Posted by: Chris Sterton | August 30, 2006 05:27 PM

I would like to invite Mr. Dendahl to visit my classroom at Piedra Vista High School in Farmington. It appears that it has been a long time since he has been in a public education classroom, and I would like to prove to him that education in New Mexico is working. I have students who are learning about career possibilities. They are learning about better habits to help them in high school and beyond.

Please come visit our school. You will see students, teachers, administrators, and parents hard at work to make these young people successful citizens. We have quality programs in sports, activities, and academics. For instance, our LifeSmarts Team took first in the NATION last spring. This is a program that teaches students practical applications to school learning. I am certain your visit will change your mind about teachers and public education today.

Posted by: G Harris | September 7, 2006 08:39 AM

Don't take it personal. Dendahl's political rants about the PED and teachers are mostly hot air.

He's not interested in sitting in a classroom. His interest is in support of bringing corporate activity into the state (all from corporations that hold and will hold no loyalties to the people of New Mexico). If he can prove that the schools are prepared to take orders (otherwise forced into compliance to whichever and whatever outrageous, ill-created, unfunded, and mandatory law the conservatives want to generate while they're still in power), and walk in lock-step to conform to whichever "reform" a conservative lawmaker wants to make, he can easily impress and bring more corporations to the state.

Here's the problem with this - Dendahl and many conservative politicians are interested in creating a workforce, NOT an educated class of New Mexcians. They want to turn the PED and all local school districts into training centers to create a generation of people trained for specific corporate use as opposed to creating an educated class of thinking people that can meet all challenges that are ahead of them in their chosen field of study.

All attempts to "reform" (see: destroy) the education system or the schools are just a simple a power grab by conservatives. Their ability to stifle dissent and end the ability of educated people to come together to hash out solutions to complicated problems means that they can introduce poison to the people without the people even understanding the symptoms.

Educated people cannot be employed, they are fair employers, entrepreneurs, cooperative collaborators, solid teammates and educators. Trained people are employees, and employees alone - and that's what Dendahl and the rest of the Conservatives are looking to create of the New Mexican people.