You hired good folks, believed in them and let them do their jobs.You would not let Wal-Mart or anyone else-not even the school board- run your school, much less have their way from behind a curtain. You would have seen through the merit pay proposal as an attempt to set teacher against teacher in the scramble for crumbs and undermine collective bargaining and pay scale-steps with the district. See, Purchasing the Right to Secrecy by Delphi. You knew that undermining the AEA's wage increase pressure keeps taxes lower for the fat cats who can send their children to private schools, but undermines public education.
You would know that “. . . evaluators will figure out a way to group test schools against the right grouping of other schools to make the numbers look good. . . they won't explain the underlying numbers alchemy by which they come up with their formulas for comparison. And they won't study for cheating. . . . . they won't explain how a supposedly numbers-based ‘objective’ criterion can be applied by principal's whim to support staff who aren't in the classroom. And in time, the Trojan horse will take over the school and the education world will be driven by tests, not learning, and everything and everyone will be diminished by it, not the least teacher pay." BREAKING: Mystery solved. by Max Brantley.
We miss you Greer. Maybe its better that you didn’t live to see this. You would not have survived as superintendent in this climate. There’s no room in management for a former Steel Worker with the blood of United Mine Workers in his veins. The business of public schools has become business. Too damned bad for everybody.
15 comments:
A good man. And his legacy live on, much to our joy and appreciation.
As the youngest of the "Lingle nieces", I never got to know him quite as intimately as my two older sisters because of the distance between us, but I will forever remember him as the kind, sweet, quiet, and very gracious uncle who "gave me away" at my wedding when my dad (his brother) was unable to be there for me. He never hesitated for a moment when I asked him to "journey down the mountain" on that cold Winter's night.
Thanks Uncle Greer, for being there for me on my special day, and for showing me what a true "Southern Gentleman" is all about! I feel confident in saying that your example was a shining light for the many lives you touched throughout the years. You exemplified all the best in what a true "teacher" should be. I will never forget you!
He was an uncle whom I have adored since my very early childhood. He was my hero then as well as now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE GREER. I LOVE YOU.
I'm also glad that our WWII folks won't have to see us sink into WWIII. But, Greer would be proud to see his nephew fighting the blog battles and probably, taking that last walk, into the Halliburton compound, while bravely proclaiming "liberty or death".
He made you feel good about being a teacher. I miss him.
Sustineo Alas, Greer.
Thanks Virg, for reminding me to reflect on the integrity, exceptional command of language, and focus of your Uncle Greer. He was a fine man and is probably rolling in his grave listening to the insanity going on now.
He had some children of his own. What ever happened to them? As I remember, he had a daughter who was especially bright & lovely.
He was my favorite uncle. He let me drive when I didn't even know how to drive. He encouraged me in my teaching career. When things went on down at the zoo in L.R. that I did not understand, he was the one that I called. My Aunt Claudie did well by choosing him. I miss him daily. Dorothy Dial
I really would have liked to have gotten to know him better....I was around him when I was little and as a teenager and I was too wrapped up in my own life to pay attention like I should have. But when I was around him, Uncle Greer ALWAYS made time for me and seemed like he listened to every word I said...I remember the pipe and it's aroma....He always reminded me of Bing Crosby....
He could sing too. Of course, Bing was a child abuser.
He hired me twice. They don't make folks like him any more.
Grimsley01:
Your lucky Greer wasn't from Texas. If he had been, he'd a known the old saying that says "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
JP:
Unlike Bing, Greer never hit his kids, but he never tried to stop Mrs. Greer Lingle when she did.
W:
Greer loved Grimsley, bowling ball and all.
I propose a merit test to determine who will inherit and manage wealth.
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