Current Events > PA lawyer says the quiet part loud in defending school funding policy

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https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-school-funding-trial-testimony-20211226.html?mc_cid=3dcda812aa&mc_eid=b0e00d0e7d

In questioning the superintendent of a rural school district, a lawyer for Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman repeatedly asked why the states academic standards mattered for students entering certain professions.

What use would a carpenter have for biology? asked John Krill of Matthew Splain, superintendent of the Otto-Eldred School District in McKean County and president of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, one of the plaintiffs. Splain had said his districts scores on state standardized tests in biology and other subjects were not acceptable.

What use would someone on the McDonalds career track have for Algebra 1? Krill continued.

As lawyers for the plaintiffs objected, asking what the relevance was, Krill said that the trial was about whether Pennsylvania was meeting its constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient system of education.

The question in my mind is, thorough and efficient to what end? To serve the needs of the Commonwealth, Krill said. Lest we forget, the Commonwealth has many needs. Theres a need for retail workers, for people who know how to flip a pizza crust.

Margie Wakelin, a lawyer for the Education Law Center representing plaintiffs, later asked Splain why his district felt the academic standards were important. We obviously cant predict what our students will have interest in, or what careers they might pursue, Splain said, saying the standards served as a baseline.

Would it be helpful, Wakelin asked, for a retail worker to understand basic biology of viruses during a global pandemic to decide whether to get a vaccine, what steps to take to keep a business open, or to send children to school for in-person learning?

Splain said it would be.

He didn't use ONE racial slur.

Dude's basically a paragon of restraint.

Maybe that person wouldn't be on a McDonald's career path if he learned algebra?

Oh he's got some splainin' to do.

Dude sounds like hes from a Fallout game with all this Commonwealth talk.

Yeah I always have a side-eye glance ready for someone who harps on the "commonwealth" aspect of Virginia, Mass, Kentucky or Pennsylvania.

Funny story: it means nothing. They're exactly the same as a "state" in the US and have no distinctions apart from the name.

CyricZ posted...

Yeah I always have a side-eye glance ready for someone who harps on the "commonwealth" aspect of Virginia, Mass, Kentucky or Pennsylvania.

Funny story: it means nothing. They're exactly the same as a "state" in the US and have no distinctions apart from the name.

Oh I think everyone knows. My first reaction to hearing Commonwealth was This is some dystopian shit. Why they try and stand apart from the other 50 states is pretty embarrassing.

CyricZ posted...

Yeah I always have a side-eye glance ready for someone who harps on the "commonwealth" aspect of Virginia, Mass, Kentucky or Pennsylvania.

Funny story: it means nothing. They're exactly the same as a "state" in the US and have no distinctions apart from the name.

Saying a state is a commonwealth and gives full custody of kids to crackhead moms over Keanu Reeves dads is what I hear a lot

Why are boomers so obsessed with the flipping of food?

CyricZ posted...

Oh he's got some splainin' to do.

Fucking the plaintiff would be highly irregular.

KiwiTerraRizing posted...

Why are boomers so obsessed with the flipping of food?

Do people even flip pizza crusts?

Just normal conservative shit. Trying to build a permanent underclass that exists only to serve the burgouise.

lilORANG posted...

Maybe that person wouldn't be on a McDonald's career path if he learned algebra?

It's always "poor people are just lazy and stupid" well maybe they wouldn't be if they were given the same opportunities as others? It comes down to circular reasoning.

ScazarMeltex posted...

Just normal conservative shit. Trying to build a permanent underclass that exists only to serve the burgouise.

That's the issue though, isn't it? In some people's eyes there *needs* to be some sort of bottom rung who does all the hard work for the benefit of those higher up.
It's the same argument that was used to justify slavery.

This is someone who's mentality has not progressed past a highschool mindset of "when am I ever going to need to know this?".

DrizztLink posted...

Do people even flip pizza crusts?

I make an upside down pizza. It's exactly like a regular pizza except I flip it Midway through and ruin it.

What a shameless bellend.

Don't have an abortion! That baby could grow up to cure cancer! Just kidding most of you are going to flip burgers.

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