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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
C & I Policy Committee meeting of June 22
On the good side, the Board was very clear that the District staff needs to be more open with the public about what they are doing, how they are doing it and why they are doing it. Moreove, they were clear that the public needs to have a voice in shaping the decisions. Director Carr in particular was very clear and effective on this point. Director Sundquist made the point very well at the end of the meeting. A number of Board members made reference to the anxiety in the community about the LA alignment, but only Director DeBell put his finger right on it: people like and want alignment; it's standardization they don't want. The Superintendent appeared to totally miss the point. It shot right past her.
The meeting opened with a discussion of the players and the roles in the materials adoption process. The Board's role is to provide guidance and principles at the start of the process and to vote to approve or reject the recommendation at the end of the process. The current guidance from the Board is set in the materials adoption policy and is so vague as to be meaningless. The Board members then brainstormed a bit on what they would like their more robust guidance to be - this would require a policy update. The other players in a materials adoption are the Instructional Materials Committee, which is a standing committee, and the Materials Adoption Committee, which is an ad hoc committee brought together for each materials adoption. The role of the Instructional Materials Committee is to review and, presumably, approve the process taken by the Materials Adoption Committee. They do not approve the outcome, just the process. Oddly, no one could say who appointed the Instructional Materials Committee, how they got appointed or even when they got appointed. It is apparently lost in the mists of time.
Interesting footnote about the high school language arts materials adoption committee: everyone who applied to be on the committee was appointed to it. Here's another interesting fact about it: it has only one student parent on a committee of twelve. The staff, however, is perfectly satisfied with their outreach effort and sees nothing wrong with this result.
After a break, the Board reconvened (it was a meeting of the whole and only Directors Chow and Bass were absent) and were taken through a powerpoint on the status of the curriculum alignment project. It was the what when why and how of curriculum alignment.There was universal agreement by the Board members that the community engagement on alignment has been inadequate to date. Oddly, they seemed to believe that if people were just told what it was and what it wasn't - and if they were able to dispel misperceptions about it - that people would embrace the process.
Director Maier, and then, more to the point, Director Sundquist, asked about how earned autonomy would figure in all of this. Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson first gave one answer, and then, seeing that it wasn't playing well, gave another. At first she said that earned autonomy did not apply to curriculum. Then she vaguely hinted that a class that met the standards and content requirements could be substituted for a required class, but she added the caveat that it would have to be
subject to certain review. It sounded like death by bureaucracy to me. It was very clear that she was opposed to the whole idea and would make the requirements for substitution such that no course could qualify.
I'm sure the powerpoint will soon be available and you will see that it clearly goes beyond curricular alignment and into standardization of texts for the express purpose of facilitating scripted lessons. They are coy about the language, but it's there. There is no acknowledgement that curricular alignment does not require the
standardization of texts, nor do common assessments nor does professional development - all reasons given that they need to standardize texts. All of the reasons given are spurious. The only reason that survives critical review is for the central staff to write instructional guides and scripted lessons which are specific to the materials.
They may well actually risk engaging the public on this. If they do, one of the critical questions we need to ask is whether it isn't the Board's responsibility to adopt curriculum. They may say that this duty is abbrogated by the State Standards, but the District isn't aligning curriculum to the State Standards. The District is aligning curriculum to the College Readiness Standards. So, again, particularly given that Seattle Public Schools is adopting something other than the State Standards as our curriculum, isn't it the Board's responsibility to adopt curriculum? Also, make them explain in detail exactly why schools need to standardize texts. If students are supposed to learn, for example, allegory in the 10th grade, then aren't there hundreds of books that are suitable for 10th graders that all provide excellent examples of allegory? Why in the world would every class have to read the same one? That is when alignment steps over the line and becomes standardization.
I'm still pretty angry about this. In part, I'm angry that no one on the Board would speak plainly even though a number of them clearly understood the issue. I'm angry also that the Superintendent could so completely miss the point and that no one set her straight.
