Filed on June 9, 2007 at 3:26 pm under by dcobranchi
Yeah, you can homeschool on a shoestring. But I don’t think you can do it this cheaply.
BULLHEAD CITY – After more than an hour-long discussion in a packed board room, the Bullhead City Elementary School District board voted 3-2 to look at better enforcing the current dress code of a mandated shirt at Fox Creek and Bullhead City junior highs…
Parents addressed the board and listed pros and cons of full uniforms. One parent asked why the district wasn’t also considering elementary schools for full uniform. Another said she’ll need to home school again because of the uniform’s cost.
Filed on June 8, 2007 at 8:59 am under by dcobranchi
The power for humans to see dead mayors (or Jesus Christ) in grilled cheese sandwiches or sycamore bark never ceases to amaze.
Filed on at 7:31 am under by dcobranchi
Why should girls have to declare, in February no less, if they are going to wear pants or a dress for high school graduation? Could the School Board not have come up with a simpler solution? Like this:
Dress code
Boys- Black slacks
Girls- Black skirt or black slacks
It ain’t that tough.
BTW, as a result of my LTTE on this subject last year, I received a very nice snail mail letter telling me I was going to Hell.
Filed on June 7, 2007 at 10:04 pm under by dcobranchi
I’m stuck in a hotel room in Houston. Cable here carries the NASA channel. Near as I can tell, it’s 24/7 a live shot of the space shuttle sitting on the launch pad.
Filed on at 9:24 pm under by dcobranchi
Exactly 6 days ago Pepsi introduced Diet Pepsi Max to the US market. It tastes a lot like Pepsi One. But it has twice the caffeine. At 69 mg/12 oz. it trails only Jolt (at 71 mg) in the soft drink category.
I really wish I had known this before I drank one half of a 2-liter bottle.
Filed on at 8:32 pm under by dcobranchi
My host did something to offend the email goddess, and I cannot send. So, I’m not ignoring you.
Filed on at 8:44 am under by dcobranchi
Someone seems to have hacked Annette’s blog.
Filed on at 6:10 am under by dcobranchi
This horse left the barn long ago.
Charter schools sap public needs
Abbott funding was created to help poor school districts develop students who had fallen behind suburban counterparts. Most of us who work in urban Abbott schools can tell you horror stories about basic items and personnel we are missing because of insufficient money. (“Charter schools deserve larger share of state aid package,” May 30 op-ed.)
All public schools already are underfunded. If charter schools start draining more money from the traditional public school system, the Abbotts never will catch up to our suburban counterparts. Charter schools on paper may seem to be doing the job their home schools are not, but they put public schools at a disadvantage with unequal conditions:
Charter schools recruit and take away the more motivated students from the traditional public schools with boastful and exaggerated promises.
Charter schools are limited in size, for smaller classes, and support fewer special education and non-English-speaking students.
Students who don’t fit in at a charter school are forced out. Traditional schools educate all students. We don’t give up on anyone, and, when necessary, we always find the less-restrictive learning environment for our troubled students.
Of course charter schools will score higher than the traditional public schools, but they do so by creating a system of advantage, not by educating all students.
We should fully fund all of the public education system, including vocational schools, magnet schools and traditional schools. We should stop cutting budgets for public schools, which have produced our greatest citizens.
Charter and private schools should do their best to educate students whose families opt out of public school, but they should use private funds, not tax money.
Matthew J. Swartz
NEPTUNE
NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER
Hey, Swartz! The ’90s called and they want their argument back.
He’s calling for the abolishment of the charter system, a system which he himself admits is doing the job that the regular public schools can’t. And why, exactly, should the owners (i.e., the taxpayers) of both the inefficient, defunct system and the effective system go along with his request?
Filed on at 5:56 am under by dcobranchi
A biology text to avoid at all costs.
“Explore Evolution brings to the classroom data and debates that already are raised regularly by scientists in their science journals,†emphasized science education policy analyst Casey Luskin, M.S., J.D. “Exposure to these real-world scientific debates will make the study of evolution more interesting to students, and it will train them to be better scientists by encouraging them to actually practice the kind of critical thinking and analysis that forms the heart of science.â€
That’s Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute, purveyors of the pseudo-scientific Intelligent Design Theory Hypothesis Wild-assed prayer.
