Saturday, January 01, 2005
2005 - Day One
The New Year is here. Seems like a Sunday rather then Saturday. Let us hope that the news gets better then what we have now.
Watched a bit of the Rose Bowl parade this a.m. and it brought back the memories. January 1, 1967 and January 1, 1968. It is great when your school is playing in the bowl and you spend the last day of the year hanging out in Pasadena watching the floats being built. I must say we watched a few other things also. That of course was if we could keep our eyes open.
Not much in the news on the Education front. Jay Matthews of the Washington Post has an article up about AP and IB classes. Did not see much from him this year about the Teachers Union debacle or the impact of a billion dollar baseball stadium on what has been called the worst school district in the nation.
On the home education front, we are getting geared up for the formation of our District Virtual School. It is going to be difficult to implement and the stakes are going to be high. Many in our staff are still in denial. Meeting NCLB standards is a problem that is going to be taken care of by someone else. You know, they just may be right. The "old guard" educators that I know say that they have been through so many reform movements that they have lost count. It is three steps forward and then two quick steps back. The "bottom line" is that schools will not be allowed to fail. The will walk up to the abyss and look in - but they will not fail. The standards and/or rules will be changed so that failure is not widespread. Most states are doing that right now. Standards are going down in terms of state rules. Only the NCLB rules are holding firm to a point. Still a lot of pushing and shoving in the Special Education area. That will be a real tough nut to crack. The old saying from the intelligence community ( an oxymoron?) applies. "I could tell you that, but then I would have to kill you". The most secretive and clannish group ever. Talk about "tribal territories".
My thought for today is a reputed quote from Winston Churchill. "A man who is not liberal when he is young and conservative when he is old - is a man that is not to be trusted"
The cat is secure
t
Watched a bit of the Rose Bowl parade this a.m. and it brought back the memories. January 1, 1967 and January 1, 1968. It is great when your school is playing in the bowl and you spend the last day of the year hanging out in Pasadena watching the floats being built. I must say we watched a few other things also. That of course was if we could keep our eyes open.
Not much in the news on the Education front. Jay Matthews of the Washington Post has an article up about AP and IB classes. Did not see much from him this year about the Teachers Union debacle or the impact of a billion dollar baseball stadium on what has been called the worst school district in the nation.
On the home education front, we are getting geared up for the formation of our District Virtual School. It is going to be difficult to implement and the stakes are going to be high. Many in our staff are still in denial. Meeting NCLB standards is a problem that is going to be taken care of by someone else. You know, they just may be right. The "old guard" educators that I know say that they have been through so many reform movements that they have lost count. It is three steps forward and then two quick steps back. The "bottom line" is that schools will not be allowed to fail. The will walk up to the abyss and look in - but they will not fail. The standards and/or rules will be changed so that failure is not widespread. Most states are doing that right now. Standards are going down in terms of state rules. Only the NCLB rules are holding firm to a point. Still a lot of pushing and shoving in the Special Education area. That will be a real tough nut to crack. The old saying from the intelligence community ( an oxymoron?) applies. "I could tell you that, but then I would have to kill you". The most secretive and clannish group ever. Talk about "tribal territories".
My thought for today is a reputed quote from Winston Churchill. "A man who is not liberal when he is young and conservative when he is old - is a man that is not to be trusted"
The cat is secure
t
