Today in Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Microsoft filed an antitrust complaint against Google in Europe.

Hope springs eternal on Opening Day

For many in my profession, this spring and summer will be stressful, to say the least. Here's hoping that our beloved Detroit Tigers will touch 'em all and bring joy to Motown and beyond.

No better place to start than the way Ernie Harwell opened every Spring Training




And if that's not enough, here's Ernie's famous poem about America's Pastime.

April is National Poetry Month!

Enough ranting. Let's enjoy the beauty of poetry.



Here's one to get us started, from the Poetry 180 collection (after the jump):

Andrew Sullivan - Left, Right and Time

The prolific conservative blogger wonders what has happened to the traditional definition of conservatism:

Conservatism cannot be defined as whatever is the most extreme right-wing narrative of the moment. Time matters. Conservatism needs to be flexible enough a governing philosophy to be able to correct for conservative ideology itself. When such an ideology threatens fiscal balance, a prudent foreign policy, and a thriving middle class, it has become the enemy of real conservatism, not its friend.

Yet, as Sullivan explains, we have income tax rates that are lower than they were during the Reagan and Eisenhower administrations. Heaven forbid anyone should recommend an increase to help balance our budgets.

What is conservatism? I recommend Sullivan's The Conservative Soul to answer that question.

Michelle Rhee's Kryptonite

The former chancellor of the Washington DC schools (and key figure in Waiting for Superman), Michelle Rhee, has some explaining to do. Seems that one of her highly touted schools might be guilty of excessive erasing on standardized tests. With erasing comes a second chance at a correct answer.

A USA TODAY investigation, based on documents and data secured under D.C.'s Freedom of Information Act, found that for the past three school years most of Noyes' classrooms had extraordinarily high numbers of erasures on standardized tests. The consistent pattern was that wrong answers were erased and changed to right ones.

I can't wait for Diane Ravitch to get ahold of this. Wait! She has!
(after the jump)

Mad Men Season 5 DELAYED

We'll have to wait until 2012 for our Don Draper fix. Thankfully, the fourth season of Mad Men was released on DVD today. It'll have to do.

Happy Oberon Day!

Summer's here! Well, at least Bell's Oberon is here. Life is good.

Dark Side of the Moon Meets 8-Bit Nintendo

The entire "remix" can be found here.

The more we vote for change. . .

The more the US education policy stays the same. Diane Ravitch takes President Obama to task for embracing No Child Left Behind (a.k.a. No Teacher Left Standing or With His/Her Dignity Intact):

The Obama agenda for testing, accountability, and choice bears an uncanny resemblance to the Republican agenda of the past 30 years, but with one significant difference. Republicans have traditionally been wary of federal control of the schools. Duncan, however, relishes the opportunity to promote his policies with the financial heft of the federal government.

I'm plowing through Ravitch's The Death and Life of The Great American School System right now. It's an enlightening take on testing and school choice from someone who once embraced NCLB but has come to terms with its overwhelming failure.

Good thing I was born here!

The Daily Beast gave 1000 Americans the US Citizenship Test. 38 percent FAILED. 29 percent didn't know the name of our current vice president. Take it here, if you dare.

Operation: Blackboard Down

The Daily Show is back. And Jon Stewart offers a solution to the problem of simultaneously firing teachers and Tomahawk missiles - check the 2:55 mark:

The Daily Show
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Brevity is the soul of. . . EN 101?

John Jay College's Andy Selsberg makes a convincing argument that less is more, especially when it comes to the first semester of freshman composition:

Like many who teach, I keep thinking the perfect syllabus is a semester away — with just a few tweaks, and maybe a total pedagogical overhaul. My ideal composition class would include assignments like “Write coherent and original comments for five YouTube videos, quickly telling us why surprised kittens or unconventional wedding dances resonate with millions,” and “Write Amazon reviews, including a bit of summary, insight and analysis, for three canonical works we read this semester (points off for gratuitous modern argot and emoticons).”

Like any good teacher, I know a good idea when I see it. Consider next year's syllabus revised. 

Quote For The Day - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

While most of the US is consumed with their NCAA brackets, our military might has joined forces with Britain and France to take down Libya's Gadhafi. Andrew Sullivan is incensed; after all, did the US do anything when Iran used military force against its own people two years ago?

