Sandwich Party III is now open
Subtitle: Simon is an overachiever.
The Sandwich Party is this weekend. If you are new to this site or planet, information can be found here. Photos here. Meanwhile, Sandwich Party co-host Elsa is off having a life this weekend. THE NERVE.
Don’t forget the official Sandwich Party image.
My sandwich will be as much a surprise to me as to you. Stay tuned.
Institutional inertia
Wow. I love this even though it depresses me. I saw this behavior at the Agency when I was there almost a decade ago.
Truth
“Because, quite frankly, the vast majority of people on this planet would be far happier if, for the remainder of his presidency, Obama only makes public appearances encased within a gigantic iron-and-concrete ball, addressing crowds via a Wi-Fi link to a nearby tannoy.”
[via]
Is this thing on?
I’m just checking that folks can see this page since I had some DNS issues yesterday. If you can see it, that’s thanks to Erik.
Transcript of Bill O’Reilly interview on NPR this morning
Renee Montagne: So, you’ve written a book…
Bill O’Reilly: I’M CONTROVERSIAL. AND WORKING CLASS.
Renee Montange: And…
Bill O’Reilly: KIDS ARE CODDLED TODAY.
Renee Montagne: So you…
Bill O’Reilly: NOW I WILL COMPARE MYSELF TO JESUS.
Renee Montagne: Uh, what?
Temporary cessation
I won’t be able to listen to this because I’ll be in a meeting, but it is probably just as well since I imagine my reaction won’t be particularly SFW:
“Recess used to mean thirty minutes of unrestricted playtime. But now, some local schools are turning to nonprofits to help structure recess periods with organized games and sports. We explore ‘recess management,’ including whether structured recess helps kids lead healthier lifestyles and achieve the schools’ recess goals.” [via updated]
Recess goals?
Since I don’t know what will actually be said, I can only speculate and hope for the best. Here’s what I do know:
If this is an attempt to add rigor to a much needed break from rigor, then the educational system is demonstrating once again that it has well and truly lost its damn mind. Based on a staggering body of evidence, the thinking about education seems to be that more of the same stuff that isn’t working will somehow magically transmogrify itself into something that does work.
The other insidious aspect of this is a peculiar hovering cloud of anxiety that if children have any fun at all at school, then they might not be learning or might not want to learn. I don’t know who decided that learning shouldn’t be fun but that idea has certainly taken hold. And maybe worse than trying to strip away any fun is the desire to structure and manage it.
Kids know how to have fun and entertain themselves. This inevitably involves learning because kids are natural scholars. They want to understand things. They also want and need to run around like maniacs for at least 30 minutes a day…or dig holes or clamber around on the jungle gym or whatever.
Leave them alone.
“I think they wish they would have put their talents into studying.”
Really? I kind of doubt they are thinking that.
“A teenager faces felony charges and could spend decades in prison over allegations that he repeatedly broke into an acclaimed Orange County high school, hacked into computers to change his grades and stole tests — all in hopes of improving his college admissions prospects, authorities said Tuesday.”
Decades in prison for working the system. Awesome.
“Khan has been charged with 34 felony counts of altering a public record, 11 felony counts of stealing and secreting a public record, seven felony counts of computer access and fraud, six felony counts of burglary, four felony counts of identity theft, three felony counts of altering a book of records, two felony counts of receiving stolen property, one felony count of conspiracy, and one felony count of attempted altering of a public record.”
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[via]
Look, I know that when this gets posted people are going to point out in the comments that they did do these things and that they are criminals and that this kind of behavior shouldn’t be encouraged or go unpunished.
So suspend these kids, then. But do not tell me that you are going to throw the book (34 felony counts? Really?) at a couple of kids who figured out what was most important to the school, district, county, state, and national education system and were smart enough to come up with a work around.
And in case anyone is unclear on this point, what is NOT most important to the educational system is actual learning. What they are obsessed with is attendance and accreditation and grades and test scores. If any learning takes place, if any critical thinking skills are acquired, developed, or used, it is almost certainly outside the confines of the classroom.
Same as it ever was
“The revamped SAT, expanded three years ago to include a writing test, predicts college success no better than the old test, and not quite as well as a student’s high school grades, according to studies released Tuesday by the College Board, which owns the test.”
And:
“‘The SAT continues to be an excellent predictor of how students will perform,’ said Laurence Bunin, senior vice president of operations at the board, and general manager of the SAT program. ‘The 3-hour, 45-minutes test is almost as good a predictor as four years of high school grades, and a better predictor for minority students.’”
[via]
Two things:
- The SAT has been and always will be an endurance test.
- The SAT predicts only the following: How well you will do on a standardized test on the day that you take it. If you are exceptionally good at taking standardized tests, had a good night’s sleep before and an adequate breakfast on test day, odds are you’ll do fine.
How much control?
“The complaints fueled a larger debate, with hearings in Congress and by the FCC, on how much control Internet service providers should have over the flow of data.”
[via]
How about none whatsoever?
