What Is It With Language Teachers?

The only teacher I've ever heard mention having sex in his/her classroom was a teacher who also used to volunteer to teach English to migrant farmworkers. She talked about how she'd bring them to her classroom at school late at night on weekends--because, get this, taking them to her apartment would be too weird!

Oh, I have lots of stories about that one.

She was young, reasonably attractive, academically intelligent, and odd as a three dollar bill. I wonder if she'd fit in with this crowd:

Two female Romance language instructors were tossed out of their Brooklyn high school after being caught "undressed" in an empty classroom, sources told the Daily News Tuesday.

Students at James Madison High School in Midwood were watching a talent show in the auditorium while Alini Brito and Cindy Mauro were speaking the international language of love, sources said.

Of course, nothing is proven yet and the district is investigating.

Bow shicka bow shicka bow-wow.

Thursday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Montenegro, on June 28, 2006.

Today's question is:
Which UN member state has the longest official name?

It Was a Different Time, Post-Pearl Harbor

All of us, especially those of us who grew up in California, know about the executive order that compelled Japanese and Japanese-Americans to be incarcerated at the beginning of World War II. I attended Kohler Elementary, on the grounds of the former Camp Kohler, which we knew had been a Japanese relocation center (historical marker information here). As a child I played and built forts in the ruins and remnants of Camp Kohler. So stories like this strike very close to home here in the Central Valley:

Japanese-Americans who were forced from their studies in the 1940s at the University of California, Davis will be given honorary degrees Saturday.

Forty-seven people who were students at UC Davis when the United States entered World War II will receive honorary degrees, although few will attend. Some of those being honored will be represented by friends and family.

It happened almost 70 years ago. In the interim a national apology has been issued, and financial reparations have been paid. I've known two people who were relocated and imprisoned, and they were both babies at the time.

I guess this is a nice gesture, but I wonder whom the intended audience is, and why.

Litmus Test For Teachers

I posted a few weeks ago about the University of Minnesota's ideological litmus test for students enrolled in its teacher education program; I feel a little better now that FIRE is involved.

The task group, formed as part of the Teacher Education Redesign Initiative at the state university, aims to change how future teachers are trained, based on the assertion that the teachers' lack of "cultural competence" contributes to minority students' poor grades...

But the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) says the Race, Culture, Class and Gender group is going beyond addressing how teachers are educated and is trying instead to mandate their beliefs and values.

"Unlike what many schools of education have in terms of cultural competence, this task group really wants to invade the minds of future teachers and demand that they hold the 'right' values attitudes and beliefs about society, about themselves, and about race, class, culture, and gender, to a degree to which it really violates the freedom of conscience of future teachers," Adam Kissel, Director of FIRE's Individual Rights Defense Program, told FoxNews.com.

Of course the university spokesman says FIRE has it all wrong, but you can go here and see the inflammatory report for yourself.

Some of the proposed curriculum requirements are:

• "Future teachers will be able to discuss their own histories and current thinking drawing on notions of white privilege, hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and internalized oppression."

• Teachers will be able to articulate a "critical analysis of this story of America, for what it illuminates and what it hides or distorts" including:

- "myth of meritocracy in the United States"

- "historical connections between scientific racism, intelligence testing, and assumptions of fixed mental capacity"

- "alternative explanations for mobility (and lack of it)"

- "history of demands for assimilation to white, middle-class, Christian meanings and values"

- "history of white racism, with special focus on current colorblind ideology"

• "Future teachers are able to explain how institutional racism works in schools" and recognize that "schools and classrooms are often structured in ways that advantage and disadvantage some groups but are also critical sites for social and cultural transformation."

Wow. Schools sure are hotbeds of racism. Who knew all those liberal, union-supporting teachers were racists! I blame the NEA.

Meat and Poultry Used In School Lunches

The following article from USA Today, while good enough in its own right, leads to some serious and important questions. First, though, let's excerpt from the story:

In the past three years, the government has provided the nation's schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn't meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants, from Jack in the Box and other burger places to chicken chains such as KFC, a USA TODAY investigation found.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the meat it buys for the National School Lunch Program "meets or exceeds standards in commercial products."

That isn't always the case. McDonald's, Burger King and Costco, for instance, are far more rigorous in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens. They test the ground beef they buy five to 10 times more often than the USDA tests beef made for schools during a typical production day.

And the limits Jack in the Box and other big retailers set for certain bacteria in their burgers are up to 10 times more stringent than what the USDA sets for school beef.

For chicken, the USDA has supplied schools with thousands of tons of meat from old birds that might otherwise go to compost or pet food. Called "spent hens" because they're past their egg-laying prime, the chickens don't pass muster with Colonel Sanders— KFC won't buy them — and they don't pass the soup test, either. The Campbell Soup Company says it stopped using them a decade ago based on "quality considerations"...

