Celebrity Wake-Up Calls? New York City Schools New Way To Reward Bad Behavior
- Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:10pm by
Mike Opelka
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Just when you thought every single idea to waste taxpayer money had been exhausted, the innovators in New York City find a way to make the magic happen yet again. That’s a bold statement. Especially when you take into account that NYC already spends somewhere between $30-35 million dollars a year paying teachers NOT to teach. So how does a school system top that kind of waste and abuse? By rewarding bad behavior.
New York City’s schools have a truancy problem. When a student misses 20 class days in a school year they are considered to be “chronically absent.” And there are several city schools where the chronically absent students make up 40% of the population. The school’s answer to this is not to press parents into making certain their children go to school, or to do as my grade school and high school did – offer incentives to those with perfect attendance. No sir, New York City has decided to reward the chronically absent students with celebrity wake up calls.
“WakeUp NYC” started yesterday, delivering automated wake-up calls from R&B singer Trey Songz and NY Mets star Jose Reyes to the chronically absent from 25 different schools. Just a bit of speculation here, but it seems as if we are giving kids an incentive to achieve “chronic absentee” status.
If you are wondering how much could it cost to operate an automated auto-dialer? Let’s break this down. Someone is charged with the recruiting of celebrities, and they must be recorded, edited and loaded into a system. Another person or two or three is needed to gather the lists of truants and schedule their calls. The positive news here, this is creating jobs!
How I long for the “good old days” when cities had Truant Officers, charged with tracking down slackers and bringing them to school.
By the way, if you were curious about the school system’s $30-35 million dollars annual waste mentioned at the top of this column, read on.
How does a city waste that much money paying teachers not to teach? It happens when unions make it virtually impossible to fire a teacher and the city ends up with about 600 (more or less) accused teachers sent to reassignment centers fondly known as “Rubber Rooms.” In the Rubber Rooms they do whatever they wish to do, but they are not doing what they are paid to do, teach. These accused educators stay on the payroll, some of them for almost a decade, earning their union-guaranteed salaries, with regular raises, benefits and pension contributions continuing until a mandated investigation can be completed and a judgement made. The six hundred or so teacherless classrooms must be covered by substitutes, effectively doubling the costs of educating those students. And then there is the cost of space for the reassignment centers, plus staff to monitor the attendance and security guards to protect them (from?).
Despite the constant media attention and promises to eliminate the rubber rooms, they continue.
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Glenn in Virginia
Posted on February 12, 2011 at 2:13pmI’m pretty sure Spongebob Squarepants would never do the job. He puts me to sleep every time I watch him.
Report Post »temple62
Posted on February 12, 2011 at 12:39pmGive em all trophies for non-achievement and let em play in the streets!
Report Post »psycodad36
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 7:50pmupst8 ny near myself ,two locals (truent officer and another) were suspended for visiting the homes of two major offenders,they were refered as a ferris buellers day of joke.shamefully the local media ran the people paid to uphold the rules into the ground ,and made a joke of it all where is responsability?
Report Post »oldchevyguy
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 7:48pmTruancy a problem?How about holding the parents responsible?As far as teachers are concerned,end tenure! Who gets a job with no chance of being fired?
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 6:16pmThis is the perfect introduction to what the liberals like to do when the students get older – reward them not to work and not to bother spending money on things like insurance when they can buy expensive TVs, phones, and shoes instead.
Report Post »RobR
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 4:52pmThere is no denying we are living ( if you can even call it that ) in an Obama world. Reparations and excusses for every minority is a way of life with this loser in our White House.
Why wait 20 days, then only offer a recording. Just allow unlimited sex and drugs in the bathrooms, at tax payers expense of course, and these dirtbag mutha…shut ya mouf will not only show up, they’ll never want to leave.
Or there is always euthanasia, to save them from a life where rich white folks just don’t care about the plight of the jitterbug.
