Setting the Example

There are leaders, and there are managers. Leaders should set the example.

These folks are not setting the example:

Within hours of raising student fees Thursday by more than 9 percent, University of California regents offered massive pay hikes to the new leaders of UC Davis and UC San Francisco.

They named Linda Katehi chancellor of UC Davis, and gave her an annual salary of $400,000 – $85,000 more than outgoing Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef makes.

The new chancellor of UC San Francisco, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, will make $450,000 a year – almost 12 percent more than her predecessor.

Out of control. And wait till you read about all the perks, too.

I can't say I'd turn down the money if it were offered to me. It's clear that the Regents don't understand modern reality.

Friday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan.

Today's question is:
From which country/countries can you directly see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from one spot?

Pot at School

Twenty-four years ago this semester, I was taking Law 402 class. One day some Criminal Investigation Division types came in with some pot and an ashtray. They lit the marijuana in the ashtray and passed it around so each of us could take a whiff; this they called a "controlled burn", the purpose of which was to let us know what marijuana smelled like. This way, if we ever smelled that smell in our troops' barracks, by virtue of having smelled marijuana in this controlled environment we would have probable cause to search a room for pot.

Recently at school I was walking down a hallway near my classroom and that memory of 24 years ago assaulted me--how could it not? The stench of pot was so heavy that I worried about getting a contact high, and I wasn't even in Kokomo. A couple of boys told me it was even worse in one of the bathrooms.

Our email system was down, but an hour or so later it came up and I sent a message to the vice principals about the smell. Honestly, I didn't think there was anything they would or could do, but I felt compelled to notify them anyway. One vice principal picked up the ball and ran with it. Here's how.

See, in the past we have had expensive incidents of graffiti and other forms of vandalism at our school, especially in the bathrooms. A few years ago we put some security cameras around campus, and many of them allow a view of the entrances of the most-hit bathrooms. It turns out that one of those bathrooms was, coincidentally enough, the bathroom with the heavy pot smell. The vice principal in question watched the video from the appropriate camera and identified a couple of students whose behavior and/or time in the restroom was questionable. Though I'm not privy to what happened next, and something did happen next, somehow "reasonable suspicion", the legal standard used in California schools, was met and the two students were brought to the office. Both had marijuana in their backpacks.

Twenty-four years later, my controlled burn pays off.

Banning Viagra Commercials

Should commercials for erectile dysfunction drugs play only late at night, when kids likely won't see them?

Is there anything prurient in them? If it's just body parts we're talking about, why shouldn't commercials for feminine hygiene products also show only late at night?

I don't really care if you have that "not so fresh feeling" or if you can't get it up. This proposal strikes me as too nanny-state-y.

Thanks for the post idea, Dustin.

Thursday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Bombay.

Today's question is:
Who were the first and last astronauts to walk on the moon?

Hard To Chalk This Up To Just A Bunch Of Right-Wing White Religious Fanatics

D.C. Families Fight for School Choice

This afternoon, more than 1,000 students, parents, and concerned citizens gathered across from city hall to rally in support of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. A number of prominent D.C. leaders spoke, including former mayor Anthony Williams and former councilmember Kevin Chavous. But the most moving speeches were from the parents and students participating in the scholarship program. High-school student Carlos Battle spoke about how he was personally working to redefine the image of the black teen in Washington, D.C. — and how the Opportunity Scholarship program was giving him a chance to fulfill his dream. A father of a scholarship student pointed out the hypocrisy of Congress bailing out failing corporations but taking scholarships away from D.C. students.

There's a picture at the link. It's worth at least a thousand words.

I Could Do A Job Like This

NewsAlert points to this story about Los Angeles teachers who get paid not to teach. Their statuses are in some sort of limbo; New York's "rubber rooms" also get a mention in the story.

For seven years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has paid Matthew Kim a teaching salary of up to $68,000 per year, plus benefits.

His job is to do nothing.

