Respecting your Adversary
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Respecting your Adversary | Lefty Parent
Respecting your Adversary | Lefty Parent
So what was precalculus, again? « JD2718
So what was precalculus, again? « JD2718
So what was precalculus, again?
As the first math teacher in a brand new school (9 years ago), I’ve had a bunch of time to consider that question. It’s sort of a mess.
There is no branch of mathematics called “Precalculus” (there is Algebra, there is Geometry, there is Trigonometry. Hmm, there’s not really Calculus, except for The Calculus, but there is Analysis. Maybe we
Queens Teacher: Money Drives Education "Reform"
Queens Teacher: Money Drives Education "Reform"
Money Drives Education "Reform"
The Ultimate $uperpower • Supersized Dollars Drive Waiting for ‘Superman’ Agenda
By Barbara Miner
In 1972, two young Washington Post reporters were investigating a low-level burglary at the Watergate Hotel and stumbled upon a host of unexplained coincidences and connections that reached to the White House.
One of the reporters, Bob Woodward, went to a high-level government source and complained: “The story is dry. All we’ve got are pieces. We can’t seem to figure out what the puzzle is supposed to look like.”
To which the infamous Deep Throat replied: “Follow the money. Always follow the money.”
Sidestepping Democracy
For nearly 40 years, “follow the money” has been an axiom in both
By Barbara Miner
In 1972, two young Washington Post reporters were investigating a low-level burglary at the Watergate Hotel and stumbled upon a host of unexplained coincidences and connections that reached to the White House.
One of the reporters, Bob Woodward, went to a high-level government source and complained: “The story is dry. All we’ve got are pieces. We can’t seem to figure out what the puzzle is supposed to look like.”
To which the infamous Deep Throat replied: “Follow the money. Always follow the money.”
Sidestepping Democracy
For nearly 40 years, “follow the money” has been an axiom in both
REGION: Teacher pensions less generous than other public workers
REGION: Teacher pensions less generous than other public workers
REGION: Teacher pensions less generous than other public workers
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Educators in North County and throughout the state get lesser retirement deals than most city and public safety employees whose pricey pension packages have made headlines and increasingly drawn the ire of taxpayer advocates in the past few years.
Some former public school employees still draw big money in retirement ---- four in North County pull in pensions of more than $200,000 per year ---- but even those top earners don't get the benefits enjoyed by public safety workers and other city employees.
"Teachers have a more modest formula, and it has been fixed for a number of years now," said Jack Dean, vice president of the nonprofit California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, which pushes for pension reform.
In addition to the lower scale, educators must also pay 8 percent of their annual salaries toward their retirement. In several cities, police and firefighters contribute nothing toward their pensions.
Nevertheless, the California State Teachers' Retirement System ---- the system that administers teachers' pensions ---- is facing an estimated $40.5
America ignores education funding at our own peril
America ignores education funding at our own peril
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/08/INBM1H3V02.DTL#ixzz1AYPXkc3I
America ignores education funding at our own peril
Sunday, January 9, 2011
MORE EDUCATION
Over the long term, the only way we're going to raise wages, grow the economy and improve American competitiveness is by investing in our people - especially their educations.
Yet we're falling behind. In a recent survey of 34 advanced nations by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, our kids came in 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading. The average 15-year-old American student can't answer as many test questions correctly as the average 15-year-old student in Shanghai.
I'm not one of those who believe the only way to fix what's wrong with American education is to throw more money at it. We also need to do it much better. Teacher performance has to be squarely on the table. We should experiment with vouchers whose worth is inversely related to family income. Universities have to tame their budgets for student amenities that have nothing to do with education.
But considering the increases in our population of
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/08/INBM1H3V02.DTL#ixzz1AYPXkc3I
Teacher finds two dimes in bottom drawer of desk | theteachingwhore
Teacher finds two dimes in bottom drawer of desk | theteachingwhore
Teacher finds two dimes in bottom drawer of desk
Port Steven, ALABAMA (TWP)
News spread quickly this week that Mona Richards, a Port Steven Middle School art teacher, had found two dimes in the bottom drawer of her desk. The riches immediately set Richards planning for her retirement.
