Quote of the Day
I thought this quote from Larry Schumway, Utah’s Superintendent of Schools represented a feeling that a few more Superintendents should share.
“I hope you you’ll come away from this meeting with a knot in the pit of your stomach about how far we have to go. It should keep you up at night.”
-Larry Shumway, Utah Superintendent of Schools
Help Wanted: California Secretary of Education O’Connell plans to close achievement gap with workbooks?
Quote of the Day
I saw this quote mentioned on Forham’s Flypaper. I think it does a great job describing where we stand on teacher evaluation.
“The underlying problem for all of this is: We don’t measure this stuff. Think of Major League Baseball where nobody tracked batting averages: ‘Well, I don’t know if this guy hits .350 or .150, but he looks pretty good up at the plate.’ That’s where we’re at (with teachers).”
-Daniel Weisberg, vice president for policy, the New Teacher Project
Quote in the Cincinnati Enquirer
When more than 95% of teachers are “above average”, we know our teacher evaluation is just plain broken. At that point, it becomes a meaningless exercise for everyone involved. I think we need to find a way to reform teacher evaluation so that it provides actual feedback that teachers and administrators can use to improve instruction to benefit students.
Deloitte’s High School Disconnect Why do we hold charter schools to a higher standard?
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Quote of the Day
In this Los Angeles Times story about LAUSD delaying a vote on a policy that “would have allowed charter operators and other outside groups to bid for control of 50 new schools scheduled to open over the next four years” there were a couple great quotes:
“It’s criminal what’s happening right now,” said George Cole, who represents Bell for a coalition of cities in southeast Los Angeles County. The district “ought to be prosecuted for educational malfeasance.”
Cole has been among civic leaders who sought out Flores Aguilar after watching new schools open and immediately produce low test scores and high dropout rates.
“Right now schools can be open forever and fail forever,” said charter parent Corri Tate Ravare, a vice president for charter operator ICEF. She pledged community support for board members who stood up to opposition: “We got your back.”
The key point for me in this quote is the idea that LAUSD is opening new schools and immediately they’re producing low test scores and high drop-out rates. Shouldn’t a brand new school provide the ultimate opportunity to reform? With the right instructional leader, shouldn’t it be possible to get a fresh start with the right strategies and practices? Why should LAUSD open new schools if they’re just repeating the failures of their other schools?Why are they replicating their failing schools?
It reminds me of the classic quote credited to Einstein, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If schools are going to mirror the practices of other schools, shouldn’t they mirror the practices that lead to success? If we’re mirroring the practices of failing schools, we’re going get the same inevitable result, failure.
The quote from the charter representative highlights the complete lack of public school accountability that I’ve ranted about many times. For all the bad things that people say about Charter schools, at least they have some accountability. Their chartering entity has to review their progress and renew the charter. If they’re failing their students, they have the possibility that their charter can be revoked. Unfortunately, traditional public schools really don’t have that possibility. School districts can close schools, but typically when it happens it is the result of declining enrollment and/or old facilities rather than a poor instructional program.
I agree with George Cole. To open new schools with the same old failing strategies is criminally negligent and as Einstein would suggest, insane. The plan LAUSD is considering isn’t perfect by any means, but isn’t it time to try something different? What they’ve been doing obviously hasn’t been working, so it is time to start looking for new solutions. LAUSD’s students can’t afford to wait around while the adults figure it out.
Driving the Debt Car “That… is why you fail.”
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Quote of the Day
I don’t usually do two “Quote of the Day” postings so close together, but with this quote from Mike Petrilli, I just couldn’t resist:
From where I sit, it looks like the education system just walked away with $100 billion in new federal spending, and all us reformers got in return was some poll-tested language.
It is unfortunate that we’re letting this “crisis go to waste” by not seizing the opportunity to make some radical reforms in public education. I think “the science is settled” and most people realize that simply throwing more money at public education isn’t going to resolve the diverse problems that exist. Washington DC schools are the poster children for the idea that increasing funding hasn’t been such an effective education reform strategy. More of a bad thing doesn’t solve the problem.
Quote of the Day CTA attacking 2nd grade testing again
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Quote of the Day
I saw this New York Times quote on EIA Online.
“The nice thing about reducing class size is that it makes teachers happy in their own right and it’s the one thing that we know how to do.” – Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, education policy professor at the University of Chicago. (February 22 New York Times)
The easy answer isn’t always the best one.
