Comment Archives: stories: News & Opinion: News Blog
Re: “RCSD: Longer days for an out-of-school culture?”
This news article is really weird. The author asked a very important question (via the article's Headline), but then he apparently forgot to write the correct story, that is, the content of the story does not correlate with the headline (AT ALL). It is very important to ask about logic regarding the so-called "extended-day," which Vargas has been touting as part of the "solution" for addressing very old, widespread, massive, academic failure within the RCSD, i.e., the idea of (according to Vargas) creating additional opportunities for students to have more "time-on-task," which really is an amazingly flawed idea and strategy, especially when considering that, under current school-day--schedules, hundreds upon hundreds of teachers are chronically absent. If, as Teachers' Union President Adam Urbanski was quoted as having said: "Everything being piled on teachers right now has created such an atmosphere of stress and anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed, that some teachers need the time off just to regroup" --- then what exactly does Vargas expect will happen when the school-day is extended? Also, considering that (under existing time schedules) thousand upon thousands of students, many of whom are among the most needy relative to additional time-on-task, are currently missing huge amounts of school, what exactly does Vargas believe will happen under a longer school day? It is time for [Vargas] to go back to the drawing board, either that, or it is completely predictable, and certain that lots of money and time will be spent on a fundamentally flawed idea, which cannot possibly result in significant academic improvement. Another thing, which is very weird about the article, and others by the particular author, is that he continuously quotes suburban parents, such as "Carrie Remis," and I keep asking who do these, much-quoted, white, upper-middle class, suburbanite, parents represent?
Re: “Clash between Legislature Dems, GOP continues”
Talk about the gang that can't shoot straight. The Democrats criticized the Republicans for dumping their previous leader, Daniele, b/c he supported them on ONE issue. As if the Republicans care what the Democrats think about internal party issues. THIS is their idea of strategy? Doesn't matter who leads the Dems in the Legislature, they still end up over a cliff.
Re: “Confirmed: Spider-Man crew member beaten, robbed while in Rochester”
we need superman, wonder woman and batman to come here and kick his butt
Re: “Confirmed: Spider-Man crew member beaten, robbed while in Rochester”
Where was Superman when we needed him most?!
Re: “Clash between Legislature Dems, GOP continues”
I honestly think that if City objectively (hopefully) looks at the track of these issues, it makes a different point. Ms. Andrews, as minority leader, proposed a law to ban guns from the county office building. That would make sense if she checked ...she would have found out that there was already a law on the books to do that! Before that, she stood up to criticize Republicans for adding a "snow tax"...something done by the city years before. Now she is upet about a pro rata cut in minority member funding...good lady...bad understanding of the issues!
Once more, Morelle puts her out there to ensure that she will never be meaningful in Monroe County. Carrie, you are a great future leader...but, bad at understanding when you are being used!
Re: “How do parents feel about the Rochester school district?”
As a teacher in the district for over a decade, I can tell you that one of the major complaints of teachers and administrators is that parents aren't more involved.
I can also say that some parents believe that advocating for their child means denying any wrongdoing on their child's part... it's always someone else's fault. Also, even when teachers do keep parents in the loop and make frequent phone calls, the students most in need of behavioral modification are not effectively addressed by those parents a vast majority of the time. Any parents who are called more than 2 times a marking period, by the 3rd marking period are pretty much getting those calls so they can't tell the school the teacher didn't let them know.
As opposed to putting out a survey (that Howard Eagle is likely correct in his belief that the impact will be minimal), how about putting the effort into developing a class for parents that will help teach parents how to become effective advocates, and how best to become involved in their child's education. Too many parents do not know how to access the "system" in a meaningful and effective way. I'm sure the district has held these classes before, but they need to hold them regularly, often,. in a variety of places. Many of our least effective parents have not had positive experiences with school, so holding these classes at a school effectively shuts them out. Hold them at community centers and libraries, restaurants and other places around at a variety of times so parents can participate without having to take time off work. If we do this, a survey won't be necessary... we will have done enough to get parents involved. It will then be their responsibility.
Re: “CityGate plans include a Costco”
I guess this is a good thing, with the jobs it will bring. Satellite transit center? Nobody takes public transit around here unless they're poor and without a car. All I can think of when I see the map is, man, look at all the parking lots. Rochester is just a suburb of Marketplace Mallville.
