Jobs That Don't Require a College Degree

From CNN.com:

Though it was once conventional wisdom that you needed to have a four-year college degree to be successful, many employment experts believe that maxim has become myth...

So while a college degree was de rigueur for the baby boom generation, that's not necessarily the case now. In today's highly technical and service-related market, workers are judged more on their skills than their sheepskins.

The article lists several jobs and their pay. Top on the list:

Air traffic controller Annual income: $102,030

Teenagers, Sleep, and School Start Time

I, for one, wouldn't mind an extra hour or so of sleep in the morning. And I'm usually in bed by 10 and get plenty of sleep.

Parents: "Start the school day later!"
Schools: "Make your kids go to bed earlier the night before!"

The debate rages on

Via Kimberly at Number 2 Pencil (see blogroll at left).

May As Well Learn To Speak Arabic

I like the introductory sentence to this story:

Here’s a nauseating story from Germany, where they’ve apparently already accepted their new masters: German court convicts man for insulting Islam.

Compare that to this statement, which comes from our friends at CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations):

"The right to free speech is not absolute," Rishi said. "It does not give a right to defame Prophet Muhammad or any other" religious figure.

Defaming religious figures isn't nice, and it certainly isn't civil. But--well, do I really need to go on here, or can anyone with more than four operational brain cells finish my thought correctly?

(College) Freshman Composition

Should we be making fun of students? Well, sometimes!

Here's an essay, written in the style of a freshman essay, by a college professor. Read it and howl.

The topic? Compare and contrast the movies Curious George and Brokeback Mountain.

My favorite comment was this one, which had less to do with the essay but relates to what I've said before:

You forgot to start a sentence with "I feel that...." I keep telling my students that the brain has no nerve endings, so when they say they feel something, they're probably right, because they're certainly not thinking.

Carnival of Education

If you don't get enough education-related information here, go check out this week's Carnival of Education.

Bombing Mosques

I can't say it any better than Glenn has:

If Danish cartoons could create riots worldwide against the defamers of Islam, you'd think that bombing of mosques would create anti-terrorist marches all over.

Bad for LA Unified, Good For The Rest of California

Rumors are flying around the Los Angeles area: Jackie Goldberg is going to replace former Colorado Governor Roy Romer as superintendent of LA Unified School District.

Jackie is a former teacher, former school board member, former city council member, and current Assemblywoman. She's being termed out of office next January. Want to read about her? You can try this article, but it doesn't tell you much. She has spent time in the Capitol trying to do stupid things like get rid of "offensive" school mascots, place a weight limit on books and/or student backpacks, limit the influence of academic standards, etc. She's made her sexual preferences a public fight. She's a truly foul person, one not used to making the kind of compromises she'd have to make as a school superintendent. And here's an example of the kind of politician she is.

Most interesting: her nephew was recently elected to a leadership position in the LA Teachers Union. As the Church Lady would say, "How conveeeeeeeeeenient."

There's lots more available at Yahoo. Here's an interesting tale.

Well, good luck LA. I'm on a maillist of "traditional" educators of all political stripes, and the Los Angeles dwellers are hyperventilating over the possibility. The way I see it, if Goldberg gets that job the LA area will be saving the rest of California from Goldberg. "It's a far, far better thing you've done, than you have ever done before, Los Angeles." Taking the bullet for the rest of us.

Update, 2/26/06 11:33am: Apparently I'm not the only non-fan of Jackie Goldberg. The first few letters to the editor here give some more information.

Why I Can't Stand Bank of America

I don't like Bank of America. I refuse to have an account there because they're so user-unfriendly. A few months ago I sold my house and got a 6-digit check for it from the mortgage company, which I then tried to sign over to someone with a BofA account (don't stress, it's all legit). BofA wouldn't take the check! I mean, it's not like we were trying to take money out of the bank, we were trying to deposit money into the bank. I even went to the bank myself with identification to show that the signature on the back of the check was mine--and they still wouldn't take it. They wouldn't even take it and hold the funds until the check cleared! What kind of operation is that?

Today I tried to cash a 3-digit check drawn on a BofA account. I went to a local branch to cash the check, and the first thing they asked me was if I had a BofA account. Why does that matter? What should matter is if the person who wrote the check has a BofA account, and whether they have money in the account to cover the check! When I answered no, I didn't, the teller asked me why not! She then went on to give me yet another reason not to have such an account....

First, she needed my identification--no problem. Then, she had to verify the signature on the check. This is only necessary since I don't have an account there. What's up with that? She then asked me to go take a seat and she'd call me when everything was taken care of. Then she made a lap around the tables and desks behind the counter and then set my driver's license and the check down next to a computer--and came right back up to the counter to help someone else! After she was done with that customer, and seeing that no one had even touched my i.d. or check, I went back up to her and asked for the two items so I could leave. Without any hesitation or discussion she gave them to me.

From there I met a friend at Jamba Juice, which is right next to a grocery store with a BofA branch in it. After my friend left I gave it the old college try and in I went. I got the same "do you have an account here" introduction, which doesn't impress me--and I said so. This teller also had to verify the signature but at least got to work on it right away. How is this done, you may ask? BofA electronically saves a copy of all checks for 7 years, so she was pulling up previous checks by the person who wrote mine so she could verify that the signature wasn't forged. This took the computer several minutes, during which time the teller tried to convince me this "minor inconvenience" was much better than the old-fashioned method of having to go to the actual branch location at which the person had opened the account (where they would look at a signature card).

Does BofA not realize it's 2006? Is this really the best they can do?

Finally, the checks came up on her screen. Uh oh, she said. It seems like the wife is the one who seems to write all the checks, so she'll have to scroll through the checks until she finds one signed by the husband. Scroll...scroll...scroll...scroll. I asked if she could just call the people who wrote the check--their number is printed on it--and ask them if they wrote me the check. "That still wouldn't verify the signature." Finally she finds one, and actually takes my check and places it on the computer screen to match up the signatures. Then she records all sorts of information on my check--probably the number and date of the check she confirmed the signature with. And as some final protection, I had to put a fingerprint on the check.

Only then did I get my money.

Does BofA really wonder why I don't bank there? If this is how they treat a prospective customer, how will they treat me when they actually have my money under their lock and key?

How Machiavellian Am I?

This seems about right. It's hard to read, but it says I'm Somewhat Machiavellian.

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

John Stossel on Teachers Unions

The following quote, from this article by John Stossel, pretty much sums up the union attitude:

"We are not a unionized monopoly," she retorted. "And ultimately those folks who want to say this all the time, they don't really care about kids."

I guess I don't really care about kids.

Where Are The Unions Spending Their (Your) Money?

From EIA (where else?):

NEA Declares War on 65% Solution and TABOR. The NEA board of directors approved some unusual things at its February meeting, but it also took actions that weren't the least bit surprising:

* NEA will send another $250,000 to Americans United to Protect Social Security.

* NEA will spend more than $583,000 on research and polling to fight the so-called "65% Solution" and Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) legislation and initiatives.

* NEA dues for 2006-07 will be $145, an increase of $5. Education support employees will pay $80.50. A bylaw amendment creating an "associate membership" will also be placed before the union's representative assembly in July (see "Union Membership Growth Sector?").

California Teachers Association Not Tapped Out Yet. The California Teachers Association (CTA) may be paying off the bills for the November 2005 election for a few more years, but as long as teachers keep getting paychecks, the union will have some cash to spend on political campaigns.