Report Post »RUNKIDRUN
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 4:26pmWhy didn’t they just use the Alec Baldwin voicemail?
Report Post »Ken
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 4:00pmVouchers for everyone. Get rid of the failed public education system. Ant good teachers will be absorbed into the private education system. The bad teachers will be out on their keester.
Report Post »VISITORNUMBER3
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:32pmAnd what happens if I become chronically absent from my job? Are Donald Trump and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates going to call me at home and give me “pep talks” on how great it will make me feel if I get up and go to work? I think not. I think I would get one call from my boss saying “You’re fired!!”
What kids are missing these days is an accurate representation of the facts about responsibility and accountability. They’re living life as if it were a movie or a video game. Unfortunately, there is no pause button or “re-start level” button in real life !
Report Post »awizard
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:27pmOh I forgot, Thanks for the cartoon … I haven’t seen that one in years … (I always wondered what they did with the three roasted chickens, they looked good ;)
Report Post »VISITORNUMBER3
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:25pmAt this point, why not just say “Okay, if you don’t wish to attend school, just sleep in or wander the streets. Do whatever you wish.” ?
Why continue to make these kids attend school? It’s over-priced daycare (that they don’t show up for!!!) In some states, the parents can be arrested if their kids are “chronically absent”.
School should be for those who wish to learn. Let the rest who don’t want to attend do as they please. Nature would probably just take it’s course and they would wind up in jail…
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:18pm@J.C. McGlynnWhoa!- don’t give them any ideas, they might do it and brag about more tax dollars at work!
Report Post »integrican
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:17pmEasy solution….much less money…….ready?
Put a bounty on “chronically absent” students. For every student, who is on the list, that you get to school, offer a “reward” of $50.00. Even their own parents (what a concept) would drag their sorry a$$es to school.
…now “Rubber Rooms” ….OK, we could also save some money here. Let the dog pound use this extra space to house their unwanted “vicious” dogs. The “accused educators” can share this space. …..Oh, while they’re there, they can clean up the mess left by the prior “accused educator.”
Me for President!!!! I‘ll fix this mess we’re in, in three weeks LOL ; )
Report Post »Bruce_Almty
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:39pmWe could taser them for $25 a pop and leave them flopping on the sidewalk. That would be a fun game.
Report Post »integrican
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 5:04pm@ BruceAlmighty, I have been “officially” one-upped…….Much better than my idea..
Report Post »I’m literally “Rolling on the Floor Laughing”
Bruce_Almty
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:16pmI just hope the city of New York provides ample “safety nets” for these truants when they are old enough to not go to school legally and start collecting state welfare payment.
And paying those “teachers” not to teach year after year…I‘m sure that’s the politically correct thing to do. Otherwise, our STATE negotiators would not have approved it for our STATE workers.
Report Post »awizard
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:14pmUh, do you all really want kids to attend schools run by these “Well educated, innovative, geniuses”?..
I’m not in NYC(here might be one reason for that), but if I were stuck there for some reason I don’t think I would send my kids to those schools …
“600 (more or less) accused teachers … “plus staff to monitor the attendance and security guards to protect them (from?) … uh Me?.. (if I cared enough about NY to bother)
Report Post »OneBuckeye
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:01pmTo expand on my original post, taking into account some of your responses, I would have to say the biggest concern would be an analysis of the “final tab”. It is not so much the money, but rather the fact their goal seems to be keeping kids in school for the numbers rather than the goal of true education. The final tab will be a bunch of clueless kids that were short changed on education. That means that the true final tab is one of our monitary support for a stupid society!
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:50pmMaybe New York can give the chronically missing students a job by having them call other chronically missing students.
Report Post »Bruce_Almty
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:24pmDon’t be insulting; a job like that would be way below their skill set.
Report Post »sandyn
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:45pmWho thought up this plan for rewarding people for doing what they are supposed to be doing? There is so little that we are able to teach our public school children anymore. I understand that personal responsibility is one of the casualties of that crusade but I am just curious which category it was labeled before being axed.