39 comments:
- dan dempsey said...
It is not just you, there are a huge number of angry frustrated folks that have been waiting for the board to provide leadership and accountability.
One of the biggest crocks of Malarkey around was the math curriculum being the state standards. It clearly is not so and the board awards Admin a continuing free violation pass by allowing the EDM pacing plan.
Interesting that someone on the board finally noticed they should be setting direction for adoptions before the whole process moves very far. Otherwise we will see the high school math materials calamity extended to all future adoptions. Process begins and then 12 months down the road the board says: Wow!!! thats what you came up with? ... how did that happen? ... oh well I guess thats what we shall buy .. even though few of us think this stuff is worth using.
There is nothing happening that really assures adequate community engagement when the plan is:
Friday afternoon check the board agenda for whatever may be flying in as an introductory item 5 days later.
Nice to see your report that the board may actually take Governance more seriously.
I thought that the Director Sundquist had great potential but have seen most of his votes as pointless rubber stamping. Most school boards are cheerleaders for admin. This has certainly been the case in Seattle for far too long. It will be great to see the board members hopefully transform themselves into Governing Actors instead of mindless reactors. No wonder Cheryl Chow will not be there. - 6/23/09, 7:27 AM
- LA Teacher's Warehouse said...
Did anyone at the meeting provide evidence that alignment, in and of itself, increases academic achievement?
I would be interested in reading any studies on alignment that would address the particular academic challenges of SPS. - 6/23/09, 7:30 AM
- dan dempsey said...
Dear LA TW,
Great thought....evidence that alignment, in and of itself, increases academic achievement? ...measured increased achievement....what an idea ... rather than Central Office Admin's research shows ... while never citing the actual research.
This is like Best Practices in math ... there is zero evidence most of what the SPS pushed as best practices over the last five years were in fact best practices. What was measured was a continually expanding achievement gap and large college remediation rates.
Alignment with standards does not mean diddle ... if the sound instruction is not present. The Discovering Math series is a great example ... alignment is OK but execution is an absolute disaster. "Explicit Instruction" is needed and DM has hardly any.
Proven materials are available and the SPS goes for experimental brand X. ... but it aligns well ... so what. - 6/23/09, 7:48 AM
- Melissa Westbrook said...
I am surprised to hear about the lack of origins for the committee. Harium said at his last community meeting, to an RHS student, that the department had overstepped their bounds in creating the committee.
I'm glad someone (Sherry Carr) was asking the hard questions. - 6/23/09, 8:29 AM
- SPSMom said...
Lots of talk about college-ready these days. Please take a look at what the Math department has posted as college-ready attributes. Also, note that the last page is blank, clearly a document not ready for the public, yet there you have it.
It can be found at the Math home page, under Family Resources. Called Developing College Readiness.
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/math/index.xml - 6/23/09, 8:42 AM
- John said...
I looked at the "College Readiness" document, and I have to admit I was naively expecting to see the words "Algebra", "Trigonometry", or "Calculus". You could do a seach & replace on that document, and replace "Mathematics" with "Metal Shop" and it would work about as well.
- SPSMom said...
I know, leaves you with a sick sinking feeling doesn't it.
WV: mathyl, how ironic - 6/23/09, 9:26 AM
- Bruce Taylor said...
I can stand it no longer. What does "WV" mean?
- SolvayGirl1972 said...
I can only say that I am so saddened by all of this, of what it means for education for the vast majority of Seattle's children. But in the same breath, I am also relieved that our family's decision to leave SPS appeared to be the right one for us.
I will continue to harangue the school board and SPS over these issues, and fight where and when I can to keep SPS from becoming another failed urban district. I am all too aware of the importance of education for all our children to walk away from this fight. But in this battle, as a mother lion, I must keep my own child out of harm's way. Her four years in high school are too fragile, too important, to risk them to what appears to me to be a grand experiment whose facilitators have done little to prepare for.
