For the Scrooge in Your Life

Not everyone can be filled with the joy of Christmas. Thankfully, the folks at KnockKnock have created this handy release form for the Scrooge in your life. A copy for your Humbug can be found here.

Sully's Tribute to Christopher Hitchens

A loving, comprehensive tribute to one of the most important voices of our generation, from another incredibly important voice, Andrew Sullivan. My favorite quote comes from Hitch's Vanity Fair essay, published last June:

To my writing classes I used later to open by saying that anybody who could talk could also write. Having cheered them up with this easy-to-grasp ladder, I then replaced it with a huge and loathsome snake: “How many people in this class, would you say, can talk? I mean really talk?” That had its duly woeful effect. I told them to read every composition aloud, preferably to a trusted friend. The rules are much the same: Avoid stock expressions (like the plague, as William Safire used to say) and repetitions. Don’t say that as a boy your grandmother used to read to you, unless at that stage of her life she really was a boy, in which case you have probably thrown away a better intro. If something is worth hearing or listening to, it’s very probably worth reading. So, this above all: Find your own voice.

Kickin It Old School w/Strunk and White

Word.

The Elements of Style from Jake Heller on Vimeo.

Study Break! TaeKwonDo Edition

Stop the exam prep and enjoy.

The most important speech on education in years

The most important speech on education in years. To no one's surprise, it's by Diane Ravitch. The full text can be read here. Please share with anyone - friends, teachers, administrators, GR Press education "reporters" - who should be listening.

What's Popular Music Isn't Always Right

Yesterday, to the continued disappointment of prog rock lovers everywhere,  Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Beastie Boys were named the newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Pouring salt on that wound, here are twelve more depressing facts about popular music, courtesy of Buzzfeed. Exhibit A: Creed has sold more records in the US than Jimi Hendrix.

Mr. Obvious Fixes America's Schools

Via The Atlantic.com: Reinventing the wheel via education reforms won't create meaningful change, says Marc Tucker, President of the National Center on Education and the Economy. Instead, the U.S. should follow the lead of top-performing countries like Finland and Japan:

The top-performing nations boost the quality of their teaching forces by greatly raising entry standards for teacher education programs. They insist that all teachers have in-depth knowledge of the subjects they will teach, apprenticing new teachers to master teachers and raising teacher pay to that of other high-status professions. They then encourage these highly trained teachers to take the lead in improving classroom practices. 

The result is a virtuous cycle: teaching ranks as one of the most attractive professions, which means no teacher shortages and no need to waive high licensing standards. That translates into top-notch teaching forces and the world's highest student achievement. All of this makes the teaching profession even more attractive, leading to higher salaries, even greater prestige, and even more professional autonomy. The end results are even better teachers and even higher student performance.

"Why School Choice Fails"

Terrific op-ed in today's NY Times on the pitfalls of schools of choice. Should be required reading for every GRPS Board of Ed member, every GRPS administrator, and, most important, every Grand Rapidian who gives a damn about the city's future. Natalie Hopkinson is a parent of a Washington D.C. student:

The situation for Washington’s working- and middle-class families may be bleak, but we are hardly alone. Despite the lack of proof that school-choice policies work, they are gaining popularity in communities nationwide. Like us, those places will face a stark decision: Do they want equitable investment in community education, or do they want to hand it over to private schools and charters? Let’s stop pretending we can fairly do both. As long as we do, some will keep winning, but many of us will lose.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Newt!

Newt Gingrich is the GOP's non-Romney flavor of the month, but this Ron Paul video might just burst that bubble. Devastating.

Changing the Poisonous Narrative

There's no stronger, clearer voice in the education reform discussion than Diane Ravitch. If you care about education, give your school's administrator a copy of her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

Then have them read this: Changing the Poisonous Narrative

Caution! Santa's Packing Heat!

He knows when you are sleeping

He knows when you're awake

He carrying an M60

photo from scottsdalegunclub.com

And a modified Ar15!

Everything Old Is New Again

In NYC, the latest, hippest, coolest education fad for people with too much money is - wait for it - attending workshops on block building. 

Jean Schreiber, a self-described “block consultant,” advised the group to engage their children in building by photographing their work. “Don’t rush to help them with structural challenges,” she said. “You don’t have to ask them a million questions. Just sit with them and notice.”

How much do you think a "block consultant" makes per year?

RIP Fred Meijer

The man who brought us "Why Pay More?" and so much more has died. He was 91.

Pepper Spray is "a food product" according to Fox News

The real problem with the Occupy UC Davis protesters is that they didn't bring the right entree. The police were simply trying to spice up dull cafeteria food. O'Reilly and Kelly claim pepper spray is "a food product, essentially."

Want to be smarter than a Fox News viewer?

Simple. Don't watch the news at all. That's the main finding of a new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Tablet Wars: Barnes and Noble Lies about Nook Specs

Barnes and Noble claims its new Nook can stream HD video. From NY Times tech guru David Pogue:

“HD videos stream smoothly.” “Enjoy HD Video.” “The best in HD entertainment.” “Netflix and Hulu Plus pre-loaded to instantly watch HD movies.” “Streaming HD videos and more.” “Supports HD content up to 1080p.” And so on

Hmm. Well, I don’t know about you. But if I read all of this, I might come away with the impression that the Nook Tablet can show high-definition video! 