CTA's State Council recently authorized the union to spend up to $2 million on June 2006 ballot initiatives. The only two measures on the June ballot are a $600 million library construction bond and Rob Reiner's universal preschool initiative. Which of these do you think will get the money?

No, we can't have those taxpayers actually expect anything in return for their tax money, can we? Gawd.

Update, 2/27/06: Here's a post from Joanne Jacobs' site. The opening 'graph:

Universal preschool would cost Californians $23 billion over the next 10 years, if Rob Reiner's Proposition 82 passes. But it won't close the learning gap for poor kids, warns Bruce Fuller, a Berkeley education and public policy professor. Currently, 64 percent of four-year-olds go to preschool; Reiner's plan would boost that only to 70 percent. Instead of directing public money at needy families, most of the dollars would go to provide free preschool to middle-class and wealthy parents. Any gains by poor children are likely to be lost when they enter substandard schools.

Sad Day For College Press Freedoms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to decide whether university administrators can censor campus newspapers by insisting they be approved before publication.

The justices refused to hear an appeal by three students in a case involving the scope of First Amendment free speech protection for college and university newspaper editors and reporters.

(Previously) (t)he appeals court cited a 1988 Supreme Court ruling that public high school officials can censor school newspapers without violating student journalists' constitutional rights. (emphasis mine--Darren)

The appeals court said the 1988 ruling also applied to student newspapers subsidized by public colleges and universities.

The difference here is that high school students are children, whereas college students are adults. The Supremes screwed up again.

The Mission Project

My son is in 4th grade, and all Californian parents know what that means--the dreaded "Mission Project."

For those of you outside of California, allow me to explain. California history is taught in the 4th grade, and one of the major topics, right up there with the Gold Rush, is the string of 21 Catholic missions that run from San Diego in the south to San Rafael (north of San Francisco) in the north. The time span studied is from the late 1700s until the missions were "secularized" (sold off because the Mexican government, independent of Spain, could no longer afford to maintain them), a process that occurred prior to the Gold Rush in 1849.

My son was born a few miles from Mission San Jose, located not in San Jose but in Fremont, so we requested that he be assigned this mission. Today he and I drove the 2+ hours to go see it so that he'll have a better understanding of what he's writing about when he works on his report.

What Say You, Art Teachers?

I doubt I have any art teachers who read this blog. Every art teacher I've ever known is of the artiste variety, with all the political-leaning connotations that brings with it! And those leanings aren't the same as what I share on this blog.

So, imaginary art-teacher-readers, what do you think about this story?

BTW, since when can't Moslems draw any human? A week ago it was just Prophet Muhammed (sigh*) that couldn't be portrayed. This is what happens when you start caving in to these people. For those of you who don't know what dhimmi means, look it up. Imagine the self-censorship that comes with dhimmitude--and that's what we're seeing already.


*some initials go here

Politics on President's Day

Over the course of my readings today--done while non-unionized student laborers are building a new fence outside my window--I came across four articles that really stimulated my attention. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Mark Steyn (don't you just love him?) excoriates the US press for its hypocrisy by telling Americans that we have a "right to know" about Dick Cheney's hunting accident but have no need or right to see those cartoons that have caused riots, death, and destruction all over the world. The comments to this post are fairly entertaining as well.
2. I've never thought about it this way before--why do the 1st and 4th Amendments have so many interpretations, umbrellas, and hidden meanings, but the 10th Amendment is ignored?
3. Howard Dean has apparently ticked off many homosexuals by reorganizing the DNC's political outreach efforts, focusing more on "getting out the vote" than on identity politics. Imagine! Apparently this has happened before.

The moderate middle in American politics, he (DNC Chair in the mid-1980s Paul Kirk) contended, was coming to the conclusion that Democrats were more interested in a short list of favored tribes than the broad mass of individual voters who traditionally had been attracted to the party around an array of economic and foreign policy concerns, as well as civil rights, that encompassed all Americans, white and black, gay and straight, male and female.

Those in the party enthralled with identity politics reacted with the vengeance of aggrieved faculty senators, and chose to see an intelligent broad-based outreach as an insult to the party’s Washington-based minority advocates....

With a foolish focus on internal party affairs, left-libs in LGBT (gag me with a verbal spoon) politics seem to prize feeling good about how many staff members they get at the DNC more than winning elections that decide who gets to name Supreme Court justices and wage disastrous elective wars.

4. And lastly, Jimmy Carter tells us that not supporting Hamas and the Palestinian government will only punish innocent Palestinians--you know, the ones who voted to put a terrorist organization in charge of their government in the first place. Next thing Jimmah will tell us is that we should send money to al-Qaeda as well. What has happened to this man? Has he never gotten over his trouncing in 1980? Is this a glimpse into Al Gore's future?

Happy reading!

How To Do Well In Math

After my last post, I thought I should throw a bone to all those people I tossed into math class hell just so they can graduate. Yesterday's San Jose Mercury News had an article about math education; it was written by a Stanford mathematician who is also the "Math Guy" on National Public Radio.

I admit that I've never heard of this "Math Guy" because I don't listen to National Pravda Radio, but that's a story for a different post =)

Here are some of his comments:

While it sounds reasonable to suggest, as the math-ed community does, that understanding mathematical concepts should precede -- or at least go along hand-in-hand with -- the learning of procedural skills (such as adding fractions or solving equations) -- there is evidence to suggest that this is simply not possible. The human brain evolved into its present state long before mathematics came onto the scene, and did so primarily to negotiate and survive in the physical world. Our brain does not find it easy to understand mathematical concepts, which are completely abstract....

Ask experts at any activity what it took them to acquire their expertise and they'll tell you in one word: practice. Expertise does not come from understanding, it comes from practice. The part of our brain that provides conscious understanding did not evolve to control and direct our detailed actions, it developed to make sense of them -- after the fact. (The benefit of that sense making is that we can make use of our understanding to guide future action at a higher, more strategic level.)

We are not ``natural-born mathematicians,'' but we are well equipped to learn new skills. Initially, we simply follow the rules in a mechanical fashion. Then, with practice, we gradually become better, and as our performance improves, our understanding grows. Anyone who has learned to play chess, play tennis, ski, drive a car, play a musical instrument, play a video game, etc. has experienced this progression from ``following rules,'' through proficiency, on to eventual mastery and understanding. Mathematics is no different....

And anyone who thinks that today's children don't have what it takes to practice for hours until they really ``get it'' has not watched them playing a video game.

What Is The Value of Algebra?

This article, with the same title, has caused quite a stir on an education emaillist of which I'm a member. I mean, just who does this guy think he is, denigrating algebra so?

I'm inclined to take a less emotional, more logical look at the article and conclude the author's an idiot.

He makes plenty of mistakes in his article. "I hated algebra, so you can, too." "I barely got through algebra when I was in school, so it must be a worthless subject." "I don't need algebra, so you won't either." And my favorite, "The best algebra student in class couldn't find the Sahara Desert on a map."

Yep, those arguments pretty much prove the lack of value of knowing algebra.

The knee-jerk reaction to an article like this is to start finding all the ways algebra is useful in the world--cell-phone calling plans are the current rage for such illumination. This, however, is the wrong tack to take. While practical application has a value of its own, so does knowledge for its own sake as an opener of the mind. A well-rounded, liberally-educated person needs to be able to do more than just write, more than just calculate, more than just know geography. A well-rounded person needs to know all of the above. And can we not accomplish that minimum after 13 years of school (14, if Reiner's pre-school initiatives passes)?

