"It will be Armageddon, but we are on the side of the Lord and we will prevail!"
One may wonder how educators got so confused by Gardner’s theory. Why do they believe that intelligences are interchangeable or that all intelligences should be taught? The answer is traceable to the same thing that made the theory so successful: the naming of various abilities as intelligences.
Why, indeed, are we referring to musical, athletic, and interpersonal skills as intelligences?
In the end, Gardner’s theory is simply not all that helpful. For scientists, the theory of the mind is almost certainly incorrect. For educators, the daring applications forwarded by others in Gardner’s name (and of which he apparently disapproves) are unlikely to help students. Gardner’s applications are relatively uncontroversial, although hard data on their effects are lacking. The fact that the theory is an inaccurate description of the mind makes it likely that the more closely an application draws on the theory, the less likely the application is to be effective. All in all, educators would likely do well to turn their time and attention elsewhere.
Today College Republicans go on trial at San Francisco State for stepping on flag pictures to show their rejection of terrorism.
The governor says the state could save $165 million a year by eliminating the state's teacher tax credit, which is supposed to provide an incentive for experienced educators to stay on the job while reimbursing them for some of the money they spend out-of-pocket on classroom supplies.
The credit starts at $250 for teachers with four years' experience and goes to a maximum of $1,500 for those with 20 years' experience...
The governor's argument comes at a time when many education advocates say more needs to be done to recruit and retain talented educators.
Sen. Jack Scott and former astronaut Sally Ride held a press conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday to highlight the need for more skilled math and science teachers. And according to the California Federation of Teachers, only about half of new teachers stay in the job for more than five years.
In a recent analysis, the Legislature's nonpartisan budget adviser said the tax credit has cost the state about $500 million since it began in 2000, with little clear data showing an effect on teacher retention.
For one thing, the tax credit has been in effect for only three of the past seven years. During the other years, it was suspended to help close multibillion-dollar budget gaps during the state's fiscal crisis.
The legislative analyst reviewed the data and found that about 200,000 teachers took advantage of the credit in the years it was available. Almost 90 percent of those who claimed the credit had incomes over $50,000. There were not fewer teachers quitting or retiring in years when the credit was available...
"There is no question that teaching is a noble and valued profession, but should teachers receive a tax credit whereas other valued workers in our society do not?"
Sen. Jack Scott and former astronaut Sally Ride held a press conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday to highlight the need for more skilled math and science teachers.
A package of bills Scott announced Wednesday would offer small subsidies to help science and math professionals make the transition to the classroom and help teachers prepare to obtain science and math teaching credentials.
If Bush can enrage environmentalists by developing the ethanol they once championed, it is unlikely that any alternative (in the hands of Bush, that is) will satisfy them. They simply aren't serious.
* Another resolution calls on the union to give $5,000 to support American soldiers seeking asylum in Canada.
[I]t's silly to think there was a conservative conspiracy to use NCLB to destroy public education because most conservatives didn't support NCLB in the first place.
Should girls at school really be wearing "I heart my vagina" t-shirts or pins? If so, what would truly be wrong with boys wearing "I heart your vagina, too" t-shirts? The girls are not being "empowered", they're objectifying themselves--something they'll then complain about.
I'm not convinced that the vagina pins and shirts are appropriate for wear in public, much less at school. Notice I said appropriate, not legal. And given sexual harassment laws, which often criminalize the slightest language, word, or contact, isn't a pin glorifying your vagina crossing the line? I think that schools could reasonably assume that shirts/pins which discuss sex organs would be disruptive--but more than that, they contribute to incivility... Is it too much to ask that we try to create a reasonably civil atmosphere at our public schools?
You Wonder What Universal Government Health Care Might Look Like....
Well, look no further than the scandalous mess at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Crappy hospitals, endless waits, mountains of paperwork and, at the end of the day, no real accountability from the people who run the joint. Folks, if the government can't or won't take good care of our injured soldiers, what makes you think that it will take good care of little Sally or Uncle Bill?
Health care in the United States is screwed up. This is largely due to bad government policies, e.g., third party payment encouraged through the tax code and multiplying state insurance mandates that unnecessarily boost costs. As the example of Walter Reed is warning us, putting total control of all health care in the hands of those who wrecked it in first place--Congress, states and federal agencies--is the wrong way to go. (Boldface mine--Darren)
Indeed.
13 Investigates was tipped off by a disturbed resident who writes
"...during school hours in a classroom with an experienced teacher present, two sixth graders completed the act of intercourse...at least ten students were witnesses. No disciplinary actions were taken against the teacher... All teachers were told to keep quiet."
