Alabama Has Second Thoughts About Common Core

The list of states opposed to Common Core is growing.  Alabama joins South Carolina, Utah, and Colorado in having second thoughts:

Alabama has joined a growing number of states opposing the Common Core national education standards. 

Last week, the state senate adopted a resolution to “encourage the State Board of Education to take all steps it deems appropriate, including revocation of the adoption of the initiative’s standards if necessary, to retain complete control over Alabama’s academic standards, curriculum, instruction, and testing system.”

I'm still researching and reading up on the issue from both sides.  I posted some preliminary information and thoughts here.  Since then I have received several emails from educators across the nation on both sides of Common Core.

Christel Swasy, an educator and blogger in Utah, sent me a couple of detailed emails about why Common Core is wrong for Utah.  Her blog is here and you can read a lot about CCSS there.

What most concerns me right now is the over reach of the federal government into the education curriculum.  The comeback is that "CCSS is voluntary!  The feds didn't force this upon the states!"  But the states were certainly coerced into adopting the standards; no adoption, no Race to the Top grant money and no chance for waivers of NCLB.  That's some pretty serious arm twisting.  And I don't agree with that part of it.

If CCSS is so great, why the coercion?

As for the standards themselves, I'm comparing them closely with the standards currently in place in Louisiana.  For my part they just don't seem as good.  Also disturbing is the movement away from classical texts and literature in general to non-fiction and technical writing.  Now, we do a pretty good bit of non-fiction in my classes.  To a certain extent teachers can pick and choose the selections from the text.  You don't necessarily have to real ALL the fiction, or ALL the non-fiction, for example.  You follow your pacing guide, hit all your standards and benchmarks, and select a fair representation from each genre (in 10th grade, anyway).

I've always encouraged my kids to the non-fiction and they do enjoy it:  they love reading about the Holocaust (we read Night, by Weisel) and are shocked at what they learn in that unit.  We have in the past read from Into Thin Air, RMS Titanic, and we've read about the Montgomery bus boycott.

So, it's not the non-fiction that concerns me but maybe the predominance of it.

Again, I'm still studying them.

I'm concerned that CCSS is just another pedagogical fad (and an expensive one, at that) that educators have seen come and go for years.

I'll post my comparison and findings soon, but in the meantime, I encourage you to educate yourself about Common Core because unless you live in Texas, Alaska, Virginia, or Nebraska, it's in your state.

Further Reading:

Sarah Palin Was a Prophet About Obama's Education Takeover
The Road to a National Curriculum
How Well are American Students Learning?
National Curriculum Plan May Face Challenge
Conservatives Oppose National Standards
School Standards Pushback
Common Core Standards
Obama Team Hijacks Schools' Core Standards
National Cost of Aligning States and Localities to Common Core Standards
"Are You Serious?"  Yep, They Are

Will Common Education Standards Nationwide Solve America's Education Problems or Is It Another Obama Power Grab?

There is growing concern over the federalization of the nation's education systems.  Louisiana is set to implement the Common Core standards in 2014-2015 which has prompted me, as an educator, to bury myself in dozens of articles, studies, and reports on the issue.

There are two issues of concern:  the first is the intrusion of the federal government into what most agree should be a state issue.  The other issue is whether or not Common Core Standards will work at all.

Is Common Core Legal?

Start with the first issue:  is CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) treading in unconstitutional waters?  Is this initiative really a power grab and nationalization of education policy?

The initiative was developed by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  The general idea is to create a national set of educational standards so that kids in every state are all learning the same thing; if a kid moves from Florida to California he will still be studying the same material wherever he goes.  The purpose is theoretically to close achievement gaps between states.  So far, 46 states and the District of Columbia have signed on.  

The holdouts as of this writing are Texas and Alaska.  Virginia and Nebraska decided to join the initiative but not adopt the standards; Minnesota adopted the standards for English but not for math.

All of this ties in to Obama's Race to the Top which is funded by the 2009 stimulus, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The Race to the Top Fund awarded lucrative educational grants based on a point system; to get a lot of points in this system, and to earn grants, states had to adopt Common Core:

While the standards have been touted as “voluntary” by proponents, the Obama Administration’s heavy promotion of the standards—tying Race to the Top dollars to a state’s adoption of the standards, by suggesting that federal Title I money for low-income schools could be tied to their adoption, and, most recently, by making No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers contingent upon a state’s adoption of common standards—makes them anything but “voluntary.”

Quin Hillyer reports on a study by Robert Eitel and Kent Talbert (PDF):

Nonetheless, without statutory authority, the authors explain how the Obama administration has begun issuing “waivers” of expensive federal mandates, along with providing cash grants, in return for adoption of national standards. The administration then defines the national standards in such a way that only one initiative actually fits the definition – namely, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a supposedly voluntary national effort that easily morphs into a form of compulsion.

