Newhouse: Student finds favorite teacher at last - San Jose Mercury News

Newhouse: Student finds favorite teacher at last - San Jose Mercury News:

"Mike Bugbee has found his long-lost fourth-grade teacher from the mid-1960s, and I'm beginning to resemble my Halloween costume of Sherlock Holmes.

In my Oct. 22 column, Bugbee spoke of finding that one special teacher in his life, a young woman at Piedmont Avenue School in Oakland who took a dyslexic kid lacking self-esteem and instilled in him the confidence to succeed in education.

On Oct. 23, lost teacher was located. Take that, Magnum P.I.! I received a call from the teacher's sister in Danville, who informed me that Bugbee's favorite educator now lives in Laguna Niguel in Southern California and her name is Anne Hassard Bussey."

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers:
"Did you have a great teacher inspire you and change your life?

We all did.My Teacher, My Hero celebrates those teachers.

See stories from leaders around the world and share one of your own!"

Century City News: Senate Prepared for Take-off on Race to the Top

Century City News: Senate Prepared for Take-off on Race to the Top:

"The Senate Education Committee will vote on key Race to the Top legislation this Monday, including the most comprehensive bill addressing the reforms, SBX5 1, authored by Senator Gloria Romero (D- East Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Education Committee, with Senators Bob Huff (R-Glendora), Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), and Mark Wyland (R- Escondido).

“We can’t afford to wait anymore. If we’re not racing to the top, we will be grounded in our failures,” said Senator Romero."

NO on SB 5X 1

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

This is the info you will need to contact Darrell Steinberg.

District office -telephone - 651-1529FAX --------- 327-8754

Capital office -telephone -- 651-4006FAX ---------- 328-2263

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Senators' Home Pages

Senators' Addresses

Parents of California raped teen beg: stop the violence (video)

Parents of California raped teen beg: stop the violence (video):

"The recent rape case in California has put into question why the school wasn’t more prepared to help the girl who was raped for two and a half hours last week.

The parents of the 15-year-old girl made a statement yesterday through their church pastor that they do not want the violence to continue, but yet would rather that people do something constructive with their anger about this situation. They suggested volunteering, or helping a neighbor, but to just do something constructive.

The police have stated that ten people were involved in the rape of the 15-year-old girl, and there were at least ten bystanders who watched. In California, a minor is considered a person 14 and under, so the bystanders cannot be charged in any wrong doing for not reporting the incident while it occurred."

23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million - NYTimes.com

23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million - NYTimes.com:

"The presidents of the nation’s major private research universities were paid a median compensation of $627,750 in the 2007-8 fiscal year — a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year — according to The Chronicle of Higher Education annual executive compensation survey."

The highest paid private university executive was Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., with a pay package totaling $1,598,247 in fiscal 2008. Ms. Jackson, a physicist and former chairwoman of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has been at Rensselaer since 1999, and first became the highest-paid university president just two years later.

In this year’s survey, she was followed by David J. Sargent of Suffolk University in Boston, the top earner in last year’s survey, who took in $1,496,593 in fiscal 2008, and Steadman Upham of the University of Tulsa, whose pay package was $1,485,275.

Executive Compensation

A list of resources from around the Web about Executive Compensation as selected by researchers and editors of The New York Times.

Center for Corporate Policy
Speech by SEC Commissioner Roel C. Campos to the 2007 Summit on Executive Compensation
SEC Spotlight on Options Backdating
Chairman Cox Unveils New Internet Tool With Instant Comparisons of Executive Pay
SEC Dec 2007

Executive Pay Finder
SEC

The Crystal Report on Executive Compensation
Maintained by Graef Crystal, Executive Compensation Specialist
Other Coverage

Reining In the Overpaid (and Underperforming) Chief Executive
Booz Allen Hamilton Strategy + Business Feb 19, 2008

Executive Compensation
Forbes, May 3, 2007

Documents
Executive Pay - Conflicts of Interest Among Compensation Consultants
U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 2007
2007 Summit on Executive Compensation
Highlights
Staff observations in the review of executive compensation disclosure
Securities and Exchange Commission, October 2007
Executive Compensation Disclosure Update
SEC, August 2007
Speech by John White, Division of Corporation Finance
SEC, August 2007
Executive Excess 2007
Institute for Policy Studies
Current Issues in Executive Compensation
NYU Journal of Law and Business June 21, 2007
Executive Compensation: A new view from a long-term perspective, 1936-2005
Federal Reserve Board, 2007
Excessive CEO Pay
CRS Report for Congress, 2007
The Economics of Corporate Executive Pay
CRS Report for Congress, 2007

Community College Proposal May Not Be Enough - Education News Story - WNEM Saginaw

Community College Proposal May Not Be Enough - Education News Story - WNEM Saginaw:

"INDIANAPOLIS -- Arthur Call commutes three hours roundtrip to his anatomy class at community college because similar courses on campuses closer to his Indianapolis home are packed this semester.

'Classes around the state were just full,' says Call, a full-time student who takes the rest of his classes in Indianapolis. 'Thank God it's only Tuesdays. I just have to drive there once a week.'

President Barack Obama wants to invest some $12 billion in community colleges with the aim of seeing an additional 5 million students graduate by 2020. This goal comes while many schools are already bursting at the seams with droves of displaced workers hit by the recession competing with traditional students seeking an education bargain."

It's not just a classroom; it's an adventure - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

It's not just a classroom; it's an adventure - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review:

"As I sat writing this article in my classroom, looking around at my setting, I reflected on the start of this adventure, which began last May, when I was doing what every teacher does – looking forward to summer vacation. But this year was going to be different, I said to myself.