Now I am told that "we cannot stand idly by" as tyrants tell their people they will be given no mercy. And so one comes to terms with the fact that this administration is willing to throw out its entire strategy and principles in this period of Middle Eastern revolt - in defense of rebels about whom we know almost nothing, whose strategy is violence, not nonviolence, and whose ability to resist Qaddafi even with Western help is unknowable.

For arguably the best discussion of what's happening in Libya, click below.

Quote For The Day - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Just for fun - A Brief History of Title Design

A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.

All of our problems are now solved

So says Rep. Weiner (D) on the House floor today. . .

Who's urging the US to raise teachers' status?

Just the rest of the world. Or at least the OECD - the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Their top suggestion: “Make a concerted effort to raise the status of the teaching profession."
But where can schools make necessary budget cuts to pay the best teachers the best salaries? According to the OECD, cutting areas where the US spends disproportionately compared to other countries, namely transportation and athletic facilities. 

With allies like these. . . (caution: disturbing video)

The revolution moves to Bahrain. The people with the guns are supported by our allies. The guy protesting is unarmed.

The Greatness of Paul Giamatti

When my life story ends up on the silver screen (or straight to DVD), I want Paul Giamatti in the lead. No one plays the lovable loser better.

One way to evaluate teachers. You figure it out.

Seriously. This is part of a statistical model used to evaluate NYC teachers. Makes perfect sense.

How's your bracket?

It's time to fill out your NCAA March Madness bracket. (Just for fun. No wagering, please. This is a respectable blog.) Need help? First, don't look to my pics. For the record, I've got Duke beating Kansas in the final. Michigan State will win one before losing to Florida, and Michigan will enjoy getting back to the tournament for the first time since 1997, but will lose to Tennessee in the opening round.

A better bracket can be found at FiveThirtyEight - the folks who predicted Obama's electoral victory, right on down to the last vote. Their explanation for choosing Ohio State as likely champs can be found here, their complete bracket here.

For those whose knowledge of nuclear power is Homer Simpsonesque

A helpful primer from BoingBoing.net.

Column of the Day: Nick Kristof

Kristof suggests paying great teachers what they deserve would "attract the kind of above-average teachers our above-average children deserve." You'll get no argument here. Why pay more? According to a Stanford University study, an excellent teacher (defined here) raises a student's lifetime earnings by $20,000.  

But this isn't a call for higher salaries across the board. Teacher pay would be determined by "performance, with rigorous evaluation." As long as the evaluation isn't solely based on standardized test scores, most teachers would welcome it. 

It wasn't too long ago, write Kristof, that teachers were paid nearly as much as  - gasp - lawyers:

In 1970, in New York City, a newly minted teacher at a public school earned about $2,000 less in salary than a starting lawyer at a prominent law firm. These days the lawyer takes home, including bonus, $115,000 more than the teacher.

Imagine: teachers making $100,000 a year because the public believes in the value of education and wants the best for their children.

Words cannot express

A morbid game of Jenga created by the tsunami that destroyed so much of Japan - AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye

But photos from the past few days begin to tell a story of epic destruction and despair. The Atlantic has a collection here (warning: some disturbing pictures) and The NY Times offers a series of before/after images that are simply stunning.

The Rand Paul Analogy Academy

Rand Paul is upset that he can't get a super-toilet without government restrictions and fines. He claims he has less choice when it comes to toilets than women have - wait for it - abortions.

The honorable senator from Kentucky seems to have a case of mental constipation. Not to mention lousy indoor plumbing:

It turns out Paul was flushing away decades worth of pent up anger about not being able to own a toilet that gets 'er done in a single flush.

"We have to flush the toilet 10 times before it works," Paul said.

First Phil Collins, now Uncle Buck

Long time voice of WLAV (arguably THE voice of WLAV), Ed "Uncle Buck" Buchanan, is signing off. We'll still hear Phil on the radio, but losing Uncle Buck signals the end of an era in radio broadcasting, when the voice behind the mic was the person selecting the songs.

Want to save the schools? Read this book!

