No, it's not gossip its news...
adn.com Alaska News : Gov. Palin reveals pregnancy
Talk about family values... it will be her 5th kid.
Of course here in Alaska, barely anyone blinked.
In other news... my kids were a couple of minutes late home from playing tonight.
They got boxed in by a moose at the playground...
I love Alaska.
UPDATE: For obvious reasons, I would like to point out that parentalcation officially endorses McCain and Palin, not because she is hot, but because she kicks ass. Also see the following posts:
Parentalcation Endorses McCain/Palin
Mayor of a Small Town vs Community Organizer
Hot Governor
Sarah Palin on Education
Also see the website Draft Sarah Palin For Vice President for much more information (and videos) on Sarah Palin.
And for those who want a good picture
This bear underestimated Sarah Palin too.
Fed chief says mortgage crisis set to continue - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com
One of the suggestions Bernanke made was for mortgage and other financial companies to reduce the amount of the loan to provide relief to a struggling owner. “Principal reductions that restore some equity for the homeowner may be a relatively more effective means of avoiding delinquency and foreclosure,” Bernanke said.What a clown.
With low or negative equity in their home, a stressed borrower has less ability — because there is no home equity to tap — and less financial incentive to try to remain in the home, he said.
"How fucking dare anyone out there make fun of Barack Obama after all he has gone through..." wait, I meant Britney Spears.
Sorry, but thats how Obama supporters come across to me. Exhibit 1: this comment from O.J.
Hillary, her "husband," his intern and their cigar, are much more a celebrity that Sen. Obama is, so you Hil-hacks need to continue to WORK ON YOUR MESSAGE.
Luckily, after tomorrow, there will be plenty of time to do that...
Also, srsly dude! Barack scares me too.
The only thing than scares me more that Big black people are sinewy and hungry looking black people. Black people who appear smarter than me terrify me. I get an uncontrollable urge to make the sign of the cross at Black people who wear reading glasses. Black people whom other white people like and listen to, particularly, give me the chill. I fear and loath Oprah, Condi Rice, and especially Don Cheadle.Making fun of these people helps me to feel more powerful. Damn you, Don Cheadle...
Making fun of these people helps me to feel more powerful.
Damn you, Don Cheadle...
I don't really get the sarcasm since my fear of Obama has to do with his cult like status among his worshipers fans?(I mean supporters) as opposed to his race.
On another note, I had to google Don Cheadle. I had no idea who he was.
And remember, if Obama doesn't scare you, his cult followers should.
Labels:
Obama is god
Republicans decry use of 'Hussein' in Obama's name - CNN.com
Barack Hussein Obama isn't so bad. My middle name is Donald (way worse than Hussein), but if I catch you using it I will kick your ass.
p.s. google "barak obama scares me" and I am the top result. Pretty awesome huh.
Disclaimer: for all you Obama worshippers out there, I am only joking. Lighten up, and don't hunt me down and sacrifice me in some weird Obamite sacrificial ritual.
Labels:
Obama is god
McCainBlogette.com
I was going to post about how John McCain stopped by the hotel that our conference was at yesterday, but in trying to link to the relevant post at his daughters blog, I came across a much more significant issue.
McCains daughters website has no way to link to individual posts. WTF... Seriously poor blog design.
For the record...
1. John McCain doesn't look that old in person.
2. He was very friendly to us military guys, but obviously pressed for time.
3. All I heard from his speech was "keep the Bush tax cuts, blah, blah, blah..."
4. His daughter Meghan really is a huge hottie.
I am in San Antonio this week for a conference. Talk about urban sprawl... nothing but strip malls as far as the eye can see.
And it's way to hot as well.
House discusses $15 billion mortgage bailout - Mortgage mess- msnbc.com
WASHINGTON - Investors could sell up to $15 billion of troubled mortgages to the government under a plan key House members are discussing to bolster the U.S. housing market.Next year your taxes might very well be used to subsidize refinancing that upside down ARM mortgage that your want-to-be house flipper neighbors bought two years ago, you know the ones... they make $50K a year, yet still managed to buy a house for $600K. Yes those people.
The tentative plan would allow the government to purchase up to 1 million mortgages over five years in an effort to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure and financial markets avoid more credit-related losses. The loans would be bought by the Federal Housing Administration, a Depression-era agency that insures loans made to borrowers with poor credit.
The effort shows that the housing crisis has evolved to the point where government officials are considering bailing out large groups of borrowers and Wall Street investors — something that seemed anathema to Democrats and Republicans all last year. Still, many lawmakers and the Bush administration have been leery of proposals that would transfer risks to U.S. taxpayers.
My wife makes me watch it... but for the record, these are the 6 guys who should make the top 12 finalists.
David Cook
Robbie Carrico
David Archuleta
Jason Castro
Michael Johns
Danny Noriega (I actually hate this guy and really, really want to punch him in the face, but its cathartic to scream at the television every once and a while)
Labels:
American Idol
What does the father of the U.S. Air Force have to do with Alaska? What does the world’s most advanced military aircraft have to do with the resource security of the United States? Byron King has some intriguing thoughts on these topics.
This is the second installment of a series on the strategic importance of Alaska. In Part I, Outstanding Investments editor Byron King discussed the life of Billy Mitchell, the father of the U.S. Air Force. Mitchell had a lot to say about both air power and Alaska. In this article, Byron will discuss Billy Mitchell some more and focus on both the geology of Alaska and its place in military strategy.Bringing Alaska to blog land.
Designer jeans in Anchorage, Alaska? - American City Business Journals- msnbc.com
My new found home hits the national media.
Anchorage really is quite civilized, but it's still Alaska and has its quirks. I regularly dodge moose in the road and dog sledding results are reported on all t.v. and radio sports round ups.The tumultuous years of oil booms and busts in the 1970s and '80s have given way to two decades of steady growth, and Anchorage's economy has expanded to include burgeoning retail, health care and tourism industries.
The influx of non-oil, non-military jobs has altered the city's demographics, making it less like a frontier town.
At one time, men far outnumbered women in Alaska. But in 2006, the city of 270,000 had 102 men for every 100 women, state demographer Eddie Hunsinger said. The ratio for the rest of Alaska was 108 to 100.
Leese Lloyd and Ashley Brusven, young baristas who grew up in Anchorage, said the notion that the city has an overabundance of men is an outdated stereotype.