South Carolina adopted Common Core in July 2010 but Governor Nikki Haley is having second thoughts.  She is now supporting a bill to block implementation of the standards in her state:

“Just as we should not relinquish control of education to the federal government, neither should we cede it to the consensus of other states,”Mrs. Haley wrote in a letter expressing her opposition to Common Core. “I firmly believe that our government and our people should retain as much local control over programs as possible. … Our children deserve swift action and the passage of a clean resolution that will allow our state to reclaim control of and responsibility for educating South Carolinians.”

Cost estimates to implement the program are only part of the concern.  Estimates to put the program in place in Washington state, for example are around $300 million.

At Education Week, Rick Hess restates the law:

Remember, the General Education Provisions Act stipulates (in SEC. 438. ø20 U.S.C. 1232a), "No provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system, or over the selection of library resources, textbooks, or other printed or published instructional materials by any educational institution or school system." Common Core skeptics like Cato's Neal McCluskey and the Hoover Institution's Bill Evers have argued compellingly that rewarding states for adopting the Common Core and funding the consortia to develop Common Core-friendly curricula amounts to "directing" curricula and programs of instruction. 

Also addressing the legality of CCSSI, in a February 2012 report (PDF),  authors Eitel and Talbert conclude:

Unfortunately, in three short years, the present Administration has placed the nation on the road to a national curriculum...The Department has simply paid others to do that which it is forbidden to do. This tactic should not inoculate the Department against the curriculum prohibitions imposed by Congress.

Will Common Core Work?

Well, legal or not, CCSSI is here and ready to roll.  So is it going to be effective?  Will it help raise the nation's education levels?  Will American students be smarter and better off?

Many say no, and not just conservatives. The left-leaning Brookings Institute published a report by Tom Loveless which forsees "little to no impact on student learning."

The state of Massachusetts has taken a step backward by adopting Common Core:

Massachusetts watered down its current standards by adopting the Common Core, and students across the country will be affected by what some content matter experts have decried as the low quality of the standards . For example, Ze’ev Wurman, a former official in the U.S. Department of Education, also notes that the standards don’t expect Algebra I to be taught in eighth grade “reversing the most significant change in mathematics education in America in the last decade.” 

One of the conclusions reached by the Brookings Study is that common standards will only affect variation between states but not necessarily raise scores.  Within each state there are wide disparities and gaps in student assessment - within a single city, even.  Why is that, given that each state uses a unified curriculum throughout the state?  If common standards were the answer, wouldn't every child in any given state achieve at the same level?

Molly Bloom is equally skeptical:

But the Common Core won’t fix everything that’s “wrong” with American schools. 

The Common Core is just a set of expectations about what students should learn and be able to do. That’s it. 

It doesn’t include new state funding for schools. It doesn’t include better training for teachers. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a Kentucky high school graduate will be at the same level as an Ohio graduate. And it doesn’t come with wrap-around social services for students and families.

I've compared the current Louisiana standards and they seem, to my eye, much better and more specific than the Common Core standards for the same grade.  Common Core leans more toward technical and non-fiction writing and less to the literature side but as far as specific goals and objectives the Louisiana standards seem much more clear to me.  And as mentioned above, states like Massachusetts which already have excellent standards are adopting standards with CC that are inferior to the ones currently in place.

In this election year it is sure to be an issue that will come up, especially if governors like Nikki Haley begin pushing back on the plan or withdrawing from the initiative.

Conclusions:

It's clear that education in America needs improvement but for my buck, I say leave it at the state level as it was intended (and is legally directed).  Federal interference in local education has seldom worked (see No Child Left Behind) and has created more problems than solutions.  What is needed are good, motivated, well trained teachers and adequate resources.

What good are Common Core State Standards when a kid is in a crumbling school with little technology and an out of date library or other resources?  (No, I'm not referring to my school - there are plenty of inner city schools across America that lack proper resources).

Governors across the country should revisit the idea of CCSS.  Both Texas and Alaska have resisted Common Core:

On May 31, 2009, then-Gov. Palin announced Alaska would adopt a "watch and wait" attitude: 

"If this initiative produces useful results, Alaska will remain free to incorporate them," Gov. Palin said, adding that "high expectations are not always created by new, mandated federal standards written on paper. They are created in the home, the community and the classroom." 

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, to his credit, was the next to recognize a federal boondoggle when he saw one: "I will not commit Texas taxpayers to unfunded federal obligations or to the adoption of unproven, cost-prohibitive national standards and tests," Gov. Perry wrote in a Jan. 13, 2010, letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Other states should do the same.

