IS IT TRUE: August 30, 2011
IS IT TRUE that today’s headline in the area’s most widely read print media newspaper boldly states “SCHOOLS GET GOOD REPORT CARDâ€?…that such headlines that are factually accurate yet send a very inaccurate message serve as a mechanism to enable the people of Evansville to be lulled into a false sense of security with respect to the performance of the EVSC?…that it has been stated that perhaps as many as 90% of people who read newspapers for the most part get their news and make decisions on what to read based on HEADLINES?…that this being the case that there are many citizens of Evansville who saw this headline and are feeling good about a report card that would result in ACADEMIC PROBATION and INELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE IN SPORTS if one of the students carried it home?
IS IT TRUE that when the EVSC schools are gleaned from the article the report card given the 34 schools in the report is 5 A’s, 2 B’s, 13 C’s, 5 D’s, and 9 F’s?…that when one takes these grades and assigns each school equal weighted value (as they should be), then assigns a number on the traditional college 4.0 scale that the combined performance shows that EVSC has a GPA of 1.67?…that such a score at even the easiest universities will result academic probation and ineligibility for extracurricular activities?…that the NCAA will not allow any freshman to participate in sports with a high school GPA below 2.0?…that if the EVSC was a college athlete that it could not even sit on the bench with a GPA of 1.67?
IS IT TRUE that the private schools, the parochial schools, and Signature School all got an A?
IS IT TRUE that that the headline writers and the EVSC get this need to put positive spin on negative performance honestly?…that earlier this year that a group of designated local leaders held a discussion with respect to what grade Evansville would get for its investment community activities with respect to angel and venture investing?…that this group courteously negotiated among themselves that Evansville is a 3 out of 5 or a gentleman’s C in angel and venture investing?…that there were some people in the room who know about such things that kindly expressed that the score is really a 1 or 2 (D or F) but that the GroupThink overwhelmed knowledge in awarding a C?…that the reality of the situation is that the score should reflect the actuality and that reality is ZERO?…that the propensity to grade ourselves as acceptable when the score is clearly a ZERO (F) and the need to proclaim that all is well in a headline when the numbers are really no more than a solid D is part of the problem when it comes to Evansville ever becoming competitive nationally in anything?
IS IT TRUE that the first steps to prosperity will only come when the people in charge of Evansville take their head out of the sand and local mainstream media ceases to be an enabler in spreading the myths that result in people thinking things are fine when ACADEMIC PROBATION and a score of ZERO is the reality?
IS IT TRUE we would like to take this opportunity to tell Mike Duckworth, Vanderburgh County Road Superintendent and the Vanderburgh County Surveyor, BILL Jeffers thanks for doing an outstanding job for the public good?
IS IT TRUE that it’s time for the Evansville Housing Authority to start considering to market the large vacant lot located at Lincoln and Governor for new site for affordable homes?
IS IT TRUE that we hear the 1st Ward City Councilman, Dan McGinn-Attorney shall be meeting with the City of Evansville Controller this Friday to review the entire budget of the City of Evansville General Legal Counsel in detail. …we wonder way Councilman Dan McGinn, Attorney has not been afforded the opportunity to to view this budget request in detail for the last 9 months? …City Councilman Dan McGinn, Attorney has pledge that he will make his findings available not only to area media but also to every Evansville City Council member? …we can’t wait to see a detail breakdown in the overall expenses of this department but how much his key people are being paid by the taxpayers to fund this important department?
Putting a “Positive Spin” on headlines then burying the truth in the detail of the article is very commonplace, some people can’t handle the truth, and then there are those that never want to see anything negative on a given topic. Burying your head in the sand is a good analogy for how news is reported and how facts are looked upon, it’s almost like if we don’t discuss the messy details they don’t exist or they are not true. Truth is there is real trouble brewing all over this country even right here in our home town, putting a positive spin on a topic doesn’t change anything but the public perception, then when the truth does finally surface the public feels that they have been lied to.