Well, guess what? It can’t. 

Its screen resolution is 1024 by 600 pixels. That’s not even close to high definition.

If you'd like to buy a Kindle Fire (or anything else at Amazon), click on the Amazon box to the right. Part of the proceeds will put real books in the hands of real students.

The Return of Marcel

Oh, how we love this little guy. "Treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats." Enjoy.

According to Congress, I'm Eating Healthy!

This, my friends, is a vegetable. (LA Times)

Thanks, Congress! You can't agree on much, but when you do, you validate my Pizza! Pizza! cravings. 

Seriously. No jobs action, no Super Committee agreements, but Congress is close to declaring that there should be enough tomato sauce on school lunch pizzas to qualify them as a vegetable serving.  

Break Time for Facebook?

My school now allows student access to Facebook and other social media for "educational purposes" (and if you show me ONE legitimate educational purpose, I'll be impressed). If you were to walk into my school, at any given time, you'd see students texting, or smiling while looking in the direction of their crotch.

How to rid them of their tech addiction? Why, let them have Facebook breaks during school, of course.

That'll help us stay ahead of the Chinese.

The Hunger Games!

Katniss fans! Here's your first look at The Hunger Games, due next March!

"The Brutal Truth about Penn State"

To NPR listeners, Charles R. Pierce is known for his quick wit as a panelist on "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!" Today, he penned a scathing indictment of Penn State and institutions that have become "soulless, profit-driven monsters."

And today, our major institutions lie because of a culture in which loyalty to "the company," and protection of "the brand" — that noxious business-school shibboleth that turns employees into brainlocked elements of sales and marketing campaigns — trumps conventional morality, traditional ethics, civil liberties, and even adherence to the rule of law. It is better to protect "the brand" than it is to protect free speech, the right to privacy, or even to protect children.

Do You Know How Lucky You Are?

I remember hearing that as a rhetorical question. Turns out, we're all pretty darn lucky to be here. Take a look below.

by visually via

Profiles in Courage: Penn State Edition

One student defies the prevailing opinion of his peers at Penn State:

Perry's Trouble with Trios: Literary Edition

Some fun at the governor's expense, courtesy of the Doubleday Dashboard.

Finally, a reason to like Comcast

Major cable companies announced today that they will begin providing broadband for families whose children qualify for free and reduced lunches - for just $9.95 a month. Low-income families will be able to purchase PCs for $250, too.

Say It Ain't So, Joe, Or Come Clean.

Forty-six years of coaching one of the most successful programs in college football, and Joe Paterno will leave in the shadow of a major scandal. It didn't have to be this way. Author Harlen Coben pleads with Penn State to come clean:

So you see, Penn State, you need to do the right thing because it might help us the next time. It might prevent more cases like this, and that’s a hell of lot more important than some kind of football legacy. Paterno’s resignation at the end of the season is a first step, but not nearly enough. Those students proudly smiling and cheering him Tuesday might want to think about that. It is easy to dismiss them as young. It is important that we all learn from the truth. 

Why Bother With Liberal Arts?

From a recent post discussing the merits of a classical education on Andrew Sullivan's blog:

But the main reason for a classical education is precisely its uselessness. True learning is practically useless; and it should be. It is not about deploying knowledge to master the world, it is about the pursuit of truth for the sake of nothing else. It is about the highest things. How is a life worth living if it ignores them?

And there you have it. My reason for being.

Today in Academic Integrity

I'm reminded of a line from the film Quiz Show, when Mark Van Doren learns why his son is so successful on NBC's 21: "Cheating on a quiz show?!? That's like plagiarizing a comic strip!"

Fast forward to the 21st Century: Over 10 percent of college students plagiarize. From Wikipedia.

My new goal: Get the CIA to follow my tweets

So, my NaNoWriMo is a no-go for this year. I'll keep writing, just not 1, 666 words per day this month. Meanwhile, I've discovered something more exciting to shoot for: the CIA is following certain Twitter and Facebook users.

Please retweet this as much as humanly possible.

Study Break Video: Back to Nature Edition

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Bullies Rejoice! (In Michigan)

A proposed "anti-bullying" law in Michigan has a rather significant (drive a Mack truck through it) loophole. The law does not:

“prohibit a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.”

So, as long as it's part of your religious convictions (you know, the ones that say it's just fine to beat up or demoralize a kid), you're golden. 

Just when you thought it was safe to watch the Detroit Lions

Nickelback is announced as the halftime "entertainment" for this year's Thanksgiving contest against Green Bay. Online petition to give Detroit a break is here.

Chip In To Support Ben!

Pastawall is proud to announce that Son of Pastawall, Ben Larsen, has earned a spot on the Northview hockey team. Unlike most varsity sports, hockey players and parents kick in quite a bit of cash for ice time, transportation, and equipment.

Here's the deal: If you would like to help Ben, please consider clicking the ChipIn button to your right. In return, you'll get a handwritten note from the left-winger (takes after his dad) and a promise to perform whatever odd jobs you have around your home. All contributions go to a safe PayPal account, which will be used only for the purpose of helping Ben with his hockey expenses.

Congrats, Ben! Go Cats!