Further reading:
Sarah Palin Was a Prophet About Obama's Education Takeover
The Road to a National Curriculum
How Well are American Students Learning?
National Curriculum Plan May Face Challenge
Conservatives Oppose National Standards
School Standards Pushback

A Long, Hot ABO Summer

My internet has been out for 24 hours, but we're back online now.

Naturally, while it was out about twelve things came up I wanted to blog about.  No time to get into them right now but if you don't do anything else today, be sure to read this post by Doug Ross.

I have a feeling it's going to be a very hot summer in more ways than one.  This election is going to be critical to our nation.  I frankly don't give a damn right now WHO is running against Obama, I just want Obama to lose.  His policies are destroying this country and since the mainstream media refuses to expose him I plan to do my dead level best to expose every single egregious policy he puts in place.  Doug Ross has a pretty good start at it but there are even more.

To that end, I'm involved in a research project right now and will post something on that soon.

In the mean time, anybody but Obama in 2012.

Giddy Graduates and Testing Trauma

The end of the school year is upon us.  We have about two more weeks until we call this one a wrap. 

I spent most of the day administering the EOC test (End of Course) which counts as part of the exit exam for students as well as their final exam in my course.  I've been giving the EOC for several years now and everything has run flawlessly.  Given that, someone in the State Dept. of Ed. decided that things needed to change because nothing is supposed to be easy, apparently.

It used to work like this:  on the assigned days I take my classes to the computer lab, give them their log-in information, and administer the test.  Simple.

Now it works like this:  on the assigned days I take my classes to the computer lab.  I seat them alphabetically.  I give each student a baggie and a post-it note.  Each student is supposed to put their cell phone in the bag and write their name on the post-it note which they also place in the bag.  If they don't have a phone, they write "No Phone" and their name on the post-it note.  I put all the baggies/phones in a plastic tub which are then secured somewhere in the building.  Then I give each student their log-in information and this is the part that gets me: I leave the room and go across campus to administer the test to another teacher's class.

Apparently this is all to alleviate cheating.  I understand the cell phone thing (sort of), but as a professional educator I find it a bit insulting that someone thinks I would cheat or unfairly assist my students to the point where I am not allowed in the room while my students are testing. 

At the end of the test, I retrieved the phones, bolted back down to the testing room, and returned them to the students. 

And we do it all over again tomorrow.

Needless to say, I got plenty of exercise running all over campus today.   

On another note, today was the last day for seniors.  I spent a brief part of my planning period helping distribute caps & gowns to the graduates.  I enjoy doing that; I had these kids two years ago and it's always gratifying to see them grow and progress through their high school career.  There were smiles, tears, and full blown giddiness.  Half of them couldn't even remember their last name to get in the proper line to get their gowns!

When we finished I returned to my room to finish grading research papers.  One of the senior boys came in to thank me for my support through the years and we visited for a few minutes.  I asked him what his plans are and he sat on a desk with a heavy sigh, clutching his graduation gown to his chest.  "I just don't know...," he said.  "It's kind of scary.  What's out there for me?  What am I going to do now?"  Oh, he has plenty of plans and will be plenty busy, but the whole idea of leaving this comfort zone we've created had him a little rattled.

I saw a couple more of the seniors before my break ended: one wanted me to sign her yearbook and another just came in to visit for a minute and to be sure I would be at graduation.

The halls will be much quieter without some 160 seniors tomorrow.  I expect many of them will be sleeping late!  And the current juniors will all be celebrating because they think they are now seniors (never mind that they haven't officially passed their current courses!)

Meanwhile, I'll be stuffing cellphones in baggies and finishing up the EOC test.  After that, we're back to killing Julius Caesar.

And so it goes.

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

The little town of Minden,, Louisiana never lets an opportunity for a good festival go by unnoticed so today the first annual Cinco de Mayo festival was held in historic downtown Minden.

Minden is already home to seven (I think) festivals including the Fasching celebration, the Scottish Tartan Festival, a Mardi Gras parade, a Christmas festival, and a Spring Arts Festival.  

The festival also coincided with the Grand Opening and ribbon cutting of Habacu's Mexican Restaurant on Main Street.  The Minden Press Herald had the full write up of events; we left before the salsa dancers started and Habacu's had a third band coming in after the two we heard.

Several local dignitaries were in attendance for the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony including State Representative Gene Reynolds and Jerri Ray de Pingre from the Minden Chamber of Commerce.

At 1:30 the crowd gathered in front of Habacu's for the ribbon cutting:

Habacu's is located at 507 Main and offers a full Mexican menu.  Steve and I have tried it a couple of times and have not been disappointed and the prices are right.  Tonight I had carne asada and Steve had a beef fajita salad.  I had a Dos Equis on draft and our total bill was just over twenty bucks.