Diane Ravitch, one of our nation's most respected education historians, appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week. Her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education should be read by every administrator, every teacher, every parent, and every doggone legislator who just voted to do an end run around public employee unions in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The Daily Show - Diane Ravitch
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By the book. Read it, then share it with a friend. Borrow a copy from your local library. When you've finished, you'll know exactly why Bush's No Child Left Behind and Obama's Race to the Top are destined to fail.

First they backdoored Wisconsin unions, then they moved to. . .

MICHIGAN. The state senate just okayed expanding the power of emergency managers assigned to financially struggling school districts and cites. Bottom line: These people have the power to fire at will, void existing contracts, and do basically whatever they darn well please in the name of bring budgets under control.

Pure Michigan, indeed. Here's Rachel Maddow's take:

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

One to watch? Sure. Listen to? Not so much.

FOX News' Megyn Kelly named "Anchor to Watch" by the once-respected Broadcasting and Cable magazine.

PIG PILE! GR Press editorial piles on the educational-reform-by-people-who-aren't-educators

Today's GR Press editorial, disguised as support for the State Board of Education's higher test score standards, piles on more of the same suggestions they claim are "the only way to help students do better." (I'll get to their lame choice of "do better" later.)

Higher standards for cut scores is a no-brainer. The Press' top five ideas for reform, however, are debatable:

Among those reforms should be an expansion of charter schools, changes to laws on teacher tenure, more merit pay to reward good teachers, better teacher training, and privatization of some school services that would allow more money to go into the classroom.

Let's examine what will help our kids "do better." First, more charter schools. There is no compelling evidence that proves charter schools outperform public schools. Charter schools may provide families with a choice, but they also are not required to enroll every child who enters their school, as do public schools. Furthermore, there is no statistically-significant difference in standardized test scores between the two.

(more after the jump)

How it feels to be a public service employee

Tony Auth gets it.

God Bless Jon Stewart

After a few nasty weeks of teacher bashing, it's nice to wrap up the week with this from The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Crisis in Dairyland - For Richer and Poorer - Teachers and Wall Street
www.thedailyshow.com
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Huckabee's Latest Target: The Pregnant Black Swan

Earlier this week, FOX Newser and possible 2012 candidate Mike Huckabee claimed that President Obama grew up in Kenya. Strike one. Today, he took on the evil Natalie Portman, who's pregnant and. . . UNMARRIED!

"People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, 'we're not married but we're having these children and they're doing just fine," Huckabee told radio host Michael Medved on his show Monday. "I think it gives a distorted image. It's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of- wedlock children."

On the upside, at least he chose a real-life unmarried pregnant woman, and not Murphy Brown. 

Notes from the Monster Ball

GRap let its freak flag fly high and proudly last night as Lady Gaga brought her Monster Ball tour to our fair city. Let it be known that if you were anywhere near VanAndel Arena last night, you would never consider Grand Rapids to be a conservative city.

Lady Gaga and dancers wrap up the Monster Ball with "Born This Way" - photo by PastaWall

However, if you missed the show and had to rely on the GR Press for your Gaga review, you'd get a critique written especially for people who wanted nothing to do with Mother Monster in the first place:

(Gaga is) the same singer who commendably touts equality, decries bullying and urges fans to stay true to themselves – exclaiming in inspiring fashion, “You can be whoever it is that you want to be” – turns around just a few seconds later and declares, “I hate the truth.”

The same international superstar (winging her way to Paris after Tuesday's concert “to walk for the first time in a fashion show”) who proclaims, “I hate money,” also charges some pretty outrageous prices for tickets to her lavish shows.

"I hate the truth" was said with tongue firmly in cheek, as was "I hate money." Ticket prices may have been pricey in some areas, but they were certainly not the most expensive ever offered at VanAndel.

Gaga was everything advertised - outrageous, entertaining, offensive, provocative - and had a sold-out audience in the palm of her clawed hand. Also getting short shrift in the Press was opening act Scissor Sisters, who wound up the crowd with a lively 30-minute set, and a lead singer who wore less than Lady Gaga by the time he left the stage.

Epic Fail - Black History Month Edition

Seriously, how offensive can you get? On a side note, haven't the underprivileged suffered enough? Free tickets to a Clippers game?