“We just stopped teaching”
by David Safier I asked a teacher friend how his school was handling the budget cuts. "Oh," he said, "we just stopped teaching. We know there'll be cuts down the line, so we don't want any of our kids to be smart enough to take our jobs." I was going to respond with a witty … Read more
President Obama wants AIG bonuses rescinded
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Over the weekend it was disclosed that AIG, a company which is now on its third TARP bailout to rescue it from its bad bets on toxic debts, paid out $450 million in bonuses to its executives on Friday – presumably using the TARP bailout funds, and presumably because their executives had … Read more
Dr. Word aks: How gud kn yu rede?
by David Safier This is more for fun than anything (or an English teacher's idea of fun, anyway), but it's a semi-interesting comment on the phonics/whole language debate. Do we read syllable by syllable, as phonics people say, or do we use lots of contextual clues to scope out the words we're reading, as whole … Read more
Dr. Word says: Thanks for the Snark, Tom
by David Safier I use the term "snark" often, and without thinking. But over at R-Cubed, someone asked Tedski what he meant by the term "snark," since most definitions head back to Lewis Carroll's "Hunting of the Snark," and that doesn't make much sense in its modern usage. Tedski's brother (Tomski? That just doesn't work, … Read more
Obama’s education agenda
by David Safier Here's a good thumbnail sketch of Obama's education agenda from the Center for American Progress. CAP is a progressive think tank,but this isn't a political analysis. It's more of a description. And you'll see that you can't typify Obama's plans for education as either liberal or conservative. The ideas swing both ways. … Read more
Bob Gilby files for LD-27
by David Safier Bob Gilby has filed all his candidate papers and is ready to run for one of two open State Rep slots in LD-27. He tells me he's running clean. He raised his $3,500 Clean Elections seed money in 24 days, with an average donation of $50. (Full Disclosure: I was one of … Read more
Korea is not the U.S.
by David Safier Friend of the blog Matthew Ladner wrote what he calls "a wonky tease" in one of his recent Goldwater Institute email blasts. He's announcing a new study G.I. is releasing soon, New Millennium Schools. I want to answer his wonky tease with a wonky preemptive response. The thrust of Ladner's email is … Read more