Steve and I arrived around 12:30 or so and the vendors were already set up selling everything from antiques to baked goods.

There were two face painting booths for the kids and a dunking booth.  There was also a huge Spiderman bounce house for the kids.

The Vintage Car Club had cars on display:

And food vendors had goodies for snacking; Steve had one of these bacon wrapped jalapenos while I settled for some tamales:

The Dorcheat Bottom Band had the house rocking at Habacu's.  Milly Rose introduced the band to get things kicked off and then warmed up the dance floor:



Later in the afternoon the kids gathered to take a swing at a huge candy filled pinata:

It took several tries but eventually the candy flowed:

And another pinata stood waiting in the wings:

This little fella was helping Milly Rose with her baskets:

Habacu's stayed packed all day and into the evening when we finally left, exhausted!

Habacu walked through the restaurant randomly plopping sombreros on heads, handing out maracas to the kids and t-shirts to the adults.

Mily Rose sported a nifty mustache:

At the end of the day we climbed into the Jeep, sombreros and all, and headed for home.

Minden is a little town with a big heart and they know how to do festivals.  The first Cinco de Mayo festival garnered a respectable crowd and offered good family fun for kids and adults.  Food, shopping, music, and fun was all there today.

Good times!

Related - More from the Take a Trip Series:

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation

Stephen King's Juvenile, Profanity Laced Op Ed Misses the Point

Stephen King has stepped off the rails and is now an economist.  In a juvenile, profanity laden, editorial for The Daily Beast, King demands that the rich, himself included, be compelled to pay more taxes.  Mr. King spends as much time insulting Chris Christie in the piece (fat jokes are pretty juvenile if you ask me) as he does advocating higher taxes for the rich.

Blasting Mitt Romney for refusing to apologize for being rich, King writes:

 I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Governor Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion. That’s called stepping up and not whining about it. That’s called patriotism, a word the Tea Partiers love to throw around as long as it doesn’t cost their beloved rich folks any money.

King, and other liberals like him, fail to ever recognize or acknowledge that what we have is a spending problem.  Let's address that little problem before we start hammering the top ten percent for more dough.  


Revisit this article from the Wall Street Journal a year ago which points out that the top one percent pay 38% of the taxes in this country.  Nearly half of the American population pay no income taxes whatsoever.  You want to talk about paying your "fair share"?  What's "fair" about that?


King points out that the uber-wealthy voluntarily donate millions each year (himself included) but fails to address the issue of Apple shaving billions off their tax bill by taking advantage of legal loopholes and funneling their dough overseas.  Their tax bill is about 9.8%.  Not bad.  Paying their "fair share," are they, Mr. King?  


In truth, if the rich were taxed at 100% they wouldn't be able to cover the grand entitlements expansion that Obama has saddled us and the next generation with, and that is, as the Wall Street Journal points out, BEFORE Obamacare kicks. in. 


It seems to me that King's (and others like him) criticism is misguided. Instead of taxing the rich even more we should expand the tax base - create more tax payers. Get more people paying into the system. Creating jobs would create more tax payers. 


 One of the biggest problems with the Obama administration is that it kills jobs. Do we need a list? Start with the Keystone pipeline. Energy crushing EPA regulations have shut down coal fired power plants and cost jobs. The Gulf moratorium cost countless jobs and not just in the drilling sector but on land too in all those businesses that cater to and support the drilling industry. Need I go on? 


 It doesn't take a rocket scientist (oh and we killed those jobs too at NASA) to figure out that businesses aren't hiring because of the crushing Obamacare mandates coming down the pike. If you keep an employee at part-time you won't have to pay for his hip replacement later. 


 When did it become a crime to be rich in America, anyway? Instead of falling into Obama's class warfare rhetoric,  Mr. King should stick to his writing career. Then he can make more money and pay more taxes. 


 (Graphic from Heritage) 


 (H/T: Memeorandum)

Grab a Beer and Muse With Me A Minute on the State of Blogging

Don Surber quit his blog this week.  After seven years of blogging, he's done.  "Exhausted."  Oh, he's still writing at the Charleston Daily Mail and he's posting on Facebook but he's done with the blog.

Andy quit his blog, too.  (Again).   He's still around, commenting and posting on Facebook, but blogging?  Done.

I've only been blogging since August 2008.  When I began this blog it was not political.  I started it because it looked like fun.  When I first started posting (dumb) stuff about iced tea and my dog's aversion to rain I was thrilled if I got 30 hits a day.  Most of those were probably accidental finds via Google.  My expectations were low.