Mr. Cohen, in his disgust for an entire academic field, wants to close doors for students before those students even get to those doors. How many times must we hear--by the same people who don't think students should be taught algebra--about how all our low-skill jobs are being sent overseas? Or how many times do those who denigrate algebra refer to it as "college track" or "higher" math, notwithstanding the fact that it's taught to 13-year-olds all over the world? The motives of people who do this remind me of the motives of the Planned Parenthood crowd--it's not that we want to give you options (for an abortion, or not to take algebra), what we really want is for you to do it our way (have an abortion, or not take algebra).

I also don't accept the false dichotomy of knowing math on the one hand, and being able to do anything but math on the other. Knowledge of math and knowledge of ____ (fill in the blank with your favorite topic) are not mutually exclusive. I'm glad Mr. Cohen has found a way to support himself despite his lack of math knowledge. However, I assert he has succeeded in spite of his lack of math knowledge, not because of it.

I don't know if Mr. Cohen has a college degree or not. If he does, and he never took a math class above high school geometry, then I'm disappointed. A college degree should be an indication of a well-rounded education, and here in California the minimum math required to get into a 4-year state school is Algebra 2. Can't pass that course? You shouldn't have a college degree. I've said that here before.

If you want to dance, go to Juilliard. If you want to be an artist, go to the Academy of Arts in San Francisco. If you want to get a college degree, you should have a well-rounded education. In fact, the liberal arts originally included math courses, but what did those Renaissance people know, anyway? I assert that high school Algebra II is not sufficient for a college graduate. But that's just an opinion.

Want to be a reporter but don't know math (and how dangerous would that be, anyway?), start in the mailroom and work your way up through the ranks.

I addressed the algebra graduation requirement in this post. The following comment from that post is, I think, the best rebuttal to Mr. Cohen's rant:

Finally, I should hope that we are aiming a little higher in our school systems than teaching students how to survive.

Q.E.D.

Federal Funding For Schools

Matt has an excellent post on hypocrisy:

While I have not studied the Bush budget to any real degree, it strikes me as funny that groups that argue that the federal government is getting too involved in education, now complain when the Federal government cuts the purse strings. It is only through the spending power of Congress that the federal government has any way of enforcing educaiton policy on the states.

Pick a side and stick with. Either you want the federal money, in which case you must play by Congress's political rules, or your don't want the money. But you can't complain when the government cuts funding if you want the money with no strings attached.

Socialism and the Public Schools

Last night I had duty at a basketball game, and shortly before the game started I was talking with the other teachers who also had duty. Someone brought up the superintendent's visit, and his comment that he thought that the universal preschool initiative would pass when it comes up for a vote on the next ballot. This brought up the whole subject of socialism, including government-run health care.

Why should the children suffer because of the lack of parenting ability, lack of money, lack of whatever? Here we go again, thinking with our hearts instead of our brains. When the government fills in for the parents, it only reinforces the "bad" behavior in the parents. If we teach the parents how to "do it right", we only have to pay once; otherwise we pay forever--or at least until the child turns 18. It's kind of like a job training program, which keeps you from having to pay for welfare forever.

I ask my usual questions of the socialists. Do you want people like those who run the TSA, or the DMV, in charge of your health care? You don't seem to like or trust George Bush or the Republican-controlled Congress, so why do you want them in charge of your health care? "I just think that..." is the usual response.

I've thought about anti-racist math, about using schools and students for social engineering, and then I read this story out of Los Angeles. Turns out that the city has spent quite a lot of money on keeping kids out of gangs, with not a lot to show for it. Those who think with their hearts will fe-e-e-e-e-l that if only they spent more money, at least one kid could be saved from a gang. Those of us who think with our heads wonder if they should continue to throw good money after bad:

Los Angeles spends $26 million a year to keep kids out of gangs or get them to renounce their affiliation, but the program is such a failure that not a single youth has ever been released from a court-imposed gang injunction, officials said Friday.

$26 million a year. Good job, social engineers.

Helping the People of Darfur

The flier in my mailbox had all the indications that it was written by a 15 year old girl--the "bubbly" letters, the lack of any planned presentation, the youthful yet naive enthusiasm. Buy Chipotle and/or McDonald's at lunch, it exhorts, and help feed people in Darfur!

If you don't know what or where Darfur is, go to Instapundit (see blogroll at left) and type Darfur into the search engine there (scroll down, it's on the right). You'll see post after post, going back a couple of years, chronicling the story that most of the mainstream press has all but ignored: a civil-war-induced famine of epic proportions. Read about the murders of towns, the systematic rape, everything you expect in a Rwanda-like African horror.

And then marvel at the irony of scarfing down a huge burrito to help the starving, terrorized people there.

There's nothing we're going to do to help those people. There are two groups of people eating in Darfur--the government soldiers with firearms, and the militia soldiers with firearms. Everyone else goes hungry. If you want to help the helpless there, send them firearms so that they, too, can eat.

I mentioned that to a few of my classes, and it wasn't long before the instigator of this food sale was in my classroom wanting to talk to me. She was mortified--mortified!--that she didn't have faculty support for this good cause. She'd called the White House and left a message for the President, asking him to "do something". I mean, she cares!

I don't fault the girl (who may or may not be 15, but she's close) for her youthful idealism. I fault her for making a mistake that will cause huge problems later in her life. As I told her, "Think with your brain. Feel with your heart." When you try to think with your heart you do stupid things, like she's doing now. I have no doubt she truly cares, but she doesn't know what she's talking about.

Here are a few things she told me:

1. I don't know enough about the world. A teenage girl told me this. I suppressed a chuckle.
2. The reason we (the US) don't do anything about this is because there's no oil there. I wasn't aware that there was no oil in the Sudan--someone should let the Chinese know.
3. The reason we (the US) aren't doing anything about Iran is because there's no oil there.
4. The reason we invaded Iraq was to take the oil--which explains low gas prices over the last year, I guess.

Bottom line, the girl feels strongly about the issue but doesn't know a thing about what she's talking about.

The short conversation left the realm of the rational and entered the twilight zone when she asked me if I'd have done anything to stop the Holocaust. Can you see where this is going? I told her that a bake sale at a high school would have done nothing to stop the Holocaust. You know what did stop the Holocaust? Armed men. Millions of armed men. American, British, Commonwealth, Soviet soldiers--they stopped the Holocaust. Men with firearms cause a lot of problems in the world, but men with firearms also solve a lot of problems in the world. Want to help the people of Darfur? Give them weapons.

She stormed out. Her parents later called the office and complained that I was undermining their daughter's project. One of our Vice Principals, for whom I have a lot of respect, asked if I was telling my students not to participate in the fundraiser. No, I said, I told them if they want a burrito or a Big Mac then they should by all means go buy one, but if they think a cent of that money is going to help the starving in Darfur they are mistaken. He said I shouldn't have addressed the issue since it's officially sanctioned by the student government and school administration. I told him that if I can't even address in class things that are going on in school.... I didn't address it after we spoke.

The school newspaper came out the next period, and in it was an article about Darfur. A student came to me later in the day and said that if I hadn't told him the day before about what's really going on in Darfur, he'd have bought the article's slant hook, line, and sinker. He thanked me for giving him an opposing view by which he could better judge for himself what's going on.

Some will no doubt question my actions. But look at that result.