Pink Arrow Pride

From this morning's TODAY show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Slippery Slope of Standardized Testing

What happens when K-12 students, trained to fill in bubbles on high stakes standardized tests, go off to college? They expect the same kind of education: "Tell me what I need to know for the exam." What happens to college professors who want their students to think critically? They might lose their jobs.

Michael Apple, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin, told Inside Higher Education that the Socratic method is increasingly unpopular on college campuses "because we are in a test-based education system." Students are no longer used to such a process-oriented way of learning, and are "increasingly impatient where the answer is not clear and when the professor is not giving it to them immediately," Apple told the website.

Edward Murrow rolls in his grave

Not that there's much hope for the future of journalism, but Roger Ebert's blog today showcases its eventual demise. Students in a Broadcasting and Film Writing class were asked to write a story about last week's GOP debate. Not a Cronkite or Brinkley in the bunch. Be prepared to facepalm:

Bachman, received a lot of attention on the campaign trail at on point has begun to lose steam. 

Mitt Romney had an appearance that he was well prepared to speak about the economy and improved his standings, showing that he knowledgable [sic] and an able leader. 

With clear hit and miss candidates, there were distinctive winners and losers. 

Mitt Romney and Herman Cain were on the top of their game with less effective impressing Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann who both needed a certain spark they both didn't evoke.

Twilight Actress Turns Teacher Critic

It's Kristen Stewart, who's apparently not very good in either role. She complains that all of her teachers "failed her" because they didn't put together massive personal lesson plans for her while she was off acting.

The Avengers - 'Nuff said!

Summer can't come soon enough.

Hasn't Ohio Suffered Enough?

LeBron leaves for Miami. Jim Tressel and Co. get their hands slapped by the NCAA. The Reds and Indians collapse in the second half of the MLB season. What else could go wrong?

Joe the Plumber could run for Congress. That's what.

Today in Juxtoposition: Palin and Jobs

Two major headlines today: Sarah Palin's non-entry into the 2012 campaign, and the departure of Steve Jobs from this world. Andrew Sullivan's take is, as usual, brilliant:

Leonard Cohen once said of America that it was "the cradle of the best and the worst". Today, we lost one of the very best in American history, a reticent genius and entrepreneur, an inspiration for countless of us who has changed the very fabric of our lives. And we also saw the end of the road for one of the very worst: a nasty, callow, delusional, vicious know-nothing, brewed in resentment, and whose accomplishments could fit on a postage stamp.


It's a fitting comparison: achievement versus resentment, creativity versus narcissism, hope versus fear. I know which one will get the bigger headlines tomorrow. And there is some comfort in knowing it will pain her.

Sign of the Day

Consider the pot stirred. Heh.

The real obscenity

Not the first f-bomb that comes to mind, probably, but obscene just the same.

"Common Man" v. Corporate Media: Wall St. Occupation Edition

Round One goes to the Common Man!

Are you ready for some false analogies?

Hank Jr. is. And he's even got Fox and Friends a bit befuddled. 

But wait! There's more!

Or maybe there isn't.

'King of Infomercials' found dead in jail cell

Lions playin' like it's 1980

Last time the Detroit Lions were 4-0, Queen ruled the airwaves with "Another One Bites The Dust."

Rick Devos admits ArtPrize is "crazy crap"

No, it's not an ArtPrize entry. But it might have greater artistic value.

. . . in today's GR Press. The MLive comments are priceless. One suggests we should be thankful that Devos has "created something out of nothing" and that those who aren't are simply jealous and have never done anything meaningful with our lives. Here's what I posted in response:

Rick did not create something out of nothing. He "created" ArtPrize by capitalizing on his family name and tossing some trust fund money into the prize pot. Those of us who have lived our entire lives in GR and have been educated in art have every right not to bow down/genuflect/kiss his ring and "be thankful" that we have him in our lives. 

We're not Scrooges, either. We'd just rather be known for something of high quality than, in Rick's own words, "crazy crap."

Next year, I will enter myself, dipped in copper paint, hanging from a cross, holding a scrap metal sculpture of a cute animal, perhaps a hedgehog. I will place myself in the B.O.B. parking lot. And I will end up in the ArtPrize Top 10.

Put this on the MUST SEE movie list for December

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. Wonderful novel. Stellar cast. U2 in the trailer. Goosebumps as I watched it.

Good News, Bad News: Saudi Women Can Vote Edition

Oh, the irony.

It's the end of R.E.M. as we know it

I don't feel fine.

If a picture is worth a thousand words. . .

 . . . then we'll never be able to "read" the pics uploaded to Facebook. Not in one lifetime, anyway. In the last twelve months, we've taken 10% of ALL the photos in the history of the world.

In Taylor's Wake. . .

While the focus on GRPS Superintendent Bernard Taylor is on the question of where (or if) he'll land his next gig, now might be a good time to revisit where he was before making his presence felt in our fair city.

Where was he, you ask? Why, Kansas City, MO, where he helped close half the schools before heading north. The Missouri Board of Education has just stripped the district of its accreditation. 

By the way, KC is looking for a new superintendent. What are the chances they'll take back Taylor?

Do As We Report, Not As We Do

There ought to be a law.  "No media outlet can print a story about the crisis in education until all of their writers/reporters can spell."

Especially when the correct spelling is in the accompanying photograph.