Every school day, Kim's shift begins at 7:50 a.m., with 30 minutes for lunch, and ends when the bell at his old campus rings at 3:20 p.m. He is to take off all breaks, school vacations and holidays, per a district agreement with the teacher's union. At no time is he to be given any work by the district or show up at school.

He has never missed a paycheck.

In the jargon of the school district, Kim is being "housed" while his fitness to teach is under review. A special education teacher, he was removed from Grant High School in Van Nuys and assigned to a district office in 2002 after the school board voted to fire him for allegedly harassing teenage students and colleagues. In the meantime, the district has spent more than $2 million on him in salary and legal costs.

Last week, Kim was ordered to continue this daily routine at home. District officials said the offices for "housed" employees were becoming too crowded.

No, they can't be assigned "office jobs" because the union's interpretation of their contract forbids such work.

I wonder how Michelle Rhee handles this situation in DC.

Free At Last? Free At Last?

Not in California, not according to a study from George Mason University.

According to a new study released by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, some of our most liberal states rank at the bottom in a measure of personal freedom. “Freedom in the 50 States, an index of personal and economic freedom,” finds the most free states to be first New Hampshire, then Colorado, followed by S. Dakota, Idaho, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Arizona, Virginia and N. Dakota.The bottom ten least free states in the U.S. are (in descending order) Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, California, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and bringing up the bottom is New York.

It is striking that some of the most Republican states are the most free and all the least free are Democrat states, isn’t it?

I'm sure some will complain about the criteria used to determine the rankings, so take it however you like.

Wednesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Abraham Lincoln.

Today's question is:
What is the former name of the Indian city Mumbai?

Carnival of Education

This week's is posted at Steve Spangler's blog and includes my post about AP wussies.

Blog of Note

StatCounter pointed me to this web site, where RotLC is listed as a "Blog of Note". I wonder if that had anything to do with this post :-)

Nuking Japan

It was only last week that leftie talk show host Jon Stewart, when challenged, stated on air that President Truman was a war criminal for having the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in World War II. This man not only corrects Stewart's facts, but shows him to be a moral and intellectual buffoon. Witty, yes, but still a buffoon.

Watch Whittle's video and learn a little history in the process. It's fascinating.

Diversity At San Francisco State

The College Republicans provide what little diversity exists at SFSU, as the vast majority of the students and faculty are leftists.

At San Francisco State, which has a long and storied history of activism and a diverse and liberal student body, the College Republicans stand out. While the scene at the table last month was tame, some of the group's past events have been anything but: A bake sale to support a wall at the Mexico border, an anti-terrorism rally that invited students to throw a shoe at a Hamas flag and a victory party for George W. Bush's re-election in 2004 all drew heated protests.

No doubt the SFSU College Republicans are a "hate group". How far do we have to read to get close? How about the next paragraph:

"I'd like to see the school re-establish that line between making a political statement and defaming someone's religious, sexual or moral beliefs," said Anthony Aboujaoude, president of the San Francisco State Muslim Student Association.

You can also read about how the group has been attacked, physically, during its activities.

An receiving the award in Orwellian Doublespeak today is SFSU spokesperson Ellen Griffin:

"Disagreements, expression, exploration of ideas and debate are in fact central to universities - and activities highly valued at S.F. State," university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said in an e-mail. "We teach our students to aspire to civil and responsible free speech that reflects tolerance, mutual respect and values of equity and social justice."

In other words, "we want all our students to feel free to believe and speak whatever they want, as long as they agree with us." Of all the individuals quoted in this article, do you know which one (outside of the College Republicans) comes across as the most reasonable? The president of the College Democrats. When that group is the most reasonable of the campus lefties, you can imagine what the atmosphere on that campus is like.

San Francisco is such a beautiful place--from a distance.

Free Exchange Of Ideas At The Core Of The Mission Of A University

Or at least, it used to be. Now, you're free to exchange your ideas if and only if they are palatable to those around you:

Studying conservative political movements is certainly a legitimate academic exercise. But "combating the right?"

