By CHRIS POWELL Connecticut’s public school teachers are feeling resentful again. The other day their biggest union, the deceptively named Connecticut Education Association, reported a poll of its members that was full of the usual findings: Teachers feel overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. Overimpressed by college, Democrats get arrogant Senator Winfield and other Democrats want openContinue reading “Teachers aren’t trying to stop the collapse of education”
Tag Archives: social promotion
Hartford, Bridgeport schools urgently need state takeover
By Chris Powell How could Aleysha Ortiz go through the Hartford school system and be given a high school diploma without ever learning to read and write? Who exactly was responsible in every grade that advanced her anyway? State government’s growth causes record spending on lobbyists Does Trump’s budget really spell doom for Connecticut? ProtestsContinue reading “Hartford, Bridgeport schools urgently need state takeover”
Democrats aren’t against kings, they just want a new one
By Chris Powell Last weekend’s “No Kings” rallies in Connecticut and around the country, protesting what were said to be President Trump’s excesses, were as hyperbolic as the president himself, and, insofar as most of the protesters were Democrats and liberals, largely hypocritical. Illegal immigration’s backers in Connecticut never get critical questions Murphy sees Democrats’Continue reading “Democrats aren’t against kings, they just want a new one”
Connecticut devalues education while throwing more money at it
By Chris Powell Except to the teacher unions, Connecticut’s Linda McMahon is a big relief as secretary of the U.S. Education Department, mainly because her predecessor, Connecticut’s Miguel Cardona, was such a disaster. Distinguish among immigrants; and Pratt’s gradual departure CT Public’s wild salaries; and make schools answer Democrats would abolish public control of Connecticut’sContinue reading “Connecticut devalues education while throwing more money at it”
Connecticut’s elections can’t be secure without proof of citizenship
By Chris Powell Having fallen in love with executive orders even more than his predecessor did, President Trump is coming down with a bad case of megalomania. He has little authority to command the states to follow any particular election procedures, as he presumed to do with another executive order the other day. Congress canContinue reading “Connecticut’s elections can’t be secure without proof of citizenship”
Connecticut tells students they needn’t go to school
By CHRIS POWELL According to the recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test given to students in fourth and eighth grades throughout the country and styled “The Nation’s Report Card,” Connecticut’s students are performing worse in reading and math than in 2019, before the national virus epidemic, which disastrously interrupted schooling nearly everywhere.Continue reading “Connecticut tells students they needn’t go to school”
City mayors and educators seek more money for what keeps failing
By Chris Powell Governor Lamont welcomed the General Assembly back to work two weeks ago with a remarkable exhortation. “We have a longer legislative session this cycle,” the governor said, “giving us an opportunity to get in the weeds, lift up the hood — not always arguing about more money but better results.” To regrowContinue reading “City mayors and educators seek more money for what keeps failing”
To regrow Connecticut’s cities, first understand their decline
By Chris Powell Back in the 1950s many Connecticut cities had populations about 50% larger than they are today. In his address to the General Assembly as it reconvened this month, Governor Lamont said he wants them to grow back to their old size. He’s right that the cities are where most of any populationContinue reading “To regrow Connecticut’s cities, first understand their decline”
Connecticut’s social promotion makes public education a costly fraud
By Chris Powell Social promotion in Connecticut’s schools isn’t just informal policy and practice, implemented by winks and nods. This week Marc E. Fitch of the Yankee Institute’s Connecticut Inside Investigator reported that many school systems, including those in Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Middletown, follow written policies virtually prohibiting giving students failing grades. Hartford schools obstructContinue reading “Connecticut’s social promotion makes public education a costly fraud”
Terrible policies created Connecticut’s underclass
By Chris Powell After three fatal shootings of young men in New Haven in less than two weeks, Mayor Justin Elicker gave news interviews to assure people that downtown is safe for holiday shopping, dining, and other festive activities. The mayor noted that, as with murders and shootings in other cities, most in New HavenContinue reading “Terrible policies created Connecticut’s underclass”
Chris Powell column 