Update: 3/2/06: At least I was talking about a school event. This time. :-)

Anti-Racist Math

What exactly is anti-racist math? Could it be something like this tripe?

Would you be afraid to send your child to a school where even the math instruction was politicized? I would.

Not Our Kind Of People

People of my generation will remember the television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, later renamed Black Sheep Squadron. It was about Greg "Pappy" Boyington and his squadron of Marine pilots during WWII. Robert Conrad starred.

You can read about the real Pappy Boyington here. To summarize: part Sioux Indian, worked in gold mines during summers to make money during the Depression, went to the University of Washington, joined ROTC, graduated in 1934 with a degree in aeronautical engineering, joined the Reserves while working as a draftsman at Boeing, became an Marine Corps aviation cadet and then aviator--and this was all before WWII. He joined the American volunteer unit The Flying Tigers, defending China against the Japanese, and later was made commander of what has become known as the Black Sheep Squadron in the South Pacific. Is there a prettier fighter than the F4U Corsair with its gull-wings? Maybe the P51, but that's a different story. Boyington shot down 28 enemy aircraft before he himself was shot down, after which he spent 20 months in a Japanese POW camp. He was never listed as a prisoner--he was MIA. He was liberated and, shortly after the war, was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Boyington is an American hero.

There's been a move afoot to place a memorial to Boyington at his Alma Mater, the University of Washington. Unfortunately, such a memorial has been given the ixnay by the Student Senate. Why, you may ask? One student senator, a Jill Edwards, "didn't believe a member or the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce." Another genius, Ashley Miller, complained that there are already "many monuments at UW...(that)...that commemorate rich white men" (as if you get rich in the Marine Corps). Another complains that Boyington's service should be honored, but not the fact that he actually shot down enemy aircraft during that service.

I've written about the ignorance of college students before, here. I'm inclined to agree with young Miss Edwards, though: Marine Corps officers most definitely are not the sort of person that UW wants to produce. How sad for UW. I'd ask exactly what kind of person UW wants to produce, but I'm afraid the answer would be people like Miss Edwards and Miss Miller, quoted above.

Update, 2/18/06 10:48 am: I received the following email from a list of which I am a member. I received permission to repost it here, thinking it might give a somewhat different perspective to what I wrote above:

As has been pointed out by other members of this group the Seattle area is certainly a diverse and interesting crowd. Students ignorant of history are all over the country but we have an unusually weird crowd in the city and at the UW. Some adults and many students were taken back by this issue and the
whole memorial thing is having another look and will likely pass. http://www.komotv.com/stories/41916.htm



During the national parade frenzy following Desert Storm, the King County and Seattle City Council folks wanted to have a parade with I Corps and Fort Lewis soldiers marching, we initially agreed to it then the "negotiations" began. No tanks or vehicles, then no rifles, yada yada yada, by the end of it I think they didn't want uniforms or any things celebrating war in the
parade and could we not march, but just sort of "amble" through town wearing gay pride ribbons or something. Thank God the CG finally said thanks but no thanks. Seattle also has a dedicated corps of protestors who assemble in front of the Federal Court House to protest whatever tweaks them. The "Hell no We Won't Go" signs that marched down the interstate during Desert Shield and Storm were real fun, especially after someone explained that there wasn't a draft anymore and we didn't want them to "go". The WTO riots were big with many of the Anarchist types from Oregon joining in busting up Starbucks and Nike stores for their ties to who knows what.



Even the "blue collar red neck" city I work in (Everett WA) still has apparently 3 different groups who every Friday around lunch time stand on the various corners of the intersection of Hewitt and Colby "Demonstrating". It all revolves around the War in Iraq, all "support the troops", and Anti War and Pro War are two sides, I don't really know what is up with the third group, I walk by in Civilian cloths once in a while to watch and listen. Nobody seemed angry about anything, they just don't want the other group to be the last one demonstrating, this could go on forever!!



People from the East side of the state think we are all commies on the West Side of the Mountains. Washington State University (the arch rivals of the UW) is more conservative, the only protests/riots they've had in the last couple of decades was actual rioting that broke out when WSU and the local police told the students that they couldn't have underage drinking parties on campus, they tore the place up over that.

Superintendent's Visit

I'm bummed.

Our district superintendent is coming to address our staff during our "collaboration time" this afternoon. He's new this year, and by all accounts is a "good guy" who has an open mind about the changes our district needs to make due to declining enrollment, changing demographics, etc.

Why am I bummed? Because I don't have a zinger question to throw at him.

Any suggestions?

Update, 2/16/06 4:31 pm: I came up with a good one while in the meeting. The superintendent discussed, among several other things, the fact that "modernization" money had been spent on fixing some things and improving curb appeal, but that we still had essentially 45-year-old classrooms. So I asked him this:

You've talked about maintenance, and how modernization money was sometimes spent on maintenance (like roofs). I've lived in this district for 9 years, and in that time have had to vote on 2 bond issues for the district because proper maintenance wasn't being done. How are you going to be a better steward of the public's money and maintain our facilities within budget?

I liked his answer, but the proof will be in the pudding. He certainly was as personable as I'd heard.

Saddam's Weapons

In this post I mentioned the Duelfer Report, the report submitted to Congress in 2004 about Saddam's weapons programs and where all his goodies went. If you don't have the time to read that post (and I link to the full report there) here's the world's shortest summary:

Saddam wanted to recreate Iraq’s WMD capability—which was essentially destroyed in 1991—after sanctions were removed and Iraq’s economy stabilized, but probably with a different mix of capabilities to that which previously existed. Saddam aspired to develop a nuclear capability—in an incremental fashion, irrespective of international pressure and the resulting economic risks—but he intended to focus on ballistic missile and tactical chemical warfare (CW) capabilities.

The former Regime had no formal written strategy or plan for the revival of WMD after sanctions. Neither was there an identifiable group of WMD policy makers or planners separate from Saddam. Instead, his lieutenants understood WMD revival was his goal from their long association with Saddam and his infrequent, but firm, verbal comments and directions to them.

I print this because I came across a quote from Charles Duelfer in an article this morning. Apparently some tapes of Saddam talking to his "lieutenants" have been translated and released by our government. Here's what the article says:

Charles Duelfer, who led the official U.S. search for weapons of mass destruction, told ABC News the tapes show extensive deception (on Saddam's part) but don't prove that weapons were still hidden in Iraq at the time of the U.S.-led war in 2003.

"What they do is support the conclusion in the report which we made in the last couple of years, that the regime had the intention of building and rebuilding weapons of mass destruction, when circumstances permitted," he said.

Of course, this won't matter to the lefties. Bush lied, right? Facts are too inconvenient for the "reality-based community".

Carnival of Education

This week's Carnival is superbly guest-hosted here.

Wiretapping, European Style

From Slate, hardly a conservative mouthpiece:

Think Bush's warrantless NSA surveillance is bad? Wait till you hear what the British government does.

By Eric Weiner
Updated Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2006, at 6:39 AM ET

For Europeans, scolding the Bush administration for everything from Guantanamo to the Iraq War to secret CIA prisons has become a full-time job. But when it comes to the American scandal over President Bush's warrantless wiretaps, there's been a curious reaction from the other side of the Atlantic: silence. Where is the European outrage?

European restraint may arise from a fear of hypocrisy. The fact is that in much of Europe wiretapping is de rigueur—practiced more regularly and with less oversight than in the United States. Most Europeans either don't know about this or, more likely, simply don't care.