Fordham:The Accountability Illusion Quote of the Day
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Quote of the Day
For all my liberal friends who are excitedly awaiting the stimulus package and President Obama’s New New Deal, here is a great quote:
“We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosper. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started. And enormous debt to boot.” — Henry Morganthau, FDR’s Secretary of Treasury, in May, 1939, years after the New Deal.
I guess the science of the New Deal isn’t so settled after all.
It’s the Teaching Stupid Mish’s Health Care Response
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Quote of the Day
There’s a reason why we’re still stuck in the same ditch. That doesn’t happen by accident. There are strong and powerful forces that maintain the system, because it works well for lots of people, just not the kids. — Joel Klein in Wall Street Journal blog.
I thought this was an interesting comment. I’ve posted before about my frustration with the “protectors of the status quo” but this quote really brought it home. The problem isn’t about people trying to protect the status quo, it is really about protecting a system that for the most part, works for them. Too bad it doesn’t work for the kids.
In our state, nearly 60% of kids test below grade-level every year. Any business that didn’t meet the needs of more than half of its customers wouldn’t stay in business very long. Yet because public education is a practical monopoly and the funding system creates the wrong incentives, things just continue along without the dramatic reforms necessary to prepare students for college and the world of work.
School Size vs. Quality NCLB Enforcement Entirely State Responsibility
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Quote of the Day
I just discovered this Mark Twain quote. As a school board member, I thought it was great:
- God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board. — Mark Twain
Garage Update Benefits of Quality Preschools Wiped Out
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Quote of the Day
I saw this Atlantic Monthly story mentioned on EIAOnline this morning. I thought this was a great quote:
“The fact that you can do something awesome with $15 million does not mean that you could do something super-awesome with $150 million.” — Megan McArdle
Megan is so right! But yet, this is what we try to do repeatedly. We take something that worked well at one site, throw money at it and then poorly implement about half of what made it successful and then wonder why it isn’t working. There are a great many things that we can learn from high performing, high poverty schools, but those strategies only work if they’re faithfully implemented with the right people in place.
Megan continues with some further detail on how these strategies only get half-implemented.
You get a pilot program: a curriculum, a teaching method, a high-intensity preschool program (such as the Perry program) for disadvantaged kids. You do a rigorous study of that pilot. It produces terrific results. Naturally, we should roll it out everywhere!
Not so fast. That pilot program has a huge administrative staff whose sole incentive is to ensure that it is meticulously carried out. In the real world, that curriculum will be put into place by an administrator whose priority list is crowded with everything from mollifying the latest lunatic on the school board, to ensuring that she gets out of town for a three day weekend with her new boyfriend who she really thinks may be The One.
That pilot program is staffed with a narrow band of extremely highly qualified teachers, sifted from the best the environment has to offer. In the real world, whoever happens to be standing in front of the classroom come September 5th has to do it, even if they flunked Remedial Math four times and only got this job because the school board needed a body.
That pilot program is rigidly policed for deviations from standard procedure, because deviations will kill the accuracy of the result. In the real world, tranquilizing the kid who just pulled a knife during study hall may take priority.
The pilot program is supported by a crack team that will move heaven and earth to ensure its completion; if funds are tight, they will not sleep until they have procured another grant. In the real world, it’s probably less important than redecorating the teacher’s lounge.
The pilot program has buy in from all participants; schools, teachers or students who don’t like it, don’t believe in it, or don’t want it anyway, have already naturally dropped out of the sample. They will thus be striving to actually put it into place as closely as possible as described in the prospectus. In the real world 60% of everyone will think this is a moronic idea, and most of the rest will strenuously resent the intrusion on their autonomy.
Result: what worked beautifully in pilot will generally fail miserably in wider execution.
I don’t think the lesson of this article is that these strategies can’t scale. I think the important lesson is that when we implement them, we need to look carefully at how we implement them. All of the issues that Megan mentions above need to be considered in the planning and implementation or we’re wasting our time and resources to half-implement a program that won’t have the desired impact.
Surprise, Immigrants Who Learn English Do Better Is it Really About Racism?
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day comes from Michelle Rhee, the person with perhaps the hardest job in America, fixing Washington DC public schools. The quote comes from this Washington Times story.
D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee yesterday called the city’s struggling school system a “faceless bureaucracy,” adding that it does not need to augment its 11,500-member work force.
“We have thousands of people [in school administration] right now who don’t know what their jobs are and who are not being effective in the positions that they have,” Mrs. Rhee told editors and reporters at The Washington Times. “So why am I going to layer on top of that additional people who also won’t know and who also won’t have clarity on what they’re doing? I’m not going to do it.”