Bow Tie World Record: THE VIDEO!

Visual proof of our participation in The Tie Bar's Guinness World Record for most bow ties tied at the same time.


 We got our geek on.

RIP Borders

Today marks the last day of business for Borders Books. CNN has a fitting tribute to the one-time #2 bookstore in the country:

A shame, because when done right, there's something about a bookstore.

It's a library, a gathering spot, a refuge, a journey. Often it's small, maybe an 800-square-foot storefront jammed into a city street. Or it's idiosyncratic: an old house or converted barn, a rambling lobby or strip-mall space. It may not even be in your neighborhood, but that's where you go.

At its best, it's crowded: sometimes with people, always with books -- books stacked to the ceiling. Books lined up in bookcases. Books spread out on tables, highlighted on platforms, displayed in twirling, 5-foot-high wire racks.

Don't know what you're looking for? That's part of the adventure. A bookstore is governed by serendipity. You walk in and the world falls away. There's no rush. It's just you and the books, these pockets of words and paper that somehow transport you to a different place. 

Take a look at the slideshow and see if you recognize the font Borders once used (image #9). Recognize it?

It's used today by Schuler Books and Music. Here's hoping Schuler doesn't meet a similar fate.

A first-person account of 9/11

Rhett Miller - singer, songwriter, and member of Old 97s - lived through the terror in NYC and wrote about the experience in his journal.

We keep running until we get to the water. Smoking fragments of glass and metal rain down on our heads. E and I hold hands while we run. I pull her across the street and we use the FDR as cover, running beneath it so debris doesn’t land in our hair. I sneak two looks back. The smoke, the faces, the bloody people running and screaming. 

Breathing feels like chewing and swallowing. We don’t stop running until we get well beyond the Brooklyn Bridge, and the breeze off the water has cleared out the air. I’m wondering about our building. Did the windows hold? Are the others trapped in the basement?

Read the rest here, and download two demos Miller wrote and recorded shortly after 9/11.

Study Break Video

Dear Students,

Stop freaking and grinding. Try this.

Love,

Your Chaperones
 

For the students who missed class tonight

A favorite poem by Tom Wayman

Did I Miss Anything?

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

        Everything. I gave an exam worth
        40 per cent of the grade for this term
        and assigned some reading due today
        on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
        worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

        Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
        a shaft of light descended and an angel
        or other heavenly being appeared
        and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
        to attain divine wisdom in this life and
        the hereafter
        This is the last time the class will meet
        before we disperse to bring this good news to all people
                on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

        Everything. Contained in this classroom
        is a microcosm of human existence
        assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
        This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
                gathered

        but it was one place

        And you weren't here

For the Teachers

Tomorrow begins a new school year in Michigan, land of the beleaguered teacher. Many of us have taken pay cuts, pay freezes, or learned that we're no longer teaching in the school we've been in for years.

We hear presidential candidates, some of whom have a tenuous grasp on facts, rally the base with talk of eliminating the Department of Education so parents can have the right to teach what they think is best (like myths instead of science). 

We read our local newspaper's coverage of what the "think tanks" think should happen in our schools, knowing all they want are charter schools and a right-to-work state (ask Florida and Texas how those are working).

We read the comments on MLive.com to find out how much we're hated, and how ill-informed those cowardly, anonymous posters are.

We attend professional development sessions that urge us to teach to all types of learners - auditory, visual, kinesthetic - only to find there's no significant research to support that these differences exist.

We attempt to keep up with technology by incorporating Web 2.0 features on our blogs, wikis, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. Some of us have schools filled with new iPads. But, so far, the research shows these gadgets and gizmos aren't increasing test scores.

Not that we believe test scores are the be-all and end-all, either. We know that it's not necessarily what students learn in school, or when they learn it, that matters, but that they know how to apply critical thinking strategies, and can tell the difference between fact, opinion, and outright lies.

You'd think we wouldn't want to go back to school tomorrow. But you'd be wrong. We go because it's our calling. Our mission. Our purpose. Because we love learning and want to share that excitement with our students.

We go because we know that every once in a while, we'll inspire a student. Some of these kids will actually say we made a difference in their lives. And maybe one, like Charles Blow, will even write an op-ed to honor us:

It was the first time that I felt a teacher cared about me, saw me or believed in me. It lit a fire in me. I never got a bad grade again. I figured that Mrs. Thomas would always be able to see me if I always shined. I always wanted to make her as proud of me as she seemed to be that day. And, she always was. 

In high school, the district sent a man to test our I.Q.’s. Turns out that not only was I not slow, but mine and another boy’s I.Q. were high enough that they created a gifted-and-talented class just for the two of us with our own teacher who came to our school once a week. I went on to graduate as the valedictorian of my class. 

And all of that was because of Mrs. Thomas, the firecracker of a teacher who first saw me and smiled with the smile that warmed me on the inside.

Of course, we won't see that op-ed in The Grand Rapids Press. But we'll see it in the hand-written thank you note from a student or parent, in the smile from the silent kid who gets the subtle joke, or the Facebook post thanking us for making college seem so easy.

So we'll toss and turn tonight, just like some of our students, in anticipation of hearing the halls fill with students carrying new notebooks, of watching them enter our rooms and ask "Is there a seating chart?," and of welcoming them to a new year filled with endless possibilities.