I believe my next step will be to help Charlie get elected to the school board. Give us your contact info Charlie and I'll come on board with 30+ years of marketing and graphic design. :-) - 6/23/09, 9:38 AM
- Maureen said...
From the Math College Readiness doc:
Works challenging, in-depth problems, beyond homework problems, in a group of 3 – 5 students either after school, in the evenings, or on weekends.
Oh my goodness! If they do challenging in-depth homework problems in groups of 2 or 6 before school they won't be ready for college!
AND families can do NOTHING to help! (blank page)
Who wrote this thing? And won't it be interesting if it is removed with in the week and replaced with nothing?
Bruce WV is the "word verification" you have to type in to post--I believe Seattle Citizen started us all posting it when it seems apt (or just funny!). - 6/23/09, 9:47 AM
- Dorothy said...
WV is word verification, that silly little thing some people like to add to their comment when the random WV looks at all interestingly ironic to them. Unfortunately, it's just a random bunch of letters and isn't interesting to anyone else.
As for the College Readiness document, it's actually kinda good. It is actually what math professors and other professors want, along with strong math knowledge and skills.
But it isn't written in a way that is clear and it isn't really the right document for part of what the Family can do to help. It's an argument for teaching math as more than a bunch of algorithms, teaching conceptual understanding AND logic AND perseverance. HOWEVER, as much as I completely agree that those are the appropriate goals, the appropriate college readiness factors, I do not see the implementation of "reform" math as getting us there. I see it interfering with building the logical framework and the emphasis on group work and process over result interferes with growing individual perserverence. Not because reform math is terrible, but because it is a pendulum swung too far and because it is often poorly implemented.
So all that understanding abstraction and logical thinking, well that has to be built up from learning the structure of mathematics, learning how it all fits together, learning the language of mathematics, not simply playing around in group activities to create one's own language and structure. - 6/23/09, 9:53 AM
- Dorothy said...
"Oh my goodness! If they do challenging in-depth homework problems in groups of 2 or 6 before school they won't be ready for college!"
Well, here's an example of a logical fallacy. The document says that A is an example of B. A implies B.
Not A does not imply Not B. - 6/23/09, 10:03 AM
- John said...
It looks like maybe they're just not done copying/pasting from the documents
Here :
which does eventually talk about Algebra, Trig, etc. (I ran across this via Google. It was linked from a UW document.) - 6/23/09, 10:26 AM
- Dorothy said...
Some interesting reading from two JHU math professors.
Telling the Truth is a wake-up call to freshman that college is not a continuation of high school. By Dr Steve Zucker.
Dr Stephen Wilson has the following advice on college readiness. Note the emphasis on long division. - 6/23/09, 10:33 AM
- dan dempsey said...
It was written for Math:
AND families can do NOTHING to help! (blank page)
In regard to families helping the answer is clear ... transfer to Shoreline.
Dorothy said:
It is actually what math professors and other professors want, along with strong math knowledge and skills.
That would be the strong math skills and knowledge that this district fails to develop.
Cleveland STEM is an attempt to build the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th floors of a building while neglecting to build any other floors. Same wisdom promised "Automaticity" of Arithmetic Facts while buying calculators for primary school as needed by EDM.
Dr. Askey said:
#4 The NCTM authors of their Standards had the strange notion that it is possible to teach conceptual understanding without developing technical skill at the same time.
That strange notion is still a major thrust in SPS math.
This strange notion was most in evidence at Cleveland 2006-2009 with UW guidance using IMP.
So does the Governance body called the Board have any plans for dealing with their adopted k-12 math fiasco? Apparently not.
Curriculum and Instruction in the SPS for math .... it would be hard to find worse materials than:
EDM - CMP2 - Discovering
I can find only a few poorer possible choices:
.... TERC/Investigations ...CMP ...Core-Plus ... IMP - 6/23/09, 11:27 AM
- adhoc said...