I was drawn into political blogging because of the election.  "Somehow," I thought, "I have to be able to make a difference!"  I could not believe that so many people were bedazzled by Barack Obama's "hip" and "cool" campaign.  I was terrified he might really get elected.  So I started political blogging to try to make a difference.

He won anyway.

I'm doing all this "navel gazing" because another election is upon us.  While trying not to obsess too much about stats and blog hits, if you're writing to educate and inform (no matter the subject) then ideally you want someone to read your work.

A few years ago, in an attempt to get my audience up I tried Stacy McCain's legendary "How to Get a Million Hits...".  I even tried Rule 5 (something akin to putting sexy pictures of celebrities on the blog) but I abandoned that technique.  I got tired of going to other blogs and finding near naked pictures of anorexic swimsuit models or porn actresses sprawled across the page.

Some of Stacy's techniques worked, sort of.  I got linked by Michelle Malkin a couple of times because of Rule 2 though I am uncomfortable "pimping" my blog and blast mailing posts out to people.  I was Instalanched a couple of times though.  Ann Coulter linked me once.  Sometimes the comments were rolling in as fast as I could push them through.  Now I'm doing good to get six or eight on a post.  I like the feedback and the discussion.

Oddly, the posts I've worked the hardest on, did the most research for, and am most proud of, got the fewest hits or comments.  I've never understood those blogs that just post snips from news stories or other blogs and just write a snarky word or two as commentary survive, but they do.  In fact, they get a lot more hits than I ever did.   You've read them: there's often a picture and a big block quote from some other source.  Little to no analysis.  I guess that's a different niche.

Even still, though, after almost four years of blogging, I still haven't hit 300,000 hits.  So much for "a million hits in less than a year."

Through the years I've come across some really great bloggers.  Stacy McCain is one of those, but he's also a professional writer.  (He's not so great at thank you notes though: the last two times I've hit his tip jar I never got a thank you in return and you know how those of us in the South feel about thank you notes. )

I've come across some really nice people and some really wise people in the blogosphere.  I've made some real blog-friends who link diligently in return.  There are lots of good people doing this.

But some of the great bloggers I've "met" have quit.  Like Don Surber.  And while Andy didn't do much political blogging, he was still a great blogger because he was fun to read.  He brought a smile to my day.  I'd read one of Andy's posts or watch one of his infamous v-logs and laugh out loud.  "He's just not right; he's not all there!" I'd say with great fondness.  I miss his voice in the blogosphere.

Some have quit and come back.  No Sheeples Here was one of my favorite blogs.  For various reasons, she quit the blog; not quit quit but took the whole damn thing down.  Gone.  Like it never existed.  (There's another blog called No Sheeples Here now, but it's not the same one.)  All those great PhotoShop pieces and content just gone.

But she came back.  Under a new name:  Political Clown Parade.  Fortunately we can still hear the Curmudgeon's voice and see her great PhotoShop work.  I'm glad she came back.

Jules Crittenden didn't come back - as far as I know.  Lucky for us he left his content in place though.  He has some great reading lists and did some beautiful military themed posts.  But still, it's another voice quieted.

Another favorite blog, Caught Him With a Corndog, has been sporadic.  Red has been a faithful reader and commenter on conservative blogs and generous in her tip jar giving. (I hope I always wrote you a thank you note, Red).  But she got busy with real life, a move, school, and blogging got difficult.

Critical Narrative, Yukio Ngaby's blog, has more or less gone dark.  Yukio was a diligent commenter here and I could always count on him to beat back the trolls with wise and informed comments.  But, as is prone to happen, real life took precedence over the blog and Yukio is silent.

Don't misunderstand - there are lots of great blogs out there and new ones pop up all the time (or if not new, then new to me).

I've given lots of thought lately to this blog.  I noticed that when I quit blogging mostly about politics then the hits got low.  That makes sense: the bulk of my regular readers came for political commentary, not for pictures of depression glass.  But I like writing about a variety of things so that's what I'll continue to do.  I get down in the dumps about my lack of traffic sometimes and think about quitting the thing.  Surber is right:  blogging is hard work if you do it right.  It's exhausting to keep it going and discouraging when you think nobody is listening.

Summer is three weeks away for me.  I blog a lot more during the summer and with the campaign season intensifying I expect my political posting will increase too.  And probably my stats.  At any rate, the adage is that you're supposed to blog because you love it, not for the money or the hits.  As far as money goes, I've never cashed one Amazon Associates check or Google AdSense check in four years so this will never replace my day job.

I'm really sorry to see Don Surber go.  And while I'll probably still flirt with the idea of pulling the plug here one day I don't really think I can do it.  At least, not yet.  As long as there are such serious issues confronting this country and as long as the mainstream media continues to report from a bias, I don't think I can be quiet.  I may only reach thirty people a day, but that's thirty people.  Don Surber had a much bigger audience and his voice will be missed.

