This past Saturday night, State Board of Education Member Thomas Ratliff and Senator Dan Patrick debated CSCOPE. The debate was streamed live and it was fascinating viewing. Both men did something that is rare in today’s political world. They engaged more in argument and discourse than scripted made for TV sound bites. And for those who think this was a Left vs. Right fight, both men are Republicans, so it was a Right vs. More Right fight. Also note, for both men, there was more political downside than up side to agreeing to meet as they did. I appreciate this and want to thank both men for presenting and defending their sides in a format that I hope other candidates embrace in the future. Now to the best tweets from the debate, as selected by the students from a Texas 9th Grade business class (an inside joke for those who watched).
In chronological order from my Twitter timeline
Imagine your thrilling first day at the NSA, then finding out your job is scanning CSCOPE scores for terror threats. (By @PatrickMichels)
CSCOPE works cheaper than any other entity; saving taxpayer money deserves a medal, not a witch hunt. Compare with Pearson’s prices. (By @EdDarrell)
Dan Patrick in full spin mode and not answering the question. (By @txschoolsupe)
Asking a question about CSCOPE is a different thing than bullying the CSCOPE Board as a Senator. (By @tra_hall)
Senator Dan Patrick: “I can only base it on what people had to testify.” Umm… no. You could actually look at CSCOPE materials before slandering them. (By @TFN)
Teachers, when you are up until midnight building your own scope & sequence, remember that Senator Patrick is proud to have given you that gift. (By @LYSNation)
I want my Senator to weigh testimony based on credibility, not voter blocks. Sadly, my Senator does not operate in this way. (By @LYSNation)
Fun Fact: Dan Patrick’s senate district does not contain ANY CSCOPE school districts. (By @Slothfornix)
When I taught 3rd grade, not once did a parent ask for a lesson plan. (By @emayfarris)
And now the crux of the matter. Do we ask our students to think for themselves or tell them what to think? (By @mikeyjsize)
Mary Anne Whitaker reinforcing what I said earlier: Senator Patrick bullied the TESCCC. (By @txschoolsupe)
Senator Patrick now describing how he bullied the TESCCC. (By @txschoolsupe)
If Ratliff personalized this, Patrick certainly politicized it. Which is worse???? (By @txschoolsupe)
Senator Patrick made the amateur mistake of listening to a vocal minority. Is this someone we want for Lieutenant Governor??? (By @txschoolsupe)
It’s not about freedom about what to teach! It’s about having support to teach everything in the TEKS!!! (By @CabidaCain)
So Senator Patrick used the veiled threat to shut down the whole ESC system to get rid of CSCOPE. Interesting Senator… (By @LYSNation)
Senator Patrick: “Pull down the lesson plans or we close the regional service centers.” The truth comes out. (By @txschoolsupe)
CSCOPE created a business-like model to protect state assets from being raided by private interest. (By @LYSNation)
How come I can get a hold of CSCOPE employees and management by phone any day? Senator Patrick, you need a better secretarial staff. (By @LYSNation)
CSCOPE is not on-line learning. (By @CabidaCain)
Irony abounds. CSCOPE lessons are the least important part of CSCOPE yet Senator Patrick acts as if they are the engine that drives CSCOPE. (By @michaelsclifton)
When parents talk to teachers they are overwhelmingly satisfied – with the curriculum, the relationships, and the learning. (By @CabidaCain)
Thomas Ratliff explains what happened in Llano ISD. Someone ran for school board on anti-CSCOPE platform and got beat. Then raised lawsuit. (By @mattprewett)
Interesting that the Attorney General, a Republican running for Governor, wrote a letter expressing CSCOPE concerns. (By @LYSNation)
CSCOPE charges $7.00 per student. Pearson charges $29.00 per student for a lesser product. (By @LYSNation
Senator Patrick doesn’t answer questions. Just rants. (By TXSilentMajority)
Thomas Ratliff says Texas State Comptroller reported $4.5M savings by those districts that implemented CSCOPE. (By @DonnaHowardTX)
Maybe CSCOPE would be more popular with politicians if it too contributed to re-election campaigns. (By @LYSNation)
Do you know how long it takes to write on really good lesson plan? Every teacher has a right to have a resource to use, adapt, or exchange. (By @sharonkamas)
When I was a teacher, I often had my students consider the perspective of the British when teaching American Revolution. Perspectives differ. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)
Hey, if Pearson owned CSCOPE, would this debate even be happening? (By @DrJerryRBurkett)
Anyone know how to contact the 9th grade class mentioned tonight? I may contact them for help when I start my dissertation! (By @tjadams105)
Senator Patrick, could you get Pearson to make their lesson plans transparent next? Teachers would love to see those too as public domain. (By @iTexasPrincipal)
I knew John Wayne. John Wayne was a friend of mine. Senator Patrick, you’re no John Wayne. (By @TheTexasHoss)
CSCOPE is not perfect… It is merely a tool for districts to use to ensure that we teach the TEKS… Senator Patrick worries me. (By@carlingrammer)
Here is an interesting fact: Senator Patrick looked into CSCOPE due to parent concern. He failed to mention it was a home-school parent. (By @PaulaKelm)
With Thomas Ratliff’s opening statement, CSCOPE debate comes down to why Senator Patrick is wasting taxpayer millions on a bungled, unnecessary witch hunt. (By @EdDarrell)
Irving ISD Fact: CSCOPE cost them roughly $189,000. The new curriculum will cost them $1.3 MILLION. (By @MattMFoster)
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
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