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.