Explore Evolution is ideally suited for folks who are afraid of science:
[snip]
* Home school teachers who want to provide their students with a religious rigorous college-preparatory curriculum in the life sciences that might not satisfy college entrance requirements stresses critical thinking skills.
Filed on at 5:40 am under by dcobranchi
The Hall of State at the Fair Park will come to life on June 15, 2007, at 7:30 p.m., when the premiere of a new documentary is held. “Taking a Stand in Texas” is a captivating documentary that depicts the hardships and struggles of Texas families in the early days of the home school movement. The film describes home school pioneers’ battles, both in the courts and in the public arena, which ultimately led to legal victory and the freedom Texans now enjoy.
I think I’ll wait for the DVD.
Filed on June 6, 2007 at 8:15 am under by dcobranchi
From a luminary of the (supposedly) strong on defense party:
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said he believes the United States should communicate with Iran despite what he termed its constant state sponsorship of terrorism.
But he also warned that he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapons program.
“I would authorize the use of tactical nuclear weapons if there was no other way to preempt those particular centrifuges,” Hunter said.
This is so far beyond evil that there’s not even a name for it. Perhaps Cav can arrange for a little everlasting nuclear torture for Rep. Hunter. It’d be only just.
Besides, doesn’t Hunter realize that this kind of talk merely serves to justify in the Iranians’ minds their need for nuclear weapons? After all, North Korea has them and we haven’t gone after Kim Jong Il.
Filed on June 5, 2007 at 9:15 pm under by dcobranchi
Apple is offering a “free” iPod with the purchase of a computer.
While Apple likes to market this sort of thing towards the college students, it is important to note that the offer is available to a long list of education-related individuals including college faculty and staff, “students attending or accepted into a college or university,” public or private school employees in the US, elected PTA, PTO, or school board members, and “qualified home school teachers.” Apparently there is no love for K-12 students…
The rebate form actually says “Qualified Homeschooler.” I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.
Filed on at 8:53 pm under by dcobranchi
A: Who cares?
Filed on at 7:31 pm under by dcobranchi
JJ and Nance both pointed to an interesting post by Liza Sabater at the Culture Kitchen group blog. Worth a read.
Filed on at 9:02 am under by dcobranchi
School’s out forever! Newbies are so cool. 🙂
Filed on at 8:33 am under by dcobranchi
I was comped a couple of review copies of a new series of books aimed at girls ca. 9 years old. The Fairy Chronicles by J. H. Sweet cover the exploits of four girls (one of whom is an HEK) who are also fairies.
Fairies are Mother Nature’s Girls Friday, and the girls’ adventures involve some kind of repair of the (super)natural world. The first book in the series (at least six are planned) bears the rather long-winded title The Fairy Chronicles: Marigold and the Feather of Hope, the Journey Begins.
OK, not such an auspicious start.
The cover art, which is taken directly from one of the many illustrations in the book, is a four-color rendition of Tara Larsen Chang’s colored pencil drawings. They’re all nicely done and really help move the stories along. And the stories do move along.
Each of the first two books runs around 105 pages, broken into eight chapters. Read aloud, a chapter runs between five and ten minutes, so a strong reader will tear through one of these books in little over an hour.
The stories themselves are definitely girl stories. The girls are the heroines throughout; the boys, ne’er-do-well Brownies who can’t help but pull practical jokes on the fairies. But the tween-aged fairies don’t seem to mind all that much. Which is a problem. The girls are all around 9-years-old. By the end of the first book, Beth (aka Marigold) is exchanging letters with a smitten Brownie. I was never a 9-year-old girl, and perhaps that’s normal behavior in the g-schools. It’s not normal in our home. Even our 13-year-old is just barely beginning to discover boys. And the second book in the series continues and expands upon the theme, with the other fairies teasing Beth about her “boyfriend.” It just seems inappropriate for the age.
The books are very environmentally conscious. The fairies’ raison d’être is to preserve the natural order. And even in human form, environmentalism plays a strong role:
As a final bit of recycling information, Jennifer told her friends, “I’ve been forbidden to harass Mr. Longfellow across the street.” When her friends looked at her questioningly, Jennifer explained, “He was throwing out all kinds of plastic. So a couple of months ago I gave him a lecture on how bad plastic is in a landfill. Glass and paper are not as bad for landfills, but plastic is horrible. He doesn’t seem to be throwing away as much plastic as before. So maybe I did some good.