Sound familiar?
shouldn’t it be ” Schools Get WELL Report Card ” ??
Lake Evansville where all the Men are good looking, Women are strong and the kids above average.
CCO Editors and crack reporting team:
RE: the Friday meeting between McGinn and City Controller: I have heard from a gopher (digs dirt & bigger than a mole) that the City is self-insured when it comes to property casualty insurance (which surprised me given that insurances were purchased specifically for the Arena). As a result, the gopher tells me that legal fees are posted to the same fund which handles the self-insurance claim costs, settlements, etc. I.e., there is not necessarily a separate General Ledger account for the Legal Fees when it relates to property/casualty matters. Also, is there actually a “department” with the name ‘General Legal Counsel’ ? It was mole-liciously reported yesterday that Jones’ firm gets $ 3.5 Million reasons per year. But will McGinn really get to see all of the legal bills for a year–i.e., including the Utility Funds, all of the ERC & Arena bills and just the general advisory stuff from Bingham McHale and others ? Inquiring minds want to know ? I have $ 12 Million on the low side, $ 20 Million on the high side. New slogan for this cash: ” Recreation before Representation”–Parks instead of lawyers fees.
I totally agree. At best the headline should have read “EVSC SCHOOLS GET MIXED REPORT CARD”.
Blanger:
It is hard to put a positive spin on this:
http://www.indystar.com/data/education/school_search_results.shtml?School_code=8357&Corp_code=7995&appSession=10655202788612&RecordID=&PageID=2&PrevPageID=&cpipage=1&CPISortType=&CPIorderBy=
But the C&P tried:
SCHOOLS GET GOOD REPORT CARD:
But some in EVSC still are struggling
Some? How about only 8 out of 40 making Adequate Yearly Progress? How about 11 out of 40 on academic probation?
Obviously the local newspaper does not view this as alarming.
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I’m sure all the taxpayers…..err capital improvements will help bring the stats up.
Interesting that changing the name of a school didn’t help the test scores. “Plaza Park International Prep Acad Watch 68.5 1.3 D”
must be all those international kids holding the locals back.
Sad…
Yesterday afternoon the headline on the C&P website read:
School progress reports a mixed bag for EVSC
By John Martin
Evansville Courier & Press
Posted August 29, 2011 at 4:07 p.m., updated August 29, 2011 at 9:40 p.m.
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Today, the same story in the C&P print edition has a different headline:
SCHOOLS GET GOOD REPORT CARD:
(But some in EVSC still are struggling)
August 30, 2011
By John Martin
martinj@courierpress.com
812-464-7594
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The headline for their print readers seems a bit more optimistic than the headline on their website. What’s up with that?
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Perhaps SPREADING DELUSION is part of the job description. The Civic Center may not be the only Evansville location with a MINISTER OF PROPAGANDA on the payroll.
“The headline for their print readers seems a bit more optimistic than the headline on their website. What’s up with that?”
The people receiving the printed edition are less likely to look at their site on the internet or do any fact checking against the two stories. Then again maybe the mayor gets a printed edition hand delivered to him every morning…we know Johnny has his quirks. 🙂
Delaware, which has been on academic probation for years, has suddenly made over a 24% improvement. Shouldn’t the state audit the tests and scoring to make sure they didn’t make an error? If you check the results, Bosse with 20%+ and North with 10%+ are the only other schools on the one page of EVSC schools, available from the Indy Star, that have double digit increases. If those improvements are accurate, then whatever they are doing should be instituted at ALL EVSC schools, instead of spending a fortune all those expensive educational programs they keep buying. If new buildings affect ISTEP, SAT and ACT scores, think what North will do next year after a few months in their awe-inspiring new school.
Is anybody genuinely surprised that the Courier is a propaganda mill for the Democratic Party? Is anyone surprised that our public schools are one part academic excellence, seven parts crud?
Is any of this news to anybody, but that we need to be aware of it anyway?
“Plaza Park International Prep Academy”….Dumb, Dumber, dumbest thing I have ever heard.
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