I always start planning the next academic year early so I can enjoy my summer a little more. This approach is nothing new. However, as I was cleaning out my desk this year, I was struck by an article about a recent study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong [1] concerning student learning environments"

Champions for Children's Health Stroller Brigade

Champions for Children's Health Stroller Brigade:

"Nov. 4 - Washington, DC Nov. 6-8 - Across the Country

Join Us In Standing Together for Children: Congress is debating health reform legislation that could leave millions of children worse rather than better off and fails to fix bureaucratic, unfair barriers to care. This must be changed now!

What We Are Demanding: Congress and the President must support changes that provide comprehensive, affordable, accessible care for all children no matter where they live. Changes must build on what works in the system and fix what doesn’t work for children now.

Actions You Can Take: Join children, parents, grandparents and champions for children in a 'stroll' to the Nation's Capitol on November 4 or join stroller brigades in cities across the country November 5 through 8 to ensure that our children are not left behind in health care reform. Can't join a stroller brigade in-person? You can also participate in our Virtual Stroller Brigade!"

Hindus urge Iceland for more balanced approach in teaching religion in schools

Hindus urge Iceland for more balanced approach in teaching religion in schools

Hindus have asked for a more balanced approach on religious instruction in Iceland schools.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that under the subject of religion/theology, Iceland should come up with a comparative religion class teaching basics of all major world religions, including the viewpoint of non-believers.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that opening-up the Iceland children to major world religions and non-believers’ viewpoint would make them well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow. It also made a good business sense to know the beliefs of “others” in a global community. Moreover, students should have knowledge of the entire society to become full participants in the European community.

According to International Religious Freedom Report 2009 of U.S. Department of State about Iceland, which was released few days back: School grades 1-10 (ages 6-15) are required by law to include instruction in theology. The law also mandates that general teaching practices be shaped by "the Christian heritage of Icelandic culture, equality, responsibility, concern, tolerance, and respect for human value."

This report further says: The precise content of this instruction can vary, and some observers have claimed that religious indoctrination can take place, as the curriculum is not rigid and teachers often are given wide latitude in the classroom. Lessons on non-Christian religions are part of the curriculum, but teachers focus mostly on Christianity. The compulsory curriculum for Christianity, ethics, and theology, does, however, suggest a multicultural approach to religious education and an emphasis on teaching a variety of beliefs. In secondary schools, theology continued to be taught under the rubric of "community studies" along with sociology, philosophy, and history.

The report points out: Students may be exempted from Christianity classes…There is no obligation for school authorities to offer other religious or secular instruction in place of Christianity classes. Some observers have noted that this discourages students or their parents from requesting such exemptions and may isolate students who seek exemptions or put them at risk of bullying in schools.

The report adds: The Government does not actively promote interfaith understanding and does not sponsor programs or an official church-government council to coordinate interfaith dialogue…

Cinematic Iceland is famous for its active volcanoes, hot springs and geysers; whose settlement began in 874 AD.

No trick! Obamas dole out treats to 2,000 kids - White House

No trick! Obamas dole out treats to 2,000 kids - White House:

"President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday doled out presidential M&Ms and dried fruit mixes to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters, marking their Halloween at a White House event partly aimed at honoring military families.

Dressed as superheroes, pirates, fairies and skeletons, the kids came in with their parents from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and lined up on the orange-lit White House driveway.

Standing outside the White House front door, Obamas smiled, chatted and passed out cellophane goody bags that were also filled with a sweet dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses and a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

European Union funds India studies in Poland

European Union funds India studies in Poland

European Union (EU) has reportedly given 270, 000 Euros to University of Warsaw (Poland) to establish a Contemporary India Studies Centre.

Said to be the first research center of its kind in central Europe, this project reportedly will cover studies of India’s cultural, social, political, and economic issues. Its faculty will include scholars from Europe and India and it will promote cooperation between Europe and India, reports suggest.

Welcoming this gesture, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged EU to also fund research in Sanskrit and Indian religions in various countries of Europe.

Cultural mission of the University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski) in Warszawa, formed in 1816, is a synthesis of universal and local values. Rector is Professor Katarzyna Chałasińska-Macukow.

All students should be judged on same criteria | Our Views & Yours - PennLive.com -

All students should be judged on same criteria Our Views & Yours - PennLive.com -:

"Education has been called the great equalizer. No matter what your race, creed or ZIP code, every child is entitled to a quality public education.

Yet as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan explained to an audience of aspiring educators at the University of Virginia, as a nation, “we still have not fully achieved the dream of equal educational opportunity.”

Today, nearly 30 percent of students drop out or fail to complete high school on time. These students can’t afford to lag behind in the competitive and ever-changing workplace. It is predicted that by 2016, four out of every 10 new jobs will require advanced education or training."

Honoring the Legacy of Ryan White | The White House

Honoring the Legacy of Ryan White The White House:

"Today, President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. It represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring access to needed HIV/AIDS care and treatment. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) worked very closely with Congress on this bipartisan legislation, and the consensus document developed by the HIV/AIDS advocacy community was an important part of the process. We were so pleased that Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, was here at the bill signing."



The Ryan White Program is the largest federal program specifically dedicated to providing HIV care and treatment. It funds heavily impacted metropolitan areas, states, and local community-based organizations to provide life-saving medical care, medications, and support services to more than half a million people each year: the uninsured and underinsured, racial and ethnic minorities, people of all ages.