USDA-purchased meat is donated to almost every school district in the country and served to 31 million students a day, 62% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price meals. President Obama noted earlier this year that, for many children, school lunches are "their most nutritious meal — sometimes their only meal — of the day."

This story is focused on the appalling fact that food that wouldn't pass inspection in a fast-food joint is routinely fed to schoolchildren, compliments of the US government (insert snarky comment about the potential for government-run health care here!).

But I have a more fundamental question: why is the US government buying food and providing it to local school districts? How did anyone determine this was a good idea? I give state governments a lot of latitude to do stupid things in our republic, as state constitutions are limited only by the people of the state and the people can grant whatever powers they want to the state governments. But the US Constitution is limited by enumerated powers granted by the states, and those powers not granted under the Constitution are supposed to be reserved to the states and to the people. That we have gotten so far from that structure that Congress now dictates how many gallons of water your toilet can flush, that the USDA can buy and distribute meat and poultry to local school districts, that Congress can consider whether or not a college football game can be called a "championship game" or not, I'm forced to repeat my statement from this post: maybe it's time to refresh Jefferson's tree of liberty.

Carnival of Education

This week's is here and includes my recent post about receiving my agency fee rebate from the CTA.

Wednesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Ban-Ki Moon, of Korea.

Today's question is:
What is the newest UN member state?

The Founders Must Be So Proud

When you don't limit your government at all, your government will inject itself anywhere it wants to:

A top official of the Bowl Championship Series says there are more important things for Congress to worry about than pressing for a playoff system for college football.

But lawmakers were taking a crack at it anyway Wednesday. A House panel was to consider a proposal to ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I football game as a national championship unless it's the outcome of a playoff.

Like the BCS or hate it, does Congress have any business getting involved? The congressman who's pushing this, a Republican, says that college football is a business like any other.

You can't simultaneously support this and wonder why the Tea Parties are so popular; the first begets the second.

Congressman, you're an idiot. And if this is what we can expect from our legislature, it might be time to "refresh" Jefferson's tree of liberty.

Tuesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Today's question is:
Who is the current UN Secretary-General?

Another "My Union Sucks" Story

Forty minutes ago I posted about Detroit teachers and the pathetic agreement their union negotiated on their behalf. I've just finished reading another "union done me wrong" story:

After losing a court challenge, several teachers laid off from D.C. public schools are now criticizing the union for not being proactive enough in helping them keep their jobs.

Crystal Proctor is one of several teachers who say union lawyers were not well prepared in court when they argued in favor of reinstating the more than 250 teachers. "We don't think that the legal representation was competent," says Proctor. "Watching our attorney perform, it was laughable. It was ridiculous."

Another teacher Natasha Mason says she didn't get replies when she sent emails to her union representative. She says she's gotten "nothing" out of her membership. "I'm totally disappointed," says Mason. "It's a pity we've been paying all this money into people to protect us and represent us and to stand up for what our rights are none of it has been done."

Some jurisdictions (like California and most assuredly DC) are so-called fair share states, where teachers are required to pay a union for representation whether they want that representation or not. When the union doesn't have to work for its money, when it doesn't have to "satisfy the customer", when it's entitled to your money by law, it can perform as well or as shabbily as it wants.

Would you like to find out your rights regarding union membership in California? Please visit the web site of the California Teachers Empowerment Network and read my CTEN posts by clicking here.

Hat tip to EIA.

Cool, But Necessary?

I don't think so, but then again I'm not what's known as an "early adopter" of new technologies (except for Windows Vista):

NEWSPAPERS and novels are moving briskly from paper to pixels, but textbooks have yet to find the perfect electronic home. They are readable on laptops and smartphones, but the displays can be eye-taxing. Even dedicated e-readers with their crisp printlike displays can’t handle textbook staples like color illustrations or the videos and Web-linked supplements publishers increasingly supply.

Now there is a new approach that may adapt well to textbook pages: two-screen e-book readers with a traditional e-paper display on one screen and a liquid-crystal display on the other to render graphics like science animations in color.

The dual screens are linked by a central processor so that, for example, a link on the e-paper display can open on the color screen.

A picture at the link shows the new device. Imagine opening a book; the left page (screen) would be the text, and the right page (screen) would be the graphics.

I don't see such fragile electronics replacing books in public schools for a very long time. At the college level, where students pay for their books already, there might be a market.

Detroit Teachers Need A Better Option

If this is the best the Detroit teachers can get out of their union, they should do two things:
1. recall all their union officers, replacing them with people who are worth a darn, and
2. go on strike.

