"There may be trouble ahead
But while there's moonlight and music
And love and romance
Let's face the music and dance
Before the fiddlers have fled
Before they ask us to pay the bill
Much research has been done on my part recently regarding how I work well. Note, that is not how I work, but how I work WELL. As much as I am fond, perhaps overly, of using digital resources for the scheduling, planning, mapping, sorting, sifting, and creating in my daily life, there is a threshold that I think I have reached in regards to what my limitations are with computing. There are some things that pen and paper are just plain better for when it comes to my thinking. Moving into this new space is going to require me to have some hard-copy places for my ideas and notes. And, we don’t have universal wireless access where I am going yet–that presents a little snag.
When I was a freshman in college, I had these high school habits that were really hard to kick. Transcribing every word the professor said into my three-subject, spiral-bound, loose-leaf notebook, retyping rewriting those notes the night before an exam, and absolutely tanking on any type of exam that wasn’t based on factual recall.
By the time my sophomore year rolled around, two things had changed. First, I recognized that my talents did
The secretary of Education is whining about the fact he only got 85 percent of the money he wanted .… So, when we needed money, we committed the cardinal sin of treating him like any other mere mortal. We were giving them over $10 billion in money to help keep teachers on the job, plus another $5 billion for Pell, so he was getting $15 billion for the programs he says he cares about, and it was costing him $500 million [in reductions to the Race to the Top program]. Now that’s a pretty damn good deal.
So as far as I’m concerned, the secretary of Education should have been happy as hell. He should have taken that deal and smiled like a Cheshire cat. He’s got more walking around money than every other cabinet secretary put together.
It blows my mind that the White House would even notice the fight [over Race to the Top]. I would
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America’s Dilemma: Teachers or Food | |
| By: emptywheel Saturday July 17, 2010 9:55 am | |
Remember that important NYT story from early this year describing the growing number of Americans whose sole income consists of food stamps?
About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times. In declarations that states verify and the federal government audits, they described themselves as unemployed and receiving no cash aid — no welfare, no unemployment insurance, and no pensions, child support or disability pay.
Their numbers were rising before the recession as tougher welfare laws made it harder for poor people to get cash aid, but they have soared by about 50 percent over the past two years. About one in 50 Americans now lives in a household with a reported income that consists of nothing but a food-stamp card.
Well, months after that report came out, some genius in the Obama Administration, according to a very shrill David Obey, proposed offsetting funds to keep teachers in the schools by cutting food stamps. Said genius wanted to cut these people’s only safety net so Arne Duncan could go on privatizing our schools.
The secretary of Education is whining about the fact he only got 85 percent of the money he wanted .… So, when we needed money, we
| ONLINE SCHOOL OPTIONS FOR GEORGIA PARENTS, STUDENTS FACE MAJOR SETBACK |
| Posted by marin2008 | |
| Sunday, 18 July 2010 | |
| Georgia Families for Public Virtual Education raises strong concerns that two approved online high schools were forced to withdrawal due to low and unfair funding from the state. This week both Kaplan Academy of Georgia and Provost Academy Georgia will no longer provide virtual high school curriculum to students. In 2008, Georgia passed landmark legislation HB881, requiring the Georgia Charter School Commission to provide fair and equitable funding for online public charter schools. The typical student in Georgia receives over $8,000, yet virtual charter schools only receive around $3,500 --among the lowest of any state. Thousands of public school children are being denied funding despite a law mandating equal treatment. According to the International Association for K12 Online Learning (iNACOL), the national average of funding provided to online public schools is $6,500 per pupil. Still significantly less than the average child receives in brick and mortar schools. "It is concerning that two new online schools set to provide high-level education to Georgia students are forced to close because the state refuses to uphold a law providing equal funding for virtual schools," said Rene Lord, Chairman of the Georgia Families for Public Virtual Education. "Experts and national studies all say funding for virtual schools should be at or near the national average. The Commission has failed the children by its disregard for their education and future." The unenforced law creates a serious lack of options for parents and children. Currently, Odyssey School operated by Georgia Cyber |
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