Middle school students having sex in a busy classroom while a teacher is present? Warren Township Associate Superintendent Jeff Swensson confirmed it's true. It's been kept under wraps since November.
Associate Superintendent Jeff Swensson told Eyewitness News off camera the teacher didn't know what was going on because another student acted as a "look-out." But once the teacher discovered the behavior, immediate action was taken.
MoveOn.org spokesman Adam Green is quite insistent. “The Democrats,” he says, “realize they made a mistake legitimizing Fox News. It’s not really a legitimate news outlet.” …
As it happens, MoveOn has a fallback, compromise position. “No Fox News (in the broadcast picture on the debate) “unless it is balanced by a left wing outlet.” Their idea is to have the struggling Air America radio network co-host and air the debate on the radio.
I asked Green what he thinks of his counterparts on the right’s view that there are major legitimate news outlets that are liberal to left in their political bent. But he was having none of it. What about the New York Times?
“The New York Times is not a liberal newspaper,” he said, repeating that Fox News doesn’t do any real journalism.
Isn’t this a matter of free speech for a news organization to also have a point of view?
“It is not a matter of free speech,” Green insisted. “It is a matter of fact not opinion that Fox does not do news.”
Lefties. Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em. =)
Greenwald laid out his view of Fox and its pernicious coverage. “They mix them up — commentators and news anchors very carefully — you can’t tell them apart.”“You can watch for a week,” he claimed, “and not be able to tell the difference between a commentator and a news host.”
Greenwald evidently does not watch Fox News much, because it is not hard to tell the difference between Sean Hannity and Brit Hume, as I pointed out. To which he said: “Ultimately it doesn’t matter because the station is committed to a point of view.”
Which is true as well of, say, the New York Times.
“They don’t do objective news,” Greenwald insisted about Fox.
By Friday, the Nevada Democratic Party caved in to the lunatic fringe and beganseeking a more "appropriate" television partner.
"If you want to be the President of the United States, you can't be afraid to deal with people with whom you disagree politically." If this is going to be how the Democrats operate, it's going to be a long 20 months.
This so-called right wing bias in the news coverage on Fox News is a complete joke. Last year I asked --- no I begged my listeners and Nuze readers to watch Fox News and present me with an example of right wing bias in their news coverage...We went through a whole year of this and not once could any liberal call the show, and not once did someone send us an email detailing a right-wing bias in Fox News Channel's news coverage.
The real problem the left has with Fox News is that it doesn't have a LIBERAL bias.
I’m asking bloggers to spread the word: My book, Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the Charter School That Beat the Odds, is now available in paperback. March 6 is the official publication date.
Our School follows the principal, teachers and students at Downtown College Prep, a San Jose charter high school that turns underachievers -- most come from low-income Mexican immigrant families -- into serious students. The charter school’s educational philosophy is: Work your butt off. Students aren’t told they’re wonderful. Teachers tell them they’re capable of improving, which turns out to be true. All graduates in the first three classes have been admitted to college; 81 percent remain on track to earn a four-year degree.
Weird fact: The publisher insisted I take “charter” out of the subtitle for the hardcover; they put “charter” back in for the paperback. Apparently, charter schools are now fashionable.
Our School isn’t written for wonks. Readers tell me it’s a page-turner. The book received excellent reviews in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Post, Sacramento Bee and others.
The book is in some, but not all, book stores and is available through Amazon. (I’ve got the links on my blog, joannejacobs.com, and on ourschoolbook.com.)
With all the despair about educating "left behind" kids, I think people need to learn that it’s possible to make a difference.
The job's (Secretary of Education) been vacant since Dec. 15, when Alan Bersin left after barely more than 16 months. Three able people have been asked or sounded out about replacing him; none was interested because, as one education official put it, "it's a crappy job." Although California spends nearly half its budget on education, the governor seems barely interested in how it's spent or in education policy generally.
That (lack of collective knowledge of education policy) has led to a series of blunders in recent years, the most obvious being last year's act by the Legislature to punish the State Board of Education -- the governor's board -- by cutting all funding for its staff.
When the blunders get serious enough, as they did when the whole state accountability system was under attack, also last year, and two former governors issued a public warning to Schwarzenegger, he parachutes in with reassurances. Something similar happened in 2004 when the staff director of the State Board of Education resigned and two members of the board threatened to quit.
But there seems to be no strong capacity in the governor's shop to track or develop expertise in long-term education policy issues.
That brings us back to the question of leadership. California badly needs the capacity in the governor's office to oversee what will almost necessarily have to be increased spending on schools and protect California's high academic standards. But that will require both the people to do the job and, more important, the interest.
