History alert: article about train tunnels (and building new ones)
Museum in western Mass (one of my favorite places on earth)
Something on the difficulty of creating rules for schools, especially middle schoolers.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Friday
Yeah, so it's Friday. And in that spirit, I bring you something to exercise your brain: an article from (where else?) the NYT on the transition of microlending to profit-generating business. Now, I'm a fan of microlending, having first learned about it during my time at Mount Holyoke in one of my women's studies class. Women are often the recipients of microlending, using it to create independence and self-sufficiency, and is no doubt a welcome alternative to prostitution for many. It has revolutionized certain areas of the developing world, and in 2006 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh for this very reason. To me, this is the sort of endeavor that would be more suited to a non-profit situation, with profits being reinvested. On the other hand, I see the point of being able to expand, rapidly, the available credit.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Jeopardy
I'm pretty sure that I haven't gotten any smarter lately, so it's for sure that Jeopardy questions have been dumbed down. When my roommate and I can get the Final Jeopardy answer from just the topic, things have gone downhill.
(By the way, the topic in question was "1920's Literature." We said "Gatsby" without thinking twice. And we were right.)
(By the way, the topic in question was "1920's Literature." We said "Gatsby" without thinking twice. And we were right.)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Slate: Fixing It
Slate (online magazine) has initiated a series of articles to outline what needs to be done to fix what the Current Occupant (to borrow a phrase from Garrison Keillor) has done during his time in office. This one's about education.
"The act is at once the Bush administration's signature piece of education legislation, its most significant domestic policy initiative, and the most intrusive federal education law in our nation's history. The federal government provides less than 10 percent of all education funding, yet NCLB drives education policy in every school district in the country."
Being that NCLB [No Child Left Behind] is one of the reasons I left public education, it's nice to hear someone actually point out the disparities between the requirements of NCLB and the funding provided by the Feds.
Are there things wrong with public education? Don't get me started. But the way to fix them is not with NCLB, at least not as it's currently written. There are good goals in the NCLB: "creating high goals for all schools, ensuring accountability for meeting them, and focusing attention on disadvantaged and minority students who are too often ignored" but excessive standardized testing, exacerbating the culture of shallow, over-broad, disconnected learning is not going to fix it.
"Standardized test results tend to track socioeconomic status." 'Nuf said. You can tell more from SAT scores about the kind of car a kid's parent drives than you can accurately predict their success in college.
I don't agree with their stance that it's time to create national standards in subjects, simply because the Feds aren't providing the funding for all schools in the nation. (That's my Libertarian/New Hampshire streak showing.) Large states with weirdly conservative standards is what has corrupted the textbook industry, at least in my subject, history/social studies -- I think national standards will eliminate the creativity of individual teachers.
"The act is at once the Bush administration's signature piece of education legislation, its most significant domestic policy initiative, and the most intrusive federal education law in our nation's history. The federal government provides less than 10 percent of all education funding, yet NCLB drives education policy in every school district in the country."
Being that NCLB [No Child Left Behind] is one of the reasons I left public education, it's nice to hear someone actually point out the disparities between the requirements of NCLB and the funding provided by the Feds.
Are there things wrong with public education? Don't get me started. But the way to fix them is not with NCLB, at least not as it's currently written. There are good goals in the NCLB: "creating high goals for all schools, ensuring accountability for meeting them, and focusing attention on disadvantaged and minority students who are too often ignored" but excessive standardized testing, exacerbating the culture of shallow, over-broad, disconnected learning is not going to fix it.
"Standardized test results tend to track socioeconomic status." 'Nuf said. You can tell more from SAT scores about the kind of car a kid's parent drives than you can accurately predict their success in college.
I don't agree with their stance that it's time to create national standards in subjects, simply because the Feds aren't providing the funding for all schools in the nation. (That's my Libertarian/New Hampshire streak showing.) Large states with weirdly conservative standards is what has corrupted the textbook industry, at least in my subject, history/social studies -- I think national standards will eliminate the creativity of individual teachers.
NYC Congestion Charge
NYC just approved a congestion charge for driving in certain parts of Manhattan. This follows London's example. I'm sure that some are pissed off about it, but I think it's a good idea, reducing traffic and pollution at the same time.
School News
'Cause this is what schools need (from the Christian Science Monitor) -- a reduction in funds, especially since most of the schools in California aren't even making their No Child Left Behind targets already
Wonder if these things affect high school classrooms too (also from CSM) -- politics of professors
And the improbable physics of Harry Potter (CSM)
Wonder if these things affect high school classrooms too (also from CSM) -- politics of professors
And the improbable physics of Harry Potter (CSM)
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