The President also announced today the elimination of the HIV entry ban. Since 1987, HIV-positive travelers and immigrants have been banned from entering or traveling through the United States without a special waiver. In July 2008, Congress removed all legislative barriers to repealing the ban and paved the way for HHS to repeal the ban. A final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, November 2nd and will take effect in early January 2010. That means that people who have HIV and are not U.S. citizens will be able to enter the U.S. starting in January next year. This is a major step in ending the stigma associated with HIV.

While I have been traveling across the country during the past several weeks for our HIV/AIDS Community Discussions, I am hearing from people living with HIV, nurses, case managers, doctors, community-based service providers, and others about how important the program is to ensure access to care and treatment. As we continue our work on developing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, we have many important lessons from the Ryan White Program for increasing access to treatment, helping retain people in care, and improving health outcomes. Addressing the epidemic in the U.S. is a priority for President Obama, and we are renewing our focus on prevention as well as treatment.

As we prepare to mark the 20th anniversary of the Ryan White Program next August, the legacy of Ryan White continues to endure.

Participants at the event:

Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan White's mother
Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA
Senator Mike Enzi, R-WY
Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK, not confirmed
Representative Henry Waxman, D-CA
Representative Frank Pallone, D-NJ
Representative Joe Barton, R-TX
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, not confirmed
Ernest Hopkins, Policy Chair, Communities Advocating for Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR); Federal Affairs Director, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Frank Oldham, Jr., President and CEO, National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA)
Julie Scofield, Executive Director, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
Jeffrey Crowley is the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Policy at the White House

A remarkable turnaround at Pasadena's John Muir High School -- latimes.com

A remarkable turnaround at Pasadena's John Muir High School -- latimes.com:

"With each click of his mouse, Sam Picture wondered if John Muir High School was a good career move.

Stories of high dropout rates, low test scores and violence popped on his screen when he researched the 55-acre campus in northwest Pasadena in January 2008.

He didn't see it as a deterrent, but rather, a challenge.

Picture, now the school's athletic director, is one of the many teachers, administrators and counselors hired to turn around the troubled high school, which since 2001 has cycled through five principals. This year is the first in five that the state is not monitoring the school for failing to increase test scores."

Dysfunctional California / Maybe it is time to stop scapegoating legislators

Dysfunctional California / Maybe it is time to stop scapegoating legislators:

"Maybe it's time to call your state legislator to admit 'It's not you, it's me.'

A recent Field Poll, designed by a panel of political scientists from Stanford, Berkeley and yours truly from California State University Sacramento, asked Californians a series of questions about proposed reforms to state government and various constitutional convention scenarios."

The findings reveal a virtually impossible-to-please electorate.


On one hand, majorities in the poll think "fundamental changes" need to be made to the state Constitution. Citizens much prefer a package of revisions done all at once, and they want what is in many ways a radical solution - a new constitutional convention. Indeed, the Bay Area Council and a coalition called California Forward are both actively pursuing a convention, possibly on the 2010 ballot.

This is, of course, a familiar pattern in California politics. If we feel unease, we grasp at the big, bold changes that just might be crazy enough to work. Think of the dramatic tax overhaul that was Proposition 13, or our strict legislative term limits, or the recall of a governor, whoM, naturally, we replaced with an action movie hero.

When we're unhappy, we go big. Yet these changes never seem to fix the problems, and in many cases, they create new ones.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/01/IN0F1AB8TM.DTL#ixzz0Vd1mySPY

The Golden State isn't worth it -- latimes.com

The Golden State isn't worth it -- latimes.com:

"Today's public benefits fail that test, as urban scholar Joel Kotkin of NewGeography.com and Chapman University told the Los Angeles Times in March: 'Twenty years ago, you could go to Texas, where they had very low taxes, and you would see the difference between there and California. Today, you go to Texas, the roads are no worse, the public schools are not great but are better than or equal to ours, and their universities are good. The bargain between California's government and the middle class is constantly being renegotiated to the disadvantage of the middle class.'

These judgments are not based on drive-by sociology. According to a report issued earlier this year by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Texas students 'are, on average, one to two years of learning ahead of California students of the same age,' even though per-pupil expenditures on public school students are 12% higher in California. The details of the Census Bureau data show that Texas not only spends its citizens' dollars more effectively than California but emphasizes priorities that are more broadly beneficial. Per capita spending on transportation was 5.9% lower in California, and highway expenditures in particular were 9.5% lower, a discovery both plausible and infuriating to any Los Angeles commuter losing the will to live while sitting in yet another freeway traffic jam."

In Mayoral Race, a Blitz of Truth-Stretching Ads

In Mayoral Race, a Blitz of Truth-Stretching Ads

As the New York City mayor’s race enters its final, combative stretch, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his opponent, Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., have unleashed a flood of advertisements that contain distorted, misleading and, in some cases, outright false claims about everything from the creation of jobs to plans for tax increases.

With many New Yorkers just beginning to tune in to what has been a late-blooming campaign, the truth-stretching — in TV commercials, Web advertisements and mailed brochures — could be the primary exposure they have to the two candidates.

Both the mayor and the comptroller have misrepresented each other’s records, but Mr. Bloomberg has taken the biggest liberties. In ads that follow Web users as they move from site to site, the mayor claims that Mr. Thompson “never created a single job” (false) and “fought reform” at the Board of Education (misleading).