Re: “How do parents feel about the Rochester school district?”
"How the survey will be used is vague."
OF COURSE IT'S "VAGUE." SUCH MEANINGLESS EFFORTS ARE ALWAYS VAGUE, TO TELL THE TRUTH, THIS REPRESENTS A MUCH-REPEATED EXERCISE IN FUTILITY, AND NEVER, EVER AMOUNTS TO ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE. IT'S A GAME THAT DISTRICT OFFICIALS PLAY, TO PRETEND THAT THEY CARE ABOUT WHAT PARENTS THINK AND WANT, WHICH IS ONE REASON WHY THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PARENTS ARE WISE ENOUGH NOT TO EVEN WASTE THEIR TIME PARTICIPATING.
LET'S DO OUR OWN SURVEY, I.E., PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING OR NOT: HUGE NUMBERS OF "parents have complained bitterly over the years that their attempts to become involved are thwarted by school officials or teachers. The district’s interest in parental involvement has been a passive-aggressive game, they say — honest feedback isn’t welcomed."
Re: “Citizen budget ideas include closing Durand beach, cutting Mounted Patrol”
The City needs innovation and to recreate itself. It needs to work with the county to make downtown a hub for buisness and culture! Housing stock needs to be revamped. Houses need to be torn down but not to be replaced with cookie cutter hud homes... there needs to be architecture involved to define neighborhoods. You need to spend money inorder to make money! Investments need to be made aswell as commitments. Rochester needs to attract buisness and also ensure it can retain the buisness we have allready! Midtown was innovation that Rochester allowed to die! The Canal thru downtown was innovation that Rochester allowed to die! instead of looking ahead Rochester wallows in the muck and there is no hope or prosparity to be seen! We had big things come here once from Elvis to Metallica and such but now we are passed up! We depended too much on Kodak and Xerox and Baush and Lomb that we passed on up and comming companies! So we don't need to just make the Budget we need to overfill the Budget with Money so that we can rebuild Rochester!!! We need street meat downtown be it vendor cart or food truck... we need name brand stores and resturants... we need buisness's... we need diversity so that downtown becomes a work, eat, shop, be entertained, and live here epicenter... were it is 24/7 activity for all those who work from the people who work shift work to the lawyer who is up late reviewing a case and wants to unwind once he leaves his office... a down town where you can walk, skate, bike, and stop and see local art... stop and see people! then build around downtown neighborhoods that have a pulse that represent the best in urban living that is convienance to walking distance to things. Wegmans is great but it has killed the mom and pop markets in the villages in the burbs and Rochester has also suffered from the lack of diversity wegmans has created due to it's convienance! Yes East Ave Wegmans yippi but what of the west side? Innovation to create Jobs... innovation to create security... innovation to bring Rochester to be known to be innovative!
Re: “Week Ahead: MCDC convention, Bike Week continues”
FYI...there will be people at the County Leg meeting speaking out about the Monroe Community Hospital. Anyone else who would like to speak needs to call 753-1950 to sign up. The meeting starts at 6pm.
Re: “A new CO2 record”
Tom Janowski:
If we can't use oil, or coal, or natural gas, what do you suggest we use for energy, cow flatulence? By the way, that was quite a clumsy attempt at a completely irrelevant and gratuitous criticism of Ronald Reagan.
Re: “A new CO2 record”
What will I do now? I will shine a harsh spotlight on the staggering hypocrisy of the moonbats and ideologues who whine about CO2 but at the same time delay the inevitable exploitation of our abundant natural gas resources.
This planet is a trivial dust speck whose only significance is as humankind's point of departure into the cosmos. As a concession to the weepy sentimentalists, perhaps we can turn it into nice little museum when we're done with it.
Re: “Beebe will challenge Reilich for Greece supervisor job”
Beebe is a good and honest man. Unfortunately he is a Democrat, which in Greece is code for electoral target practice by the Grand Old Party. There hasn't been a Democratic supervisor in Greece since the Great Depression and there hasn't been a Democrat on the town board in decades. Good luck!
Re: “A new CO2 record”
People, whether they are elected officials or regular citizens, are remembered for both what they do and what they do not do.
When I remember President Ronald Reagan, only one thing comes to mind. When faced with the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis, he did absolutely nothing.
