/02/02/tea-party-funding-koch-brothers-emerge-from-anonymity
Thank you for bringing up this important point, about how the rich interfere with democracy.
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They [Koch brothers] and their father had
amassed an incredible fortune, mainly in the oil business. Their
privately held company revenues last year were estimated at $100
billion. Each brother is worth $21.5 billion. That is a very big “B” in
both cases.
For many years, they have been involved in politics but not terribly
open or transparent about it. It is true that David Koch ran as vice
president on the 1980 Libertarian ticket, to the right of Ronald
Reagan. According to New York Times columnist Frank Rich,
“his campaign called for the abolition not just of Social Security,
federal regulatory agencies and welfare but also of the FBI, the CIA,
and public schools.” Since the Libertarian party’s 1 percent showing in
1980, David Koch has very much been behind the scenes, until now.
The NYTIMES has a columnist named ‘Frank Rich’?….how RICH is that?
Still voting the way Cutler and Sussman want you to?
How sad that you have to spew such negativity. Perhaps you can do the job better. Give it a try. You can do it.
So then what are Your qualifications to make the decisions concerning education in Maine? Do tell.
And yours?
I have many.
If you do not know or how to figure that out we can’t help you hammockbeer.
So you have no qualifications to make decisions concerning education in Maine. It was rather obvious.
Well, actually I do hammockbeer. I have been involved in education for many years and know it well. Your govnah has no clue.
Everything the governor says is true. The education system is in the toilet in Maine. just look at the SAT scores after years of the Maine Department of Education working only to satisfy the needs of the teachers unions, instead of our kids education. Too many of our students are little prepared to go on to the college level after leaving our public school system. Not to mention a large majority of the teachers retiring and returning to work and double dipping the system taking jobs away from our young teachers who in the end search for employment in a State that takes their kids education seriously.
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Has anyone ever looked at his College records? He said he graduated from Orono with a masters in bussiness ? He certanly does not have the skills for public administration.
And John Baldacci and Angus King Do???
….
Last time I checked ‘making unfounded statements’ were simply called LIES.
They aren’t lies unless the one spouting them knows that they are false!
Thats why the right,— surrounds itself with brain dead candidates!
They actually Believe what they are told to say!!
It’s the only way that they can get away with it!
“Maine’s education system might not be as dismal as LePage claims, but it clearly needs to show more improvement”
Another unfounded statement. What did you base this opinion on, the Harvard growth study? It’s hard to improve when you are already close to the top.
I posted the data and facts from the 2011 SAT’s, so I guess you want the education fairy to come down and tell you you’re smarter than the rest of the U.S.?
Well Genius, we are the only state in the entire country where EVERY student takes the SAT’s. In EVERY other state, only kids interested in applying to college take the SAT’s. Nice work brahh.
So let’s say for a minute that your specious analysis of the data indicates a crumbling education system. Why, pray tell, doesn’t your esteemed governor argue those figures instead of making stuff up? Wouldn’t that be both more intelligent and believable? Or are those traits lacking in your governor?
From the College Board web site
• Not all students in a high school, school district,
or state take the SAT. Since the population of test-takers
is self-selected, using aggregate SAT scores to compare
or evaluate teachers, schools, districts, states, or other
educational units is not valid, and the College Board
strongly discourages such uses.
As pointed out by Jake below and confirmed by the college board themselves above comparing states by SAT scores is simply non informative. Its like comparing the size of a group of rubber bands that are stretched to different lengths and then claiming you can make conclusions on which rubber band is larger. Simply not valid. The only worse way to try to measure success is by just making stuff up. Oh yeah that’s what started this discussion.
Yes, we want continued improvement. Nobody can argue the fact. But, when we are in the top 15% of the United States, to degrade that is irresponsible and degrading to the children who worked hard to set that stage. We always want to instill improvement. But, Lepage has hidden motives and agenda. We are not that ignorant.
So what are Gov. LePage’s “hidden motives and agenda”? And pray tell, what are you not ignorant about? Do tell.
Great editorial. He needs to get the data and facts straight first if he wants the people of Maine to support his proposed change. What he has created is a level of distrust to support his initiatives.
The data from the College Boards amply supports LePage; as does supplemental data on remediation of Maine high school graduates by UMS and the low national rankings of USM and UMO.
Data on the latter?
Facts and demorhoids do not mix.This is just why they are mostly on the BDN not in augusta.
Show us. Colleges and public education do not communicate that is the biggest problem. There is remediation as there always will be because of the impoverished parts of our state who are not given what they need to help these kids. Then you blame the whole lot? No sense in it.
What about the high rankings of UMF, UMFK, MMA, and such.
The data from the college boards are misleading because they were not meant to measure achievement. The college boards national people were really PO’d that Maine did this.
that is true of those misusing the SAT data but not of the reports put out directly by college board which as cited above show a dramatic improvement in the college level exam performance by Maine students from 2001 to 2011.