We will go back to school tomorrow. And we will make a difference. For as Henry Adams said, "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." 

Labor Day: How Much We Work

The average work day worldwide is still 8 hours long, but not in the US. We work 8.3 hours a day!

On this Labor Day

Convicted for forming a union - The Tolpuddle Martyrs

Since 1894, America has celebrated the efforts of the American worker on the first weekend in September. Labor Day is a "creation of the labor movement," which also brought us:

• the 40-hour work week
• workers' rights
• fair labor laws
• the WEEKEND
• and the middle class

Today, however, unions and the middle class are struggling. Public employees have become scapegoats for the country's economic ills, while fat cat corporate CEOs invest in the political campaigns of Tea Party candidates who will do their bidding. Unions are frustrated by the lack of action on the part of President Obama, too.

Our newest Poet Laureate, Michigan's Philip Levine, writes about the working class, especially those on the lines of what used to be our state's bread and butter, the auto industry. From his poem, "What Work Is":

We stand in the rain in a long line
waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.
You know what work is—if you’re
old enough to read this you know what
work is, although you may not do it.
Forget you. This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.
You rub your glasses with your fingers,
and of course it’s someone else’s brother,
narrower across the shoulders than
yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin
that does not hide the stubbornness,
the sad refusal to give in to
rain, to the hours of wasted waiting,
to the knowledge that somewhere ahead
a man is waiting who will say, “No,
we’re not hiring today,” for any
reason he wants. 

This post is, of course, personal. I am a union member. My union is under constant scrutiny, some deserved, but most of it unwarranted and politically motivated. A few years ago, I discovered I was descended from a long line of laborers, some who were severely punished for trying to form a union. The Tolpuddle Martyrs, six Dorset farm workers, were shipped to Australia for the crime of having "taken an illegal oath." 

On this Labor Day, I remember my forefathers and their struggles, and hope that American unions regain their respected place as a provider of steady employment and fair labor practices. 

Inside the Lit Lounge

My home away from home.

OK Go Meet The Muppets

Treadmills, Dr. Teeth, Animal, and Miss Piggy. What more could you ask for?

Let's tie one on in Chicago!

On Sunday, August 28, bow tie enthusiasts will gather at Chicago's Millennium Park to set a Guinness World Record for the largest group of people tying bow ties at the same time. The first 500 who show will get a free bow tie, and The Tie Bar will donate $15 to Goodwill for each participant!

Want more details? Read this from the Naperville Sun. Note the nifty quote from yours truly.

One way to make me an Opera lover

A new study suggests a correlation between your IQ and the web browser you use. I just upgraded to Opera.

Matt Damon: Advocate for Teachers (NSFW)

Mr. Damon takes it to a Reason.TV reporter and her cameraman. Nice.



Thanks to Scott Wagahoff for the tip.

The Debt Ceiling Explained

If we'd only paid attention to The West Wing - SIX YEARS AGO! - we might have had a better handle on how to deal with this darn thing.

Blue-eyed? Yes. Soul? Not so much.

Danish a capella group takes on 1990s dance tunes. Hilarity ensues.

Today's vocabulary word: juxtapose

It's a verb meaning "to place or deal with close together for contrasting effect." You could use it when discussing the debt ceiling debate in D.C., or to describe this display at Schuler Books.

You should have seen the look on the kids' faces as they made their way from Pooh to Go the *uck to Sleep. 

It's not hot, it's a liberal conspiracy!

And if anyone knows anything about hot air, it's Rush Limbaugh, who claimed on today's show that heat indices are something created by the government.



Here's a list of some of the hottest places to have been yesterday, according to a source Rush ought to trust, Fox News.

It's Funny Because It's True: Sen. Al Franken

Sen. Al Franken (D. Minn.) took it to representatives of Focus on the Family this morning with his characteristically well-researched approach to refuting an argument. A bit of SNL-era snark just adds to the entertainment value.

Snyder Signs Tenure Law; Taylor Does Happy Dance

If you want to know why some teachers are afraid of Michigan's new tenure law, look no further than lame duck Superintendent Bernard Taylor of GRPS. In an interview with the GR Press, Taylor called the new law a "bold choice," then added:

“We won't be just teaching to the test,” he said. “If a teacher has good test scores, but their classrooms are devoid of caring and encouragement, or the attendance rates are too low or the special education referrals are too high, that teacher won't do well.”

Let's take his statement point by point. First, Taylor implies that teachers will teach to standardized tests in order to increase student achievement or, more likely, help increase test scores in order to keep their jobs. We're not interested in developing life-long learners anymore, just a bunch of automatons who can fill in Scantron sheets. But a teacher "won't do well" if his classroom is "devoid of caring and encouragement." Fine. No argument there, but I seriously doubt he'll find many who fit that description.