Report Post »Gita
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:29pmOy!
Report Post »El Barry Soetoro
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:22pmIt’s all good, stop the hate and open your harts for the grater good.
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:41pm@El Barry Soetoro—where is the hate? where is the spell check?
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:57pmlol, he must have been one of the chronically absent from the NYC schools! Hey Barry, maybe I can have Justin Bieber give you a call!
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:09pmAre you from New York City? Check your spelling1
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:15pm@Showtime–What is spelling1? lol. all is forgiven here just tryin to have some fun.
Report Post »Rightsofman
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:27pmEl Barry – I don‘t know you so I’ve got to assume your statement is pure sarcasm right?
Report Post »hickoryrat
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:21pmThis is only another reason why these people buy into the socialist,democrat,commie BS.
It has to be lack of education.The same reason that most libs are not as quite as smart as they think they are.
V
Report Post »Ironmaan
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:17pmIncredibly stupid, and is part an parcel as to why I loath government intrusion into anything except filling potholes.
Report Post »http://guerllatics.com
MrButcher
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:23pmcheers to that.
Report Post »RogueAmeritarian
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 6:40pmI have to agree as well, the government has there hands full with more important matters. As far as NYC goes, this doesn’t even begin to surprise me. I think we should start defunding schools and the idiocy running them.
Report Post »OneBuckeye
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:16pmSeems like since Obama was elected, there is a whole lot of SOS (Stuck on Stupid) everywhere!
Report Post »cnsrvtvj
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:18pmWell said onebuckeye. There should be no shortage of liberal looney tune actors lining up for this insanity. I can’t wait until we see the final tab on this project. Let’s keep coddling those who are destined to fail. Talk about not only rewarding bad behavior, this actually encourages it.
http://www.donsmithshow.com – see the liberal media mindset video
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:22pmYou know what Bloominidiot should do ?
Report Post »He can ban water in NYC ,
and also do some undercover videos about guns , in Combodia.
pajamash
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:25pmWe are doomed!
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:33pm@onebuckeye you have it right. They are stuck on stupid and don’t even know or care.
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 2:58pmYou are so right. Bloomberg is a perfect example of why citizens should make these politicians who think they are such “whizzes” stick to term limits. This last term of his just boggles the mind!!!! Next he will be sending inspectors to see if the dishes are washed or still in the sinks………..
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:08pmThis is really beyond comprehension! Wonder how much the bailout will cost the country? But then, you still have those uneducated liberals who will be asking for handouts and entitlements.
There’s an idea! No entitlements for anyuone who did not finish high school!
Report Post »bikerr
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:12pmThey are so stuck on stupid they will now complain that the duck in this video above is not wearing pants!
Report Post »Lantern
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:16pmSHOWTIME
Report Post »I think they should have to pass a simple drug test to receive welfare. It’s not too much to ask.
P C BE DAMNED
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:29pmNo you are destroying these children further as no one is going to get them out of bed when they become adults so they get another crutch on the way to the real world which will eat them alive. Why not give them drugs to get them up also. I’am sure its coming. Think rediculas and you have the future. Am I right or am I right?
God I love America and its founding principles.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:38pmare we near egypt revolution yet…
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 3:52pmSo let me get this straight. These celebrities call the kid in the morning, wake him/her up and, then what? When the kid turns over and goes back to sleep do they come haul them out of bed, drag them to school and babysit them all day long? Why don’t they make a “rubber room” for the kids and pay them to stay home? Apparently it works for teachers. That’s it, the students need a union to represent them so they can’t be failed and they can stay home and play video games, rob stores, do drugs or whatever they want and still get paid. Makes perfect sense for the insanity in New York!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 11, 2011 at 6:11pmWow .. .just like when you stay at a DisneyWorld Resort … my son said it was annoying getting a wake up call from Goofy .. (is Obama one of the “celebrities?)
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