I'm hard pressed to see how going on strike would yield results worse than their union has bargained for on their behalf:

Cobo Center filled with a chorus of boos and chants of "No, No, No" Sunday afternoon as Detroit Public School teachers reviewed a tentative contract that will subtract $250 out of each paycheck, or $500 a month.

The money will be given to the district to help plug a $219 million deficit, and it will be returned when they retire... (boldface mine--Darren)

But union leaders say the best offers already are on the table and warned of dire consequences if the deal is defeated.

"Your pay will drastically be reduced and more than 1,500 members will lose their jobs," (union president) Johnson said.

Despite the overwhelming verbal no vote, union officials insist they will not change their original strategy in the next two weeks to try to sway the vote...

(Union Executive Vice President) O'Keefe said the district was asking for concessions that would amount to an average cost of about $51,319 per member. "That's money they'd never get back," he said. "What we're saying is take away $10,000 at zero interest, which we understand they don't like, but at least they'll eventually get it back"...

But Johnson issued an ultimatum. "Please be aware: If this ratification is turned down, and this district declares bankruptcy, seniority is gone, longevity is gone, oversized class payments are gone," he said.

Detroit may very well be doomed.

Unbiased Press

It's bad enough when the press claims to be unbiased but is remarkably biased, but it's even worse when this press is supported by the government!

Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network’s top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network’s political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.

According to a source, Liasson was summoned in early October by NPR’s executive editor for news, Dick Meyer, and the network’s supervising senior Washington editor, Ron Elving. The NPR executives said they had concerns that Fox’s programming had grown more partisan, and they asked Liasson to spend 30 days watching the network.

At a follow-up meeting last month, Liasson reported that she’d seen no significant change in Fox’s programming and planned to continue appearing on the network, the source said.

Which group comes across here as the most biased? Just askin'....

Monday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe.

Today's question is:
What are the three UN member states that begin with V?

On The Day The Copenhagen Global Warming Conference Begins...

...Snow Falls In The Valley!!

This must be the California Edition of the Gore Effect :-)

Soldier Nutcrackers

It's good to see that after 8 years of fighting, our soldiers are still popular, even if the war they fight might be less so.

click to enlarge

I took these pictures at a local Target store today.

Sunday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Kronborg, although it is mistakenly called Elsinore by many.

And now, it's another theme week!

Today's question, the first of United Nations Week, is:
Alphabetically, what are the first and last members of the United Nations?

Mona Charen Nails It

In this column she blasts the president for his gracelessness:

Barack Obama is demonstrating bottomless reservoirs of gracelessness. A full 13 months after his election, in the course of justifying the deployment of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, President Obama could not spare a word of praise for George W. Bush -- not even when recounting the nation's "unified" response to 9/11. To the contrary, throughout his pained recitation of the choices we face in Afghanistan, he adverted at least half a dozen times to the supposed blunders of his predecessor.

It's beginning to sound whiny -- and unpresidential. Enough about the terrible mess he inherited. Let's hear a little more about the tremendous honor that has been bestowed on him. Ronald Reagan inherited a worse situation in 1980 -- inflation at 13.5 percent; the prime rate at 21 percent; the Soviets in Afghanistan; American hostages in Tehran; communist coups in 10 new countries over the previous decade -- but Reagan never impugned his predecessor. As biographer Lou Cannon noted "Reagan ... was generous to Carter in his public statements even though he did not care for him."

George W. Bush showed the same chivalry toward Bill Clinton, declining to breathe a negative word about him -- even when sorely tempted by the pardon scandal that further tarnished an already clouded tenure. Even now, despite the unremitting barrage from his successor, Bush keeps silent, true to his tradition of civility toward opponents.

President Obama is so spiteful that he warps history to fit his prejudices...

He had the gall, after kneecapping Bush, to demand a halt to "rancor" and "partisanship." But the greater outrage was his pious declaration that "we must make it clear to every man, woman, and child around the world who lives under the dark cloud of tyranny that America will speak out on behalf of their human rights"? This from the man whose State Department told China early on that human rights were not our priority; who has decided he can deal with the butchers of Darfur; who averted his eyes from the bloody crackdown on protests in Iran; and who tamely permitted the Chinese to censor his words during his visit.

And let's not forget about his shameful position on Honduras, essentially threatening that country with a cutoff of aid and with diplomatic isolation if it didn't restore its legally-removed president.

OK, Mona got one thing wrong. President Reagan didn't really have to deal with the Iranian hostage crisis, as the hostages were released within a few hours of his inauguration. He did, however, have to deal with the resulting loss of American prestige, power, and influence.

This president lacks graciousness. I assert graciousness is far more important in a president than is skill at reading a teleprompter.

Throwing Teachers Out Of Their Homes And Onto The Streets?