I understand that The Discovering Series is not the material that many Seattle families would have selected. I understand that it is inferior to some of the more traditional materials, like Prentice Hall.
However, after completion of the Discovering Series materials (Alg I, Geo, Alg 2) students move on to Calc, statistics, etc
Are the students (and I know they are not the majority) who take calc, statistics, AP calc, etc adequately prepared for college?
Is it only the students that only complete Alg I, Geo., Alg II, not prepared for college? Or is it all of SPS graduates, even the ones who do take higher level math classes.
And, do we use a standard, traditional, set of materials to teach the higher level classes? I haven't heard much about those materials.
And, BTW, Dan is correct, Shoreline adopted Prentice Hall for HS math. Discovering was one of three sets of materials that they considered, but they disqualified it early on. - 6/23/09, 12:07 PM
- dan dempsey said...
The district has had a big push on increasing the number of students enrolled in AP Calc. Unfortunately there has been no push to prepare students to be in AP Calc. I am not sure about current AP scores, the test is scored from 1 lowest to 5 highest, in the past the district has had high schools where the AP Calc (AB) scores averaged less than 2.0.
From 2002 to 2007 at Seattle Central Community College, the percent of recent high school graduates placed below collegiate math classes for first math class was 78%. A full 50% of those recent high school grads placed into the equivalent of high school math 1 or lower.
The board continues to fund and approve the same nonsensical direction and kinds of instructional materials that produced such incredibly poor results. .... Clearly they still Do NOT Get It. - 6/23/09, 1:31 PM
- Dorothy said...
See my previous comment for the link. Just in case you missed it, Stephen Wilson is a JHU math professor who wrote about attending "a panel at the annual
conference of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools. There were 130 math teachers from private schools in the audience."
First he commented on something another panelist said: "the
principal of a major boy's private school in Baltimore. Before being the Principal of the Upper School he was the Academic Dean and before that Head of the Mathematics
Department. He said something which I found truly astonishing. He thinks so highly of technology (i.e. he has made his students so dependent on calculators) that he tells his students that when they visit colleges they should
interview the chair of the mathematics department and find
out if they allow the use of calculators. If they don't then
they should consider the college to not be a good fit."
Then, he claimed that if a student is not prepared to take calculus when entering college, it appears that they likely never will be.
"It was extraordinarily difficult to get numbers to demonstrate that fact. I finally found one large state university which had them. Of its over 5,000 recent students who had placed into college algebra (material they could have learned in high school) only 7.5% of them ever successfully completed 1 semester of calculus.
The lesson is that if you don't prepare a student for college level mathematics before they go to college, then it is very unlikely that they will ever successfully take college level mathematics, thus excluding from their life-options many many careers."
One would think that a college professor would say kids need trig or solving quadratics, but no, they don't get mentioned. Instead:
"First: Entering freshmen need to know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. They need to be able to do this quickly, easily, and thoughtlessly for numbers, fractions, decimals and polynomials. There is no better
preparation for the next step in mathematics than an intimate familiarity with our number system. If a student cannot add or divide fractions and do long division quickly and easily then they do not have the necessary depth to move on to the next stage."
And the element that I think more closely matches that imperfect College Readiness document, the following about being mature and responsible for one's own learning, have enough conceptual understanding that one can learn new things on their own.
"And this is harder to grasp because it doesn't affect admissions or placement, but is extremely important. I wish my students were capable of picking up a textbook and learning the material on their own. After all,
that's what they have to do in most college math courses." - 6/23/09, 1:57 PM
- adhoc said...
"From 2002 to 2007 at Seattle Central Community College, the percent of recent high school graduates placed below collegiate math classes for first math class was 78%. A full 50% of those recent high school grads placed into the equivalent of high school math 1 or lower."