You must mean data from the college board like this report. http://apreport.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/downloads/pdfs/AP_Main_Report_Final.pdf
Which shows that from 2001 to 2011 the % of Maine students taking and passing AP exams virtually doubled. In fact during the past decade Maine was one of the top five states in growth of students taking and passing AP tests at a level to qualify for college credit. That must be part of the decline in education that you and the governor are talking about. Mmmm right.
I believe you are mistaken. College boards data does not support LePage. How are you skewing your research? Unless you are using outdated data and cross-referencing in a very creative way you are wrong. Why are you putting out fiction? Are you a paid tea party shill?
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
I already look down on LePage and it is not the fact he is from Maine, but his lack of qualifications that somehow got him to run this state.
Maine’s educational status, once ranked among the best in the country has slipped a bit over the last several years due to a shift toward using the SAT’s as a measure of school and student success. This was not the natural progression of the successful iniatives of her predecessor, but rather an abrupt deviation from the course that had been set. The previous administration did not help education with its rather radical consolidation demands. These do not seem to have had the desired effect to any estimable degree. Bowen’s ineptitude and questionable credentials for his office has done nothing but try to push the radical Tea Party agenda item of privatizing the business of education. LePage’s ABC plan continues to try to push public education back into the early part of the last century. He, also, has no credentials to be making educational reform suggestions. One’s life experience, particularly his, should not be the basis for public policy. Education is too important an issue to be used as a political football.
Well said. SATs were developed to measure aptitude for college, not for measuring achievement.
Democrats successfully argued otherwise; go whine to Baldacci, Gendron and Mike Brennan.
Many, many Democrats in education did. Baldacci and company did it as a cost saving measure, regardless of the quality of the outcome.
You Republicans should be able to appreciate that.
Your right gardener, It was a bad idea under democrats and its still a bad idea under republicans. Misrepresenting the facts is a bad idea regardless of party. If you have a time machine that we can use to go back and change the past lets go. If not we need to focus on what we can do going forward.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Maine is looked down upon because 38% of voters put that fool in office!
Small town Maine elected our illustrious Governor. I believe-and my number may be wrong- that he didn’t carry any town with over 750 residents-the very people that are probably on the worst end of some of his reforms. I’m sure they won’t make the same mistake again.
It won’t happen again rest assured. He is not about Maine as he is about trying to be on a national level. He does not care about you or me.
As the movie lines states”You had me at Hell0″-the governor had me at financial reform. Howver he’s lost many Republicans like me with his mouth and lack of civility.
Yeah, they would do it again. All Governor LePage has to do to win is campaign against welfare somehow. After the Civil War, politicians “waved the bloody shirt” to get support. Getting those welfare “bums” is the modern equivalent.
People want to help the elderly and disabled. Rather than target the weak, why isn’t he targeting the over sized govt. organization he supervises? He has criticized it and never done much.
But…But….Baldacci and Obama and the BDN is bias and blah blah blah!
Proof?
???, Proof for my sarcasm?
lapuke at it again he needs to go cant wait till he is no longer the guvnha
People like LePage don’t like to have facts (data) unless they can manipulate them to get their way. It’s what happens when you are stupid enough to elect idealogues instead of politicians who are able to work with others.
hey lapuke please do the state a huge favor and quit harry potter would make a better govnha than you
LePage doesn’t like to cloud his agenda with facts.
Figures don’t lie, liars figure. Lepage.
When was the last time any politician made expensive sweeping experimental changes in education and it all worked out great? NEVER. If we want to see gains in education we don’t need to privatize it, we simply need to do a better job parenting. Our society is backpedaling not our schools. Give people jobs and give their children reason to hope to someday do better than their parents (Job, home, and quality of life) and we’ll start seeing improvement. Ramming privatization down the public’s throat will not resolve the problem. However, it will make folks in positions to sell us something able to pocket a heck of a lot of our tax dollars as profits. When profits are the ultimate goal, people always suffer. Take a look at how we treat our elderly in for profit corporate nursing homes. I’d just about want to go to one of those as I’d like to attend one of Mr. LePage’s friend’s private schools. Anyone else think that Paul’s “Initiative” here might boil down to something so simple as a money grab for public taxpayers dollars?
Why do we keep messing with what works? We keep throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We are the greatest nation on the earth. Although, many are struggling now, no one can deny us that fact. What country has won the most Pulitzer Prizes? Us. Because we allow for free thought. The Chinese cannot figure it out, their kids have great academic scores yet they do not know how to think creatively. Now, I would say we are doing pretty darn good and proud as an American to say so. Keep messing with what we need to be better and destroy the good we have done. If people like Lepage want to continue to degrade our education in America, then we do not need you here for continued badgering. Our country was built an a higher moral ground and will continue.
That’s such an elegant way of saying, “He should stop lying.”
Then again, he’s a politician. If he stops lying, he’ll have to stop talking.
Not that that’s a problem, mind you…
Data has never backed up LePage’s assertions.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Excellent editorial, down the middle of the fairway. Calls on both sides to provide good proposals.
The Maine. Teachers. Union will never allow this to Improve….
Wha’ happened,frank…fall asleep at the.key.boa……?
EW, no!!! Facts are tools of the liberal elite! Must avoid at all costs.