"Where are they?" Brusven joked as customers in the adjacent New Sagaya City Market surveyed stuffed grape leaves, caprese, baklava and other un-Alaskan foods.
The city is also reshaping its modest skyline with a $100 million museum expansion, a $93 million convention center and a parking garage with room for 830 vehicles. Companies are putting up new hotels and glass-plated office buildings.
On monday, my sons "spelling" homework was to make a collage of spelling words. I made him write the words 3x each and sent a note in saying that we had run out of glue at home.
Today his teacher sent home a stick of glue...
Should I come up with another dumb excuse or just tell the teacher the truth... I am ethically opposed to cutting up perfectly good magazines and newspaper?
Labels:
Stupid homework assignments
Barack Obama fans fill arenas with an eye on 'history':
"To hear those in the nosebleed sections explain it, playing hooky from work or school to see Obama has become less about politics, and more about bearing witness to history - the phenomenon that is Obama."I wonder if these same people will still watch as closely if he self-destructs. Of course they will, witness Britney Spears.
adn.com Money : Housing hard times hit builder and his clients
HOUSING MARKET WOBBLES
Baker's troubles seem to coincide with a slowdown in the local housing market.
Home sales have dropped, builders are seeking fewer construction permits, and homeowners are having to wait longer to sell their properties.
Foreclosures also have surged as some homeowners struggle to make mortgage payments.
But builders and other players insist the sky isn't falling for the local real estate market.
They say the Anchorage area isn't experiencing anything like the collapse of the late 1980s, when home construction far outstripped demand, prices crashed and many builders, bankers and property owners found themselves hopelessly under water.
They also say the Alaska housing market has remained fairly isolated from the Lower 48 housing depression brought about in part by easy loans to home buyers with weak credit.
Dan Fauske, who heads the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., a state lending agency, contends the local market is sound, though not what it was a couple of years back."It's actually, in my estimation, a pretty good buyer's market," he said.
Still, Fauske and others said it's not surprising the downturn could nail some builders such as Baker's Discovery after a string of bullish building seasons.
"Last year, people were pretty much in denial that nongrowth was happening," said Chuck Spinelli, owner of Spinell Homes, one of the area's largest home builders. "Everybody thought that by spring and summer of last year, this little hiccup bubble would be over and we'd be on the fast track again. By fall, everybody realized it didn't happen and there were some harsh realities showing through."
The whole local housing industry has tightened up for leaner times, he said.
Spinelli said he normally builds and sells 150 homes a year on average. But that slowed to 88 homes last year, he said.
"Nobody is out there lending money on speculative building the way they were a year and a half ago," he said.
President Bush signed the increase the debt, pander to the electorate, wont do any good, send money to China, delaying the inevitable economic stimulus bill today.
Bush signs stimulus package into law - Stocks & economy- msnbc.com
Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In Share this video and invite your friends to join our movement
The "Cult of Obama" is really beginning to scare me. I was over at his website reading some of the user comments about the text of his latest victory speech, and the commenter’s come across more as Britney Spears fans than concerned citizens. Now the man can speak, but speaking isn't necessarily saying anything.
Don't get me wrong, Obama would make a great cult leader, but as a President? We can do better than Obama, yes we can...
(p.s. this video freaks me out)
Last week I had sent an email to the Air Force Times asking if they were going to do a story on the housing meltdown and the military.
I am wondering if there is a story in the Military and the Housing Market, especially in regards to Luke and Nellis AFB. Las Vegas and Phoenix have posted some of the largest drops in home prices in the last year. Military members are particularly susceptible to foreclosure, because they are often forced to sell due to a PCS. With a nationwide drop in the housing market predicted, this is going to spread to more and more bases. Here are two references from my blog.Well in the latest issue of the Air Force Times their are four stories on the subject. They are behind subscription walls, but here are some quotes from them.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) on December 19, 2007 introduced a pair of bills to address the needs of veterans during the ongoing subprime mortgage market crisis.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, believes the VA loan program needs changes.and this...He wants the maximum VA loan increased to $630,000 and applied to new and refinanced loans. And he wants loan fees, which now range from 1.25 percent to 3.3 percent of the loan value, to be capped at 1 percent.
“The current VA home loan program is irrelevant because fees for the loans are too high and equity requirements are overly restrictive,” Filner said.
He also wants to expand the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act so that National Guard and reserve members called to active duty are protected from foreclosure for up to a year after their mobilization ends — on all mortgages, not just those from the VA.
His proposals are included in bills HR 4883 and HR 4884, introduced Dec. 19.
But some of the states hit hardest by home foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies, such as Georgia, California, Florida and Ohio, have large military populations. And it’s not just subprime loans that are getting people in trouble.and...
Ripple effectsA sailor in San Diego who bought a home for $417,000 two years ago using a loan backed by the Veterans Affairs Department now finds that his home is worth $317,000, said Keith Kaufman, personal financial management program manager for the Fleet and Family Support Center for the Navy’s Southwest Region.
That means the sailor is upside down on his loan — he owes more than the house is worth.
and of course they covered this:
Foreclosures negatively affect a person’s credit rating — which can affect service members’ security clearance and harm their careers, he noted.All points I have mentioned before. Now when is CNN going to pick up on it.
Labels:
housing bubble,
military,
mortgage
If pissing off Rush Limbaugh isn't enough of a reason to support John McCain, how about the fact that his daughter and her fellow "bloggettes" are hot.
A trader at the New York Stock Exchange could not name a Wall Street firm that did not cut staff this week. Many swung the ax all right - handing out pink slips even as bonus season failed to lighten the dark mood.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) on December 19, 2007 introduced a pair of bills to address the needs of veterans during the ongoing subprime mortgage market crisis.Winston-Salem Journal Military families among those hit with home foreclosures
...
H.R. 4883 will prohibit foreclosure of property owned by a servicemember for one year following a period of military service.
...
“For many of our returning servicemembers and veterans, the stress of what they have gone through in war is still prevalent when they return home,” continued Chairman Filner. “Unfortunately, for many of these heroes, subprime loans are the only option when they do not have the best credit score, and more often than not, their low credit score is a direct result of their service to our country."
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The number of defaulted home mortgages in the state has risen sharply in recent years, and about a third of foreclosure auctions in the Fayetteville area have involved active-duty military families or veterans.Military members are going to be particularly susceptible to the housing crash because in many cases they will be unable to wait it out, and be forced into a position of having to sell, due to mandatory military moves.