The mayor implies, in one commercial, that Mr. Thompson plans to raise income taxes across the board, and he has even bankrolled a Web site, ThompsonTaxHike.com, dedicated to the subject.

But Mr. Thompson has not proposed such a tax increase in his campaign; instead, he favors a higher income tax for the rich.

South Bend Tribune: Bennett's choice: Kids over politics

South Bend Tribune: Bennett's choice: Kids over politics:

"Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is sowing confusion. What he sows is not what he hopes to reap.

Confusion?

Bennett, a Republican, praises the education policies of President Obama and hails Obama's secretary of education, Arne Duncan, as 'the right guy at the right place at the right time.'"

For Pete's sake, or at least for Rush's sake, why isn't a Hoosier Republican education official denouncing all that's Obama, especially on education? Gosh, even Obama's plea for kids to study hard and stay in school was denounced by vocal critics as a sneaky way to promote socialism.

Confusion?

Democrats in the state legislature and their allies in teacher organizations want to write off Bennett as a Bush Leaguer, a George W. Bush Leaguer, as he seeks to shake up the education establishment.And then he cites how Obama and Duncan want to shake up education, too, in similar ways, with similar goals for improvement.

Confusion?

Grant: Education reform next heated debate | thetowntalk.com | The Town Talk

Grant: Education reform next heated debate thetowntalk.com The Town Talk:

"As I listen to the stupefying debate over national health care I can't help but wonder whether we will get as contorted by the coming debate over education in this country."

That debate is inevitable as well. It will surely come next as a consequence of congressional submission to big money and halfway political compromises. When the middle class and states are forced to assume more of the costs of health care the dollar shift will be found in education cuts.

That's always the way of it.

It will be difficult enough to shift more costs to local school districts, but even more so for higher education where the rate of cost increases rival those of health care itself.

I hear opponents of serious health care reform brag that we Americans have the best in the world. But a number of studies don't even rank the U.S. in the top 10 countries in the world for quality of life on factors that include health care, social safety nets, education, crime, etc.

While American universities still stand out as the best in the world, there are challengers.

The asterisk behind our boasts about health care and higher ed leads to the footnote that reads: "This is true but only for those who can afford it."

As a people, we made the decision long ago that public education was a key element in the growth of the country and the success of democracy itself. We have been challenged repeatedly to live up to those goals and we are approaching such a challenge once again.

It would be helpful if the rhetoric over health care would take into account how decisions we make will impact the rest of the economy over time and to education in particular.

Education revolution fails grade

Education revolution fails grade:

"FINNISH students top all international tests, New York's charter schools have helped disadvantaged students succeed and England has brilliant programs that allow specialist schools. But these are not lessons the Rudd Government is heeding. The much-vaunted ''education revolution'' is heading for failure because it has not adopted key strategies that international experience tells us are important for success.

Most of what has been achieved has simply merged state and territory bureaucracies into a single framework of decision-making that may ultimately have no impact on how students learn. Australia may end up with one of the most centralised and bureaucratically organised systems of education in the world, with ministers left flailing for explanations as performance flatlines and expectations are unfulfilled"

A way to improve schools, one instructor at a time - The Boston Globe

A way to improve schools, one instructor at a time - The Boston Globe:

"A good teacher equals a good school year. Not always, but far more often than not. Ask any parents of an elementary-grade child how the school year is going, and it won’t be long before you’ll hear them rave about - or bemoan - the teacher their child has been assigned to. There are teachers who are duds, who can find a way to drain the fun out of a unit on dinosaurs for second-graders. And there those with a gift for reaching the eighth-grader slouched in the back of the classroom with a penchant for eye rolling. These teachers can bring to life to Poe’s fascination with the dead, or deliver just the right contemporary analogy to make sense of the War of 1812."

Nearly everyone can probably recall a teacher who lit their passion for poetry or who was able to help them connect all the dots in a seemingly incomprehensible algebra formula. We know that individual teachers can make a huge difference.

But public schools in America have been bent on ignoring the obvious: Almost nothing about the way we hire, evaluate, pay, or assign teachers to classrooms is designed to operate with that goal in mind. Most teachers receive only cursory performance evaluations, with virtually every teacher graded highly. We use a one-size-for-all salary structure, in which the only factors used in raises are teachers’ higher-education credentials and number of years in the system, neither of which is strongly linked to their effectiveness. And we often let seniority, rather than merit, drive decisions about where a teacher is placed. It is in many ways an industrial model that treats teachers as identical, interchangeable parts, when we know that they are not.

Opinion: Walters: Race for next schools superintendent will shape future of education reform - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Walters: Race for next schools superintendent will shape future of education reform - San Jose Mercury News:

"One of the more obscure — and probably more important — of California's many political conflicts pits an organization called EdVoice against the California Teachers Association and other school unions.

It centers on our ever-deepening education crisis, manifested in low test scores and high dropout rates, especially among black and Latino kids.

EdVoice, maintained by some wealthy Californians such as Southern California developer Eli Broad and Silicon Valley tycoon Reed Hastings, advocates charter schools, tougher teaching standards and other aggressive approaches.

The CTA and its allies, meanwhile, say California's chief education issue is money, specifically its below-average level of per-pupil spending.
It's not so much a partisan or even ideological conflict — Broad and many other EdVoice leaders are Democrats — as it is one of pedagogic philosophy, but that doesn't make it any less abrasive."

Thursday's D.C. Council hearing

Thursday's D.C. Council hearing

When Kathy Patterson learned about Thursday's D.C. Council hearing, during which Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee pelted each other with accusations of law-breaking and secret meetings, she had one immediate reaction.

