Category Archives: Education

And poverty, and ignorance, shall swell the rich and grand —Charles Dickens

You, too, can end up in debtor’s prison, much more easily than you might think.

How America criminalised poverty: The viciousness of state officials to the poor and homeless is breathtaking, trapping them in a cycle of poverty:


Photograph: Robyn Beck/EPA
The most shocking thing I learned from my research on the fate of the working poor in the recession was the extent to which poverty has indeed been criminalised in America.

Perhaps the constant suspicions of drug use and theft that I encountered in low-wage workplaces should have alerted me to the fact that, when you leave the relative safety of the middle class, you might as well have given up your citizenship and taken residence in a hostile nation.

Maybe you think you’re safe, because you’re not out on the street. Think again: Continue reading →

Your children’s education at stake —Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011

Good question:
“Are you willing to put your children’s education at stake because somebody has promised you something they can’t deliver? I for one am not willing.”

Here’s the video:


Your children’s education at stake —Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011
No school consolidation,
Press Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

There is more than one option —Sam Allen @ FVCS 7 July 2011

Sam Allen of Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS) tells us what CUEE didn’t.
“You can read the billboards, you can look at the pretty brochures, but that’s all your going to get.”
So what haven’t we been told? Continue reading →

FVCS @ 100 Black Men BBQ, Valdosta, GA, 6 Aug 2011

Friends of Valdosta City Schoolds (FVCS) had a table at the 100 Black Men BBQ, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia. Their No School Consolidation signs now have both a Viking and a Wildcat paw on them, and they have Viking stickers and Wildcat stickers.


FVCS @ 100 Black Men BBQ, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia,
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Their consolidating CUEE competition was nowhere to be seen.

-jsq

Prison slave labor infects beef with rat feces

In case you thought prison slave labor didn’t affect you, watch Mike Elk on Democracy Now today, New Exposé Tracks ALEC-Private Prison Industry Effort to Replace Unionized Workers with Prison Labor:
“more than 14 million pounds of beef infected with rat feces processed by inmates were not recalled, in order to avoid drawing attention to how many products are made by prison labor.”
Is this what you want for yourself and your children? If not, it’s time to stop ALEC crafting state laws to lock people up and then exploit them as slave labor.

We can start by not accepting a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. Spend those tax dollars on rehabilitation and education instead.

Update 9:35 AM 6 Aug 2011: Fixed the links to the Democracy Now story. Thanks for catching that, Barbara!
Here’s a bonus link to the story in The Nation.

-jsq

PS: This post owed to Cheryl Ann Fillekes.

Workforce development meeting at Wiregrass Tech —G. Norman Bennett @ VLCIA 19 July 2011

G. Norman Bennett advocated attending the Wiregrass Tech town hall on a soft skills/work ethics curriculum 8 August 2011.
“Georgia is leading the nation in workforce development.”
Wiregrass Tech is one of the keys to local workforce development. If you’re interested in that, please go. It’s this coming Monday.

Here’s the video:


Workforce development meeting at Wiregrass Tech —G. Norman Bennett @ VLCIA 19 July 2011
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

I already posted another view of this, by George Rhynes. But that one was at the end of a video of me talking, and I think what Norman Bennett had to say is important and deserves its own post.

-jsq

Put energy into things that are right for all children —Annie Fisher @ FVCS 7 July 2011

Valdosta school board member Annie Fisher advocated saying no to school unification and instead finding out how to desegregate the schools and improve education for everyone. She already suggested some things to do.

Here’s the video:


Put energy into things that are right for all children —Annie Fisher @ FVCS 7 July 2011
No school consolidation,
Press Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

I found an advantage of a unified school system!

Unified cheating in Albany:
The Herald learned that Murfree and Coleman had been invited by Bowers, who is heading an investigation to determine whether there had been cheating on the DCSS’s 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test exams.
and Atlanta:
An investigative panel has recommended that 109 principals, assistant principals, school-based testing coordinators and teachers face further scrutiny or sanctions after it found evidence of suspected cheating at 58 Atlanta Public Schools.
Atlanta and Albany have unified school systems, and they have cheating scandals. Coincidence? I think not.

-jsq

The members of the CUEE, they send their children to private schools —Annie Fisher

Valdosta school board member Annie Fisher pointed out CUEE members sent their chidren to private schools and now they’re meddling in public education. She listed some real issues, such as Valdosta city schools remain segregated, focussing on tests just to meet AYP, and we need to remove students from the prison to the classroom.
“How can we equally educate each child?”
Yes, let’s forget “unification” and focus on that.

Here’s the video:


The members of the CUEE, they send their children to private schools —Annie Fisher
No school consolidation,
Press Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

You thought maybe I made up the three points I proposed to improve education? Nope, unlike CUEE, I’ve been paying attention.

-jsq

Subjects such as CUEE don’t seem to elicit the same due diligence —Barbara Stratton

Received today on When officials act like they are hiding something, they usually are. -jsq
I commend the VDT for its persistence in pursuing requests for information on many subjects. However, as John mentioned some subjects such as CUEE don’t seem to elicit the same due diligence in pursuing true facts. The VDT continues to support CUEE agendas even though it has been well established that the CUEE committee did not follow true priority of law when it ignored the 1983 GA constitutional law requiring all involved systems in a consolidation action be allowed to vote. CUEE still persists in following a 1926 statute that says only city voters are allowed to vote & the VDT continues to support their efforts. It seems to me a failure to acurately report all facts exists for both the CUEE committee members & the VDT staff.

Since a costly voter referendum action has been activated & supported by both entities in spite of & in the face of priority of law objections it is my opinion a crime or crimes have been perpetuated upon the citizens of Lowndes Co. & a Grand Jury investigation should be convened to address these criminal actions.

-Barbara Stratton