Anchorage Real Estate: 2007 Annual Homes Sales Data Published:
The headline numbers are that the average price of a home in Anchorage rose 3.75% last year, notwithstanding a 10.3% decline in total residential sales. Only high-end homes, above $750,000, are experiencing excessive market times. Those sellers are in the process of adjusting their expectations.
The gap between final listing prices and ultimate selling prices has widened to 1.75%. That figure does not, however, reveal what I believe is a pattern of larger below-the-top-line concessions like seller-paid closing costs and builder upgrades. Nor does it break out market performance by quarter for last year, which probably would have shown a weaker market in the fall and early winter than the first half of the year.
I was listening to NPR on the way to pick up my daughter from daycare this evening, and there was a story on young people and what motivates them to vote.
The women who was being interviewed argued that young people are only motivated to vote if their is an issue that they care passionately about.
This might be true to a degree, but I also think there is a "pied piper" effect. In other words young people are more likely to be motivated by charisma. Not John Edwards or Mitt Romney pretty boy charisma, but real charisma. I don't know how to define it, but I know it when I see it. McCain has it, so does Obama.
Alaska Real Estate, Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Sitka:
"Anchorage is easily the state’s largest urban center with nearly half of the state’s population. Housing sales have slowed like the over-whelming majority of the country, and Anchorage is projected by Housing Predictor to see deflation of 4.1% in 2008. The market boomed for a while, but not at double digit levels like in other areas of the nation."It's hard to find independent analysis of the Anchorage housing market, but I did come across this. Thank god I am renting.
A Bearish Sign on N.Y. Home Prices - December 27, 2007 - The New York Sun:
New York City's status as a rosy exception to the nation's slowing housing market may be starting to come to an end.Right now, most residents of NYC think that they are immune to the housing
Some real estate analysts say that despite the country's overall slowdown, Manhattan apartment prices will maintain an upward trajectory in the fourth quarter. "Our fourth quarter report is coming out next week and we expect price growth will continue," the chief economist at Halstead Property, Gregory Heym, said. "Several new condo developments are starting to close, such as the Plaza and 15 Central Park West, which will help push up prices."I guess in a few years Manhattan is going to consist of nothing but Wall Street executives living amongst a bunch of empty foreign owned apartments that are only used a couple of weekends a year.
In addition to apartment closings at new developments, where prices are often high, there are many larger units that are also closing, Mr. Heym said. Despite the market turmoil, Wall Street bonuses at many firms are expected to be solid, and with a weak dollar, foreign buyers continue to flock to Manhattan.
Seven things at Joanne Jacobs
So Joanne tagged me. Normally I don't participate in these sort of things, but as you may of noticed, I have been slack about blogging. So without further ado, seven random things about me:
1. I have lived over half my life overseas, in New Zealand and Europe.
2. I am planning a trip to Vietnam this year to help my brother find his birth father.
3. I divorced my first wife twice.
4. While living in Europe, I got involved in Hashing.
5. I have had the same best friend since 7th grade.
6. I hate horror movies.
7. I have two 1959 Vespa GS150 scooters in my garage that I am restoring (very very slowly).
This branch of seven things will die with me, since most of the blogs I read have already been tagged.
EXCLUSIVE: Paulson 'Optimistic' on Subprime Plan:
Paulson said the plan will not be a government-run bailout of subprime borrowers, and the banks that loaned them money. Instead, Paulson said, the government is just providing an industry-sponsored solution to borrowers who can afford to own a home but would have trouble making their mortgage payments after a reset.Once upon a time their were three families who both bought a home June of 2006. The families were identical in every way. They had the same credit rating, the same amount of debt, the same income, the same number of kids. For all practical purposes they were mirror images of each other, except for one thing...
'This is not a government subsidy that we're talking about here,' said Paulson.
'This is something that the industry will do where it makes sense.'
The plan would establish guidelines for lenders to freeze payments for homeowners who qualify for the program. Paulson said the program would be completely voluntary, and only some borrowers would qualify.
He said homeowners who can handle an increase in payments and those who don't 'have the financial capability to own a home' will not be offered an interest-rate 'freeze. [emphasis mine]
U.S., Banks Near A Plan to Freeze Subprime RatesIt's pretty sad when even the Republican party is turning into market manipulating, welfare state supporting, gutless panderers.
By Deborah Solomon and Michael M. PhillipsWord Count: 1,346 | Companies Featured in This Article: Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Washington MutualWASHINGTON -- The Bush administration and major financial institutions are close to agreeing on a plan that would temporarily freeze interest rates on certain troubled subprime home loans, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
An accord could reassure investors and strapped homeowners, both of whom are anxious as interest rates on more than two million adjustable mortgages are scheduled to jump over the next two years. It could also give a boost to the Bush administration, which is facing criticism for inaction amid the recent housing turmoil.
I.G.N.I.T.E.
Today I found another blog, this one ran by a gifted teacher in the Anchorage School District.
He only has a few posts, but I think it illustrates nicely what todays current gifted education consist off.
While some of their activities are interesting (launching a model rocket and seeing how much weight a balloon can lift), I suspect that the activities could of just as been easily accomplished by your average elementary school student.
Why do gifted programs bother to put selective criteria on admission and then dumb down the curriculum?
Can you imagine the outrage if we tried to put all high school students in the same math and english classes? Ability grouping is fine for older kids, but younger kids just have to suffer. Can't let the kids get to far ahead... right?
Last night I taught my 4th grader how to add, subtract, and multiply mixed fractions in approximately one hour, and he isn't even in the gifted program.
Imagine what they (elementary school gifted programs) could do if they spent their two hours a week providing accelerated math instruction, and perhaps some more challenging science and reading.
Anchoragegifted’s Weblog
Last night I ran across the Anchorage School Districts Gifted Blog. It's a great idea for communication, but I hope to see it updated a bit more.
I posted a comment asking for more information, so hopefully I can spur some debate.
Two weeks ago, Aurora Elementary instituted a great program in which students were rewarded for eating healthy foods. Teachers and volunteers would go around during lunch, and give tickets to students eating a healthy food. Our kids loved it, they insisted on having healthy snacks for lunch, and came home everyday bragging about getting tickets.
Fastforward to this morning...