"Here we go again," said Patterson, a former council member and chairwoman of its education committee. It looked as if another attempt at public school reform was disintegrating in a hail of recriminations and rhetoric, with Rhee destined to join Franklin L. Smith, Lt. Gen. Julius Becton, Arlene Ackerman, Paul L. Vance and Clifford B. Janey, the school leaders who preceded her in the past two decades.

It was supposed to be different this time. The 2007 legislation that disbanded the old D.C. Board of Education and gave control of the school system to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) was designed to minimize the push-and-pull of ward politics, making a single executive accountable. But Thursday's hearing vividly illustrated that no legislation can completely account for the mix of personalities who come together to execute it.

At the beginning of the last century, urban reformers wrested control of schools from mayors and established independently elected boards as a hedge against corruption. But the pendulum has swung back. Mayors from Boston to San Jose have been taking over school districts since the early 1990s, recognizing that their city's economic growth and their political longevity are inextricably linked to the quality of the local educational system.

EcoKids dive deep into ecology | TheUnion.com

EcoKids dive deep into ecology TheUnion.com:

"“Ecology is science. Deep ecology is ethics. It's the philosophy behind the science,” asserted Marge Kaiser, founder and executive director of the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute of Nevada City.

It's the difference between “I-it” and “I-thou,” she explained. We are not separate from Nature. We are part of Nature.

“For us to think we're separate from — and better than — Nature is not only an illusion, but dangerous to ourselves and our planet,” she said with her characteristic intensity."

Marriages of convenience: Medical groups join with food companies - KansasCity.com

Marriages of convenience: Medical groups join with food companies - KansasCity.com:

"They may seem like odd couples, partners from opposite poles with a passion to help you lead a healthier life.

Or maybe it’s about money.

Soda-pop makers courting medical groups. Potato-chip producers curling up with dietitians. Beer companies linking arms with traffic-safety advocates.

These marriages of convenience have become an increasingly common part of corporate America. That leaves consumers and government regulators wondering if we can trust all the advice coming from organizations that buddy up with industry."

The latest tryst with a twist involves the American Academy of Family Physicians. The Leawood-based organization represents about 94,000 doctors who struggle to get their patients to shed excess pounds.

From across the room, Coca-Cola bats its eyelashes. The queen of carbonated drinks is fending off attacks that its sugar-sweetened products promote obesity and should be taxed.
The two organizations last month sealed a deal that had Coca-Cola giving the academy a grant in the mid six figures to come up with health messages for the public about beverages and sweeteners.

The academy and Coca-Cola said the information would be based on objective science.

But doctors, nutrition experts and consumer advocates charge that Coca-Cola is proffering the money just to improve its reputation and possibly to buy the academy’s silence.
In various toasts to our health, bedfellows of the strangest kind are everywhere and go back decades. The study of alcoholism owes much to the distilled-spirits industry, which teamed with Cornell University and the National Institute of Health on research as early as the 1940s.

Now an increasingly skeptical and health-conscious public, with so much information at its fingertips, isn’t sure whose advice to trust, said Shelly Rodgers, a University of Missouri researcher of strategic communications: “Consumers instantly see the conflict and go, ‘What? What?’ ”

Our views: Classroom equality | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

Our views: Classroom equality floridatoday.com FLORIDA TODAY:

"Separate but equal was inherently unequal and harmful to black students.

That was the U.S. Supreme Court’s finding in the watershed 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated school integration and helped trigger the civil rights movement’s crusade for racial equality in public schools in the 1950s and 1960s."

Most Americans rightly view the desegregation order as a triumph over prejudice.

But its legacy is one reason some 120 black students who live closest to University Park Elementary in Melbourne are nonetheless bused to 10 other schools, some more than nine miles away, conforming with a 40-year-old federal order forbidding black- or white-only schools.

Students in three other neighborhoods, one each in Cocoa, Titusville and Rockledge, are also affected by the policy.

Targeting mostly minority kids for busing to achieve diversity seems unfair, and the situation needs review.

California's folly - Prop. 13

California's folly - Prop. 13:

"In November 1978, Harper's magazine published my article on the passage of Proposition 13 under the headline 'Californians Rush for Fool's Gold.'"

At that time, Prop. 13 was getting lots of national media attention. The pundits of type and tube were hyping California as the pacesetter for a post-Watergate America. At the same time, the cultural gurus were proclaiming it to be a proving ground for paradise.

Even George F. Will, the usually cautious Washington Post columnist, declared, "The East Coast, landfall for immigrants of all sorts, once was the laboratory of American politics. Today California, land's end for migrants of all sorts, is the laboratory."

Birthplace of the "less is more" philosophy, the Golden State had become both the cultural fad-fashioner of the nation and a dominant political force. What did this imply for the nation politically? Many observers referred to California trendiness as a hopeful sign of America's greening.

Instead, Prop. 13 was to become California's Folly. I thought then, and am firmly convinced now, that the key elements in the proposition - the taxation formula and the two-thirds legislative requirement - would be responsible for causing a fiscal and social disaster. These two requirements have, in time, helped to lead the state into financial bankruptcy and created a dysfunctional state government.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/01/INF41AA3BG.DTL#ixzz0VcYIAcO4

USC President Steven B. Sample to step down in August -- latimes.com

USC President Steven B. Sample to step down in August -- latimes.com:

"USC President Steven B. Sample, who dramatically boosted the university's academic prestige, financial resources and civic engagement during nearly 19 years as its leader, says he will step down from the post next summer.

