A Fitting End: Filibusters in Both Houses

Posted by Jim Spence on Sunday, March 20, 2011
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Capitol Report New Mexico - The 2011 New Mexico legislative session ended on a note of sound and fury signifying nothing as both the Senate and the House ended their final day of lawmaking with filibusters in the vain hope of getting selected bills to the floor. In the Senate, when Republicans learned that Senate majority leader Michael Sanchez (D-Belen) was not going to allow a bill near and dear to the heart of Gov. Susana Martinez – House Bills 21 and 100, aimed at ending ”social promotion” for elementary school kids who can’t read proficiently — to be heard, Sen. John Ryan (R-Albuquerque) stood up during debate of a bill backed by Democrat Peter Wirth and started talking. And talking. And talking. Read full story here: News New Mexico
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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why are we so afraid of educational standards? Are we worried that our 3rd graders will feel badly about themselves if they are held back because they can't read? Let me tell you what happens to them. They become high school seniors who STILL can't read or write a coherent sentence. Their skill set is so minimal that they can only apply for the most basic jobs, with little chance of advancement. High school is supposed to be their time to prepare for the challenges of adulthood: more schooling, employment, raising a family, running a household. They are woefully unprepared for any of these things: they can't understand a loan application, they can't read a contract, they don't understand the requirements for job positions or school programs. I am not kidding, because they bring things to me all the time to have them explained.

But here is the greatest disservice we do to these kids. We teach them that if it is too hard, if they can't do it, that's OK, because they will get moved on anyway. And the harder it gets, and the further they fall behind, the more they look to others to take care of them and allow them to pass. Is this preparation for adulthood? The last time I checked, "the big bad world don't owe you a thing". And yet these kids say to me, "Miss you have to help me out here." They didn't bother to read the questions (well, they can't understand them anyway), nor did they submit their own written work (read: cut and paste off the internet).

Perhaps we should send them to Senator Sanchez as office aides and other helpers, so that he can experience firsthand the consequences of social promotion.

March 21, 2011 at 10:21 AM

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