Our normal morning routines consists of waking the kids up around 7am, so that they can eat breakfast, get ready, make their own lunches, and then leave at 8:30 to catch the bus. Normally, I am around to oversee this since I get home from my grave shift at around 730am, right before my wife leaves for work.
This morning though, my wife and I decided to take our toddler to day care together at around 8am. The kids were already ready, all they had to do was make their lunch, and head out the door. They had a full half hour to complete this simple task.
We pulled up to the house at around 9am after stopping off for coffee, looking forward to coming inside and relaxing in an empty house. Imagine our surprise when we walked into the house, and our kids were still there.
Seems like they "couldn't find any healthy snacks" so just decided to miss the bus. This is two 10 year olds and an 8 year old.
After we chewed their little behinds and dropped them off at school, my wife and I laughed our asses off, at how dedicated to healthy snacks they were.
Funny enough they still prefer junk food on the weekends.
Ok, this post is doing nothing more than creating a link for google search..., just ignore it. Unless of course you happened to graduate from Warren High School, Downey, California in 1988, then go on over.
Almost forgot, here is the link: Warren High School Class of 88
It occurred to me that military people will be hit especially hard during this housing downturn.
Thanks to housing privatization, the supply of base housing is being greatly reduced, so more military people have been buying houses the last few years. Military people are conservative (poor) by nature, and we tend to use fixed rate VA loans, with very little down. Unfortunately, we are also subjected to mandatory military moves, so when we need to sell, we need to sell. Add to this that many bases are located in huge bubble areas (3 AF bases in Fl, Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, 2 AF bases in AZ, etc...).
I already know of a few people who are hurting because they can't sell their house. There is added stress because a foreclosure looks bad on the military member, and the hit can affect their security clearance.
I am predicting that this will become a major issue in the military in the next few years. For the record, the military will not buy your house, unless it is a result of a down market caused by a base closure. On military moves, we are on our own.
Schools stunned by voter rejection:
Voters looked at their rising mortgage payments, the empty houses on their streets and a shaky economy. Then, in 17 of 22 districts, they shot down proposals to maintain funding for Valley schools, deciding they couldn't afford it.Expect much more of this. The housing market is tanking, people are asking for lowered property tax appraisals, tax receipts are down, we are on the verge of a major recession... school funding is going to be a low priority for many people.
Friday, Friday, Friday is my favorite day.
Friday, Friday, Friday is my favorite day.
Monday is a bummer, Tuesday's only fair.
Wednesday's gettin' better, Thursday's almost there,
But
Friday, Friday Friday is my favorite day.
Housing slump affects sales tax collections | ajc.com:
Georgia's tax collections fell slightly last month, following a trend across the country where the housing slump has begun to affect state budgets and sparked talk of spending cuts for education and health care.As houses depreciate, property taxes will inevitable be reduced. Not only will their be less property taxes collected, but spenders will also cut back on a lot of discretionary spending, causing a reduction in sales tax collections.
Walk in to your local elementary school and observe a hour of the gifted program.
Ask yourself if they did anything in that hour that was beyond the capacity of an average child.
If the answer is no, then the chances are that you just witnessed your tax dollars going up in smoke.
Our 2nd grader, who is a struggling reader, won an award Friday for "outstanding diligence".
We weren't quite sure what this meant and why she was chosen, but our daughter explained it to us.
"The teacher wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper and put it in the hat. Then she picked out four names, and I won. Aren't you so proud of me daddy?"
Actually I am very proud of her, but I don't need meaningless awards to justify it.
No, not a teacher, not the schools, me.
I am on grave shift for the next few months.
I go to work at 1130 at night and then get off at 730 in the morning. After the kids leave for school at 830, I sleep until they get home. Then its pick up the baby, do homework, cook dinner, and then put the kids to the bed.
Anyways... I am so jet lagged, my brain is mush.
The housing market crash has finally hit cable. I am sitting here watching "Please buy my house".
One woman desperate to sell her 3/4 of a million dollar home hired a feng shui expert, another family went on to a local real estate radio program and practically begged for someone to buy, while another couple hired their grandson to decorate.
Idiots. Lower the friggin price... this isn't 2005. The bubble is over. Homes are places to live, not investments.
Ok, I do feel a bit for the older couple... but its is a bit entertaining to see desperation in real estate instead of all those smug house flipper shows.
I know I complain a lot, so here are some really cool things about my kids school and classes.
My 4th grade girls teacher uses a wireless surround sound system so that all of the kids can hear. He is also setting up a class blog.
My 2nd grade teachers doesn't assign reading stories from their whole language text book, instead she sends home photocopies "decodeable" books on the sly. She also has assigned several reading groups in class based on skill level. My daughter is in the lowest, but is improving tremendously.
The school has a really active running club for all grades and puts on track meets. They also have a great P.E. program, and plenty of recess.
My 4th grade son's teacher doesn't overload with homework, which is great, even if he has to do the occasional poster.
The staff is super friendly.
Oh and the math teacher at my 7th graders school pulled out some antique "old school" math text books from 1991 to supplement the "integrated" math books bought by the district. She told the class that they would be mostly working out of the old books. Get this, the old books actually have math stuff in them.
My son got real homework today... a math worksheet. Of course it was only because his class was acting up, otherwise all they would of had was the project.
Would it be wrong of me to tell my son to act up everyday to ensure he actually learns something?
Today my son doesn't have any math, reading, or writing homework. Instead, he has to do a fire prevention poster, due by Friday.
The poster will be graded on creativity and neatness.
I am still trying to decide if I should question the assignment or literally have him shut up and color.
According to this book, Direct Instruction works, at least thats what Marginal Revolution says:
Ayres argues that large experimental studies have shown that the teaching method which works best is Direct Instruction (here and here are two non-academic discussions which summarizes much of the same academic evidence discussed in Ayres). In Direct Instruction the teacher follows a script, a carefully designed and evaluated script. As Ayres notes this is key:
DI is scalable. Its success isn't contingent on the personality of some uber-teacher....You don't need to be a genius to be an effective DI teacher. DI can be implemented in dozens upon dozens of classrooms with just ordinary teachers. You just need to be able to follow the script.