Here's the red flag in the above quote: If "attendance rates are too low or the special education referrals are too high," the teacher is held responsible. How in the name of Horace Mann does Taylor think teachers will increase student attendance? As to special education referrals, those are supposed to be made by professional educators based on classroom data and their interaction with individual students. Again, the implication here is that if a teacher makes too many professional judgments - no matter how accurate they are - and refers too many kids to special education, it's the teacher's fault!

more after the jump

Please Forward to Arne Duncan, Rick Snyder, and Dave Murray

Howard Gardner, professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, believes improving U.S. education lies in treating - and paying - teachers as professionals. Please, professor, enlighten us:

Just as we would like our doctors and lawyers to behave professionally, we should want the teachers of our children to behave like professionals as well. But it’s hardly a secret that many of our teachers do not consider themselves, and are not treated, as such. And it is even less of a secret that most people in positions of power today—whether CEOs or legislators—do not want “the teachers of another person’s children” to behave like professionals. If teacher-proof education isn’t an option, these potentates at least prefer teachers who do exactly what they are told and whose rewards or sanctions are based simply on test scores or some other easily measured result.

Seems like common sense. Read the rest of Gardner's piece at The Washington Post, along with others that are part of a roundtable discussion on teacher incentives.

Don't blame the high heels, Michelle.

I bet Michelle Bachmann's migraines coincide with attempts to think critically.

"How to Be a Writer"

As I spend this morning with the LMWP, I can't stop thinking about a piece I read on Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog. He referenced another blog, written by M. Molly Backes, and her recent entry, "How to Be a Writer."

How do we encourage our children to write? To think? Here's an excerpt from "How to Be a Writer":

What should you do to help your child pursue her dreams of becoming a writer? 

First of all, let her be bored. Let her have long afternoons with absolutely nothing to do. Limit her TV-watching time and her internet-playing time and take away her cell phone. Give her a whole summer of lazy mornings and dreamy afternoons. Make sure she has a library card and a comfy corner where she can curl up with a book. Give her a notebook and five bucks so she can pick out a great pen. Insist she spend time with the family. It’s even better if this time is spent in another state, a cabin in the woods, a cottage on the lake, far from her friends and people her own age. Give her some tedious chores to do. Make her mow the lawn, do the dishes by hand, paint the garage. Make her go on long walks with you and tell her you just want to listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. 

Let her be lonely. Let her believe that no one in the world truly understands her. Give her the freedom to fall in love with the wrong person, to lose her heart, to have it smashed and abused and broken. Occasionally be too busy to listen, be distracted by other things, have your nose in a great book, be gone with your own friends.

Let her have secrets. Let her have her own folder on the family computer. Avoid the temptation to read through her notebooks. Writing should be her safe haven, her place to experiment, her place to work through her confusion and feelings and thoughts. If she does share her writing with you, be supportive of her hard work and the journey she’s on. Ask her questions about her craft and her process. Ask her what was hardest about this piece and what she’s most proud of. Don’t mention publication unless she mentions it first. Remember that writing itself is the reward. 

Let her get a job. Let her work long hours for crappy pay with a mean employer and rude customers. If she wants to be a writer, she’ll have to be comfortable with hard work and low pay. Let her spend her own money on books and lattes – they’ll be even sweeter when she’s worked hard for them. 

Let her fail. Let her write pages and pages of painful poetry and terrible prose. Let her write painfully bad fan fiction. Don’t freak out when she shows you stories about Bella Swan making out with Draco Malfoy. Never take her writing personally or assume it has anything to do with you, even if she only writes stories about dead mothers and orphans. 

Let her go without writing if she wants to. Never nag her about writing, even if she’s cheerful when writing and completely unbearable when she’s not. Let her quit writing altogether if she wants to.

Let her make mistakes.

The rest, as Coates suggests, isn't just good advice for encouraging your child to write, but for living a good life as well.

Those Who Can, Teach: My Morning with the LMWP

I'm spending this hazy, hot, and humid morning with two dozen teachers who are practicing the art of teaching writing by writing. The Lake Michigan Writing Project, part of the National Writing Project, is in its ninth year of bring together educators who have one common goal: improving the teaching of writing in their schools.

Today's session began with "sacred writing," time devoted to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). The LMWPers can respond to a prompt ("What are the things your mother wants from you?") or write whatever is on their mind. In a few minutes, we'll stop writing and participate in a teaching demonstration. Each teacher presents one of these 90-minute lessons on writing in the classroom, then receives constructive criticism from his or her LMWP peers.

What really makes the LMWP and NWP special, however, is the time granted to teachers to pursue their own writing. In addition to discussing what works in the classroom, these educators spend much of their afternoon drafting short stories, poems, memoirs and, in my case, a diatribe or two. LMWP teachers teach writing because they are writers.

It's too bad no one in the local media - even though they've been invited - has taken the time to sit in on one of these sessions. They might begin to understand what dedicated education professionals do during their three months off: think, write, discuss, share, collaborate, reflect, and push themselves to become better teachers who help students become better thinkers and writers.

Hackgate: The Movie

Nothing like a little humor at Murdoch's expense. Perfect casting choice for Rebekah Brooks, too. From The Daily Beast.

Your kid's getting an A! (So is everyone else's kid.)

Stuart Rojstaczer and Christopher HealyNote: 1940 and 1950 (nonconnected data points in figure) represent averages from 1935 to 1944 and 1945 to 1954, respectively. Data from 1960 onward represent annual averages in their database, smoothed with a three-year centered moving average.

