Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Schundler flap shows Christie's a born lawyer | NJ.com

Schundler flap shows Christie's a born lawyer

Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 4:53 AM

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There’s an old saying in the legal profession: When the facts are on your side, pound the facts; When the facts aren’t on your side, pound the table.

That tactic may work in the courts of law. But it doesn’t work in the court of public opinion.

Chris Christie found that out last week when he managed to turn what should have been a minor tiff with the teachers’ union into a story that will liven up the news cycle for weeks to come.

The error in question was a one-paragraph oversight in a 1,000-page application for a $400 million federal "Race to the Top" education grant. If the administration had answered the question correctly, New Jersey would have squeaked by Ohio into the top 10 and gotten the grant.

After The Star-Ledger reported the mistake, the blame game began. The New Jersey Education Association seized the opportunity to get revenge on a governor who’s risen to national prominence by blasting the teachers unions.

Christie could have come back at the union with the entirely accurate charge that its failure to

A crisis of spiraling tuition - The Boston Globe

A crisis of spiraling tuition

Colleges must volunteer — or be forced — to address rising costs

By Derrick Z. Jackson

Globe Columnist / August 31, 2010

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THE COST of college has become unpatriotic.

In a speech to the Urban League in July, President Obama bemoaned the nation’s drop from first in the world to 12th in measures of college completion. This situation is “economically indefensible’’ and “morally inexcusable,’’ he said, and “all of us are going to have to roll up our sleeves to change it.’’

Graduation rates aside, the most morally inexcusable aspect of college is the unbridled cost of getting in. It is clear who should be first to roll up their sleeves: college presidents. Obama should declare their tuitions and fees a state of emergency and call a national summit to hold these institutions accountable.

At this very moment, loaded minivans and U-Haul trucks are crisscrossing

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

The researcher’s revenge

If you have been following the latest stem cell brouhaha, you know that a federal judge just threw a monkey wrench into hundreds of million of dollars of ongoing research at MIT, Harvard, and across the country. Press coverage has been remarkably restrained in describing the prime mover behind this litigation, Dr. James Sherley, a researcher at the Boston Biomedical ... (By Alex Beam, Globe Staff)

$197m later, Newton North opens

NEWTON — It began as a simple renovation project. It ended up the most expensive public school ever built in Massachusetts. (By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff)

Group faults Conn. on achievement gap

HARTFORD — The performance gap between low-income Connecticut students and their peers is the largest in the country, according to a state-appointed education committee. (By Everton Bailey Jr., Associated Press)

200 turn out to meet Randolph’s new school superintendent

RANDOLPH — About 200 residents and local officials welcomed Oscar Santos as Randolph’s new school superintendent at a dinner reception Tuesday night hosted by the School Committee. (By Wendy Chow, Globe Staff)

Burlington High principal plans to incorporate more technology in learning

Patrick Larkin envisions a day when all students bring to school is a laptop, iPad, or cellphone. To the dismay of schoolchildren everywhere, snow days would be a thing of the past since students could complete their class work even when snowbound. (By Sara Brown, Globe Correspondent)

N.J. Senate leaders say Gov. Chris Christie owes President Obama an apology over 'Race to the Top' gaffe | NJ.com

N.J. Senate leaders say Gov. Chris Christie owes President Obama an apology over 'Race to the Top' gaffe

Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 10:55 AM Updated: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 11:02 AM

Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau
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Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerLifting a copy of the 1,000 page "Race to the Top" application onto the podium, Governor Chris Christie last Wednesday begins to explain the one page "clerical error" that allegedly cost the state $400M in federal funds for education.

TRENTON — Last week, Gov. Chris Christie said President Obama should apologize to New Jersey residents for allowing a “clerical error” in its “Race to the Top” application to cost the state its chance at up to $400 million in federal education funds.

Today, following a series of revelations about the error and the subsequent blame game, the state Senate’s top two Democrats said the Republican governor now owes Obama an apology.

“The disparaging and partisan attack on our federal education officials that you engaged in during last week’s press conference was a shameful attempt to rationalize a careless error by your administration that cost New Jersey taxpayers $400 million in federal funding,” wrote Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) in a letter to Christie.

“The blame that you foisted on the Obama administration was misdirected and your display

Exceptional Interview With Daniel Pink | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Exceptional Interview With Daniel Pink I’ve just finished listening to an hour-and-twenty-minute interview/conversation between Daniel Pink (author of *Drive*) and Russ Roberts, host of a podcast titled EconTalk. It’s really an exceptional conversation. Roberts is a gentle skeptic at ...

The Ocean Beach Town Council of Yesteryear …

by FRANK GORMLIE on AUGUST 31, 2010

in CIVIL RIGHTS & LIBERTIES, CULTURE, MEDIA, OCEAN BEACH

Come meet the OB Town Council of yesteryear … of 1972. OB community activists were engaged in a stand-off with the then president Bob Miller. Here is a portion of the front page of the original OB Rag in March 1972. (The link to the scanned version is below.)

National Staff Development Council to Change Moniker - Teacher Beat - Education Week

National Staff Development Council to Change Moniker

by Stephen Sawchuk

The National Staff Development Council, a membership group working to improve post-preparation professional development for teachers, will be rebranding itself beginning Sept. 1. Its new name: Learning Forward.

The name "represents that what we do today in schools affects lives far into the future," the group's deputy executive director, Joellen Killion, wrote in a release. "We will continue to serve our members with the same dedicated level of attention, provide leadership in the field of professional learning, develop resources and

Tuesday, August 31, 2010