Which Science Fiction Crew Would I Fit With?

I'm disappointed in this result. I wouldn't mind being a member of Star Trek: The Next Generation (cushy life) or even Battlestar Galactica (horrid life, but awesome uniforms and cool ships). But this one? Ewwww.

You scored as Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix). You can change the world around you. You have a strong will and a high technical aptitude. Is it possible you are the one? Now if only Agent Smith would quit beating up your friends. Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 69% Moya (Farscape) 63% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 63% SG-1 (Stargate) 56% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 56% Serenity (Firefly) 50% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 50% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 44% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 44% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 44% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 31% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 31% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

More on the European Welfare State

It doesn't look good according to Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek.

If present trends continue, the chief economist at the OECD argues, in 20 years the average U.S. citizen will be twice as rich as the average Frenchman or German. (Britain is an exception on most of these measures, lying somewhere between Continental Europe and the U.S.)

A New Job

Online poll here. Answer in the comments section.

Question: Should I apply for one of these jobs?

Two Great Articles on the NSA Wiretap Issue

From this article we get:

In the end, as with so many of the clashes involving presidential power in our history, it is the president who is likely to emerge with the upper hand.

Recall that during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln had thousands arrested for suspected disloyalty, ordered trials of civilians in military courts and barred from the U.S. mail newspapers critical of the war. During and after World War I, Woodrow Wilson ordered the arrest of socialist leader E.V. Debs for criticizing the war and authorized the Palmer Raids, in which more than 10,000 radicals were rounded up and held without trial for an extended period.

During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt ordered accused Nazi saboteurs (two of whom were American citizens) tried before a military tribunal that quickly sentenced them to death. He also signed the executive order forcing 110,000 Japanese-Americans into internment camps.

From this one we get:

(Former US Attorney General Edward) Levi said a traditional warrant procedure works when surveillance "involves a particular target location or individual at a specific time." Foreign intelligence, however, may in some situations require "virtually continuous surveillance, which by its nature does not have specifically predetermined targets." In these situations, "the efficiency of a warrant requirement would be minimal."

In approving a surveillance plan, "judicial decision would take the form of an ex parte determination that the program of surveillance designed by the government strikes a reasonable balance between the government's need for the information and the protection of individuals' rights."

Had Levi's procedure been in place, President Bush could have submitted to a court an application setting out the elements of the proposed NSA surveillance program: the target; communications to be intercepted; screening methods; controls on information dissemination. Because FISA procedures are secret, a court application would not have compromised the program's secrecy. If Congress puts this procedure into the law, the president can submit the NSA program for approval now.

The court role would be limited to approving the "reasonableness" of the plan under the 4th Amendment, using a standard of review that recognizes the president's primary constitutional role in surveillance on foreign powers. The approving court might be the three-judge FISA court of review.

Based on everything we know, NSA's surveillance program would be approved. Even the president's critics generally acknowledge that, based upon what we know, the NSA program is "reasonable" in responding to the Al Qaeda threat.

"The Research"

Every educator has heard the phrase "The research shows..." or "The research proves...." It's a phrase that's designed to shut off challenges to whatever the speaker is saying and to bully the listener into accepting it. After all, who could possibly disagree with what "the research" proves?

The problem is twofold. First, it's very likely the speaker is blowing smoke and has no research at all to back up his/her position. This is likely to be true if the speaker cannot refer to a specific study to justify the claim. Second, if there is research to support the speaker's position, very often (especially in education) that research is not based on valid research methodologies.

I'll give one lengthy specific example, and then get back to the general topic.

My research-busting hero is Christine Rossell of Boston University. Ten years ago she and partner Ken Baker looked at studies of bilingual education to determine the best way to teach non-native English speakers. At the time, "everyone" knew that transitional bilingual education was the best way to go--put the kids in a class in which the majority of time the home language is used to teach content (math, science, history, etc), and over the course of several years transition to having most of the instruction done in English. Study after study backed this process up.

Except they didn't.

Their report, published in Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 30, No. 1, February 1996, states that methodologically sound studies had the following characteristics:

1. They were true experiments in which students were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups;
2. They had non-random assignment that either matched students in the treatment and comparison groups on factors that influence achievement or statistically controlled for them;
3. They included a comparison group of LEP (limited English proficient--Darren) students of the same ethnicity and similar language background;
4. Outcome measures were in English using normal curve equivalents (NCEs), raw scores, scale scores, or percentiles, but not grade equivalents;
5. There were no additional educational treatments, or the studies controlled for additional treatments if they existed.

Rossell and Baker found that unacceptable studies usually exhibited the following characteristics:

1. The study did not compare program alternatives or assess educational outcomes.
2. The study did not use randomly assigned students and made no effort to control for possible initial differences between students in different programs.
3. The study did not apply appropriate statistical tests (probably because of the heavy math involved--Darren).
4. The study used a(n English-speaking) norm-referenced design.
5. The study examined gains over the school year without a control group.
6. The study used grade-equivalent scores.
7. The study compared test results in different languages for students in different programs.
8. The study did not control for the confounding effect of other important educational treatments that were administered to at least one of the groups, but not all of them.

They then went into detail explaining the issues surrounding each of these flaws.

So what did they find? Of the 300 prominent studies they examined, only 72 were methodologically sound. Yes, that means that 228 studies, an overwhelming percentage of "the research", were statistical crap. And they identified the studies in both groups in an appendix. Later work by Rossell increased the number of studies she evaluated to over 500.

Three teaching methodologies were studied: submersion, transitional bilingual education, and structured English immersion. Here's my quick summary of each:

• submersion--sink or swim
• transitional bilingual education--described above
• structured immersion--instruction is in English at a level the students can understand, in a self-contained classroom consisting entirely of LEP students
• ESL--pull-out English instruction (only 3 of the 300 studies used this, so I'll ignore it here)
  

So what did the 72 sound studies show? Of the three primary methods of teaching multi-lingual students, structured English immersion clearly won out. Rossell summarizes her work here. Of those 300 studies, do you have any guesses which group, the 72 or the 228, the bilingual education lobby means when they talk about "the research"?

I have a personal story about "the research". I wrote about it here.

So now back to the general topic. This week's Education Gadfly, published online by the Fordham Foundation, has an editorial about the "mad, mad world of education research". The gist is contained in this paragraph:

Why are randomized experiments being dropped faster than a tainted control group? Hsieh put that question to a number of folks. One “speculated that with the increasing popularity of qualitative methods (i.e., not relying on quantitative data), some researchers may have rejected the underlying assumptions of experimental research in favor of a post-modern, relativist view.” A more cynical interpretation holds that because empirical research is difficult to conduct and yields unpopular results, many authors simply take their studies down an easier path. Why risk tenure by studying the effectiveness of phonics, for example, if a university promotion committee member worships at the altar of whole language? Why bother with multivariate analysis when a feminist critique of patriarchal statistical methods will do?

This is why and how we get whole language, fuzzy math, ethnomath, ESL, "education for social justice" (as opposed to learning how to read, write, compute, and think), etc. If something fe-e-e-e-e-ls good, it must be good. We don't need no education...and we don't need no facts, either.

It's ok, though. They're not my kids, right? Why should I care?

Have some fun. The next time you hear the phrase "the research shows", be skeptical. Ask for some backup information. Make the speaker prove that their statements are backed up by scholarship and not emotion. Watch how quickly you get shut down, get told "I'll have to get back to you", or have the subject changed.

