From Del. Kathy Szeliga:
The 435th session of the Maryland General Assembly convened on January 14, 2015. In three short weeks, we swore in a new House and Senate, a new Governor, a new budget, and more! On Wednesday, February 4th, Governor Larry Hogan delivered his State of the State. Gov. Hogan is moving Maryland in a new direction, and his plans will certainly improve our state.
Common Core, Town Hall & More!
The Common Core standards being implemented across our state are causing quite a stir among parents and teachers.
A Town Hall on Common Core was held at FOX45 on Thursday, January 29. Joining me on their panel were; Robert Small – local Dad arrested for interrupting MD State Dept of Education forum on Common Core; Will Estrada – Home School Legal Defense Association; & Cheryl Bost – VP, Maryland State Education Association
The audience was comprised of parents, teachers, and students. Overall, there was little support for this new program.
Click Here to Watch the Town Hall
There are a number of bills being introduced this year in Annapolis from a repeal of Common Core to a delay in full implementation. I have opposed common core for a number of reasons. Primarily, the collection of student data is very troubling. Additionally, I oppose the federal government take-over of our local schools. Washington D.C. is pushing Common Core on the states. This “new” way to teach our children is untested, and there is no estimate of how much it will cost to fully implement the program. Let’s not experiment with our children’s education on a program that has not been analyzed for effectiveness or cost.
For more information on Common Core, you can read a great blog by Ann Miller
Comcast Interview
Newsmakers
You might have seen my Comcast interviews in the past. Last week, I filmed my most recent interview with Yolanda Vazquez.
This short video will update you on the budget, human trafficking and more.
Great Information
Representatives, Bills & Issues
If you ever need to find out who all your representatives are, it’s only a click away! You can put your address in the white address bar on this website to find most of your information.
Who Are Your Elected Officials
The Maryland General Assembly has an excellent website set up to track information on bills and topics that interest you! The website is very user friendly and easy to navigate.
Maryland General Assembly Website
State of the State
Hogan Delivers the Good News!
Wednesday, Governor Larry Hogan delivered his first State of the State address. With a straight forward explanation of the struggles facing Maryland, Governor Hogan outlined his clear plan for the state. Holding true to his campaign promises, the Governor illustrated how his structurally balanced budget will provide record investment in K-12 education and school construction, while cutting taxes and repealing the Rain Tax.
His plans are ambitious but very realistic.
I’m proud to support the Governor’s agenda and also his budget proposal. Holding down government spending to a modest 1% increase is reasonable.
For more information on the State of the State, you will find links below with articles and videos:
Gov. Hogan’s State of the State
Baltimore County Public School Survey
All Are Welcome to Weigh-In
Baltimore County Public Schools is offering a Stakeholder Survey for all Team BCPS members, including current, former, and future teachers, staff, students, parents, volunteers, and supporters. If you are interested in weighing in you have until February 28th.
Thank you for your continue help and support. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of assistance to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Delegate Kathy Szeliga
Neighboring Counties. Please step in and help Harford County figure out how to properly fund education before all of the teachers leave and overall morale goes down the pooper. If you could please share with the braintrust of Harco how you are able to give steps and colas year after year and still run your county, teachers would greatly appreciate it. Enough good teachers have left and it’s time to step up and save Education. Otherwise, it’s up to teachers to take a stand and put an end to this nonsense.
Opt out of the useless union and save some money. Or find another job.
I am leaving HCPS for greener pastures. I am sad and disheartened because I love my school and Harford County. I am doing this so I can pay my bills. I hope I love my new job just as much as the job I have now. My heart is heavy. Goodbye Harford County!
Buhbye someone will happily take your job.
Right. Because people with a teaching certificate in math, who can get a teaching job pretty much anywhere due to the shortage of math teachers, which in turn is due to the fact that they can get a job making much more in the private sector, are just dying to come to Harford County, where they can not only be among the lowest paid teachers in the state, but also ridiculed when they express the need to earn more.
Funny…when a “taxpayer” is on here moaning about how they are struggling to make ends meet, it is because of everyone else (increased taxes to feed greedy government officials and employees, etc). But when it’s a teacher, it’s because they don’t know how to live within their means or have a realistic budget.