But I’m not allowed to bother him, so I had to get sneaky. He’s still throwing away newspapers, so yesterday I asked him if I could collect his used newspapers once a week for a school project. I’ll just add them to ours and recycle them.” Jennifer finished, looking very pleased with herself.
Being concerned about the environment? Good. Lecturing adults and lying? Not exactly a role model I want my girls emulating.
One other nit: J. H. Sweet has a really bad list-making habit. By that I mean she creates lists, loooong lists, in her stories. Drove me bonkers reading them aloud. An example:
Like many nine-year-olds, Jennifer spent the summer swimming, skating, reading, climbing trees, playing video games, attending camp, and having sleepovers with friends.
All in all, I can give these at most a tepid rec. Jonathan, 8, loved the stories. Chelsea, 10, bailed after a few nights. At $6.99 a pop, there are probably better choices out there.
Filed on June 4, 2007 at 6:08 am under by dcobranchi
Sometimes I’m embarrassed by my industry:
A bill is moving forward in Congress that would take important and much-needed steps to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. But it may not address one of the most glaring vulnerabilities: chemicals traveling by rail. The House has voted to include restrictions on rail transport of deadly chemicals, but the Senate has not.
If Congress is serious about protecting against terrorism, it will include the House provision in the final bill.
If terrorists attacked a chlorine tank as it traveled through downtown Washington, or another city, it could produce a toxic chemical cloud that would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Terrorism experts agree that rail cars filled with chemicals are an easy target. And the recent attacks on trains in Europe, and the use of chemicals in attacks in Iraq, should put America on notice about the seriousness of the threat.
The only real way to avoid that grim possibility — and the frightening likelihood of mass casualties that could come with it — is to require railroads to route dangerous chemicals away from densely populated areas. Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced a good bill that includes reasonable provisions for rerouting hazardous chemicals.
[…]
Unfortunately, the Senate failed to pass its own version of the Markey bill, which was sponsored by Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware. A main reason the Biden provision failed was lobbying by the chemical industry, an enormous contributor to political campaigns. The industry seems to believe that even after Sept. 11 and the recent rail and subway attacks in Europe, it should not be subjected to meaningful new government safety regulations.
The fact that Biden sponsored the legislation means that DuPont backed it. At least my employer is on the side of the angels this time.
BTW, I’m trained as a HazMat technician (WMD certs). A huge part of HazMat training involves railcar disasters. They’re awful when they’re merely derailments. I can only imagine the horrors that could be unleashed by someone intent on taking out a train in a populated area.
Filed on June 3, 2007 at 5:55 pm under by dcobranchi
I found this quote funny:
A dozen people sat in the living room of an apartment on Riverside Drive on Sunday morning.
Eyes closed, they sang worship songs to a guitar while a baby crawled around on the carpet, occasionally finding a seat on someone’s lap.
Filed on at 5:50 pm under by dcobranchi
Does this PR blurb read as if the software is being endorsed by the winner of the Scripps Spelling Bee?
Filed on at 5:47 pm under by dcobranchi
What are you teaching this girl?
Kara McGill, who is home schooled, believes that often the government neglects home-school establishments. She supports further government funding for home-schooled kids like herself.
Filed on at 6:29 am under by dcobranchi
Really, really dumb educrats:
GALESBURG, Illinois (AP) — Caisha Gayles graduated with honors last month, but she is still waiting for her diploma. The reason: the whoops of joy from the audience as she crossed the stage.
Gayles was one of five students denied diplomas from the lone public high school in Galesburg after enthusiastic friends or family members cheered for them during commencement.
About a month before the May 27 ceremony, Galesburg High students and their parents had to sign a contract promising to act in dignified way. Violators were warned they could be denied their diplomas and barred from the after-graduation party.
Next year’s graduating class ought to conspire to have cheers for every single classmate. Just let them try to deny diplomas to the entire class. The policy would collapse under the sheer weight of idiocy.