Generally speaking the students who went to community college were probably not on the college "track" in HS, and may not have taken the higher level math classes. So to say that 50% of these students place in math 1 or lower at community college doesn't really answer my question, though it is a shocking fact.
Do you have any idea how kids that take the higher level math classes fare in a 4 year college? Are they well prepared? - 6/23/09, 3:47 PM
- dan dempsey said...
Cliff Mass got involved in this as he saw the level of mathematical competence declining annually in entering students this was confirmed by UW math placement test. The placement test was redesigned which gave a slight uptick for the initial year and then the decline continued.
I'll see if I can find references to the tests results for you.
There was the letter signed by 57 UW profs that teach freshman attesting to this drop in skill level. - 6/23/09, 4:30 PM
- dan dempsey said...
The article about the Proffessors signing the letter:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/353199_math29.html - 6/23/09, 4:34 PM
- Deidre F. said...
Considering that a student must have a 3.6 or greater GPA, and been on the college "track" in high school to get into the UW, it is pretty scary to think that they are not doing well once they get there.
Very very scary.
Thanks, Dan. - 6/23/09, 4:52 PM
- LynneC said...
I was also at the Curriculum & Instruction committee meeting last night. To me the big takeaway from the meeting is that there is a disconnect between where the board is on curriculum alignment and where the district is.
First, all of the board members present made clear that they want the public to be part of the alignment process. Sherry Carr spoke more than once about the need not just to inform the public and teachers (and with regard to high school curriculum, students) but to do so early enough in the process that they have the opportunity to shape the process. This was echoed by Director Debell. Director Sundquist talked about an expectation that each significant district project – which he considers curriculum and textbook adoption to be – should begin with an explicit articulation of what the level of public involvement and engagement will be. Directors Carr, DeBell, Sundquist and Matin-Morris all also expressed concerns about the makeup of the LA adoption committee and the lack of public representation on the committee.
The district pushed back consistently on all of this. MGJ directly challenged Carr's statement that the public should have a role in shaping the curriculum alignment process. She also disagreed that teachers hadn't been given the opportunity to be heard in the LA adoption process, and said that she has told teachers that it is unfair for them to complain that they have not been heard if they have failed to first go to her and the CAO with their concerns. And district staff defended the makeup of the LA adoption committee.
Second, the board and the district disagree as to the board's role in curriculum alignment. The district's position is that alignment is the "means" and is done solely by the district, while the "ends" is textbook adoption, and it is only at this point that the board has a role in the process, by either approving or disapproving the district's textbook recommendations. District attorneys present at the meeting pointed to state statutes and to board policy C21 (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/policies/c/C21.00.pdf) in support of their position that even though the board is responsible for adopting curriculum, curriculum alignment isn't really adoption of a new curriculum and therefore doesn't involve the board.
Director DeBell responded to the Superintendent's means/ends analysis by noting that the Board is responsible for adopting curriculum and a course of study, and that if the district is adopting a four-year LA course of study he considers that a board decision; that as a board governance matter, he does not want the district's alignment process to substitute for curriculum adoption. He stated that where the district is contemplating major changes in the LA curriculum, involving both new texts and new graduation requirements, that it begins to look like a curriculum adoption that requires a public process. Director Sundquist stated that regardless of the legal terminology involved, the public will view curriculum alignment as a substantial change, and that it is necessary to come up with a process and policy that allows for public involvement, because the risk of not doing so is that public opinion "will find expression in the board's textbook adoption votes" because there will be no other mechanism to address public concerns. The district folks present were completely tone deaf to all of this, but MGJ finally heard what Sundquist was saying and acknowledged late in the evening that curriculum alignment does represent a fundamental shift in approach and that there needs to be ongoing conversation about it on the C & I committee. - 6/23/09, 6:22 PM
- LynneC said...