Ah, The Solidarity of the Left

While surfing this morning I linked to this ancient post from Instapundit. Everything in it makes me laugh at the American left.

I haven't counted, but I'll bet it's less than 20 sentences long. Here's most of it:

"We are fighting for self-determination. That means that we wish to live according to our own societal values, not your Western ones. You are a cultural imperialist. I appreciate your concern for our struggle, but WE will decide for ourselves." That reminds me of this quote, from some French Communist or other (this is from memory): "When you are in power, you give me freedom because that is according to your principles. When I am in power, I will take away your freedom, because that is according to my principles."

Math and the Police

Should police officers have a basic facility with math? Should they be able to solve these problems?

1. $36,750 ÷ 52 =

2. $13,472 ÷ 13 =

3. $13 x 31 =

4. $314 x 5 =

6. 10% of $87,000 =

What if they're Criminal Justice majors from a college or university. Should they be able to solve those problems?

Apparently not.

Student Charged For Having "Look-Alike Drug"

I've heard of this concept before--have something that looks like drugs, and we treat it as if the kid actually has drugs. I't might be stupid to carrry around shredded parsley in a baggie in your pocket, but should it be illegal?

How about powdered sugar?

"Look-alike drugs and substances can cause that same level of danger because staff and students are not equipped to differentiate between the two."

So, because your school staff can't tell the difference between real and fake drugs, that's reason enough to give a child a felony conviction? And we school-people wonder why so many people homeschool or support vouchers.

Via Newsalert.

Advice For Our Muslim Brethren and Sistren

And apparently it comes from the Big Guy Himself. Via The Big Pharoah.

I like Commandment #4.

A Quote From Ed Koch

He doesn't sound like a Democrat:

The first amendment was not intended to ban mention of God in a public school setting. The intent was to protect us from the government imposing on the nation a preference for one religion over another. The Founding Fathers clearly believed in intelligent design, as evidenced by their statements referring to the Creator in the Declaration of Independence.

and

Many, if not all, states already require by law that students in public schools be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. That pledge was amended by Congress in 1953 to include the phrase “under God.” I suggest that the students be asked to also recite the Declaration of Independence or parts of it, in particular the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Perhaps each morning a student could be asked to explain what those words mean. A teacher might explain that many of those now engaged in a war of civilizations against us are taught in their schools that the killing of infidels is a first priority. Infidels are the vast majority of the people of the world -- Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others who are not willing to, in the words of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, second in command to Osama bin Laden in Iraq, “convert to Islam or pay us tribute.”

There will be those who, as surely as God made little green apples, as the lyric goes, will denounce such discussions as jingoism. These ostriches refuse to acknowledge that we are at war with millions of terrorists and their supporters worldwide who openly acknowledge that they want to kill us all. The first and overriding right of every society and individual is to defend themselves against assault. Self-defense includes educating our children by providing them with reasons why our values -- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- are worth defending.

Sing it, Ed.

Commies Under The Desk

Usually I wear Dockers-type pants and a collared shirt to school, but on Fridays I go a little more casual. Usually that means changing from slacks to jeans, but today it included wearing a printed t-shirt saying "Commies Aren't Cool", and underneath the writing is a small picture of Che Guevara in a red "no" circle/slash.

Students I don't even know come up to me and tell me they love the shirt, which should tell you a little something about the message they're used to getting from teachers. We even have a teacher who wears a full-on Che Guevara shirt, speaks openly and positively about the workers' paradise that is Cuba, etc. It is with him I got into a conversation this morning.

Oh, he's a nice guy, and we both enjoy our debates, but he's a commie. He says he's a "socialist", but he's a commie. Today I actually got him to admit it, and then I told him that he can't be employed here.

You see, California doesn't allow Communists to be teachers.

A Libertarian teacher standing nearby said that if the law doesn't allow teachers to be members of the Communist Party, he would change his party affiliation today so that he could challenge this "obviously" unconstitutional law.

Later, I found the section of education code. What it actually says is that teachers cannot knowingly be members of the Communist Party, so I guess the first teacher can remain employed. The second has backed off on changing his party affiliation but remains disgusted that such a law is on the books.

I found a few sections of California Education Code that address this topic:

Section 44932. (a) No permanent employee shall be dismissed except for one or more of the following causes:
(10) Knowing membership by the employee in the Communist Party.

Section 44939. Upon the filing of written charges, duly signed and verified by the person filing them with the governing board of a school district, or upon a written statement of charges formulated by the governing board, charging a permanent employee of the district with ...knowing membership in the Communist Party...the governing board may, if it deems such action necessary, immediately suspend the employee from his duties....

Section 38136. No governing board of a school district shall grant the use of any school property to any person or organization for any use in violation of Section 38135. For the purpose of determining whether or not any individual, society, group, or organization applying for the use of the school property intends to violate Section 38135, the governing board shall require the making and delivery to the governing board, by the applicant of a written statement of information in the following form:
-----STATEMENT OF INFORMATION-----
The undersigned states that...is not a Communist action organization or Communist front organization....

Section 51530. No teacher giving instruction in any school, or on any property belonging to any agencies included in the public school system, shall advocate or teach communism with the intent to indoctrinate or to inculcate in the mind of any pupil a preference for communism.

Additionally, I've emailed the California Department of Education Legal Office and asked if the loyalty oath, and the ed code sections above, have ever been litigated. I got a very weak answer that ended with "That is about as much legal research as we can do for you on this subject. If you are a teacher, I suggest you ask your union for information on this topic, since they have probably tracked the issue more closely over the years." Huh? Wha? You're a freakin' Assistant General Counsel for a major department in state government and you say a public employee union has "probably" paid more attention to the constitutionality of laws than your department has? What are you, a communist or something??? =)

I'd love to find out when each of the quoted sections of ed code were added to state law. I'd also like to know if they've been litigated and what the opinions of the courts were.

If they're clearly unconstitutional, they need to be removed from ed code. If they're not, I'm a happy camper.

CA State Superintendent Wants To Boost Teacher Quality

According to the major Sacramento newspaper:

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, giving his third annual
state of education speech Tuesday, called for a massive investment in boosting
teacher quality as one of several efforts to maintain the state's position as an
international powerhouse of technology and entrepreneurial innovation.

That sounds nice, but I have to ask: What are you going to do, Jack, to help make me a better teacher?

I mean, I know what might help make me a better teacher. And it's probably not the same thing as the two teachers on either side of me need to help make them better teachers. So how are you going to make this happen, Jack?

Now don't go thinking that I'm only going off on Jack because he's a Democrat. Far from it--he supports the High School Exit Exam, for example, and is working with Governor Schwarzenegger to bring California's standards and accountability program more in line with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. These are good, and I'm glad he has the personal fortitude and integrity to hold these beliefs when it would be so easy, especially for a Democrat here in California, to buckle.

No, I'm only addressing the comments about improving teacher quality. How are you going to make me a better teacher, Jack?

I'm sure that any such proposal will be designed either to help the rookies, which won't help me, or will be some one-over-the-world requirement (like CLAD) that probably won't impact my teaching in the least. Take some free advice, Jack, and listen to Darren:

1. Find ways to influence the home as well as the school
2. Sell accountability (tests aren't there to improve education, they evaluate education). Sell it to the public and the unions will have to go along with it.
3. When you hear about stupid things, try to stop them
4. Require the standards
5. Enforce the standards
6. Value the standards
7. Sound like a Republican here; most parents are traditionalists when it comes to their kids' education

Few of those will affect me directly, but you'd go a good way towards moving the juggernaut in the right direction.