This won't be news to veteran teachers, but there's a new comprehensive study of grade inflation at the collegiate level that suggests social promotion isn't just for middle schoolers anymore. In fact, students in private schools are more likely to 4-point than their public peers. Are students working harder? Studying more? Hardly:

They then attribute the rapid rise in grade inflation in the last couple of decades to a more “consumer-based approach” to education, which they say “has created both external and internal incentives for the faculty to grade more generously.” More generous grading can produce better instructor reviews, for example, and can help students be more competitive candidates for graduate schools and the job market.

Harry Potter and the Book of Mormon

Mormons, meet Mr. Potter and Company.

30 Years, 135 Liftoffs, 1 awesome photo

Chris Bray and his father attended the first Shuttle launch 30 years ago, and made the journey to see Atlantis liftoff last Friday. Awesome. (photo courtesy Chris Bray via Universe Today)

Colorforms is 60!

And thus began my addiction to sniffing thin pieces of vinyl. You see, kids, before video games, we had coloring books and Colorforms to let our imaginations run wild. To celebrate Colorforms' 60th birthday, University Games is re-releasing the original geometric shapes set and the Michael Jackson dress-up set.

Personally, I'd like the Super Friends and KISS sets.

World's First Senior Citizen LipDub

Courtesy of Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids, these seniors show us why they're "Feeling Good"!

AP EXTRA CREDIT!

Okay, there's no extra credit, but you should check out Diane Rayor's appearance tonight at Schuler Books on Alpine at 7 PM. She'll discuss her new translation of Antigone and its relevance in today's society. Buy the book at Schuler or here.

They Might Be Giants meet Chumbawumba

Courtesy of the AV Club. I challenge you not to smile during their cover of "Tubthumping." Good luck.

They Might Be Giants covers Chumbawamba

English teachers, rejoice! The Oxford Comma is still with us!

Yesterday, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over the apparent decision by the University of Oxford to eliminate the Oxford comma (the one used at the end of a series) for good. Relax, keepers of the Queen's English. It's still part of their official style guide. Why is the Oxford comma so important? Here's an explanation from NPR's Monkey See blog, where a bachelorette is making a tough choice:

Without the serial comma, she might say: "The best available men are the two tall guys, George and Pete." There, you really don't know whether George and Pete are the tall guys, or whether there are two tall guys in addition to George and Pete. You literally don't know how many men you're talking about, and while that level of confusion as to elementary facts seems like something that might actuallyhappen on The Bachelorette, it is unfortunate in other settings. If, on the other hand, you use the serial comma, then you would write that sentence only if you meant that George and Pete were the tall guys, and if you didn't, you'd say, "I met two tall guys, George, and Pete."

Today in Irony: NBC's Chris Hansen

According to the National Enquirer (hey, they were right about John Edwards), To Catch A Predator's Chris Hansen got caught cheating on his wife - on camera, no less. No word if Hansen was just "trying to talk her out of making a bad decision," or if wine coolers were involved.

Next year's Pixar flick: Brave

Took the kids to see Cars 2 today. Not the best Pixar movie ever (I'm torn between Ratatouille and TS3), but it's filled with luscious landscapes, incredible attention to detail, and enough Larry the Cable Guy to last the rest of my life. We saw plenty of trailers beforehand, including The Smurfs (oy), another Alvin and the Chipmunks (why?), and The Muppets (hooray!).

What we didn't get to see, however, was the trailer for next year's Pixar film, Brave, the first to feature a female protagonist. Here it is.

New Wilco, September 27!

The Whole Love drops in less than three months, Wilco's first CD on their own label. Listen to a taste of what's to come below.

Wilco - I Might by weallwantsome1

Springsteen's Eulogy for The Big Man

There couldn't have been a dry eye in the house for this. What a loss. What a friendship.

Why U.S. Teachers Work the Most But U.S. Students Stay Average - Business - The Atlantic Wire

Teachers work ONLY nine months a year?!? Not! Here are the numbers to prove it.

Good news: My first book blurb!

Goofy news: Bedford/St. Martin's goofed up my location. I will be letting them know about this.

Clarence Clemons suffers stroke

Prayers for the Big Man.

RIP: Jim Northrup

Detroit Tiger Jim Northrup has died at age 71. Somewhere in my archives, there's an autographed 8 x 10 of the 1968 World Series hero. A class act.

Thanks, Mainstream Media!

Lessee. . . unrest in Syria, Yemen, and Libya; five U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, the most in one attack in two years; the most powerful nation's debt is perilously close to its ceiling, yet what are we seeing in the headlines?

Palin's Revolutionary War history ineptitude, and Weiner's, well, you know. One headline on MSNBC.com reads "Why do guys take crotch shots, anyway?" Not exactly Pulitzer material.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or a school miracle

Thank you, Diane Ravitch, for pointing out one obvious problem about measuring a school's (or teacher's) performance based on test scores and graduation rates: you can always manipulate the data. About a Colorado school praised by President Obama in his State of the Union address, Ravitch notes:

True, Randolph (originally a middle school, to which a high school was added) had a high graduation rate, but its ACT scores were far below the state average, indicating that students are not well prepared for college. In its middle school, only 21 percent were proficient or advanced in math, placing Randolph in the fifth percentile in the state (meaning that 95 percent of schools performed better). Only 10 percent met the state science standards. In writing and reading, the school was in the first percentile.