Contrary to what you might think, the data also show that DI does not impede creativity or self-esteem. The education establishment, however, hates DI because it is a threat to the power and prestige of teaching, they prefer the model of teacher as hero. As Ayres says "The education establishment is wedded to its pet theories regardless of what the evidence says." As a result they have fought it tooth and nail so that "Direct Instruction, the oldest and most validated program, has captured only a little more than 1 percent of the grade-school market."
Even though my 4th grade son was in the gifted program at his last school, I declined to have him tested for the gifted program here in Anchorage. I asked around and discovered that the gifted program here was exactly like I feared it would be.
It wasn't all that hard a decision. His experience last year in South Carolina was a waste of time. He colored more posters in his gifted class than he did in art class.
It seems like the supervisor of Anchorage's gifted program ran across my post, and is concerned (last comment), to quote her:
Last week there was a Gifted Parent Forum in Anchorage and its too bad you did not attend. There was much discussion about Gifted Education and the challenges educators face when trying to meet the educational needs of gifted children.I am more concerned about the challenges that gifted children have, than the challenges of their teachers.
Have I mentioned how awesome Alaska is? The people are unbelieveably friendly, not fake friendly like in the south, really seriously friendly.
Last week we got "termination dust" on the mountains. When you see snow settling on the peaks of the mountains, you know that that it will be snowing in the city within a few weeks. It is natures way of telling us that summer is over, and winter is here. (There isn't much of a fall)
We have managed to get a handle on the four kids homework.
We used to make the kids do it as soon as they got home from school, but because school starts and ends late here (930 - 330), we let the kids play until dinner, and then do their homework. It gives them and us a break after school and work to relax and unwind before dealing with the tears...
Our biggest problem is that one of our 4th graders teachers gives more homework than the other one. It causes a few problems, but we usually supplement the homework to mitigate the problems.
In other news, a guy from work brought in some smoked salmon today... OMG was it good. I am so taking up fishing next year.
To Rightwingprofessor: No moose BBQ yet, but we have a family of three moose hanging out in our backyard.
I swear once I get settled in more, I will have more sarky commentary. For now go read D-Edreckoning... he had attitude and facts.
I was helping my 2nd grader read her decodeable books this evening and all of the sudden I noticed the helping e rule of thumb for whether a vowel is going to be long or short, except for "v" words. (i.e. the "i" in hide is long and the "i" in hid is short, long "a" in made, short "a" in mad. I don't know if there is an official name for it)
I told my daugher the rule, then practiced it for a bit, and it was amazing how quickly her reading improved in a matter of minutes.
Instead of guessing long or short vowel sounds, now she can figure it out most of the time. I swear her reading speed improved by 50% within half an hour.
I am an extremely fluent reader, and this simple rule of thumb never occurred to me consciously until tonight. I had somehow internalized the rule without being aware of it. What I can't figure out is why her 1st grade teacher never pointed it out to her. Perhaps she would be reading on grade level.
I also pointed out that "v" words are weird and don't always follow this rule. i.e. "ive" words can be short or long, and ave words are almost always short.
Teaching kids how to read is hard. You would think someone would come up with a systematic way to teach all the phonetic sounds and letter combinations, instead of relying on a parent to stumble on them by accident.
I got my sons first weekly progress report today, and he was missing one assignment.
Last Friday, he gave me a copy of his weekly home journal, which I read then promptly forgot.
I guess I was meant to not only sign it, but also write back comments for him to turn in on Monday.
So he did the writing, but because his father mess up, he gets dinged with a missing assignment.
I didn't realize I would be graded this year.
I sure hope I am not required to do a science project...
Don't worry though, I already did my assignment this Friday. I signed my name in my best cursive, and wrote a three sentence paragraph. The paper is already back in my sons folder.
p.s. to be fair, we love Alaska, and the school is pretty well run (except the whole curriculum thing, but you can't have everything).
I have nightmares about writing sentences for spelling words. Helping 2nd and 4th graders write 15 - 25 (correct) sentences is tedius.
Why can't teachers split the sentences up through out the week... it aint rocket science.
Posted during hour 2 of 15 2nd grade sentences.
St. Paul school conquers the education achievement gap
Great title for an article, except of course it isn't true. While the schools test scores are excellent for all demographic groups, there is still a significant achievement gap.
Approximately 90% of the schools white students are proficient in reading (according to the Minnesota state test), while 65% of its black students are proficient and only about 40% of its Native American students are proficient.
It has managed to eliminate the gap between Hispanic and white students.
Don't believe me? Check for yourself.
Do newspapers fact check education stories at all?
The kids (and schools) have hit the ground running. It's homework time again, and Aurora Elementary School on Elmendorf AFB, Alaska is no different than any other school in South Carolina (or any state for that matter).
4 school age kids = 3.5 hours of homework, of course the ironic thing is that it takes my 7th grader the least amount of time to do her homework.
Today only 3 out of 4 kids cried.
Frickin waste of time if you ask me. I guarantee, that except for learning their spelling words and about 15 minutes of reading, the rest of the stuff didn't increase my kids competence at all.
To any teachers out there, please remember that homework probably takes at least twice as long and causes at least three times the amount of stress at home than you think it does.
Rory
President of Parents United Against Useless Homework.
- Moved in to new house (unpacking sucks)
- Kids all enrolled in school (Heath math, not Everyday math... yeah!)
- Attended two school open houses (bla, bla, bla... teachers need to learn to get to the point)
I am back online, but wont have time to post to much until later next week.
We are making great time, and are about 250 miles ahead of schedule. I am posting from Mackenzie, Canada, a little sleepy town in northern British Columbia.
You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is up here. Rivers, lakes, mountains, and trees, British Columbia has it all.
Tomorrow we will hit the Alaskan Highway, and head to Fort Nelson.
Here is a link to our updated map.
We have decided to skip waiting for the Ferry and just drive to anchorage. We are anxious to get there, and we don't have to wait.
We figure we can do the trip in 7 days.
Link to our route.
When loving parents choose segregation - Opinion - USATODAY.com:
But a well-documented and powerful educational phenomenon known as the 'peer effect' comes into play. Simply put, Johnny stands a much better chance of academic success in a school filled with privileged kids whose parents value education and push them to excel. The likelihood of Johnny achieving at high levels plummets if you put him in a school where most students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and don't get enough encouragement and support from home. Even in the unlikely event that the two schools are exactly the same in every other way — including teacher quality — Johnny probably will fare much better where he is surrounded by affluent students. Will sending Johnny to school with disadvantaged kids make him a better person? Maybe. Will it make him a better student? Almost certainly not.Save me some google time... does anyone have any links to studies documenting the "peer effect"? Specifically, do middle class kids do better when they are sent to upper class schools?