Chancellor Rhee is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, this is not a situation unique to Washington DC public schools.
A Bit Like “Straightening the Deck Chairs on the Titanic” NCLB is Essential to Public School Reform
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day comes from EIA Online:
“The only thing worse than a government monopoly is a highly unionized government monopoly. It’s a recipe for mediocrity.” — ABC News’ John Stossel. (May 2 Rocky Mountain News)
Quote of the Day Teaching English Learners
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Quote of the Day
This LA Times story has two quotes of the day. The story is about Frank Wells, the principal of LAUSD’s Locke High School visiting with Steve Barr from Green Dot Public Schools and expressing his frustration over LAUSD’s inability to actually implement education reform. The first quote of the day is this one:
“It is criminal to allow a school to continue on year after year, the way this one has,” said Frank Wells, head of Locke High School in South Los Angeles. “I went to Locke thinking I could turn it around, but I ran into a brick wall.”
Frank is exactly right. When we have schools that have been in program improvement over 5 years with minimal improvement, we’re doing our children disservice. Here’s the next quote:
“The more you fail, the more money they throw at you,” he said. “We’re filthy rich; I don’t want any more of your money. Send me quality teachers.”
All you have to do is look at the Quality Education Improvement Act (QEIA) for a quick example of this scenario. They’re giving another $2.7B to low performing schools. What is terrible about the situation is that these schools have been unsuccessful and so we’re going to give them money and for the most part they’re going to keep doing the same thing. Most of these schools aren’t going to reform, they’re just going to take the money to perpetuate the same ineffective teaching practices.
I’m heartened to hear a working school administrator like Frank say these things. Unfortunately, most administrators seem to just keep pushing the party line that more money will solve all of education’s woes. Keep up the good work Frank. Hopefully, Locke High will become a charter school and maybe you’ll get your chance.
Teacher Retention Myths Quote of the Day
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day appears in this Associated Press story by Juliet Williams. Apparently State Superintendent Jack O’Connell was on a conference call with reporters and was asked about whether the Academic Performance Index (API) masks achievement gaps.
In a conference call with reporters, O’Connell rejected the notion that the API artificially inflates achievement or masks gaps between racial groups.
For the first time this year, the state Board of Education will force schools to hold student subgroups to the same improvement targets as others. The change was prompted by API critics.
When asked what sanctions schools face when they fail to meet their benchmarks, O’Connell responded, “You won’t be a distinguished school, you won’t be an achieving school, you won’t be a blue-ribbon school.”
Excuse me? The sanctions that schools face if they don’t meet their subgroup benchmarks are that they won’t receive one of these three awards. What about real sanctions like NCLB provides like firing the principal, replacing staff or closing a school? Nope, not in this case. How can Jack insist that he is “deeply concerned that significant gaps exist between the API results for different subgroups of students” when there are no consequences for schools not meeting these targets?
The article continued:
Sanctions can be as severe as state intervention. Schools that do face such actions typically make up only a small percentage of schools and often are those that have voluntarily entered compliance programs in exchange for additional funding.
So far, only 6 schools have faced sanctions for not meeting API targets. All 6 schools were part of a voluntary program, II/USP which gave them additional funding in exchange for some accountability. Those six were among the first cohort of schools in this program.
The “strict sanctions” imposed by CDE were actually pretty mild. Three of the schools had to contract with their County Office of Education (COE) for a new State Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT) to try to help the school. The other three schools had to contract with their COE for a trustee to work with the school until they make their API school-wide targets for 2 years.
What’s really sad is that these 6 schools were sanctioned because of failing to make their school-wide target, not the subgroup targets. As I’ve said before there are absolutely no consequences (other than what Superintendent O’Connell mentioned today) for any California public school to make their subgroup targets.
Additionally, once a school reaches a school-wide target of 800, there are no additional API targets for the school. They simply need to maintain the 800. If 875 is grade-level proficiency, then the API doesn’t provide any incentives for schools to actually get students to proficiency once they reach the magic 800 number.
I’m glad to see that some reporters are starting to understand the difference between CDE and Superintendent O’Connell’s rhetoric and the reality of California’s lack of an accountability system. Without a real accountability system, schools have limited incentives to improve and no ability to actually measure whether their reforms are working. Without such a system, parents lack the ability to understand how their school is performing from year to year. Without a real accountability system, genuine school reform isn’t possible. The State Board of Education needs to dump the API now and move to a model where schools are accountable for the percentage of students scoring at grade-level on the California Standards Test.