Meanwhile, at SIGIS, I'll keep plugging away.  I'm rested and ready for the presidential campaign ahead.  As far as the Sunday quiz earlier, I appreciate the feedback and the input.  It lets me know what you want to see.

As Andy would say, "I love y'all.  I mean it."

Update:
Thanks Stacy, for the link.
Thank you, Professor Jacobson, for the link; you're steady as a rock.  That "quick, newsy" thing?  So sorry.
Fishersville Mike is hanging on, too.  Thanks for your comments!

Assignment Sunday: Blog Quiz

An unscientific poll for you this afternoon:

Why do you read blogs?

No, I really want to know.  What are you looking for when you read a blog?  News?  Analysis?  Enjoyment?  Information?  Research?

Think about the blogs you read.  Do you read political blogs and special interest blogs?  Do you expect your political blogs to cover only politics (or whatever the special interest is)?  If a blog is primarily a "mommy blog" for example, do you skip the articles that cover the latest local election?

Do you comment when you read blogs?

Do you avoid really long posts or do you skim them?  Do you click on the links?

Or do you prefer quick, headline type links without analysis?

Speaking of analysis...are many blogs just echo chambers of each other?

How do you find the blogs you read?  How often do you check them?

Do you prefer pictures or not?  Does it depend on the post?

Do you use a reader, like Google reader?

Go with me on this.  I have a point.

Discuss.  All thirty of you that are still here, that is.

The Spring Crud Can't Keep Me From a Good Estate Sale!

I've spent the week fighting off the spring crud and am just beginning to emerge out from under wads of Kleenix, aspirin bottles and nose drops.  I got up off the couch this weekend and hit two nearby estate sales.  My biggest prize turns out to be this 8-3/8" berry bowl in my favorite depression glass pattern:  No. 610 Pyramid by Indiana Glass.  This pattern was made from 1926-1932 and came in green, pink, yellow and crystal originally.   I love the art deco lines of the pattern; when Steve and I were in Jefferson, TX last October I found this 9-1/2" oval bowl that I had to have.  The green is my favorite though I like the pink, too.

Anyway, I was walking through a crowded estate sale and the house was filled with stuff.  It was a lot to take in.  I picked up a couple of little things and as I walked through the kitchen I saw the green bowl jammed in the back of a pantry with a $9.00 sticker on it.  It's in beautiful shape and I was thrilled.  I clutched it close to me as I made a beeline to the table to pay up and leave.  I just never see this pattern anywhere except on eBay or in an occasional antique mall.  To find one at an estate sale at such a great price was fun.  A real treasure!

At another sale I picked up this Fostoria American pitcher.  It's squat and stocky (and heavy!) and I like it.  I like this pattern, too; my grandmother left me some pieces which is how I got into semi-collecting this pattern.  There are lots and lots of pieces to this pattern and you'd have to live in a warehouse to collect it all.  I pick up the odd piece here and there.  I got this pitcher today and the salt and pepper shakers.  I gave long thought to a relish dish that was there and to a oil and vinegar cruet set on a tray but left them behind.

At that same sale I also picked up two books - one is an 1895 edition of the complete works of John Keats; I, of course, have several old volumes of Keats and some modern printings, but I liked this old one.  It's got a plate with his portrait in front.

I also picked up a 1958 edition (hardback) of Gilbert Highet's The Art of Teaching which is apparently considered a classic.  It's filled with such gems as "The teacher's chief difficulty is poverty."  And on the subject of "tough schools" and the challenges of the unmotivated, he writes:

"A woman teacher in such a situation has a far harder time than a man...it is worse than useless to post a woman to such tough schools.  One of the essential reforms which should be made is to staff them all with men.  Girls will respect a man, and the boys will at any rate not despise him."

I can't wait to read this book and see what other bits of advice I've missed out on all these years.  I'm not being wholly sarcastic: the book is reputed to be filled with good common sense.  I'll add it to my summer reading.

Other than that, it's a lazy Saturday at chez SIGIS while I crawl back onto the couch to continue my recovery.  My neighbors are industriously working in their front flower beds and I feel like a sloth, but I've got to get this crud behind me.  Summer is coming!

Loose Thoughts and Roosters

I'm getting sick.  I'm so disappointed.  I wasn't going to mention it for fear of breaking the good luck string, but I missed out on getting the "fall crud" this past fall and up until now I thought I would skate on the "spring crud" too.  I was getting worried that my ENT guy might forget about me.  I guess I'll be visiting him soon.  Meh.