So, where should we start our educational reform (besides following the Finnish model)? Simple. In our homes:

Families are children’s most important educators. Our society must invest in parental education, prenatal care and preschool. Of course, schools must improve; every one should have a stable, experienced staff, adequate resources and a balanced curriculum including the arts, foreign languages, history and science.

If every child arrived in school well-nourished, healthy and ready to learn, from a family with a stable home and a steady income, many of our educational problems would be solved. And that would be a miracle.

If you are the LEAST bit interested in the future of America's schools, read Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System. Buy a few copies for your school board. Assign it to them as summer reading.

What's working in Education: Longer classes and the Flexible Finns

The difference between a traditional
and block schedule at the Calhoun School.

While politicians who've never taught one day are determining the future of your children's education (I'm talking to you, Arne Duncan), there are some educators quietly going about the business of true reform.

In NYC, students at the private Calhoun School take classes in a block schedule. One class meets for over two hours, allowing students and teachers to cover material in greater depth:

Instead of the traditional schedule of eight 45-minute classes each day, with courses broken into two semesters, high school students at Calhoun intensively study three to five subjects in each of five terms, or modules, that are 32 to 36 days long. Classes are in blocks of 65 or 130 minutes each day. Every day, students have 45 minutes of “community time,” an intentionally unstructured period for the students to hang out.

Block schedules aren't perfect, as anyone who's taught in one can tell you. Absences - student or teacher - make catching up on missed assignments difficult, and there's also the problem of taking a boring, 50-minute class and making it less so in 130 minutes.

If we really want to reform schools, we need to look at the Finns. Finland's top priority is getting the absolute best candidates into college education programs. National testing is a thing of the past. So is mandatory college-prep after age 16 (students may transfer to an academic or vocational school then). 

In this interview on HuffPo, Finland's educational leaders are asked what makes the best public school system. Their answer:

The education system must be equitable, accessible, and flexible. Global competitiveness requires that all people develop competencies for life and work, not just some people. This means that a successful education system should help young people to discover their talents and build their lives based on them. Reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy will remain important, but their role as 'core subjects' in competitive education systems will be challenged by creativity, networking skills, and imagination.

An equitable education system makes sure that all students will perform well. It will provide early support to those who need more help in their learning than others. It will also emphasize caring and well-being in school (through healthy nutrition, medical, dental and psychological health), rights of students in school, and shared responsibilities in education and upbringing of children with parents.

Accessibility means that the education system provides good schooling for all, regardless of where people live or what they do. The education system that can offer unified and comprehensive basic education, rather than diversified provision of schooling (through private or non-public schools), will have better opportunities to respond to the changing needs of the competitive and complex world.

Yeah, that sounds about right. 

BEWARE! Education RANT ahead!

Ah, June. A time when students' thoughts turn to getting out of school for three months, and teachers contemplate how they'll recuperate. A time when certain high school staffers finally discover that some seniors have been blowing off required classes for the past twelve weeks and might not graduate. These staffers then ask the students' teachers the mind-blowing question, "Is there anything we can do to get _________ to pass?"

RIP: Gil Scott-Heron

The man wrote "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and is widely considered one of the creators of hip-hop. He died today at age 62.

The Grand Rapids Lip Dub Video

I've got to admit I was one of the skeptics of this project. Why "American Pie"? Haven't we had enough of Rob Bliss? The answer is "NO!" Wait for the view of the Bridge St. bridge, then try not to smile at the 8:30 mark.

Better late than never: High School advice from Mindy Kaling

The Office's Mindy Kaling will publish her first book - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - this fall. Here's some insightful advice on how to survive high school from an excerpt available here:

I just want ambitious teenagers to know it is totally fine to be quiet, observant kids. Besides being a delight to your parents, you will find you have plenty of time later to catch up. So many people I work with—famous actors, accomplished writers—were overlooked in high school. Be like Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy’s character in Waiting for Guffman). Sit next to the class clown and study him. Then grow up, take everything you learn, and get paid to be a real-life clown, unlike whatever unexciting thing the actual high school class clown is doing now. I think our class clown is doing marketing in Warwick, Connecticut.

For the Class of 2011: "Ithaca", by C.P. Cavafy

One of my favorite professors shared this poem with us on our final day of class. Today, I shared it with my seniors on their last day of high school. Enjoy the journey.

Coming Soon: Elvis Costello's Spectacular Spinning Songbook Tour!

Photo by Chad Batka for the NY Times

Thirty-three days until Elvis Costello and the Imposters rock the Meijer Gardens! Here's a preview of the coming attraction, courtesy the NY Times.

Happy International Geek Pride Day!

The Geeks shall inherit the Earth! Let your geek flag fly today! Why May 25, you ask?

A true geek knows: Star Wars premiered May 25, 1977.

In other Geek News, Jeopardy! has added a Facebook app. Let the time suck begin!

Florida back-to-school shopping list, 2015

Pencils? Check. Notebook? Check? Kindle or Nook?!?

Yep. Florida lawmakers approved a move to digital textbooks in four years. Schools will be able to use standard textbooks until they need replacing. How soon before Michigan's lawmakers jump on this digital bandwagon? And if they do, what kind of new digital divide will be created in schools across the state?

Note to Floridians: Buy a Kindle via this site and part of the proceeds go towards buying real books for my students. Just sayin.