Another Anti-API Poster Child “It’s Peer Pressure”
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Quote of the Day
I thought this Ventura Star story had the quote of the day from Fabian Nuñez:
“If money alone guaranteed a good education, Paris Hilton would have a Ph.D. today,” he joked.
The sad part is that most the articles talking about this report are dwelling on the money issues. There are lots of other problems with public education that need to be addressed before we even consider increasing funding. One thing that pleases about this report is that CTA hates it. CTA’s Barbara Kerr complained about the ideas of making it easier to terminate poor teachers and creating a system to track teacher performance. Anything that makes Barbara uncomfortable must be worth a second look.
Big Secret Report Released… Partially We Know What Works!
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Quote of the Day
Here’s todays quote of the day. It is from Congressman George Miller D-CA. He’s also the chair of the House Education Committee. When asked about whether No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is an “unfunded mandate”, he said:
- For too long, school districts and states really covered up and ignored the fact that the bottom 30 percent of our students were simply being ignored; they were simply being passed through the system, and nobody was accountable for how they were doing and whether they were proficient in the subjects presented to them. NCLB has shined a lot of daylight on that problem, and on school districts. Some are angered, because they’re embarrassed by the fact that these students aren’t doing as well as they’d been suggesting to the community.
It is nice to hear that, particularly coming from such a powerful democrat. It isn’t a big surprise since Congressman Miller has been a major supporter of NCLB for the past 5 years, but it is still reassuring to hear. We all know that without NCLB, those 30% of the students that Congressman Miller was talking about would continue to be ignored. It isn’t perfect, but it is better than what we had before. It will be interesting to watch as the hearings on reauthorization take place.
School Improvement Doesn’t Require More Money Smarick:Petrilli Too Timid
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Quote of the Day
Scheiss Weekly has my quote of the day:
I belonged to the teacher’s union for over twenty years and guess what, I wish I’d just flushed the money down the toilet instead of letting ‘them’ have any of it At least then, I’d have had the fun of watching it swirl. As it was, I got nothing.
Read the rest of the posting for more anti-union goodness.
Poster Child for Crappy Schools We Need a Low Expectations, Low Achievement Culture
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from a man who I just have to meet some day, Ben Chavis, the director of the high performing American Indian Public Charter school in Oakland. From what I’ve read, Ben doesn’t buy into the excuses mentality of many public school administrators. He looks for what works and he does it.
In this Oakland Tribune article discussing his school’s receipt of a national NCLB Blue Ribbon School award, there is a great quote.
Chavis said his program works because he has high expectations for all students and has convinced them they are smart. He visits any school known for top-notch academics and incorporates their methods into his own program. The outspoken Chavis, however, is disappointed that most Oakland schools are not following his lead.
“The other schools won’t come to see what we’re doing,” he said. “They’re so dumb.”
Ben is so right. They are dumb for not coming to see how Ben has managed to help his students achieve incredible academic success.
In business, if your company is not being successful, but your competition is, you look at what they’re doing and see what you can incorporate into your own operations to improve. If you’re an athlete, you look at the training regiments of the leaders in your sport. If you’re an author, you read great books to learn how to write.
Why then is it so hard for school leaders to understand that there are great ideas out there for the taking? Why do they refuse to even look for them? Until more school administrators wake up and start really looking at the practices of high achieving schools, generation after generation of students are going to be asking, “Do you want fries with that?”
The Next Big Crisis Grace’s Dad
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Quote of the Day
Mike Atonucci from EIA had the best quote of today and the only way to really do it justice is to include the entire posting.
How Education Policy Is Made in Sacramento
Leaders of the California State Senate called off a floor vote on the Los Angeles “mayoral takeover” bill. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said the bill will be taken up Monday, but opponents are claiming the delay is because the measure lacks the votes to pass.
The bill’s co-author, Sen. Gloria Romero, explained it this way:
“Some members wanted to have some extra time to read it, but those would be votes that would be gravy to the roll call. But as far as the votes that we need to move this out, they are there, they’re solid.”
It’s good to know that the passage of this bill is not dependent on the votes of people who have actually read it.
Interesting School Reform Idea Bye and Thanks for All the Fish
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Quote of the Day
The second article that gave me great hope is this Fresno Bee story about a 3-hour pep-talk from Superintendent Michael Hanson.
Superintendent Michael Hanson told 500 Fresno Unified administrators Wednesday that poverty isn’t a student problem — it’s theirs.
He said the district has accepted a “poverty of expectations” because of a student population with thin family pocketbooks and language barriers.