Maybe talk with HCPS HR about how many applications come in on open vacancies?
Maybe you won’t get the ‘cream of the crop’ but you will surely have lots of people who will meet the minimum standards, pass everything, and get hired.
It’s a gimmick, they always pick the ‘best applicant’ for the job, the #1 person. If #1 decides nah, onto #2, so and so forth.
If we want the best teachers they need to raise the minimum standards, better hiring tactics, of course, more pay.
More pay doesn’t mean better teachers always. I know that’s not what people want to hear though.
Anyone with children who gives a Rat’s behind knows the difference between a good teacher and one who meets the ‘Minimum’ Qualifications. I get plenty of applications when I post jobs, but 80% I wouldn’t touch with a 39.5′ pole. They all have met the minimum qulifications, but they aren’t going to work for me.
Unfortunately our colleges have turned into degree factories and while the students can pass the classes and entry exams, doesn’t mean they’re good at making my duaughter understand math and can manage 25 nine year olds. @LOL can send his kids to the minimally qualified recent college grad and hope for the best. He might also want to use a parachute made by the lowest bidder.
And about the comment I saw regarding fixing parenting flaws…There are many types of parents, from those who should never have been given the ability to have children to the over-zealous helicopter parents whose kids can do no wrong. Many mean well, but it doesn’t mean they are experts in education or raising kids for that matter, and yes they can get in the way of effectively education our children. it’s funny, most of us would never question a nurse, or accountant on how to perform their jobs, or act like morons if they expected a raise one every 5 years, but how many out there believe they could effectively teach all day for 9.5 months. The key word being effectively. I guess @LOL can have his kids in class taught by the Dagger’s finest reading public. Cue the responses….
Maybe talk with HCPS HR about how many applications come in on open vacancies?
Maybe you won’t get the ‘cream of the crop’ but you will surely have lots of people who will meet the minimum standards, pass everything, and get hired.
It’s a gimmick, they always pick the ‘best applicant’ for the job per opening, the #1 person. If #1 decides nah, onto #2, so and so forth.
If we want the best teachers they need to raise the minimum standards, better hiring tactics, of course, more pay.
More pay doesn’t mean better teachers always. I know that’s not what people want to hear though.
Anyone with children who gives a Rat’s behind knows the difference between a good teacher and one who meets the ‘Minimum’ Qualifications. I get plenty of applications when I post jobs, but 80% I wouldn’t touch with a 39.5′ pole. They all have met the minimum qulifications, but they aren’t going to work for me.
Unfortunately our colleges have turned into degree factories and while the students can pass the classes and entry exams, doesn’t mean they’re good at making my duaughter understand math and can manage 25 nine year olds. @LOL can send his kids to the minimally qualified recent college grad and hope for the best. He might also want to use a parachute made by the lowest bidder.
And about the comment I saw regarding fixing parenting flaws…There are many types of parents, from those who should never have been given the ability to have children to the over-zealous helicopter parents whose kids can do no wrong. Many mean well, but it doesn’t mean they are experts in education or raising kids for that matter, and yes they can get in the way of effectively education our children. it’s funny, most of us would never question a nurse, or accountant on how to perform their jobs, or act like morons if they expected a raise one every 5 years, but how many out there believe they could effectively teach all day for 9.5 months. The key word being effectively. I guess @LOL can have his kids in class taught by the Dagger’s finest reading public. 1 more thing…It’s true that paying more doesn’t instantly improve teaching ability, however macroeconomically speaking over time talent will migrate toward the best paying, well respected jobs, and the inverse is also true…and presently occurring.
Are you going to direct your son or daughter to be a teacher or mailman (no offense, but its a dying profession), or are you going to push them into cyber-security, engineering, or nursing? Policy and budgeting decisions to have long term effects, ones that are hard to turn around quickly. Is education really an area that we want the least qualified? Cue the responses….
Not,
Proficiency in math may be a necessary skill for some jobs in the private sector, but it would only be a partial skill for high paying jobs.
Teachers versus taxpayers are two different issues. Teachers want more money and could care less about the source. Taxpayers correctly understand the fiscal issues and try to educate the educators that they must stop supporting the politicians who steal their raises from them.
Where are you headed?
