However, one thing I am certain of. If Nancy Lawson could turn the clock back, I am 10000% sure she would have handled matters differently. In a lucid moment, she would just have to say to herself. “Life is too short for all this nonsense. It isn’t worth it”. It would be sheer insanity for anyone to expose themselves (and the school community and the administrators and Ms McGee) to such an immense amount of stress over an issue that could have been handled in a muuuuuuuuuuuuch muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch smarter way. But then again, principals are not necessarily renowned for behaving with political nouse or thinking complex issues through carefully enough to avoid such a catastrophic outcome. And administrators are not such a cluey bunch either to allow this issue to became totally unmanageable.

I am not surprised that a teacher with 28 years experience would lash out and coopt the media if they felt that they were in a no-win situation (ie potential loss of superannuation and livelihood) and facing dismissal. Why push someone to the brink, allowing no wiggle room, and then react with indignation when they put up one helluva fight? Not so smart, methinks.

Had Nancy (or the board) been savvy or reflective enough to explore the ramifications and feel the matter out more carefully before initiating action, I am 20000% certain that this fiasco could have been prevented…(unless they were masochists or got a high on self-flagellation).

In the end, there will be a lot of aggrieved and scarred combatants in this sorry drama. And for what lasting benefit?

I do, however, feel sorry for all this focus on the school and principal. Especially, the media effect on the students. I also understand the need to fight back if this teacher was wrongfully accused. The district did sound a bit like a bully. I wish they had gone to court, so we could actually see what happened. I only hope that things have quieted down in Frisco.

I understand the numbers that you cite, and agree that there are a variety of sources that arrive at different conclusions by looking at numbers in different ways.

You had mentioned earlier that your assertation that Texas was “47th or 50th” in the nation in terms of quality of education was based on information on Governor Perry’s website. I was unable to find anything on his website supporting that, and in your response to my confusion you pointed to data from the NEA saying Texas ranks “34th or 35th” in terms of per pupil spending. I’d respond to that remark in two ways. First of all, I’m not clear on how being “34th or 35th” in the nation for per pupil spending makes the quality of the education in Texas overall be “47th or 50th”, as you earlier asserted. Second, I think that you’ll find that even the NEA and Governor Perry interpret the NEA data in different ways. I see from a speech that Governor Perry gave regarding education, posted on his website, the following comment: “According to the National Education Association, Texas public schools receive $10,400 for every student they educate. That’s not a figure you hear often, but it is the only one that actually reflects how much our schools receive per child. And when you adjust the NEA data for cost of living, Texas is 12th in the nation in terms of the total dollars made available to our schools per student.” (The full text of this speech is at http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/speeches/speech_012904). This data suggests that even that “34th or 35th” place accusation might be questionable.

Please understand that I’m not trying to say that there is an absolute measure of how schools rank. As I stated earlier, there ARE a lot of ways of measuring the quality of education, and if you look at different surveys and methodologies, you are going to see different results. What I AM trying to say is that I think that it is not accurate to make the assertion, as you did, that the educational system in Texas ranks “47th or 50th”. I believe that it absolutely is possible to obtain a quality education in Texas. Are there bad schools in Texas? Of course! Are there good schools in Texas? Absolutely! Is this true in every other state as well? Yes. All of the data sources I’m able to locate (sources that rely on actual quantifiable studies, rather than opinion pieces relying only on myth and stereotype) seem to indicate that Texas is definitely NOT ranked, by any measure, among the worse states for its public education system. Most surveys also seem to indicate that the quality of education in Texas is improving, not getting worse.

If any of you are interested in having a discussion outside of this forum (perhaps even meeting locally sometime, if that seemed to make sense), please email me at frisco_parent@hotmail.com.

To those of you who remain convinced that my failure to take an absolute stand on this issue (either for or against Ms. McGee) is a sign of my moral and mental inferiority–I remain perfecly happy to continue our discussions, in a civil fashion, here on this board, but I reserve the right to not respond personally if you send emails to the hotmail address. No offense is intended–that just isn’t what I wanted to use that address for….

The Governor’s Office has a pdf file that claims Texas ranks way high up in total spending on schools. Well it ought to rank high up as the second most populous state. Question is, how does Texas rank in terms of spending per pupil? Here the Governor’s preferred source (the NEA) ranks Texas 34th or 35th.

Here’s the Governor’s PDF

Here’s the NEA (see page 57)

And here are the latest census numbers (Released June 30, 2005)

Also worth mentioning, since 2000 Texas is the second fastest growing state in terms of raw numbers (1.6 million), fourth in terms of percentage (7.9).

I guess there are different ways to manipulate numbers.