Obama LOL

Comment problems fixed

Sorry about the word verification...I hate that thing and it should be gone now.

The Big School Reform Hustle

Our dynamic and well compensated school superintendent, Alex Apostle, says he wants to prepare Missoula County schools for THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Why? Because of all that cool new technology out there.

The director of the Watson Children's Shelter awoke one morning two years ago to a heaping plate of eggs delivered to her room. And Dad wasn't home that day, so Albrecht asked, "Where did you get the eggs?" "I Googled ‘How to scramble eggs,' " said her daughter, quite nonchalantly.

Wow!  She Googled - for a recipe!  So, the experts surmise that since the kids know how to Google, and text each other, and play computer games, and stuff, we should leverage all that sophisticated TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY knowledge to, you know, basically teach them about how to do what they already do now - ?

Thursday marked the beginning of the massive community- and school-driven effort to not just change Missoula's school system, but to reimagine it.

 "...reimagine." Is that a word? Or is it kind of like "visioning"? 

The committee met Thursday afternoon to outline its broad agenda for the next year - which will require the time and efforts of teachers, administrators, students and the public.

They all have my deepest sympathies.

MCPS has hired the educational firm Public Consulting Group Education of Portsmouth, N.H., to oversee the process. The contract cost around $150,000.

Always hire a consultant to validate what you already want to do. It makes it all seem more...valid.

And the firm said Thursday that what Missoula is embarked on is truly groundbreaking. Districts around the nation have been talking about "21st century education" for years, but Missoula is leading the way, PCG said.

It must be true - our consultant said so!

"It is the most exciting project in the country," said Steve Kutno, project director at PCG. "What we have here is an opportunity for us to say, ‘What should education look like?' "

Far different, in all likelihood, than what it looks like now. The model will try to address the reality of instant communication, hyper-speed changes in technology, and the skills needed to work and live in a world where science fiction becomes reality every day.

Casualties could include the requirements for graduation, the 9-3 schedule that students currently keep and even the walls that segregate classrooms.

What, graduation requirements, a casualty - ? And back to the open classrooms thing from the 1970s?   (And walls segregate classrooms - who knew?)

Finally, we get to the bottom line:

And all of it will largely depend on the passage of school levies; MCPS has already said it will seek figures in the millions of dollars.

And there you have it! This is just a big hustle to get more funding for schools by raising your taxes - for the children.

The puff piece in the Missoulian coincides with an op-ed in the New York Times by Paul Tough.

HOW much evidence does the government need before trying something new in the troubled realm of public education? Should there be airtight proof that a pioneering program works before we commit federal money to it — or is it sometimes worth investing in promising but unproven innovations?

Oh hell yes, we don't need no stinking proof that some "new" innovation will work;  "experts say - " is usually enough for school district bureaucrats and schools of education, yes? Tough discusses the Obama administration request for $210 million to fund "Promise Neighborhoods" around the country, based on a similar project in Harlem that has not yet proven itself despite copious hype.

A certain skepticism with regard to innovation is always wise, especially in public education, where highly touted new programs often turn out to be disappointments.

Especially when lax testing is suddenly updated, revealing that achievement gaps have not really narrowed at all.  Then there is the enduring travesty of  Head Start. (Tough inexplicably concludes yet more innovation is needed.)

Apostle must sense that the locals are unaware of all the decades of highly touted but failed reform efforts around the US.  He goes almost apocalyptic.

"The destiny of our children is at stake," said Apostle, who was hired two years ago, in part, to enact such reforms. "There is no failing here. None whatsoever."

My, Mr. Apostle is living up to his name. He is an apostle for the Bold Innovation. He will push these "sweeping reforms," dragoon all the "stakeholders" into months of tedious meetings, brainstorming and navel-gazing, culminating with the recommendation that yes, we the people need to cough up more money for schools so we can buy more of that technology and stuff.  Then that way, the students might be more entertained, and not have to work so hard at learning.

Missoulapolis predicts: Apostle will then declare victory, move on to some other district on the strength of this "success" (at raising money) or retire to work as a consultant - in education, of course.  And we'll be left with the tax bill, and little to show for it.

So what is education for THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY?  It's already been reimagined for you right here.  Yes, it's the same old progressive ed agenda - only now it's for THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY!    Let the kids learn what they want, let the curriculum be fun and relevant.  Make it relate to real life - a life of texting, Googling and gaming!  And in 10 years when Jeremy still can't read or write or multiply fractions, we'll just have to come up with another Bold Innovation.

V-J Day, Honolulu

Via Iowahawk.


VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945 from Richard Sullivan on Vimeo.

Query

This is more of a Tweet, but my Twitter account is deactivated.

Do people really, literally spit out coffee over their keyboards when they read something funny online?

The Slug

The Slug.

The Slug

Angry Pharmacist on a Tear

I love this guy's anger.

 You may think that I’m blowing smoke out up your ass, but take a look around next time you are in a public place at the amount of morbidly obese people are mouth-breathing around.  Look at their kids and the crap they stuff into their face at an alarming rate.  Its not ignorance thats fueling this, its the simple fact that when push comes to shove they will get treatment without payment.  We are afraid to say “You did this to yourself, you deal with it” because of some bullshit excuse like “its not their fault”.  You may think that sounds uncaring and callous, but take a second out of your candyland outlook and look around you at the people who are pissing their health down the toilet on your dime just because they can.

Healthcare is a business, All of us; doctors, pharmacists, nurses, PAs, NPs, and the staff that help us all have bills to pay and families to provide for. Charity won’t put food on the table, and the sooner you realize this the better off you are. If you want charity and “helping those in need” then work for free and see how far that gets you.