I can tell you one thing, HCPS probably won’t be attemptimg to modernize/rebuild/add on to existing +40 year old school buildings after North Harford High.
If that’s the route we are destined to take (new schools) its cheaper (believe it) to demo an old building and build something from scratch.
They will make the same mistakes again. No accountability of any school board employees, especially in the construction management division. Many value engineering proposals were made in order to save money, and they just don’t even want to entertain that somebody else knows more than they do. That mentality starts at the top and it goes downhill from there
The basic problem with HCPS is those who run it. These people aren’t qualified to manage a construction project be it new or remodeling. The people spending the money and approving projects are clueless to what they are doing. A child could do the job cheaper because all you would need is an ice cream cone to get a construction contract.
This same level of incompetence runs top to bottom in the facility management organization and the teachers can’t figure out where the money they were promised goes.
Math Teacher, you aren’t going anywhere. You are just like the typical union member that always complains but never does anything about it. There are plenty of other good teachers anxiously awaiting openings in Harford County. It’s not the Governor’s fault, nor the County Executive’s. It belongs to the Board of Education leaders and their inability to manage the huge amount of money that is allocated to them. Put their jobs on the line when they can’t balance a budget. It is real easy to demand more money and use the sympathy card “It’s for our children”. All you have to do is take a hard look at the waste that goes on year after year. The truth is, the management of the Board of Education doesn’t have the guts to crack down on the one’s who are wasting the money that you should be getting.
Stop living in the 1990s. The scores of good applicants are no longer there, hence HCPS started the year with many positions left unfilled.
Math teacher can’t live within their means. Maybe another math teacher can help you make a budget.
Harford county must lead some category of most troll anti teacher douchbags per capita. Unbelievable the crap that is given to the people who spend their days fixing the parenting flaws of so many with little appreciation or , even worse, criticism. I’m glad I have been getting steady, but not great annual raises. I’d be nearly homicidal. Show some empathy losers!
Interesting how the article isn’t about teachers pay , the first two reply’s are about pay and you think everyone else is a troll.
Perhaps you are new to The Dagger comment section. Articles are irrelevant. Everything is about teacher’s pay, the Sheriff’s office, county workers, and crime on route 40. You should also expect name calling (mostly along political lines, but insults to inteligence in general as well), racism and the notion that everyone but the government has a better idea how tax revenue should be spent.
Articles? We don’t need no stinkin’ articles!
But you just gotta love the entertainment value!
Roger that – I like the angry old dudes the best.
Not,
“fixing the parenting flaws” – From education to education camps. No wonder you get little respect. Try doing your job for a change instead indoctrinate our children with worthless drivel.
All of these anti-teacher trolls are very laughable. They really need to get a life. But they are good for a laugh. Same ole boooooring BS posts. BLA BLA BLA. They are the village idiots.
What data and why is it troubling?
Organized sickouts next year I heard. Enough is enough. Time to take a stand. Sorry…this is what it has come down to.
CC,
Please! Oh please… stage a sickout. Nobody will notice and test scores will increase. It will also increase the mirth around here as you all get online in the Dagger and beg for money.
What a bunch of sorry, slack-ass sales-shits for government. Make our sickout day.
No one will notice yet you reply within a day. LOL. Such lemmings on this site.
CC,
You got a real capacity issue there guy. Nobody will notice the sickout…what douchebaggery.