One Southern California school district is looking at 10% teacher pay cuts, retroactive to last July, to help balance its books. Let's hear from the union president:

Vicki Soderberg, president of the Capistrano Unified Education Assn., which represents some 2,200 teachers, said the proposed salary decrease would be dire.

"Asking for a 10% pay cut would throw a lot of our teachers out of their homes and onto the streets," she said.

Teachers would consider furloughs, Soderberg said.

Can anyone explain to me how a pay cut due to furloughs won't "throw a lot of our teachers out of their homes and onto the streets," but a pay cut without the lost days would?

Of course I'm sympathetic to the teachers here. If I'm going to get a pay cut, I'd want to work less, too. My issue here is with the stupidity and lack of logic in Ms. Soderberg's statement. And she's the one those union members chose to represent them....

Update: I just received the following in an email. Whether it's true or apocryphal, it's funny and applicable:

She makes about as much sense as the old Yogi Berra line. When asked if he would like the pizza he just ordered cut into 6 or 8 pieces, Yogi said, "8... I'm really hungry."

The Church of Global Warming Cult Keeps Unravelling

The science is not settled; saying it is doesn't end the discussion.

There are scientists who question this charade, and saying there aren't doesn't end the discussion.

And scientists who don't accede to the Church's demands are blacklisted for their heretical beliefs.

Back in those days, it was. I regularly got my research papers published in Nature, that august journal.

I also was invited to become trustee, president, vice president, or patron of over 30 organizations, including: WWF, Wildlife Trusts, YHA, Population Concern, Marine Conservation Society, Coral Cay Conservation, Galapagos Conservation Trust, Plantlife, and BTCV. I was also bestowed with media and conservation awards from around the world, including the Dutch Order of the Golden Ark, BAFTA’s Richard Dimbleby Award, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Underwater Research.

Then the global warming rot set in.

Climate-gate is a serious blow to the Church, and pretending it isn't won't make it go away and end the discussion.

Now, I wouldn’t want to jump to any conclusions here, but it kind of looks to me like the “small group of scientists” caught out by Climategate are pretty much the same people who make up the vast and strong scientific consensus on global warming and write the official reports that the U.S. and other governments rely on to inform their policy decisions. I’m sure Dr. John P. Holdren, President Obama’s science adviser, has a plausible alternative explanation.

It's hard to admit you were scammed, but CGW acolytes, you were scammed.

Update: How would you describe the president's plan?

Barack Obama, understanding the histrionics required in climate change debates, promises that U.S. emissions in 2050 will be 83 percent below 2005 levels. If so, 2050 emissions will equal those in 1910, when there were 92 million Americans. But there will be 420 million in 2050, so Obama's promise means that per capita emissions then will be about what they were in 1875.

We'll need a lot more than just nuclear power plants if we're to make that happen--but no one, not even the president, expects that to happen. So why, I wonder, would he suggest such a thing?

Update #2: The altarboys get huffy:

A professor who is accusing global warming skeptics of engaging in “tabloid-style character assassination” of scientists, called an American climate skeptic “an assh*le” on the December 4, 2009 live broadcast of BBC’s Newsnight program.

When backed into a corner, the typical leftie will resort to name-calling, even profanity. Count on it.

Update #3: Clearly, this scientist is also in a snit, and is threatening retribution to a New York Times science reporter:

Back story: Ever since Chris Horner and I were at a conference together with warmenist Michael Schlesinger of the University of Illinois a couple years ago, Chris and I have been included on Prof. Schesingler's e-mail distribution list, which usually consist of flagging climate news stories. Yesterday we got copied on this message Schlesinger sent to New York Times science reporter Andy Revkin:

Andy:

Copenhagen prostitutes?

Climate prostitutes?

Shame on you for this gutter reportage. [Emphasis added.]

This is the second time this week I have written you thereon, the first about giving space in your blog to the Pielkes.

The vibe that I am getting from here, there and everywhere is that your reportage is very worrisome to most climate scientists.

Of course, your blog is your blog.

But, I sense that you are about to experience the 'Big Cutoff' from those of us who believe we can no longer trust you, me included. [Emphasis added.]

Copenhagen prostitutes?

Unbelievable and unacceptable.

What are you doing and why?

Michael

So what so annoyed Schlesinger? Here's Revkin's offending blog post, which among other things passes along the amusing story of Copenhagen prostitutes offering free sex to climate campaigners....

Apparently, threatening people whom you think aren't loyal enough to a theory is how we build a scientific consensus.

The first rule of being stuck in a hole is: quit digging.

Update #4: Here's a good summary of what's going on, including "the science", "the politics", and "the finances".

Update #5, 12/7/09: These physicists are asking the American Physical Society to rescind its political statement on climate change, at least until the extent of the CRU cheating can be determined.