So we took the four oldest kids to Disney yesterday, so there went $1,000K. It is so much more expensive than I remember it... then again it was my parents who were paying when I was a kid. What is it about amusement parks, airports, and sports stadiums that cause hyperinflation? Does it really cost 2 or 3 dollars more to prepare a hamburger at Disney than a mile away at the local fast food joint?
I saw approximately 127.5 people wearing USC Trojan shirts and hats, and only one person wearing a UCLA shirt (and I think he was a tourist).
Fight On!
It occurred to me that education funding could be significantly impacted by a housing market crash, since as property values go down, so would property taxes which are a significant source of school district funding.
I imagine that this would hit inner city urban neighborhoods a lot more than wealthy suburban neighborhoods.
Here in SoCal, small one bedroom houses in Compton and East LA have been going for half a mil. There true value is probably somewhere around 100K.
Disclaimer: OK, compton houses might not have quite gone for 500K, but they were fetching 400K for pretty damm small houses, but for an example of what I was talking about see...
Real Homes of Genius
We are enjoying our impromptu vacation here in Southern California, so much so that we have discussed moving back here after I retire. The only problem though is the outrageous price of real estate here in the bloated California market.
I am not that worried though. I have spent the last few days reading extensively on the housing market, and I am convinced that our country is going to have a massive real estate crash, even worse than the 90's. My prediction is that in 4 to 5 years, I should be able to pick up a decent house here for under $300K.
You only have to look around here at people earning maybe 80K - 90K a year living in million dollar homes, to know that they are overextended. Sub-prime loans are coming due, foreclosures are at record levels, housing starts are down, and the housing inventory is increasing.
Don't expect a soft landing... it is going to be harsh, and will probably put us into a deep recession.
Perhaps the most telling thing is seeing people paying for million dollar homes and then driving around in Saturn's and other mid-range vehicles. Something is obviously not jiving.
The only question is how low and how long. My prediction... 25% nationally, 40-50% in bubble markets, and for prices not to stabilize until 2011.
Just saying...
Search the term "achievement gap" on Google News any day of the year, and it will amaze you the number of dumb repetive articles that are posted around the country and the world.
The articles usually go something like this... (paraphrased)
Seriously! Check out a few articles. It's almost like there is a fill in the blank template.Recent test results continue to show an achievement gap between whites and (select any other racial category except for Asian).
[Optional comment about slight improvement in test scores and reduction on gap, though its never a significant amount.]
>insert quote from education official saying that the closing the achievement gap is their number one priority<>>insert quote from sociologist or educator who attribute the causes of the gap to (choose one: racism, school funding, crime, distribution of highly qualified teachers, expectations) to ensure that no one even considers IQ<
Education officials have recently started a new program/initiative to address (problem selected above).
Officials are optimistic because they have second hand knowledge of some school has made progress, even though there are rarely any facts to back up the assertion.
here
We get to Albuquerque, NM and everyone apologizes for the heat. When we left South Carolina, it was as hot as 111 degrees with loads of humidity. A dry 95 feels like a spring day to us.
My grandparents are both ex-educators... and of course we started talking about education. They are both fans of multiple learning methods, multiplication fact tricks (skip counting, finger tricks, etc...), and mo money. It was a nice little discussion, and my Grandpa might hit up my blog (Hey Gramps).
Tomorrow we head north towards Salt Lake City and Boise. It should be a much prettier drive, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas are pretty flat.
Just in case you are wondering... here is the continental part of our trip to Alaska.
How did I miss this from the Philadephia Inquirer?
Also in line for new leadership will be the district's flagship High School of the Future, which saw the surprise resignation of its principal. Shirley Grover, hired by the district in 2005, left for personal reasons this month, officials said.There was also a single update to the School of the Future blog.
So where are we? Well, no matter where we go I get asked the same question. I find it very indicative of where we are as a country in our analysis of education… “What are the test scores showing” Well… while the learners will be responsible for taking the PSAA’s in their 3rd year, they are not taking the 6 week bench mark tests. So, from an assessment perspective? Each learner has a 17 page OneNote Assessment Portfolio. It documents and measures their work and competencies against a rubric. (Below)Pretty convenient to not have to worry about benchmark tests. You can click over to read their whole child rubric if you want.
So what have been the biggest challenges?Hopefully she isn't complaining about the part of the system that insists the students learn how to read, write, and perform math without relying on computers.
Well… the system. And I’m sure this comes as no surprise. And I don’t want to suggest that people have not been supportive. They have. However the system prevents them from going to the edge. The system prevents us from being creative. The system supports the status quo, not innovation. The system gets in our way. The system is frustrating.(sic)
And then there were The Others. I won't dwell on them, but I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of what and whom I'm talking about. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you had to deal with them while all of this was coming to fruition. I'll bet you could write an entire book just about these people, and your dealings with them. In a perfect world, people such as these would be relegated to the dustbin. But in our real world, this does not necessarily happen. Pity.It's like a conspiracy theory. Pretty dramatic stuff.
No matter what the project, whether in Philly, Boston, or Timbuktu - there are always The Others. And there will always be The Others. They are a given in this world. These are the people who withhold their cooperation for various stupid reasons. These are the naysayers - but you know this because you've experienced it all first-hand, though you may be too diplomatic and too nice to admit it.
Sorry about the light blogging. I have spent the last week moving out of my house, and we are now living in a hotel. On Friday we hitting the road for our 13 day drive to Alaska via the Alaskan Ferry.
Unfortunately this means I haven't had time to follow the latest education news, meaning that my usually sarky comments are on a brief hiatus.
Be patient, and you will be able to follow my trials and tribulations in our new school district. I wonder how long it will be before I upset someone at the school?
CUNY Plans to Raise Its Admissions Standards - New York Times
Discuss.The City University of New York is beginning a drive to raise admissions requirements at its senior colleges, its first broad revision since its trustees voted to bar students needing remedial instruction from its bachelor’s degree programs nine years ago.
In 2008, freshmen will have to show math SAT scores 20 to 30 points higher than they do now to enter the university’s top-tier colleges — Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter and Queens — and its six other senior colleges....