Sample, who turns 69 this month, said he will end his presidency in August, allowing university trustees ample time to choose a new president for the 34,000-student campus near downtown Los Angeles.

'It's a time for fresh leadership. I don't mean to sound self-congratulatory, but we've had a good run. And so, why not quit while you're ahead?' Sample, an electrical engineer who previously headed the State University of New York at Buffalo, said in an interview in his campus office."

California's deficit of common sense -- latimes.com

California's deficit of common sense -- latimes.com:

"California is rich. Even in the midst of a drought, we have lots of water, and in the midst of a recession, we have lots of money. The problem is one of distribution, not of actual scarcity.

This is the usual problem of the United States, which is not just the richest and most powerful nation on Earth now, but on Earth ever, and one of the most blessed in terms of natural resources. We just collectively make loopy decisions about how to distribute the money and water, and we could make other decisions. Whether or not those priorities will change, we could at least have a reality-based conversation about them."

Editorial: Not pretty, but state education bill takes a step - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Editorial: Not pretty, but state education bill takes a step - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"This week will be a big test for the California Legislature, which has the lowest approval ratings since the Field Poll started measuring in 1983.
In particular, it marks a critical step for the Senate and its leader, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

The Pro Tem has called the Senate back into special session Monday to take up legislation to make the state competitive for up to $500 million in federal Race to the Top education grants.

Will California fight President Barack Obama's education agenda for turning around the nation's lowest-performing schools? Or will California be a leading partner?"

NO on SB 5X 1

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

This is the info you will need to contact Darrell Steinberg.

District office -
telephone - 651-1529
FAX --------- 327-8754

Capital office -
telephone -- 651-4006
FAX ---------- 328-2263

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Senators' Home Pages

Senators' Addresses

Visions In Education K-12 Charter School Video Production Wins Telly Award - PR.com

Visions In Education K-12 Charter School Video Production Wins Telly Award - PR.com:

"Sacramento, CA, November 01, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Visions In Education Charter School, one of California's leading home schooling and independent study programs in grades K-12 is proud to announce that its school informational DVD has won a Bronze Telly. Their production firm, Haven Falls Motion Picture Productions, nominated the DVD for this year’s Telly Awards.

As the Oscars are for feature films, and the Emmys are for broadcast television, so the video production industry sees the Tellys. Production companies only put forward their very best work, and this Bronze Telly was in approximately the top 28 percent of all productions that were considered (about 15,000 entrants). Additionally, the project won in the category of Recruitment, which is validation that compared with other organizations that are using videos for recruiting purposes, this project has been independently judged to be in the top tier."

Viewpoints; Supply, demand, quality: Crisis in teaching - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Viewpoints; Supply, demand, quality: Crisis in teaching - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"If confidence in public schools weren't already precarious enough, it was further shaken by remarks made by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a speech delivered at Columbia's Teachers College on Oct. 22.

Duncan urged an overhaul of schools of education, calling them cash cows that do a mediocre job of preparing their graduates for the demands of the classroom. His charges made headlines, but they were not new. They echoed many of the points made by Arthur Levine, former president of Teachers College, in 'Educating School Teachers in 2006,' and by David F. Labaree in 'The Trouble With Ed Schools' in 2004."

Sacramento Press / Operation Sellout: How the Sky Box Trumps the Lunch Box

Sacramento Press / Operation Sellout: How the Sky Box Trumps the Lunch Box:

"From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence.

On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his 'Rules of the Game' plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture."

In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East Sac, all the way east to River Park and southward to College Glen, Tahoe Park and back around to Oak Park -- all of these neighborhoods are being intentionally and systematically deprived of a comprehensive, traditional, public high school.
This mayor has claimed to want to be an education mayor for Sacramento, even though public education is outside the duties and jurisdiction of the mayor.

One Parents view: REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.

One Parents view: REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.


ATTENTION!
State Senator Gloria Romero (D- Los Angeles ), a candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (FYI, Eli Broad and Richard Riordan are heavily backing her), is using the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program to push through unnecessary legislation that will hurt teachers, students and schools.

CONTACT STATE SENATOR LONI HANCOCK AND ASK HER TO REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.

DO IT TODAY!!!

Senator Hancock's District Office Phone: (510) 286-1333 (you'll be instructed to press 0 to leave your voicemail)

Senator Hancock's District FAX: (510) 286-3885

Senator Hancock's Web site: http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com/

Background: Hastily Amended Bill, Short Notice

Under the cover of the special session on education called by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Sen. Romero has amended her measure and worked with Sen. President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) to put the bill on a “fast track.”

The bill was amended Thursday night with the intention of having the Senate Education Committee pass it on Monday, followed immediately by a vote of the full Senate. Not only is this “short cut” suspect, it also prevents lawmakers from giving the measure and its major education changes the careful study they deserve.

Members of the education community and the public deserve time to review and have input on this legislation.

What’s even worse – the bill would change state law before the RTTT federal regulations are even finalized. Those regulations may not be finalized until December. It makes no sense to pass the Romero bill now.

SB 5x 1 has numerous problems:

It locks into state law unnecessary changes Sen. Romero claims are needed to implement RTTT even before the federal regulations governing the program have been adopted.

It repeats the mistakes of the fatally flawed No Child Left Behind Act, including the overreliance on test scores as the only measure of student achievement.