Oh yeah! There was an article! The delegate, and the assortment of folks making comments, do a good job of pointing out many of the flaws of education in our county. Common Core is a chunk of it. First off, a lot of people are concerned about it, and darn few even know what it is. It only covers Math and English, and sets goals of minimums that students should know at the end of each grade. I have looked at it, and didn’t see anything there that most people over the age of about 40 weren’t expected to know. So why is everyone, including me, so concerned? For one thing, even more days are totally lost to double the amount of testing. For another it was hobbled together by a group of businessmen, college educators and politicians. The likelihood is strong that few if any of the group has been in a secondary school classroom since they graduated 30 or 40 years ago. The individual states are responsible for creating their own curriculum to teach the covered goals. That would be fine, except the Federal Government started passing out money to the states who would teach to the Common Core. “Beautiful,” said Maryland! So a year later they were supposed to start testing to the Common Core. It didn’t occur to our politicians and Department of Education that they didn’t have a curriculum to teach that lined up to the test! So the kids were mostly taught what they needed for the old MSA test but were tested on Common Core! I don’t think they have totally fleshed out a curriculum yet! Next, the teachers were required to try to teach Common Core by making up their own curriculum because the state still had nothing and the counties had nothing. Naturally, it was the teachers fault that the state allowed the federal politicians to shove common core up Maryland’s unprepared nose. So now, the Feds,The state politicians, business, industry, parents, clergy and who knows who else are all fighting about how and what the teachers should teach. My kids went through 12 years of HCPS, then went to college and have been in decent paying Science and Technology type jobs. I was happy with the education they got here. I was also in Science, but when my company decided to move, I decided to stay here. I thought I might enjoy teaching. It was a heck of a pay cut, but I was pretty well fixed. I lasted 10 years and had to get the heck out. The stress of having to try to make all of the upper level administrators happy, when even they didn’t really know what they wanted, just wasn’t worth it. I didn’t leave because of the pay, I left because of the totally unnecessary stress. So I went back to science, and HCPS can go to . . well never mind. Now as far as teachers leaving for pay increases, it is most certainly happening. Just in the small group of Science teachers that I know from taking classes and from meetings, HCPS has lost 2 to Baltimore County, 2 to Cecil County. The were all young, excellent teachers and had masters degrees, Two others were older and able to retire so they went to private schools, and I just got out altogether. I do keep my hand in education just a little as I try to educate college students to stay away from education in general and HARCO in particular. I encourage them to read the Dagger. You fellows are my best teaching aids. So make all of your cute good riddance type remarks please. I won’t be back to see them, but hopefully some of my “students” will stop in for a look.
Well written and objective from someone who has worked seen both sides. I appreciate the information.
Unfortunately most educational initiatives are compiled by people who are not currently teaching in the classrooms they are targeting for reform. Most reforms really don’t take into account the vast variety of home situations my students come from. I have students who drive better cars than me, dress in clothes I can’t afford sitting next to the kids who can’t stay awake because they work after school, then go home to take care of siblings so their single parent can work the night shift and can only do their homework after the last one is in bed. Some of those students just give up because it’s too much or the lure of easy money in the streets can make their life easier. As a teacher, sometimes you can connect with those kids and see the light bulb shine bright…but others don’t want what you’re offering. I stay after school, I let students rework assignments-for some it works, but not for all. But I am going to be held accountable for my performance based on how they all test. How is my student that has missed over 20 days this year going to pass any test? And how is that my fault? Yet I am overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork to prove that my target group of students is succeeding to meet my SLO goal. Overwhelmed enough to have started looking for other options even though I absolutely love the actual act of teaching my students. It’s the pressure from my administrators and the data collection for ‘proof’ that has me so over the top stressed. None of which actually makes my teaching better no matter what they say, it actually takes away time from actual lesson planning to crunch all my data, analyze it and prepare it for uploading to the Board of Ed’s website for our administrators to leave comments on that will determine our effectiveness rating.
It’s so depressing to realize that Harford County does not appreciate it’s teachers for what we do in the classroom and the work and planning it takes to do it right. I know of 7 teachers at my school that are leaving HCPS this year for various other jobs and are so mad at the county they’re not telling administrators and not resigning till August. I want to “stick it to them” is the expression one used. Now their positions won’t be vacant early to catch all the good candidates that will be newly graduated in May. Five of those people are outstanding teachers that will be sorely missed. If the position I’m looking at comes my way, I will let my principal know because that’s not fair to the other teachers in my dept. It’s so sad that the county has turned so many good teachers mad enough to try to do damage as they leave. Are there teachers that should be told to find a different job? Sure. There’s always people at every job site that don’t belong there. But while there needs to be a better system in place to hurry the process of getting those people out, that is not the majority of teachers in this county. But I’m pretty sure it will be if the county and HCPS don’t start looking more kindly at the people who are at the core of the educational process in the classrooms instead of the machine of education that is just juggling numbers.
We could use more teachers like you. I am not sure that HCPS and Harford County deserve your talents. Good luck!