“This twenty cents helps out a lot after all those thousands I spent getting my master’s degree,” said Richards. She added, “That master’s degree got me a salary increase of $53.27 a year over someone with a bachelor’s degree. With this twenty cents, I’m sure I can pay off that debt in eighteen years.”
Richards was looking for a loose tissue because her entire box had just been used up by a small child with a large nose and sinusitis when she discovered the dimes. At first, she didn’t recognize them for what they were, she said.
“I thought they were some sort of game token. My check is direct-deposited, and then after the student loan payment comes out, my son’s college tuition, the payment for the graduate school program, and some cash for
Lake Oswego announces task force to save schools targeted for closing | OregonLive.com
Lake Oswego announces task force to save schools targeted for closing | OregonLive.com
About 100 city residents gathered in the council chambers of Lake Oswego City Hall on Saturday to share issues and projects they felt city officials should focus on for the year. The possible closure of schools to combat an estimated multimillion dollar school budget shortfall was the chief concern.LAKE OSWEGO -- City councilors are hoping a new collaborative group with education officials will help produce alternatives to a controversial budget proposal that targets some Lake Oswego schools for closure.
Mayor Jack Hoffman announced during a city council community roundtable meeting on Saturday that an eight-person task force has been formed to brainstorm ways to lessen a projected school budget shortfall that could reach as high as $8 million dollars next year.
A recent proposal by a citizens advisory committee calls for shutting down three Lake Oswego elementary schools, saving the district about $1.6 million. A follow-up proposal could also ax a junior and high school, which is estimated to save at least another $2.4 million.
The formation of
Lake Oswego announces task force to save schools targeted for closing
Published: Saturday, January 08, 2011, 8:00 PM Updated: Saturday, January 08, 2011, 10:48 PM
About 100 city residents gathered in the council chambers of Lake Oswego City Hall on Saturday to share issues and projects they felt city officials should focus on for the year. The possible closure of schools to combat an estimated multimillion dollar school budget shortfall was the chief concern.Mayor Jack Hoffman announced during a city council community roundtable meeting on Saturday that an eight-person task force has been formed to brainstorm ways to lessen a projected school budget shortfall that could reach as high as $8 million dollars next year.
A recent proposal by a citizens advisory committee calls for shutting down three Lake Oswego elementary schools, saving the district about $1.6 million. A follow-up proposal could also ax a junior and high school, which is estimated to save at least another $2.4 million.
The formation of
Daily Kos: "My Father Died for Pakistan"
Daily Kos: "My Father Died for Pakistan"
"My Father Died for Pakistan"
TWENTY-SEVEN. That’s the number of bullets a police guard fired into my father before surrendering himself with a sinister smile to the policemen around him. Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, was assassinated on Tuesday — my brother Shehryar’s 25th birthday — outside a market near our family home in Islamabad.
That is the opening paragraph of this New York Times op ed with the same title as this diary (minus the quotes). It was written by Shehrbano Taseer,who is a journalist withNewsweek Pakistan and is the son of the assassinated Governor.
It is powerful. It tells of a man
School Tech Connect: Tell Yourself A Story
School Tech Connect: Tell Yourself A Story
Tell Yourself A Story
This is just gross. And let's not forget this:
The only reasonable prediction one can make is that this target imagery and gun rhetoric will only get worse in the next election cycle, so that they can demonstrate to themselves that they're not culpable. Karl Rove's"message trumps resume" thing-- that works when you're telling yourself a story, too.
The only reasonable prediction one can make is that this target imagery and gun rhetoric will only get worse in the next election cycle, so that they can demonstrate to themselves that they're not culpable. Karl Rove's"message trumps resume" thing-- that works when you're telling yourself a story, too.
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