It modifies regulations governing the entire School Improvement Grant Program in hopes of helping California get one-time RTTT funds, but it would also cause schools to lose SIG money if they do not comply with the new state regulations.

It forces irresponsible and punitive changes in teacher and administrator evaluations.
It allows unfettered increases in under-regulated charter schools that are not responsible to the community.

It substitutes narrow compliance in place of innovation and local flexibility vital to schools’ success.

It increases costs and mandates at a time schools are staggering under $17 billion in cuts and 20,000 educator layoffs.

Please help spread the word!

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Assembly Members' Home Pages

Assembly Members' Addresses

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Senators' Addresses

Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com:

"On the subject of tech and education, academics and executives are worried about many divides.

There’s the growing divide between kids who have access to technology and those who don’t; kids who participate in creating content with technology at home and school, and those who can’t; and the kids who know a lot about technology, and the parents who fear them.

Divides also enter into the equation for proponents of education reform.

Early Wednesday at Google’s “Breakthrough Learning in the Digital Age,” at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., a spat broke out over the urgency of filling in all the gaps."

Cal Expo board extends arena pact despite Johnson task force - Sacramento Business Journal:

Cal Expo board extends arena pact despite Johnson task force - Sacramento Business Journal::

"Uncertain if it might become a jilted lover, Cal Expo decided Friday to extend its courtship with the National Basketball Association.

A day after Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson surprised the Cal Expo board by announcing he is actively soliciting proposals for any and all sites for a new sports and entertainment center, board leaders agreed to extend their letter of understanding with the NBA for another six months. The current agreement to negotiate exclusively with one another was set to expire Nov. 30, and now runs to May 31."

Revising the Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)

Dear Categorical Program Director:

The California Department of Education (CDE) is currently in the process of revising the Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) and would like your input. Improving academic performance and ensuring equity of achievement of all students is the top priority of the education system in California. The California Education Code (EC) sections 41507, 41572, and 64001 and the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require each school to consolidate school planning requirements into the SPSA for all programs funded through the Consolidated Application, ESEA Program Improvement, the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, Economic Impact Aid (EIA), the Pupil Retention Block Grant, and the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) into the SPSA. ECsection 11502 requires the integration of parent involvement programs into the school plan.

It is very important to the CDE that all interested stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input. The CDE will be conducting this revision process over the next few months. The current Guide and Template for the SPSA can be viewed on the CDE SPSA Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp.

Please e-mail your comments and recommendations to spsa@cde.ca.gov before November 30, 2009.
Sincerely,

/FB/

Fred Balcom, Director
District and School Improvement Division

The charter school problem: Results are much less positive than a new study suggests

The charter school problem: Results are much less positive than a new study suggests:

"Charter schools are not a panacea for our education problems. The recent study by Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University concludes that disadvantaged students who attended charter schools in New York City for nine years, from kindergarten through eighth grade, can close most of what she calls the 'Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap.' Hoxby does not say how many students completed nine years in a charter school - a key detail, as the city had only about a dozen small charters in 2000."

The results are impressive, but they are not typical of charter schools across the nation.

Nationally there are about 4,600 charter schools enrolling 1.4 million students. They run the gamut from excellent to abysmal. Even their most ardent supporters recognize that they vary widely in quality. Chester Finn, whose Thomas B. Fordham Institute sponsors charter schools in Ohio, wrote, "Some of the best schools I've ever been in are charter schools, some of which are blowing the lid off test scores in such vexed communities as Boston, New York and Chicago. And some of the worst - and flakiest - schools I've ever been in are charter schools."
A national study conducted by Stanford University economist Margaret Raymond found that 37% of charter schools got worse results than comparable neighborhood public schools, 46% did about the same and only 17% were superior to the local public schools. The Raymond study surveyed half the charter schools in the nation and more than 70% of all charter school students. Raymond said, "If this study shows anything, it shows that we've got a 2-to-1 margin of bad charters to good charters."

Unlike the Hoxby study, the Raymond study concluded: "This study reveals in unmistakable terms that, in the aggregate, charter students are not faring as well as their TPS [traditional public school] counterparts. Further, tremendous variation in academic quality among charters is the norm, not the exception. The problem of quality is the most pressing issue that charter schools and their supporters face."

Charter schools have participated in the federal testing program since 2003. Charter school students have never outperformed students in regular public schools, except in isolated instances. In 2007, charter students had lower scores than students in regular public schools in fourth-grade reading, fourth-grade mathematics and eighth-grade mathematics. Only in eighth-grade reading did charter school students score the same as their peers in regular public schools. Education Week reported that "the latest data do not bolster the early hopes of charter advocates that the sector as a whole would significantly outperform regular public schools."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_the_charter_school_problem_results_are_much_less_positive_than_a_new_study_sugge.html#ixzz0VWslDpSB

Colbert I. King - Colbert I. King on D.C. youth offenders - washingtonpost.com

Colbert I. King - Colbert I. King on D.C. youth offenders - washingtonpost.com:

"The D.C. Council labored mightily this week to give Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee her comeuppance for firing teachers and staff whom legislators wanted kept on the payroll. The way Rhee went about the layoffs may have handed council members ammo that could be used against her. But if test scores are up and the school system has stopped bleeding students, as The Post has reported, it's not all bad. Face it, a good bedside manner is not one of Rhee's strong points."

That said, the council has every right, and a duty, to exercise oversight of the school system. If, however, lawmakers are sincere about bringing accountability to efforts in behalf of children, they must cast a wider net. Youth are being shortchanged by more than poor teaching. To be blunt, the council needs to investigate why the lives of our youth are being jeopardized daily by one of the very departments charged with helping them.