Dr. Goldstein said that the English requirements for the senior colleges would be raised as well, but that the math cutoff would be raised first because that was where the students were “so woefully unprepared.”
In the fall of 2005, for example, more than 40 percent of students in introductory math courses — pre-calculus, college algebra and calculus — either failed or dropped out of the classes, numbers typical of many universities nationwide.
[emphasis mine]
How schools get it right By Liz Bowie Sun Reporter
Tucked amid a block of rowhouses around the corner from Camden Yards is an elementary school with a statistical profile that often spells academic trouble: 76 percent of the students are poor, and 95 percent are minorities.
But George Washington Elementary has more academic whizzes than most of the schools in Howard, Anne Arundel, Carroll and Baltimore counties.
These students don't just pass the Maryland School Assessment - they ace it. About 46.2 percent of George Washington students are scoring at the advanced level, representing nearly half of the school's 94 percent pass rate.
George Washington teacher Tracy Larkins says teachers at her school have been given a degree of autonomy. When staff members go to the principal with a new idea, they usually will be allowed to try it out, she said.
"Can She Be Stopped" [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
In your book, JPod, you argue Rudy can do it. I have my doubts tonight any Republican can, all circumstances being basically what they are today. What say you?
07/23 10:10 PM
Obama's Astonishing Moment [Byron York]
Sen. Barack Obama, the candidate who once neglected to mention that he would counterattack if al Qaeda destroyed two U.S. cities, tonight pledged to meet, one-on-one, in his first year as president, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bashir Assad, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and Kim Jong Il.Sen. Hillary Clinton refused to make such a pledge. "I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year," she said. "I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes."
07/23 09:00 PM
Hillary [John Podhoretz]
I don't like her. I wrote an entire book on how to stop her. But in these debates, there's Hillary in the lead...and then there's everybody else.
07/23 08:58 PM
There's Really No Question [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Hillary is the nominee. She won't talk to Ahmadinejad and Assad? That puts her way Right of our Speaker of the House.If I had to vote for a Democrat, I know who it would be.
07/23 08:10 PM
I've always thought it was pretty ironic that the perception of Hillary has been of a super left-wing liberal, when in reality, she is the most centrist of all the Democratic candidates.
Now if only she would get on the right side of education reform...
According to their website, the Anchorage School District has adopted MathScape as their 6-8 grade math text book.
Of course there was never any doubt about whether they were going to adopt "reform" math. The four choices they had to decide upon were, Connected Math, Math in Context, MathScape, and Math Thematics. I suppose it was just a matter of figuring out which one was the fuzziest.
According to the School District memorandum, here are some of the strengths of the program (emphasis mine)
Student:You notice there is nothing about fluency, mastery, clear examples, computation, standard algorithms, etc...
The program provides the following for the needs/rights of students:
• know the purpose of learning, including objectives, standards, goals, criteria and evaluation rubrics
• choose from a variety of strategies to explore, solve, and communicate math concepts
• engagement through a variety of activities, which may include independent projects, cooperative learning, manipulatives, technology, collaborative work, etc.
• feel connected and free to take risks
• a belief that math can be learned
• opportunities for self-monitoring and self-reflection
• make connections to real life applications
• support at individual learning levels
Teacher:
• Teacher makes meaningful connections between math and real-life.
• Teacher has high expectations for success and achievement for all students.
• Teacher uses a variety of instructional and assessment strategies (differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, exploration & learning extensions, use of manipulatives and technology, and other best teaching practices).
• Teacher clearly states classroom expectations, and content and language objectives. • Teacher provides time for student reflection & meta-cognition.
• Teacher communicates with and is available to parents and students.
• Teacher receives appropriate and ongoing professional development & training (knowledgeable of pedagogy, content, and vertical alignment of curriculum).
• Teacher is provided adequate time and opportunity for grade-level and vertical collegial collaboration and support.
UPDATE: Blatant spelling mistake in title corrected after thorough embarrassment by anonymous commenter.
I love reading the Chronicle of Higher Education, but unfortunately they are a subscription based website, so you have to pay to read most articles.
Unless of course you use google.
For example, eduwonk linked to the article, The Latest Way to Discriminate Against Women
By RICHARD WHITMIRE
When you click on the link, you can read the first two or three paragraphs but have to be a member to read the rest.
Unless you can google for the phrase "The Lastest Way to Discriminate Against Women" , and click on the cached version of the article.
Pretty good for find for a boy huh.
And speaking of the article, which points out that women make up the majority of college students, you would think that there would be more boys doing everything they could to get into college... college women, seriously, whats not to love.
By the way, there are quite a few guys on my base who date girls from the local colleges here in South Carolina. I suppose the unbalanced ratio works out for guys in the military, as long as they are stationed by a college.
It appears that NCLB might be encouraging teachers to teach to the "bubble kids", the kids in the middle, the ones who need just a little effort to score proficient.
My question is this: economically where should our we concentrate our efforts in this country? Does it make more sense to concentrate on the brightest 1/3 of our students who arguably will contribute the most to innovation and development? Perhaps raising the middle 1/3 is the best answer, after all these are the ones who will form the vast bulk of our middle class. Does the cost of raising the achievement of the lower 1/3 outweigh the benefits? I know that ideally we would give all kids a superior education, but until the country moves to a value added system that take into account progress at all academic levels, any policy is going to result in the system targeting specific groups. Just a hypothetical question...
Update: Matt Johnson churns out a well reasoned argument for concentrating on the bottom 1/3. Go read his post for the full scoop.
I am going to play devils advocate and say that we should spend most of our energy on the middle 1/3. Like Matt, I agree that the top 1/3 will be OK anyway, but my argument is that $1 spent on the middle 1/3 will give more return than $1 spent on the bottom 1/3. Of course like Matt says, throwing money alone at a problem isn't going to solve anything, what we really need is pedagogy reform. (Disclaimer: I actually don't believe this, but that's why we call it being a devils advocate.)
It suddenly occurred to me while reading eduwonk, that all this effort on improving teacher quality is so inefficient.
What we need is highly qualified students!
By the way, go read the Education Intelligence Agency's (EIA) take on "bubble tests."
Any question on a fill-in-the-bubble test provides all the data necessary to come up with the correct answer. Students are then supplied with four or five possible responses. By their very nature, standardized tests inflate the scores of students on the low end of the scale. The only students who score lower than 20 percent on a fill-in-the-bubble test are victims of bad luck, since entirely random responses should raise you at least that high.