Just recently, the world was presented with information that the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere had reached a distressing milestone of 400 parts per million. The question I have is this: What will YOU do now?
Honestly, I contemplate environmental issues every single day and ask myself what more I can do to help. And honestly, there is not much more I can personally do. My carbon footprint is small. I have been on a self-imposed gasoline limit of 5 gallons per week for over two years.
But there are bigger questions looming right now that must take into consideration the 400 ppm milestone. In light of this milestone, considering development of new fossil fuel resources is nothing short of insane. President Obama needs to stop Keystone XL and Governor Cuomo needs to ban fracking in NY. Elected officials in general need to stop lying. There is not such thing as clean coal. Natural gas via hydrofracking or other means is not a bridge fuel to the future. Natural gas is a detour around efforts to develop and convert to renewable, sustainable and truly clean energy sources. Natural gas is also a U-turn to old thinking. Gas companies and their spokespeople in elected office repeatedly tell us we are sitting on huge reserves of cheap natural gas and this in turn leads back to thinking Americans have energy to waste.
400 ppm is serious. Elected officials and citizens must take decisive action now and demand even more action be taken by all around the world. How we respond to the news of 400 ppm will decide what type of future Earth will have...or whether we have a future.
Re: “A new CO2 record”
This evening Bill McKibben, founder of climate-change activist group 350.org, spoke at the commencement of UB's College of Architecture and Planning. He told us that he got word that the 400 level was exceeded this afternoon. Needless to say, we were all deeply disturbed by that, but also very moved by his inspiring speech. These students will never forget what they heard today, and I know that all of them will be very cognizant of the implications of their work on the planet.
Re: “Possible delay in controversial University Ave. apartment application”
I'm waiting for someone to tell us why we should trust the Eastman House gang given the way they stiffed the Monroe Voiture vets the last time.
Re: “Wages only part of 'frackonomics' picture”
Oh, okay. The point is that it's a big economic boost in regions that need it, and the only reasons to procrastinate any longer are superstition, hysteria, and mindless ideology.
Re: “School board and Vargas have last-minute budget fight”
The situation that happened at last night's meeting is why I call for a budget that outlines EVERY DOLLAR SPENT BY RCSD. I call for a community effort that will help develop and manager the districts budget. It's not enough for the Board members to question it now (especially in the heat of a democratic endorsement process). These questions should have been raised and reviewed all along with the help of a Community Budget Review Committee; a year-round effort by Board, community members and RCSD staff to find the best programs and best budget possible to give our children the best chance at a quality education in Rochester.
It's implausible that data is not available- it is there but you have not looked at it or recorded it because the Board has never before pressed for you to actually account for the money that is spent. "Small" contracts (under $35K) that are unregulated, and go unaccounted for, yet continue to take dollars away from the classrooms are unnecessary. How can we continue to allow money to be spent money without Board approval, yet there are cuts to programs that are deemed important like summer reading. (Center for Youth budget was slashed over $750K in the proposed budget- yet will still work without the district's support to help prevent "summer slide".)
Our Board members talk about not having "three to four years to turn the corner"... we have given you over 12 years Ms. Powell, and suddenly you're unsatisfied now?! I don't have one more MINUTE to see another dollar wasted on failing students, and failing programs.
Re: “RCSD: Longer days for an out-of-school culture?”
The same logic that has been in place (and failing miserably) for decades. If a child fails Math, give him two Math classes at the same time, If he fails these, make him go to summer school and then assign him two additional classes. None of which addresses the root problems, and results in the inability to take classes that might better suit the child's abilities and interests, such as Art, Technology and other "elective" courses. I can't tell you how many times I have been called to the office to explain my "poor attendance keeping records" because I was showing 100% or at least regular attendance for a child that was showing in school records as absent from school or missing classes. Only to walk the administrator to class and point out the student happily present and learning. The students would simply skip the classes they were failing and attend the classes they were successful and happy in. At the same time I would constantly hear from Math and English teachers that a student couldn't do basic math or write a coherent sentence, only to show the same student using applied algebraic skills to solve a hands-on technical problem and write the required lab write up. There are solutions, and there are failed practices. Extending a school day to address the issue of truancy is ridiculous. They already, by their absence, have told you what they think about attending school at all, never mind for a longer day!