Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Anson Burlingame: Give C. J. Huff five years and he can bring up test scores

Much of the writing on education by blogger and frequent Joplin Globe guest columnist Anson Burlingame has been relegated to his blog, but his latest appears on the pages of the Globe and once again appears to have been fed to him straight from the mouth of R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff.

Things are going swimmingly, Burlingame writes:

At least in terms of process, our local public education system is almost there now. I say that based on conversations with several local leaders in public educaiton. Joplin Globe reporting has confirmed some of those elements now in place as well, particularly in terms of standards in use locally.

Burlingame ends his column this way:

For the first time since I began to write about public education, about six yeras ago, I now sense a good system is in place so that all concerned know now what is required of all nondisabled students in Joplin. If all concerned now follow the local mandates in that system, then over time- maybe in about five years- the public in Joplin will see better educated students graduating from Joplin High School.

The sad thing about Anson Burlingame is that he actually believes this nonsense. He buys into the idea that the C. J. Huff Administration has had six consecutive years of declining test scores, but give him another five years and he can turn it around.

It is also sad that Anson Burlingame believes the Joplin Globe has been keeping him informed on education, when, in fact, it has served as C. J. Huff's cheering section and has worked diligently to cover up the flaws, some of which have cost local taxpayers millions in Huff's self-absorbed administration.

And the saddest thing of all- Anson Burlingame, on the basis of spending a few years as a substitute teacher and becoming a confidant of C. J. Huff, feels he is now an expert on education and the Joplin Globe continues to serve him up to the reading public as such.

And there may be a few people who actually believe this nonsense.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...


Rep. Billy Long- a potential age group marathon winner in just five years. Will he run for president too?

Anonymous said...

Give me forty acres and I'll turn this rig around.

Anonymous said...

Credibility. Ain't it a b!+€#.

Anonymous said...

Yes! Five more years and we can finally get rid of all the teachers. All kids need is an ipad and a dream. we-b-schools.com can easily have kids self-teach. Ten, twenty, or thirty years down the line will prove the genius of CJ.

Anson cannot only read men's souls; now he can see into the future. That is right. He knew what would happen 5/22/2011. He also knew that not tellng anyone meant that CJ would fulfill his destiny as the hero who saved Joplin. Thank you Anson. Every last bit of pain was worth it. We all trust in your wisdom to see us through, Five years doesn't seem that long after all.

Anonymous said...

Your mommy was a great Kindergarten teacher at Irving. She must be very proud of you.

Anonymous said...

Give Mike Johnson five more years and he'll bring the buildings up to code.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. That whole "Five Year Plan" worked great for the Soviets too.

Anonymous said...

Hey , I built a dog house once. Will the Globe hire me as an expert in City Planning and Construction.

Anonymous said...

Anson to CJ:

Love, love will keep us together.
Think of me babe whenever,
Turner starts writin' the truth,
Bringin' the proof

Don't get you down,
Just sing a song spoof
and Stop (stop)
Cuz I really love you,
Stop (stop)
I've been thinkin' of you.

Look in your heart and let love.....
keep us together.....
Whatever.....

I will
I will
I wiiiiiiiiiillll......

Anonymous said...

What's he saying? Our current HS students are too stupid to raise the scores or he needs that much time to come up with a new way to scam the testing board?? Lol Nice try CJ, you won't be here that long, the auditors will have already hauled your butt off to the cell you're gonna share with Bubba!! Lol

Anonymous said...

Joplin R-8 has become a farce. Huff is a politician, not an educator. He has no interest in education, and even less interest in creating a tolerable environment for kids, teachers, or other staff. He is a self-promoter that has gotten in way over his head. The damage he is doing may never be reversed. I think that Amendment 3 is absolutely horrible for teachers and schools, but if it passes and they strip tenure, that will be one less reason for any teacher currently working for R8 to stay.

Anonymous said...

Look closely at the above picture. You can almost hear him snicker, "and there is not thing one you can do about it."

Anonymous said...

Huff has been here far too long as it is. The school district will have to declare bankruptcy and the children will be worse off than they are. Isn't it a shame parents are having to leave joplin and their home town to get their children in a performing school district. Huff has been here five years too long!

Anonymous said...

I'm increasingly convinced Anson Burlingame is an aspiring writer for The Onion.

Anonymous said...

More likely the Onion has secretly purchased the Globe.

Anonymous said...

So gratifying to know that those pesty disabled kids need not worry about test scores Anson.

Anonymous said...

11:36,
That teacher is not his mom.