January 2012
53 posts
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The Greatest Books of All Time, as Voted by 125... →
“If you’re putting together a list of ‘the greatest books,’ you’ll want to do two things: (1) out of kindness, avoid anyone working on a novel; and (2) decide what the word ‘great’ means. The first part is easy, but how about the second? A short list of possible definitions of ‘greatness’ might look like this:
1. ‘Great’ means...
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TENNESSEE RESTAURANT THROWS OUT ANTI-GAY LAWMAKER →
stfuconservatives:
karmabum submitted
A restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee refused to serve state Sen. Stacey Campfield (R), the man who sponsored the state’s “don’t say gay” bill, compared homosexuality to bestiality, and most recently told Michelangelo Signorile that it’s virtually impossible to spread HIV/AIDS through heterosexual sex. “I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels...
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Early Capitol Hill Response Mixed on Obama Higher... →
creative-education:
Race To The Top produced such positive results for K-12 education that The President is proposing the same thing for Higher Ed! (sarcasm)
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What If We Treated Doctors The Way We Treat... →
What if we indeed held doctors and other professionals to the same bloat and condescension that we currently hold teachers? I can predict some of the responses that physicians might make: “We can’t control what our patients do or eat outside of our offices to maintain minimum levels of health. Also, these variables — BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure — are limited and...
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“In a world that is so worried about fitting in we many times don’t think about...”
– -B.D., one of my 8th grade students
This is an excerpt from a blog he writes on his own to frequently highlight lessons he has learned and values. In my class, we studied 1984 and The Crucible, which seems to have inspired this particular post. Stumbling upon things like this is what really makes...
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“Higher education is not a luxury. It’s an economic imperative that every family...”
– President Obama speaking in Michigan today about his plans to make college more affordable (via barackobama)
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The True Cost of High School Dropouts →
ONLY 21 states require students to attend high school until they graduate or turn 18. The proposal President Obama announced on Tuesday night in his State of the Union address — to make such attendance compulsory in every state — is a step in the right direction, but it would not go far enough to reduce a dropout rate that imposes a heavy cost on the entire economy, not just on those who fail to...
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How To Get Kids To Read? Give Them Banned Books →
“Learning, knowledge, reading … all of that tends to be frowned upon by the kids we’re trying to reach (and, sadly, by many of the adults in their lives),” writes Stanley by email. “At best, it’s ‘nerdy,’ at worst, it’s ‘selling out.’ We’re playing off a teen’s inherent sense of rebellion. The same teen who would never think to read The Great...
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Only Six Percent Of Scientists Are Republicans:... →
And creationism should be taught beside (or in place of) evolution, according to some conservative science teachers I know. Absurd.
“These results were not a complete surprise,” said Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research at Pew, in an interview with the Huffington Post. He said they can be mostly attributed to “the difference between Democratic and Republican parties with...
“The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized...”
– Fidel Castro Calls Republican Field a ‘Competition of Idiocy’ - NYTimes (via brooklynmutt)
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Are You Sick Of ‘Highly Paid’ Teachers? →
Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – babysit!
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Judge says Obama must appear in 'birther' suit →
Although it is unclear whether a court could force a sitting president to appear in a court case, Georgia Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi has denied a motion by the president’s lawyer to quash a subpoena that requires Obama to show up.
A Georgia resident made the complaint, which is intended to keep Obama’s name off the state’s ballot in the March presidential primary.
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A TEACHER STORY: WHY I’M LEAVING PUBLIC EDUCATION →
This week I let my principal know that I am looking for work outside public education. I am heartbroken and will miss my students dearly, but I realize that I can neither teach them properly nor fight for their education while trapped in silent submission.
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Tennessee Tea Party ‘Demands’ That References To... →
Finally, Tennessee moving to dispel rumors that the founding fathers had slaves. I think I’ll fill that gap in my curriculum with more things about Jesus.
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More Agreement Than Disagreement On How to Assess... →
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