I've been in a funk this week after a local election this week for the schools.  For you non-locals, there were 3 issues on the ballot.  One of the three passed.  The one that passed is designated for building new schools and upgrading existing structures.  My school will benefit from this as every time someone on the first floor turns on their electric heater all the fuses blow and the custodian has to change it out and restore power.  We're long overdue for an electrical upgrade, especially to accommodate all the technology that  is now running through this very old building.  So that was good.

What didn't pass was the five percent teacher pay raise (we haven't had one in seven years; I'm bringing home less now than I did just three years ago) or the technology upgrade.

I'm not going to get into my emotions on all that right now; I'm toying with a post on it but I'm not ready to go there yet.  I'll just say that though there were a lot of people in support of the teachers, there were plenty of nasty comments made that really disheartened me.  One person left a comment on a local news article that suggested teachers should "just eat less and not drive such fancy cars."  He said every teacher he knows is driving a Lexus or some other expensive car.  I'm not even going to go there.  There's an idiot in every crowd.

But, I've been disheartened and discouraged.  Governor Jindal is coming after us with everything he's got and now the local voters have smacked us.  Teacher morale is low low low.  But,  HEY I'm about to get  THE WHOLE SUMMER OFF.  Not.  Anyone who believes that malarky is in need of counseling.

But, what has made me feel better this week is my kids.  I just love my students.  That's another post in itself, too.  But I've had great kids and that's what keeps me going to work every day.  One of my former students took the picture above today outside at lunch of me and her stuffed rooster (kidnapped from the art teacher) Pancho.  I'm not sure if his name is Pancho, but that's what I called him.  We have great kids at my school.  Love!

Elsewhere on the web:

Stacy McCain is following the trail of Trayvon Martin related attacks.  What the hell is wrong with people?  My god.

A Cop's Watch is also on the trail.

Ed Driscoll has an alarming wrap-up on the whole thing.

However, Adrienne has the most compelling story I've seen today in defense of the Second Amendment.

Is the secret to a great presidential legacy all in one's alcohol intake?  Pirate's Cove reports.

In the spirit of Holocaust Remembrance Day, let me again point you to my friend Nico Van Thyn's blog; he is the son of two Holocaust survivors and has been telling their story.  I had the privilege of meeting his parents several times and am glad Nico is recording their history.  Please read.

I'm off to take some cold meds, some allergy meds, and some more vitamins just to cover all my bases.

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Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at Barksdale Air Force Base

We have survived the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at Barksdale Air Force Base.  

The day started out overcast and hung over from last night's soaking rain but by 11:30 this morning the skies were clear blue and we had a breezy, crisp day with temps that never broke 70 (I don't think).

Barksdale has been doing this air show thing for so long now they have got it down to a science.  They do a great job getting the masses of people on and off base and corralled into the areas where they ought to be - and NO WHERE ELSE.

We arrived around noon and it wasn't long before we met up with friends:

That's my buddy Rose in the driver's seat.  I taught one of her sons several years ago; she has two wonderful boys who are serving their country right now and she's very proud of them both.  Rightly so.

We also met up with our friend Joy (left) who is our regular "bar guard" and good friend who keeps everyone at Hangar 2 in line:

Joy has a heart of gold and I know that's a cliche, but she really does.  She takes care of her "GI"'s and would do anything in the world for you.

After we got our beer and hot dogs it was time to walk around and look at planes.  Well, not planes yet; we started with vintage Jeeps:

This is a far cry from my Jeep:

...but I'm rather partial to that machine gun.  Road rage would have no limits.

There was a fly-by demo with a bomb drop simulation.  I missed the great fire shot but I managed to get the smoke:

That one included lots of loud booming noises.

This is the B-25 "Mitchell" named "The Yellow Rose":

I'm developing an affinity for airplane nose art.  With all the vintage planes we've seen over the years, I'm developing quite a collection of nose art photos:

We got to look inside the belly of a B52 at the landing gear; I can't imagine how those guys keep all these wires and cables straight.  Amazing:

Meanwhile, the Black Diamond Jet Team was performing.  For better pictures of all that you have to go to the professionals.  The Shreveport Times has two great photo galleries here and here.

I love the B52.  You just can't get the scope of this plane in a photograph - it's just huge.  HUGE:

More Black Diamond:

Back to nose art, here's an AC47, "Spooky":

Here's the nose art:

And look what's waiting to take off:

Is that not beautiful?!  And look at this:

The B52s!  RAWR!  Lined up in a row.  Love it.

For a few dollars you could get your picture taken in (part) of an A7 Corsair II and guess who had a few dollars?

Boys will be boys.  The nose art was cool:

Here's a mean looking chopper:

Another of my favorite planes is the F4, mostly because it makes GREAT jet noise.  This is a lame clip but I just love jet noise:



I saw several signs like this...:

...but really, I love jet noise.  The louder the better.