If your views are right-leaning, such views are to be "combated". Attend a conference and learn how.

Tuesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
"What hath God wrought".

Today's question is:
When viewing Mount Rushmore, which president is on the far right?

Gonna Cut $100M From The Budget?

Wow, that President Obama is a budget hawk, isn't he?

Well, not so much--when you know a little math. And can see a cute video about it.

AP Wussies

Today before 1st period, I noticed quite the gathering outside of our gym. Upon my investigation of this congregatory phenomenon I learned that an AP test was being given. I offered "academic blessings" to those students I know (actually, I sort of knighted them with my roll sheets) and proceeded forthwith to prepare for the day.

About three hours later, on my prep period, I was headed to the office, and what did I spy near the attendance office? A crowd of students, many of whom I recognized from earlier that morning.

I knew right away what was going on. They had finished their AP test and were getting "early dismissals" so they could go home for the day.

There are some illegal things we do at my school. And there are some silly things. And there are some dumb things. And this is one of the dumb things.

Is taking one test really a good reason to take a half a day off school? And for the students who have four AP classes and will presumably take four AP tests, is there really a good reason for them to miss four days of classes?

I can hear one argument already: if we're smart enough to take AP classes, we can afford to miss a day of school. However, we're not talking about what students can afford to miss academically. If that were the case, why not just take random days off if you have A's? Because that's not how the game's played, and that's not what's expected of students (or teachers, for that matter).

Argument #2: my brain's turned to mush after that test. Sorry, I'm not buying it. If you're useless after three hours of testing, then you're probably not ready for all those Stanford classes you're trying so hard to get into. Get ready for periodic all-nighters! Oh, and get to class--there's still a month of school left.

Argument #3: I need to go home and study for tomorrow's AP test. I could be swayed by that argument, if I knew that students would actually be studying for tomorrow's AP test. Most, however, gave Argument #2 when I asked them.

Argument #4: It's a reward for all that hard work in AP all year. Nope; your reward is the satisfaction of a job well done, and perhaps three college credits for only the cost of a test. Oh, that, and getting to play cards and video games in AP class for the rest of the school year (one of the silly things we do at our school).

So, are our AP students wussies, prima donnas, or merely taking advantage of their parents' softness? You decide.

Honesty At The CTA

If your position is strong, you don't need to deceive people:

Which Side Are You On? The California Faculty Association sent a cease-and-desist letter to the California Teachers Association because CTA has been calling CFA members to gin up support for Proposition 1A. The CTA callers identify themselves as being from "your union." CFA is an affiliate of CTA. However, CFA opposes 1A while CTA supports it.

Talk About Grade Inflation

You can call it whatever you want--but if a kid can't work with fractions, he's not going to understand Algebra 2.

New Jersey students who’ve passed algebra, geometry and even advanced algebra are flunking the graduation exam’s math test, which requires a 50% on middle-school questions, writes Derrell Bradford of E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone) on NJVoices guest blog...

New Jersey has suburban schools for affluent whites in which classes teach what they claim to teach, Bradford writes. And it has urban schools where “algebra” or “geometry” is just a name.

Letting a kid believe he's taking Algebra 2, and then watching him flunk the exit exam, is not doing anything for his self-esteem. So stop lying to these kids about their capabilities.

But it gets worse.

In a recent Praxis test, “42 percent of prospective New Jersey teachers — and two-thirds of minority applicants — failed the math portion of the certification exam,” Bradford writes.

How sad is that?

What Would Jack O'Connell Say?

Jack O'Connell, California's Superintendent of Public Instruction, thinks black- and brown-skinned students don't do as well as lighter-skinned students because California's teachers are closet racists. Head up to the top left corner of this page, type "O'Connell" into the search box, and see the myriad maddening things that man has said or proposed.

But what's he to make of this?

The students are culturally insensitive too!