See? Not so hard. Keep up the good work.

Only In California

Here's the 1st paragraph:

(02-08) 1215 PST OAKLAND -- A blind UC Berkeley student has filed a class-action
lawsuit against Target Corp., saying the retailer is committing civil-rights
violations because its Web site is inaccessible to those who cannot see.

I'm going to sue mirror manufacturers because their products are starting to make me look fat. Here in the People's Republic of California, I'd probably win.

Teacher-Student Sex Stories

Apparently the author of the Interested-Participant blog seeks out student-teacher sex stories, like this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one.

At least this one is a little different. You don't read about this type every day.

Safe Place

Remember this post, about gay-friendly posters going up in SF Bay Area schools to indicate to gay students that the school is a "safe place"? If posters work, then maybe this school needs some for it's JROTC students.

I thought lefties believed in tolerance, diversity, etc. I thought they "supported the troops" if not the war. Guess not.

And the parents need to teach the children some manners.

Carnival of Education

This week's Carnival is posted.

Another Stupid Sexual Harassment Claim

Honestly, can a 6-year-old really "sexually" harass someone?

Only if the definition of sexual harassment is so broad as to be meaningless.

On its Web site, the National Association of Elementary School Principals issued
a statement titled "Sexual Harassers Can Be Elementary School Students." It
concluded by saying:

"It is critical that principals act quickly and take
sexual harassment very seriously. Remember that anything that is offensive to
the opposite sex can and might be considered sexual harassment, including
tugging at clothes, name-calling, and playground teasing. Cracking down now not
only is best for students, it will also create a better climate for learning.
And it's certainly good PR (public relations)."

Yes, let's suspend 6-year-olds because it's good PR.

It's not good PR here at Right On The Left Coast, you morons.

The policy at the school where the 1st grader was suspended?

The Brockton public schools' policy guide defines sexual harassment as
"repeated, unwanted, or unwelcomed verbalisms or behaviors of a sexist nature
related to a person's sex or sexual orientation."

The policy includes examples of what is called sexual harassment,
including "uninvited physical contact such as touching, hugging, patting or
pinching."

Pinching. I wonder how many kids they suspend on St. Patrick's Day.

Starts with M.
Rhymes with "borons."

Update, 2/11/06: The school district admits they screwed up. Ya think?

Teacher Disposition and So-called "Social Justice"

Joanne (see blogroll at left) says it best here:

Sometimes the best way to promote social justice is to teach reading, 'riting,
'rithmetic, physics, civics and calculus.

To which I reply: only sometimes?

Warrantless Wiretaps (NSA Surveillance)

If this opinion piece from The Oregonian is correct, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) specifically allows for warrantless surveillance "during times of war".

Wouldn't that make this whole brouhaha moot, except as a means to score points with the Democratic base?

Additionally, a 2002 ruling by the FISA court (In Re Sealed Case) stated the following at the bottom of page 11:

"We take for granted that the President does have that authority (to conduct
warrantless surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence information) and,
assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional
power."

How could it be any more clear?

Here's a letter from Attorney General Gonzales to Senate Majority Leader Frist. Scroll down to the analysis starting on page 6, where the AG outlines several court cases (including the one above) where courts have consistently ruled that the President has the constitutional authority to conduct this warrantless surveillance.

This whole issue is manufactured.

Newsalert Links Here

I read newsalert each day--it's one of the dozen or so blogs I read religiously. The proprietor of that site, Steve Bartin, has graciously added this site to his blogroll.

Thanks for the shoutout, Steve!

Dialup? WE Used To Have To Use Magazines!

I'm having a hard time having sympathy for this young man--that is, when I'm not laughing at him. I won't say anything more about his little run-in with the law except to quote the first line of the story:

An 18-year-old male ASU student was arrested Sunday night at Hayden Library and charged with indecent exposure and public sexual indecency.

Super Bowl

Which was less entertaining, the game or the commercials?

Frozen In Time, Part II

Back in October I posted about a WWII serviceman whose body had been found in the Sierra Nevada, encased in ice. He's been identified:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Remains found in a California mountain range last fall are those of an airman from Minnesota whose plane went missing during World War II, a friend of the man's family said Saturday.

The U.S. Department of Defense determined the remains are those of Leo Mustonen, who was 22 when the plane he was in crashed 64 years ago in the Sierra Nevada mountains, family friend Marjorie Freeman told The Associated Press. Freeman, of Baxter, said a niece of Mustonen's called her after being notified by defense officials....
Last October, authorities recovered a body encased in ice in Kings Canyon National Park. Military anthropologists narrowed their options to four men who flew out of Sacramento's Mather Field the night the plane disappeared: Mustonen; pilot William Gamber, 23, of Fayette, Ohio; and aviation Cadets Ernest Munn, 23, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, and John Mortenson, 25, of Moscow, Idaho.

May he rest in peace.

A Quote From Bill Clinton

May 5, 1995:

"There is nothing patriotic about hating your country, or pretending that you love your country but despise your government."

Cartoons of Mohammed Go Far Beyond Denmark

In an amazing display of spine, many European press organizations are now demonstrating "freedom of speech and of the press" by reprinting the so-called offensive Danish cartoons of Mohammed. But this goes far beyond cartoons, far beyond Europe, far beyond freedom of speech. It goes to the heart of free society itself.

Here are the offended, tolerant, peace-loving Muslims. No need to read, just look at the pictures.

And here is a great essay on free speech in a multicultural society. Excerpts:

Note the bolded text, because it draws clear (if to be expected) lines of demarcation between the actions of the rival “protest” groups: the Danish protesters are “extremists” from the “extreme-right”—many of them members of a “racist party”—while those Muslims outraged by the publishing of the cartoons in the first place (who “protested” by burning flags, firebombing embassies, and—even here, through a spokesman, issuing active threats of “grave consequences” and promises that “All hell will break lose” should counterprotests seek to address “Muslim anger") are mere victims of some minor misunderstanding in the “new cultural battle over freedom of speech and respect of religions.”

That last bit of spin is key, because it not only shows the force of a cynical Islamic identity politics still trying to write itself in strokes that aren’t quite so obvious [update: this story seems to fit well with the thesis that the “outrage” is part of an identity politics strategy]-- but it also highlights the dilemma western proponents of identity politics have (and always will have) to face: namely, the point at which the necessary clash of soft, boutique mulitculturalism and the kernel beliefs of identity politics groups threaten to erupt into something much larger than a minor disagreement that can be fixed with a bit of superficial policy manipulation. Which is why even now you have Kos commenters contorting themselves into positions of self-righteous progressive onanism that are a wonder to behold—suddenly, free speech is not a universal right worthy of the crafting of puppet heads and the defacing of Starbucks’ windows, but instead is a culture-specific gift that needs to be filtered through the religious precepts of the culture of the Other. Unless, of course, that “Other” happens to be, say, Evangelical Christians. In which case, such extremists MUST BE SHOUTED DOWN with free speech.

And then there's this quote, representing how the protesting Muslims are acting:

“Free speech is good so long as it tolerates our right, as an identity group, to dictate which free speech is authentic and allowable. Otherwise, y’know, we get to torch shit.”

It cannot be said any more clearly.

Update: Apparently, it's not as blasphemous to show images of Mohammed as we've been led to believe.

Update #2: Are you not taking this seriously? Watch this 2 minute video that puts it in perspective.