From Tony via Darren at Right on the Left Coast
Easy Graphical Multiplication Trick - video powered by Metacafe
No, I still don't support Everyday Math.
I was researching the "segregation" study in a previous post, and I came across this quote.
Study of reading development: “Segregated” schools hinder reading skills
“These findings support policies that promote comprehensive reading instruction, but indicate that just as much attention needs to be paid to ensuring that schools are integrated and to reducing classroom concentrations of children reading below grade level,” said Lynne Vernon-Feagans, the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Early Childhood, Families and Literacy and Professor at the School of Education and co-author of the study.Is it my imagination or does she seem to be arguing for ability grouping? School integration good, classroom integration bad?
I am still alive... well at least I have a pulse. I am currently working 12 hour shifts, straight through the weekend due to an exercise. I am averaging 4 hours of sleep a night... and dragging.
Yet, I have still found time to bring you education related science briefs from sciencedaily.com.
In the no duh category
Curriculum Focused On Cognitive Skills May Improve Child Behavior
Children who were taught a curriculum that focused on self-control and awareness of their own and others’ emotions were found to exhibit greater social competence and fewer behavioral and emotional problems.Kids who are taught how to behave, behave better... I might apply that to my parenting skills.
According to the results, students with reported symptoms of sleep disorders received significantly worse grades than students without symptoms of sleep disorders. Specifically, there were differences in math, reading and writing grades.and
Teenagers who stay up late on school nights and make up for it by sleeping late on weekends are more likely to perform poorly in the classroom.So let me get this straight... being tired doesn't help you learn? Who would of guessed.
Children in families with low incomes, who attend schools where the minority population exceeds 75 percent of the student enrollment, under-perform in reading, even after accounting for the quality of the literacy instruction, literary experiences at home, gender, race and other variables, according to a new study.Next thing you know we will find out that ability grouping might just work...
...
The study also showed that the percentage of struggling readers in a classroom negatively influenced every student’s reading performance, erasing any benefits of comprehensive literacy instruction. Children attending kindergarten classrooms with higher percentages of students reading below grade level demonstrated constrained performance in reading at the end of kindergarten. The same was true for children in first grade.
How precise are tests used to diagnose learning disability, progressive brain disease or impairment from head injury" Timothy Salthouse, PhD, a noted cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia, has demonstrated that giving a test only once isn't enough to get a clear picture of someone's mental functioning. It appears that repeating tests over a short period may give a more accurate range of scores, improving diagnostic workups.It struck me that many kids are sorted into gifted or not gifted after one single test. I imagine a few high ability kids get missed based on one unlucky test. Its also ironic, that we might actually need more testing, not less.
Ok, who else is dying for Ken over at D-Edreckoning to start blogging again. Whether you agreed with him or not, he certain had some of the most thought provoking and well researched posts in the edublogosphere.
Ken if you are reading this, get off your lazy ass and post something.
Peace
My absolutely last word on school integration (I hope). Why don't school districts just impliment a pure lottery system to school assignment? Everyone would have an absolutely equal chance of being screwed.
Supreme Court - School Integration: What Will We Tell Our Children?:
Amid the lawyers, policymakers and pundits debating the implications of Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the Louisville and Seattle voluntary school integration plans, came the soulful plea of an African-American mother. Interviewed on National Public Radio, Mary Myers of Louisville explained how the ruling against her local officials’ efforts to racially balance their schools may well jeopardize her two children’s school assignments and educational opportunities. Ms. Myer’s children, ages 13 and 16, had benefited from the defeated desegregation plan because it had allowed them to attend racially diverse public schools outside of their community. Had they and their peers attended neighborhood schools, Ms. Myers noted, they would not have been exposed to people of different racial and cultural backgrounds and they would not be prepared for the incredibly diverse and global society they will soon inherit. When asked about her response to the decision, this 49-year-old mother sounded fed up: “Leave these children alone. Let them go to school together…. They have to go into the workforce and work together.”If Ms. Myers is so concerned about exposure to diversity, then why does she live in a neighborhood that doesn't have any? Also how does sending her kids to the local suburban school prepare her kids for a "incredibly diverse and global society"? Do they have a lot more foreign kids in the suburbs? Maybe she should find a school or neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.
There are many critics of NCLB. Some people complain that it causes states to lower standards, others complain that it's unrealistic, still others say that it lacks funding, while others complain that "tests" don't really measure learning and the whole premise is wrong.
To counter some of these arguments, several states have been approved to use so called growth model formulas, including my future home state of Alaska (45 days and counting). When I first heard of the concept, I was pretty excited, after all I figured that growth models would make it harder for school districts to ignore students who already meet the low expectations that is required of them.
I was wrong.
Alaska's growth model only uses growth if a student doesn't meet standards. In other words if little Johnny scores two grades below grade level, Alaska can still get credit for him passing as long as he is on target to pass the test within the next few years, or by 10th grade. 3rd graders and 10th graders must test on target.
So basically, there is still no incentive to improve performance of those already making the grade.
I need to find a state that sets their education target at ensuring all kids make AT LEAST one year of progress in one year of school.
Oh well, NCLB is a crappy law but it's less crappy than nothing. I am so pragmatic.
Everyone is talking about diversity, ethnic vs socioeconomic, the supreme court ruling, and student achievement. I am going to chime in, in the new couple of days, but first I wanted to raise some questions that I haven't seen addressed.
1. Everyone acknowledges that diversity, whether by income or race, does raise achievement of targeted groups, but only if the targeted group is in the minority. Is the purpose of diversity efforts to expose students to another culture, or is it to supplant their current culture?
2. High achieving majority minority schools such as Achievement First and KIPP seem to impose a new school culture on students. Is this their way of eliminating the need for diversity, but just creating a middle class boot camp?
3. Is their a logical reason for white flight? Most diversity advocates say that middle class students academic achievement isn't hurt by diversity, but you never ever see numbers to back this up. Are white parents racist or looking out for their children?
4. Why do I get the feeling that the Supreme Courts decision won't really have any large scale effect on diversity efforts. Seattle doesn't even use their system any more, and its not like we read about x number of cities that are now going to have to change their policies.
I am still pondering these questions and more, but if you want to read some honest thoughts on the subject, go check out Teaching in the 408.