Then, he dared every person in the room to up their ante — literally. “We’ve got to push all the chips into the middle of the table and say, ‘I am in. I am in the game.’”
The presentation in the Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall was intended to give principals and other administrators an idea of how the district is performing in terms of academics and expectations.
Hanson’s speech combined statistics, philosophy, humor and bluntness. He said each administrator must be willing to supervise, and employees must be willing to take coaching with an open mind.
The quote of the day in the article was this one:
We all get a paycheck. We’re all adults. Stop whining.
— Michael Hanson
Can you guess what the local teacher’s union had to say?
Fresno Teachers Association President Larry Moore said he was bothered that the word “teacher” barely came up during the first hour of presentations by Hanson and others.
He also commented on the length of Hanson’s speech, which lasted about three hours.
“When it’s all said and done, more is said than done,” Moore said.
Yeah, Moore should know all about saying more than doing. Teacher’s unions are always talking about how they care about students but yet when it comes time for reform, all they care about is protecting the status quo.
I hope Superintendent Hanson is about doing rather than talking. If so, his district’s children and parents are also well served. From what little of speech is quoted in the article, he knows what to do to improve student achievement. Now the only question is whether he can overcome the bureaucratic inertia to get it done. Good luck Michael. I hope you succeed.
Hope for the Future SB1769, Blackmail, Sacramento Style
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Quote of the Day
Today’s Quote of the Day:
- “Math hasn’t changed since Isaac Newton,” declares Scott McNealy. So why, he asks, is California paying some $400 million annually to “update” grade-school textbooks?
Check out this Forbes.com story on Former Sun Exec Scott McNealy’s efforts with the Global Education and Learning Community (GELC). It will be interesting to see if Scott has any more impact than Bill has so far.
My new T-shirt Liberal Media Bias?
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day comes from the North Jersey Media Group:
- “From our point of view, there’s no deficient teachers,” said George Lambert, who has been a Bergen County NJEA representative for the past 15 years. “Our job is basically to represent and not make a judgment.”
Putting aside the problem with grammar in the quote, I’m troubled by the sentiment. While I understand it is the union’s position to assist teacher’s who are unfairly treated by their district, to deny that there can be bad teachers is crazy. In any career there are some individuals who don’t belong. They don’t have the basic skills or attitude or just call it the knack for their chosen career. They need to find that job that is their dream job. The union protecting bad teachers doesn’t do them any favors.
Most parents have experienced that moment when they need to help their child to realize that the sport or hobby they’re really excited about may not really be a great fit for them. You let them give it a try, but you don’t force them to stick with it. Kids needs to learn that they don’t have to be great at everything.
Why isn’t it OK to let bad teachers know that they’re just plain bad. Unless they’re willing to put in the effort to improve, they should start looking for a new career. But, no, their union is going to tell them, “Hey, you’re not a bad teacher. There just aren’t any bad teachers. How dare your principal try to get rid of you. We’ll sue!”
Of course I’ve haven’t even mentioned the damage they’re doing to kids in their classrooms each and every year. I’d love to see some research on how many years of bad teaching dooms a kid of failure. I suspect at the early grades it is only 2 or 3. OK, they’re not really doomed, but unless they get some outstanding teachers along the way or tons of extra help, they’re just simply never going to catch up.
I think K-12 teacher tenure is one of the biggest problems with public education. It does a disservice to bad teachers and a huge disservice to children.
Can’t Get to Sleep? Antonio’s and Eli’s Letter Exchange
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Quote of the Day
School reform takes time.
–Rick Miller, California Department of Education
In this Contra Costa Times article, Miller uses that line as an excuse for the slow improvement of California’s public schools.
As a parent with children in my local public schools, I don’t think that Rick’s excuse will cut it. Is Rick willing to let his kids be the ones whose education is substandard while time passes? I don’t think you’re going to find too many parents willing to let the educrats take their sweet time “reforming” our schools.
The big problem is that these people have very little incentive to actually reform anything. Reform is hard. It takes extra work. Why would they want to do that when life is pretty good for them as it is. Many of them get summers off. If they get evaluated at all, there is little chance of getting fired since they have tenure. Don’t forget those “school” holidays. Automatic raises every year and step increases are pretty cool. Depending on your district, the salaries are typically pretty good too.
I think it takes external pressure from parents, the community, business leaders and politicians who have a clue to get many public school leaders out of their comfort zone to make real reform happen. An effective charter school or two also goes a long way to force public school districts toward change. What would really make the difference would be a good school voucher program. Kids don’t have the time to wait for Rick’s reform to work. They need help now! This Fall, they’re going to show up at classrooms expecting a great public education. We need to make sure they get one.
