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Alfred Thompson
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Alfred commented on the article |
Gates did graduate high school. He attended Harvard for I think two years before dropping out - technically taking a leave of absence. That is where he met Steve Ballmer who did graduate Harvard. The two of them gave the university a building and had it named after their mothers. Ballmer later dropped out of Stanford's MBA program.
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Alfred commented on the article |
Yes he could have spent all his time on one topic. And perhaps he should have. But I disagree with you that he didn't say much about malaria. Given that malaria still kills more people than AIDS does I think it is a problem worth taking on.
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Alfred commented on the article |
Test results are but one visible measure of the results a good teacher gets. I think that Bill's comments about the way he observes good teachers engaging students is another indicator. What I would like to to clarify is if you agree that students of good teachers actually do get better test scores than students of bad teachers. I am not asking you to say that test scores are enough or even a good measure of teacher quality.
Honestly I don't think for a second that Bill even remotely believes that letting those mosquitoes even remotely allows one to experience the lives of extreme poverty. That seems a stretch to me.
No I didn't say where I worked though I didn't hid it and was invited to the conversation my someone who knew where I work. Bill and I work for the same company. Big deal. He and I don't talk about these things. His foundation is not related to the company I work for in the slightest. So I have no idea what "money" you might be talking about. Now surely there are people who are influenced by money. You may even be one of them. You didn't say if you belong to a union that stands to lose if students have more options. Or what sort of school you work for. Or anything else that would let us in on your biases or financial pressures. But I assume your opinions are your own honest personal opinions and I would appreciate the same courtesy.
I assure you that I speak only for myself based on years as a classroom teacher, school board member, budget committee member and husband and father of current public school teachers. Those are the places my opinions about education come from - not from Bill Gates or anyone else who works at the same company I do. -
Alfred commented on the article |
So what did I miss in the talk that suggested closing the public schools? Or getting rid of good teachers?
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Alfred commented on the article |
He had 10 minutes! How much can you get in with a talk that short? How would you answer my questions to Pat BTW?
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Alfred commented on the article |
I don't know Clay. It seems like you are trying a lot harder to tie Bill Gates to the Nazis than Bill is trying to tie teachers to mosquitoes or disease. You're seeing things that I doubt were ever intended. The mosquitoes were let loose about 2/3 of the way through the first part BTW. Hardly just before talking about teachers. Are you sure you are not reacting more to the speaker than what he is saying?
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Alfred commented on the article |
So Pat, Bill says that bad teachers are a problem and good to great teachers are the solution. So if you are saying that Bill is saying you are the problem how do I read your reply without concluding that you are claiming to be a bad teacher? And BTW do you think that bad teachers are NOT a problem? Or that they don't exist? Or something else?
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Alfred commented on the article |
I don't think Bill was trying to define teachers just on the basis of raising test scores. Though I do think he believes that a student who has a great teacher will do better on tests than the same student with a poor teacher. You apparently think that the quality of teaching doesn't matter. If that's not what you meant people clarify - I'd appreciate it.
And why do you think Bill Gates is "not a healthy man?" That seems a bit of an attack that adds nothing to the discourse. -
Alfred commented on the article |
Yes you are off base. You are so far offbase that it is downright bizarre. I see what Bill did as to use his time to give two different talks on two different issues. I don't see anything there as implying that teachers are some sort of sickness or even that they are bad. Rather I see him being critical of a system that does nothing to encourage good teachers or to improve or get rid of poor teachers.
Does experience matter? Sure. But there is a difference between 25 years of experience and having that same experience 25 times. We are all too often looking at and rewarding the wrong things. That leads to bad teachers staying and some of the better ones getting frustrated and leaving. You seem to think that is a good thing - or at least not a problem big enough to complain about - but others see it differently. -
Alfred commented on the article |
If you don't think Gates has the best interests of kids at heart why do you think he is spending his money this way?
I'm sure Gates has a good idea of why those schools on the Island do as well as the KIPP schools do but making all of the parents of inner city school children rich and educated is not something he can solve.
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