One of the best parts of the day, to me, was the Heritage Flight.  The F4 and the P47 joined up and did a flyby together: the old and the new.  My dad flew P47s and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have real lump in my throat and a tear behind my sunglasses when those two planes came by.  I couldn't talk for a minute or two.  I totally felt my dad's presence there.  He would have loved it.



The P47:

Well, then The Thunderbirds were up and I quit taking pictures.  I got one, but then I just had my eyes in the sky.

It was a glorious day and a huge kudos to Barksdale AFB for the great job they do every year in putting this  together.  There was a huge crowd there today but everyone got in and out without any major problems.

One day I'm going to go out there and just do a post on Air Show Fashion.  I will never figure out why someone would wear spandex pants and spike heels to walk two miles down a flight line.  But I saw 'em.  I saw a girl in a short dress and 3" wedge heels, too.  Go figure.  Mummus, tank tops, blue jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and puffy jackets.  I saw it all today.

But, the highlight was the airplanes and if you missed the show today, they'll do it all over again tomorrow!

Going Dark

I'm going offline for the night; I'm just ... bleh.

Doldrums.

I'm burdened with family issues right now and feeling spread too thin.  It's the end of a long week at school, too.  I've been busy on a project with my kids this week that involved giving every single student individual personal and detailed feedback on EOC practice essays (the current standardized test mandated by the State). Now I'm doing the same thing in grading research papers.  My mind is blown.

We're starting Antigone next week and then Julius Caesar.

And yet my governor thinks I'm not doing enough.  Teacher morale is low, low, low right now in Louisiana.

This op-ed in the New York Times resonated with me:

Better yet, we should abandon altogether the multiple-choice tests, which are in vogue not because they are an effective tool for judging teachers or students but because they are an efficient means of producing data. Instead, we should move toward extensive written exams, in which students could grapple with literary passages and books they have read in class, along with assessments of students’ reports and projects from throughout the year. This kind of system would be less objective and probably more time-consuming for administrators, but it would also free teachers from endless test preparation and let students focus on real learning.

Amen, buddy.

But you see, here in Louisiana we now HAVE to teach the test because 50% of our annual evaluation depends on how these kids do on that test.  And if my evaluation isn't ship-shape then I'm in a whole new world of trouble.

I don't want to get on a Jindal-hates-teachers rant right now, but it's bubbling to the surface.  I'm angry.  See Elliott Stonecipher, until I can get my thoughts to gel on that into some coherent post that won't get me fired:

...what Gov. Jindal’s 23-day public education blitzkrieg has been done to so many, many lives is a wrong thing for which there could never be a right time. 

 Yes, and remember, while this "education blitzkrieg" gets underway, we're also moving to a new, untested curriculum standard.  Madeline Cole had a good op-ed in The Shreveport Times this week:

In addition to unfair evaluation standards, our new curriculum should be taken into consideration. Over the next several years, starting this year with pre-k, Louisiana is moving to the Common Core Curriculum. In non-teacher terms, everything your children will be taught is changing to a much more rigorous program that is meant to prepare children for the real world from the time they enter the classroom. I am excited to see this in place. My problem is this: This new curriculum is new to everyone involved. Children, teachers, administration, test makers, law makers. I think it is very unfair that in the same years we have to learn a new way to teach your children we also are getting heavily evaluated. I think there should be some "get to know the program" time.

Oh I know..."good teachers" don't have anything to worry about.  So say the lawmakers who have never been in a classroom.

See.  I'm in a funk tonight.  I'm going to read my new Rick Bragg book on my Android tablet and listen to the slow, soaking rain that is falling.  Tomorrow, the Defenders of Liberty Air Show at Barksdale.  Sunny skies are predicted.

And hey, if you haven't yet...go on over and chip in a few bucks to Joseph the dog.  That dog is a survivor and I'm really pulling for him.

Joseph the Dog

Via The Dead Pelican, this one touched my heart:

A dog's journey to recover from a terrible case of neglect has captured the hearts of people across Baton Rouge. 

Joseph, a mixed-breed dog, was found roaming the streets on Plank Road back at the beginning of MarchApril. His condition was beyond emaciated. To many, it was a wonder that he even survived. 

“We were shocked that he could even stand,” Jessica Card, Director for YELP, recalled. “He weighed in at 22 pounds when he was found. He should have weighed probably between 45-55 pounds.”

Read the whole thing.  There's video at the link, too.

When I got through crying, I went to the YELP site and made a donation for Joseph.  Then I signed up for a small monthly donation for YELP's other animal rescue efforts.

Please consider doing the same.

There's a Facebook page for Joseph here where you can follow his progress.  He already looks better than he did in this picture.