Consider teenager Tyrone Hopkins, who made the big time this week. He was charged with armed robbery, as an adult, under Title 16 of the D.C. Code. It's a section of the law not often invoked against youth offenders.

Pa. charter school overhaul legislation proposed | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/31/2009

Pa. charter school overhaul legislation proposed Philadelphia Inquirer 10/31/2009:

"Aiming to end abuses recently uncovered in Philadelphia-area charter schools, a bipartisan legislative committee yesterday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the state's 12-year-old charter law.

The proposal takes a carrot-and-stick approach, pushing changes that would enable charters to grow in size and number, but holding them to far stricter standards of accountability and oversight.

The changes 'were developed in response to several stories written by The Philadelphia Inquirer on the fiscal abuses of some Philadelphia-based charter schools over the last several months,' said a statement accompanying the legislation proposed by Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola (R., Dauphin), the majority chair, and Sen. Andrew E. Dinniman (D., West Chester), minority chair of the Education Committee."

The New Public Domain - At Public Universities - Less for More - NYTimes.com

The New Public Domain - At Public Universities - Less for More - NYTimes.com:

"SUSAN LI’S senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, was fast approaching, and she was running out of time. She needed at least three classes to qualify for financial aid. But a week before classes began, she had registered for only one course."

“They’re not offering the classes I need,” said Ms. Li, a history major. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

In her first two attempts to register, she hadn’t been able to get her outstanding general-ed requirements or any advanced classes in her major. Classes were full, or not being offered this term. If she can’t complete what she needs to graduate, Ms. Li doubts she can afford a fifth year. She has taken out $8,000 in loans each year.

“Hopefully something will open up,” she said, and after scanning the registration Web site each day something did: two Asian-American studies electives, neither of which would move her closer to completing her major.

Witch School on move -- chicagotribune.com

Witch School on move -- chicagotribune.com:

"Since the Witch School set up shop in tiny Rossville two years ago, some of the Christian flocks in this former factory town have protested and prayed that the pagans would pick up and leave. Some even sprinkled the wheels of their cars with holy water and cruised around town to ward off witches.

Their prayers will be answered Halloween weekend when the handful of teachers and staff from the school pull up stakes and move where they feel more welcome: Salem, Mass., the site of the infamous witchcraft trials more than three centuries ago.

'This area is not real conducive to the occult,' said the Rev. Adam Taubert, pastor of First Baptist Church in nearby Hoopeston, where the Witch School operated before moving to Rossville. 'I don't know if they were trying to create controversy. Some people try to stir up things to promote themselves because it's free publicity.'"

Cambridge University allows Muslim students to wear burkhas under their mortar boards at graduation | Mail Online

Cambridge University allows Muslim students to wear burkhas under their mortar boards at graduation Mail Online:

"Cambridge University will allow female Muslim students to wear burkas at graduation ceremonies, it emerged yesterday. By tradition, students are required to wear dark suits and white shirts under their graduation gowns. Cambridge has clamped down on breaches of the rules after officials complained students were increasingly wearing casual clothes to ceremonies. They warned the code 'is strictly enforced at ceremonies, and if you do not observe it, you may not be permitted to graduate on a particular occasion'."

Georgetown University rally denounces anti-gay violence - washingtonpost.com

Georgetown University rally denounces anti-gay violence - washingtonpost.com:

"About 50 Georgetown University students rallied on campus at noon Friday to show solidarity with a student who was allegedly attacked this week because of her perceived sexual orientation.

'We should not have to fear for our lives when we walk down the street,' said freshman JM Alatis, secretary and historian of GU Pride, the student group that organized the rally in less than 24 hours via Facebook, Twitter, text message and e-mail."

Editorial - Hawaii’s Children, Left Behind - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Hawaii’s Children, Left Behind - NYTimes.com:

"The economic crisis has forced every state to scramble to get its budget in balance. This has meant torturous efforts to preserve essential services and minimize the pain and damage from slashed spending and lost jobs. Every state has sacrificed. But Hawaii has sacrificed its own schoolchildren."

The 50th state, the only one with a single statewide school district, has just cut 17 days from the academic year, under a new labor contract with public school teachers that avoids layoffs in favor of pay cuts and furloughs, all to be taken on instructional days. Barring a court order or other intervention, there will be no classes on most Fridays for the rest of the school year, leaving 170,000 children in the lurch. Parents are furious that a state already lagging in academic achievement would willingly adopt the country’s shortest school year.

The teachers’ union, the school board, the Department of Education and Gov. Linda Lingle all share responsibility for the debacle; they all signed off on the new contract last month. Ms. Lingle issued a statement at the time praising it as being “in the best interest of teachers, our students and the general public.”

The Answer Sheet - Enough feuding! It's time for a D.C. schools summit

The Answer Sheet - Enough feuding! It's time for a D.C. schools summit:

"I just might scream if I hear one more person invoke what is “best for the kids” in the growing conflict between D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and her critics.
Tension is rising over a seemingly growing gap between what Rhee says in public and what she actually does--and while everybody is arguing about who is right and who is wrong and who didn’t call whom back, guess who is going to suffer?

(Did I just invoke what is “best for the kids?” Okay, I’m screaming.)

Yesterday Rhee was hit by D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray for deciding unilaterally to lay off teachers and staff instead of trimming summer school operations as the council had ordered to save $9 million. It was suggested that she broke the law; she said she was on solid legal ground."