Update #3: Lefties, here's how you reap what you sow. Try to talk to these people, try to understand their fe-e-e-e-e-e-e-lings, and they don't give a damn. They'll threaten to kill you, to "torch shit", and you buckle. How very proud you must be of your sensitivity. Maybe Republicans should get in on that act--we've certainly got the provocation here.

Literacy--Math, and Otherwise

I have nothing to add to this post except for an "amen" at the end.

Stanford University's Program for Gifted Students

Not all students are as fortunate as are the students at my school, where we have plenty of advanced courses. If you know students for whom the school isn't providing enough of an education, or if you attend my school and want to get even *further* ahead, then check out this online/distance-learning program from Stanford University.

WHEN Are We Ever Gonna Have To Use This?

I hear that question frequently in math. It grows old. Do they ask the same question in English class when studying the poetry of Emily Dickenson? (Related post here)

Anyway, I wrote previously about finding the WWII pictures of my grandmother in uniform. I've been doing some non-scholarly research about the work she did in the British Army and came across a site dedicated to the women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, to which nana belonged. And what do I find there? This tidbit of information about women in anti-aircraft artillery units, of which nana was a member:

Another instrument that was used by A.T.S was the kinetheodolite. This was only used at practice camps but this was based on the theories of cinema and theodolites combined. The operators would film mixed battery detachments firing at drones on the practice camps. The films were taken back in the evening to the camp headquarters and the operators would use the measurements taken, together with the film to work out how close to target each team was firing. This enabled teams to adjust their procedures in order to become more accurate. The work of the kinetheodolite operators was very mathematical and only those who were very good in this subject were able to cope with the calculations that had to be made each day. (emphasis mine--Darren)

So when are you ever gonna have to use this? Maybe when you're trying to defend your country from attack by a ruthless enemy!

Bottom line is, I don't know when you're "ever gonna have to use this stuff". But isn't it good knowledge to have, just in case? And why cut yourself off from fields you don't even know about yet? I'll bet the women in school in 1930s Britain never thought they'd be using math to help shoot down Nazi aircraft.

Naive College Students

I've often said that high school and college students have a broad capacity for knowledge but little experience in the adult world. They are the living embodiment of Confucius' maxim, "Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is perilous." And when you look at the stupidity at what passes for student government on so many college campuses, you see what I mean.

Like this.

On The Deaths of Soldiers

This account of little Bedford, Virginia, which lost so many of its men on D-Day, stirred me to tears. I could actually see young Elizabeth Teass turn on her telegraph machine, and after sending the message saying her office was open and ready to receive telegrams, got the reply "We have casualties." Weeks after the D-Day invasion, after no word created an eerie silence in town, the telegraph machine started its staccato song. And it didn't stop for quite some time.

This was quality story-telling.

What struck me most, though, was this quote from the local newspaper a few days later, when the reports of Bedford's Company A made the front page:

Nothing we can say will soften the blow that has fallen upon these homes. We can only point out that these Bedford men have given their lives in the same cause for which men in all ages have made the supreme sacrifice - the preservation of the ideals of liberty and justice toward which mankind has been struggling since the dawn of time. The world has moved forward over the bodies of countless millions who laid down their lives rather (than) submit to bondage. No one has died entirely in vain when death came in the cause of justice and freedom. . . .

It was true then, and it's true today.

Update, June 3, 2007: The link above is, unfortunately, no longer active. I've contacted the Times Dispatch to see if they can/will send me the entire story so I can post it for Wednesday's D-Day anniversary.

Update #2, 6/4/07: After contacting the Times Dispatch, they sent me the new link to the story. Something about migrating to a new server or something. I've updated the link above.

Update #3, 6/6/09: And now that link is bad. I've contacted them. *sigh*

More On Algebra

And no, I didn't just call someone a moron =)

The LA Times has posted another article about algebra. It's a typical heartwarming feel-good story, but I still highly recommend it. Here's a sample:

JOHNNY PATRELLO was a greaser. I was a dork. And yet, despite our rigidly stratified school culture, we came together in the spring of 1968 at Walt Whitman Junior High School, where I tutored Johnny in algebra...

Things looked pretty hopeless to both of us those first couple of sessions, as Johnny stumbled through algebra problems while I tried to figure out exactly what he didn't understand. Then, as we took it down to each step of each little calculation, the trouble became clear: Johnny somehow had reached ninth grade without learning the multiplication tables.

Because he was shaky on those, his long multiplication was error prone and his long division a mess. As Johnny tried to work algebraic equations, his arithmetic kept bringing up weird results. He'd figure he was on the wrong track and make up an answer...

Today's failing high school students, though plagued by more poverty and upheaval than Johnny or I ever knew, bring the same scanty skills to algebra class, according to The Times' series. They never quite grasped multiplication tables, but still they moved on to more complicated math.

Who can focus on the step-by-step logic of peeling back an equation until "x" is bared when it involves arithmetic that comes slow and slippery, always giving a different answer to the same calculation?

I think you can see where this story is going. Again, go read the whole thing.

Racist Comments By A Public Figure

And nary a word in the press.

Hilarious Movie Spoof

Having just recently watched the Back To The Future trilogy with my son, I find this spoof hilarious.

San Francisco Teachers Closer to Striking?

Long-time readers of this blog know the love I have (cough cough) for San Francisco and its residents. In this story it's hard to know who to root for, and that's sad.

I note that the story mentions the Oakland school district, and how they're even closer to striking that SF's. I wonder what former Governor Moonbeam and current Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has to say on this subject! The article didn't mention him at all.

Jaime Escalante

Every math teacher has seen the movie Stand And Deliver, and probably most math students have, too! Teacher Magazine recently interviewed the real Jaime Escalante and posted the interview here. The web site background makes the interview very difficult to read, but here are some interesting snippets:

Q. After leaving Garfield in 1991, you went to Hiram W. Johnson High School in Sacramento, where you taught for seven years. How long did you stay in the United States after retiring?

A. It was only one year. This is what happened. I had a grant from the National Science Foundation. I had this problem with UTLA [the United Teachers Los Angeles union]. I had no choice; I had to leave [Garfield]. My wife picked Sacramento. I had about $35,000 left [from the grant], and I brought that money [to Johnson High] to continue my program. We did the AP calculus for one year. Next, we applied again for the grant. The Clinton administration cut [it] completely. And when we asked, “Why are you cutting this kind of program that had such tremendous success at Garfield High School when we could do the same kind of thing here at Johnson High School?” they said, “We’re not interested in that.”

Q. Which program was that?

A. The one I had at Garfield High, the math enrichment program, the one that created so many good students. Clinton cut it completely. That’s the reason we went back to Bolivia.

Q. What do you think of the No Child Left Behind law that has fostered so many state tests?

A. If the test is going to be like we used to do—to see how this kid’s doing ... at the beginning of the school year ... and then at the end of the semester—I do agree with that. But the other thing ... you have to do is analyze the things in the curriculum. You have to emphasize the basics. Like, for instance, a kid knows fractions, knows arithmetic, I guarantee this kid’s going to have success in algebra.

Q. Do you think it’s good for the schools to be judged by the results of the state tests?

A. I would say yes. You have to go according to the curriculum, especially in the achievement tests. It’s a good gauge. If the kids go through that, you know you’re teaching. If the kids don’t do well, you’re wasting time. That kind of test [is] going to make [an] evaluation of the kinds of schools we have.