Is Bowen’s head ready to fall off??
Look at him in the picture above. He had to go to the press release and stand by and watch Lepage rage. Lepage overstepped his boundaries because that is Bowen’ s job for the press release regarding education , Lepage and Bowen didn’t agree. So, Lepage took it over and left Bowen in the sidelines looking like sad sack. Bowen just go get another job, you don’t need his abuse and he is ruining your reputation.
How do you know all that you say is true? Please tell………………..
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Facts? Don’t confuse him with facts, remember he has life’s lessons to draw his lopsided conclusions from.
Ya, he will screw anybody over to move ahead. He doesn’t care about you.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Another superb editorial from the BDN’s new editorial page editor. She is a gem: insightful, eloquent, persuasive, and willing to deal with controversial issues in a fair-minded manner. We are most fortunate to have such a talented editorial page editor.
Empty suits don’t make assertions based on data. His type is a dime a dozen and he was easily pegged from the very beginning: all bluff and threats and no brains.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
well i just read down thru all the comments on this weeks blunders from the governah’s mouth,seems to me we just have to ride this one out too. Its like the school consalidations from the last big savors we had in the governors office,reminds minds me of no child left behind too. Facts are some of maines students dont make the grade and some never will thru no ones fault,like the for mentions examples in time we get what the public wants,oh ya would not be fair or correct to mention gay marriage as an example of getting what you want in time.
He does not only the data – he needs to tell the facts / truth and not insert unfounded statements to back up his claim.
I forget who said it, but “tell the truth, it’s the easiest to remember”.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, were
unemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, but
were not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in the
labor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Demagogues of any stripe aren’t likely to start basing assertions on empirical data anytime soon, and I’m not sure that the public cares much. If most people took a fact-based approach to voting, I doubt any of the candidates in any election in recent history would have even made it past the primaries.
Actually there were some very disturbing statistics in the Harvard study. Lack of improvement in 4th grade reading scores is the most telling. We need to address the lack of ability of children to read based on the kind of instruction they have been receiving for twenty years in many districts across Maine and the nation. The emphasis in many places has been on whole language instruction to the exclusion of other strategies. The fact that 25 percent of four year college students in Maine need remediation and fifty percent of two year students need remediation are very disturbing statistics. The fact that this remediation in college nationally is largely ineffective and the majority of those students drop out with hefty bills to pay for both tuition and remediation is not a pretty picture. I agree with the editor that we need to focus on what is really happening and rectify it.
I agree with you that the lack of improvement in reading is disturbing and while Maine students do reasonably well they are not world class which is where we want to be. You are also right that we have very clear research that shows which reading instruction approaches work and which do not.
The issue of the high level of remediation classes in college is another matter. First step to solve that would be for the colleges to not admit students not ready for college. Why would 16 year olds put their nose to the books and study if they know that colleges will accept them even if they blow off the end of high school with a senior coast year. Lets put in effective reading instruction for young kids and restore personal responsibility for older kids.
Finally, an intelligent post on this subject.
Finally, an intelligent post on this subject.
if mr lepage did start sitting in Maine classrooms and getting his personal feel for what was happening, i would suggest doubling up on the gym class and work that goozle off. jus sayin.
LeBUFFOON isn’t interested in “fact based arguments.” He is interested in his TeaRadical/ALEC/Koch Brothers agenda and little else. As to “continued improvement,” sure, schools should always strive to do better. But expectations must also be reasonable and in the realm of reality. Schools can only teach the students they receive. Parents have to do their part. And the students themselves have to do their part. If education is not valued and not supported in the home, and parents don’t care about education and don’t set standards for their kids, then schools can only do so much. Schools can’t take the place of the family unit. Also, there are always going to be ceilings. Pipe dreams about every single student achieving full proficiency are just that, pipe dreams. If the kid isn’t working and the parents don’t care, then, again, schools can only do so much in those instances. There is only so much “improvement” anyone can achieve in any area. Nothing in this world is perfect and can’t be expected to be. We need to get back into reality on this issue.
In 2010, approximately 80% of Maine teens who had not completed high school, wereunemployed or not in the labor force. Of the teens who had completed high school, butwere not enrolled in higher education, an estimated 47% were unemployed or not in thelabor force. There are your facts….dice ’em anyway that makes you happy…but when you are done dicing..someones gotta do something….We are so sorry its Gov. LePages turn to do something, but after 20 years of building this experiment, its time to tear it down, and you don’t like it.
Two kids, Maine public schools, Bates, Boston College, Vanderbilt Law, Northwestern Law, if they hadn’t been looked down upon theres no telling what they could have accomplished. Wake up Govenor we all don’t share your inferiority complex.
In the future, it would be more effective if he just didn’t speak!. On the other hand, if we could get him ponied up alongside Romney on the campaign trail, The Republicans might very well just pack up and leave altogether!
Let’s face it there is need for change in education and yes some things said are better left unsaid. But the bottom line is we need to move forward and educate our students the best way we can. With that comes change. People are resistent to change and criticism but do the Maine thing and pick your chin up and become part of the solution.