In an article published on the Tentacle this morning, Cindy Rose has announced that she will be running for the Frederick County Board of Education.
I have to say goodbye to my TheTentacle.com readers until April, or if successful, November 2016. I have decided to run for the Frederick County Board of Education. It had been my intention to watch from the sidelines and share my opinions on the candidates and issues, as I saw them.
I believe the three current members of the school board who are up for re-election this year, though good people, should not be re-elected. They have a proven track record of not fighting for parents, students, education and local control. I believe the known candidates all, but maybe one, will continue to do little to stop the outside interference in local matters.
Cindy Rose has been heavily involved with education issues for many years, with a new zeal ever since Frederick County Public Schools decided to treat her son Ben like a lab rat in a maze and ignore her parental rights. “Wow, that’s shocking, what do you mean?” Asks the reader….
Ben Rose is developmentally disabled. There’s no real nice way to put it. As I have heard Cindy describe it, Ben has the mental capacity of an 18-month old, but resides in the body of a 10 year old. This also means that Ben cannot speak. Which, despite the inability to speak and the development disability, Frederick County Public Schools still forces Ben to take the countless standardized tests that we force upon our children. “Wow, that’s shocking, how does that work?” Asks the reader…
According to Ms. Rose, this is how Ben is tested:
Ben is presented with a question. Two possible answers are put in front of him. His hand is painted with yellow paint and he’s coaxed to the answer. As soon as his hand is close enough to the paper (which can be guided, hands on) his hand is pushed down to make his mark.
“Wow, that’s shocking, does anyone actually defend these practices?” Asks the reader…
No. Nobody defends the way FCPS treats Ben. Literally NOBODY. I have had many off-record conversations with people across the entire political spectrum, from Constitutional Conservatives to Progressive Socialists, who believe the treatment of Ben is abhorrent and should stop immediately. Talk is cheap, because very few people are willing to stand up and do something to stop it. Delegate David Vogt did introduce a bill last year to stop it, which was subsequently killed in committee.
The Frederick County Teachers Association does NOT represent students. They represent teachers. They are funded by mandatory dues paid by teachers. Nowhere in this description is there any indication that the FCTA cares about students. They care about one thing, $$$$$. That is the job of a union, to advocate for their members salary and benefits.
So let’s not stop pretending that the Apple Ballot means anything in regards to your children and their education. Let’s elect some Board of Education members that will prioritize the students within FCPS instead of pay raises and fringe benefits.
Your paragraph on FCTA is full of falsehoods. Teachers do care about students. Dues are not mandatory . Teachers care about the profession and how people like you make teachers the reason for all that is bad in education.
Well first off, according to the Baltimore Sun, union dues are mandatory for all teachers.
Source: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-11-12/news/bs-md-union-dues-20131112_1_union-dues-teachers-union-tabco
Second, the FCTA is the organized labor association consisting of members that are teachers. Students do not contribute dues nor are they represented by the union. As I was only talking about the FCTA, as an organization, not caring about students, you are wrong twice.