School officials said they will hear students and parents out if they appeal. Meanwhile, the school said the five students can still get their diplomas by completing eight hours of public service work, answering phones, sorting books or doing other chores for the district, situated about 150 miles southwest of Chicago.
And I’m pretty sure this must violate all sorts of laws. The kids, after all, are being punished for the actions of others. I guess the administrators think they’re God: “He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
“It’s not fair. Somebody could not like me and just decide to yell to get me in trouble. I can’t control everyone, just the ones I gave tickets to,” Trent said.
Kids 1, Educrats -1,356,786
Filed on June 2, 2007 at 1:30 pm under by dcobranchi
The police have foiled a plot to blow up a fuel line that leads into JFK airport in NY.
Homeland Security sources said the airport is not under threat and that the attack as planned was “not technically feasible.”
The planning, which began last summer, involved four men, and targeted fuel tanks and pipelines at the airport, law enforcement sources said.
It did not target airplane flights, they said.
The goal was to set off explosives in a fuel line that feeds the airport and also runs through residential neighborhoods, The Associated Press reported, quoting officials close to the investigation.
Fuel in a pipeline won’t explode.
Filed on at 10:35 am under by dcobranchi
From a self-described “amateur artist.” 🙂
Filed on at 10:08 am under by dcobranchi
If the state of physics research in Iran is such that they need to kidnap American high schoolers for their “specialized abilities,” we probably needn’t worry about them getting atomic weapons anytime in the next 50 years:
Safety risks are too high to allow student trip to Iran
The last time I checked, we were on the verge of declaring war on Iran, or so the prevailing rhetoric would suggest. We have not had diplomatic relations with the country for over 25 years. They are in violation of United Nations resolutions in regard to their continued efforts to enrich uranium to produce atomic weapons.
Our own State Department advises us against going there due to all of the above and their open hostility to the United States.
With that in mind, what possible justification is there for sending our best and brightest physics students from the Charter School of Wilmington into such a place, or any other students for that matter? (“Teens compete in Md. to represent U.S. in Iran” May 23).
Besides the obvious concerns of their becoming hostages and political pawns of a rogue regime or of any other factions either sympathetic or hostile to the Iranian government, they also may be seen as having specialized abilities that may be useful to any of these groups.
We cannot trust this regime to protect our children, any more than we can trust them to protect a United States embassy, and despite our best efforts, we cannot possibly adequately protect them ourselves.
Even if the goal is to find a way or normalizing relations with the country, the risks are too great to attempt to do so at the expense of our children.
T. Andrew Rosen, Wilmington
Filed on June 1, 2007 at 7:46 pm under by dcobranchi
I hope NOAA gets this one right. The current path puts it just east of Fayetteville around noon on Sunday.
Filed on at 7:27 pm under by dcobranchi
The MSM is B-I-A-S-E-D against HEKs.
BFD.
Filed on at 3:20 pm under by dcobranchi
I’m not the only one who found Daniel Barton’s LttE noteworthy:
Note about service was eye-catching
I noted with some interest Daniel Barton’s signature on his latest letter (“There’s No Substitute for Victory,†May 30). He signed himself “Persian Gulf War veteran.â€
This is worth noting for two reasons. First, anyone who’s served in the field, read enough military history or even played enough first-person-shooter war games on a computer will tell you that just serving on the ground does not make you an expert in long-term strategy. You’re too busy avoiding getting shot to think of the big picture. As the saying goes, “When you’re up to your…neck…in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your primary objective was to drain the swamp.â€
The other thing that caught my eye was that I recall Barton from his days as one of the leaders of the so-called “Porn Posse†in 1999, when his group was trying to cleanse the shelves of the library of anything they found remotely offensive. His qualifications for that were that he portrayed himself as a Green Beret veteran of the Vietnam War on disability. A correction was later issued by the Observer, noting that he was indeed a retired sergeant first class, but not actually a Green Beret. So I’m curious. How does a Vietnam vet on disability get back into harness to serve in the Gulf?
Perhaps, if Barton’s service record qualifies him as an expert on everything from pornography to foreign policy, he would care to share the details of that service record with the general public?
Paul F. Wilson
Fayetteville
Filed on at 3:14 pm under by dcobranchi
Anyone want to guess who young Isabel Johnson had in mind when she identified kakistocracy as her favorite word?
« Last