Dead Zone in Real Life Reporter Bias
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Quote of the Day
One of my favorite things to read each week is the EIA Communique. This week, the Quote of the Week is great:
- Quote of the Week. “People complain that the SAT is biased and that the bias explains why students don’t do well. That’s true – it is biased. It’s biased against people who aren’t well-educated. The test isn’t causing people to have bad education, it’s merely reflecting the reality. And if you don’t like your reflection that doesn’t mean that you should smash the mirror.” – SAT tutor David S. Kahn. (May 26 Wall Street Journal)
The same, “the test is biased against people who have received a bad education”, could be said of pretty much any of the high stakes tests including the STAR or the CAHSEE.
Teachers are Important Too Many High Performers
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Quote of the Day
Today’s Quote of the Day, comes from this LA Daily News article. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) President A.J. Duffy said that the most experienced teachers are not necessarily the best teachers. From the article:
But A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said any argument based on seniority provisions assumes that the best teachers are the most experienced.
“The more veteran or senior teachers are not by definition the better or best teachers,” Duffy said.
At last something that AJ and I agree about. What we don’t agree on is that the best teachers should get the most pay. AJ says that these experienced, but not very good teachers should get paid more than the lesser experienced, but better qualified teachers. This just doesn’t make sense to me.
NY Times: Program on Vouchers Draws Minority Support West Contra Costa Unified “Blinked”
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Quote of the Day
There was a public hearing in Sacramento yesterday discussing whether there should be alternate ways for high school students to meet graduation requirements when they can’t pass the California High School Exit Exam. People on both sides of the issue came together to present suggested approaches to CDE staff. Even though he called the meeting, Superintendent O’Connell wasn’t at the meeting. He was off promoting Universal Preschool. Yikes!
Here’s today’s quote of the day.
Jim Lanich, president of California Business for Education Excellence, urged officials not to change the current requirement.
“It’s important to the business community that the folks they hire – the people who graduate from the 12th grade – are able to do seventh-grade math,” he said.
You can see the whole article here.
Forbes: Achievement Gaps Can’t Be Closed Because Poor Children Are Dumb A School Beating the Odds
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Quote of the Day
Today’s quote of the day is from Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He said:
- “We cannot continue to have an excellence gap with the rest of the world and intend to remain the economic superpower and military superpower of the planet. That’s just not going to happen,” Romney said. “We’re in a position where unless we take action, we’ll end up being the France of the 21st century: a lot of talk, but not a lot of strength behind it in terms of economic capability.”
I couldn’t agree more Governor. Keep up the good work. Here is the article.
Poway Unified Improving, but Recognizes Achievement Gap Problem Good Information, but Unfortunately Too Late
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Quote of the Day
In the JoinArnold.com blog Mike Murphy referred to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell as a “shameless CTA sock puppet…” I love it. That tops my list of funny names for Jack right next to Jill Stewart’s “serial exaggerator” reference.
Maybe I’ll Move to Ventura County Proposition 76
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Quote of the Day
Here’s a quote from this Independent Online article about the Fox show The Simpsons being adapted for other cultures:
- “We’re such an impressionable people and we aspire so much to be like the West, that we take on anything that we believe is a symbol or a manifestation of Western culture.”
What area of the world do you think this person is from?
Click here for the answer.Here’s the the quote in context.
- Sherine El-Hakim, head of Arabic content at VSI Ltd, a London-based company that dubs and subtitles TV shows for broadcasters and corporations said: “The advent of the satellite era in the Arab world has created – and is still creating – new channels on a continuous basis.
“Arabisation is going to boom in these next few years,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “We’re such an impressionable people and we aspire so much to be like the West, that we take on anything that we believe is a symbol or a manifestation of Western culture.”
Yep, that’s right. She’s talking about the Middle East and Arab nations. Did she really say Arabs want to be like the West? That certainly doesn’t seem to fit with what I’ve seen in the media in recent years.
Creative Writing An Interesting Looking Book
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Quote of the Day
There are been tons of articles in the press about this year’s budget process. Today, I was reading yet another anti-Governor’s “education budget cuts” article and came across this pearl of wisdom and a great sound bite.
The article is at: http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_2588408.
“If the state was a school district, it would be taken over by the state,” Newark Superintendent John Bernard said.
Government Intruding in our Homes CTA Has Way Too Much Power
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