More on last night's meeting:
I think the board wants to keep unique and successful programs like Roosevelt's LA Options, but that the district has no interest in doing so. Director DeBell argued that to the extent that alignment helps address weaknesses in course offerings it is a good thing, but that the district shouldn't overcompensate and go to standardization; that he wants to hold on to what the district has done in the past 15 years that is really valuable and keep existing rich course offerings. The Superintendent stated that the district is definitely not standardizing curriculum, and talked about the need to "have conversations" about whether course offerings like the LA Options program might meet the new aligned college readiness standards. However, she also took the position that earned autonomy comes into play only as part of the performance review process and is not relevant to the alignment process. And Cathy Thompson's quick response to DeBell was that it would be difficult to produce standard curriculum guides if they followed his approach. When Director Carr noted that the current teacher contracts include provisions for site-based decision-making and asked what the district had done to bring the teachers along with alignment, Cathy responded that the contractual provisions regarding site-based decision making don't have anything to do with curriculum.
I think that there is some wishful thinking going on on the part of board members. My impression is that the Superintendent isn't missing the board's points – she just disagrees with them. She is talking about "having conversations" about keeping programs like LA Options in order to reassure the board, but keeping these kinds of classes doesn't at all fit into what the district is doing with curriculum alignment. The district people at the meeting said that four years of LA would be required, and that although some existing classes might meet the new standards, many would likely fall into the elective category.
The meeting ended with a decision to continue to address curriculum alignment through the C & I committee going forward – although the committee doesn't meet again until late August. Although the district has pushed back on its earlier time frame of buying LA textbooks in August, when the district asked if it was ok to continue with LA adoption efforts during the next two months the Board did not give the district a clear yes or no. My guess is that absent the "no", the district will continue to plow ahead. - 6/23/09, 6:25 PM
- another mom said...
Adhoc, I think that it is wise to look at what colleges and universities require of applicants. Go to their websites. Some want four years of math others say three is OK. But in any event selective schools want to see rigor and calculus, AP calculus and Stx = rigor. Math is but one area. Look at L.A., Foreign Language and History requirements in at both public and private colleges and universities to get a sense of the expectation. What I can tell you is that my second child felt unprepared for the amount and depth of reading that is required for each college class. His comment to me went something like, "why didn't they make us read more in high school?"
- SPSMom said...
Thank you Charlie and Lynne for your recap, very upsetting. At the last board meeting, the LA staff person said that they had met with RHS about their LA Options and she reported that "they were very comfortable" with how the district was moving forward.
Does anybody know anything about this meeting? And if so, was the LA staff person honest in her summary of how RHS feels about this LA alignment?
And lastly, what should we be doing at this point? Letters to the board? - 6/24/09, 9:05 AM
- Maureen said...
Does anyone know how standardized courses combine with graduation requirements with respect to courses taken outside of the school system (like Running Start)? If every student is required to take LA9, 10, 11 and 12 and those courses have a standard format, will kids be able to substitute something (online or at a community college say) for them and still graduate?
SPS Mom: Some RHS LA teachers started a google group about the alignment:
(I'm not sure if you have to do something to join first)
On June 19th, one of the teachers who had attended the meeting posted a letter to the District staff summarizing what they took away from it: RHS LA staff letter. - 6/24/09, 9:34 AM
- Momma Snark said...
I realize this might not be the best way of going about things, but what would happen if math and LA teachers just went ahead and taught what made sense to them? What if math teachers used what worked for their students from the "Discovering Math" series, and supplemented with their own material? What if English teachers found books/poems/stories that worked especially well for their given classes, in addition to whatever the Board approves? It is notoriously difficult to fire teachers; what would the likely consequences be if teachers just nodded, smiled, and closed their doors to teach what made sense to them?
Every time a thread like this comes up, I am astonished at how little respect and trust this district seems to have for their own teaching staff. Faculty need guidelines, sure, but why does the district think they need to be provided with identical texts or SCRIPTED LESSONS? Are they that concerned about the skill level of their teachers? - 6/24/09, 9:44 AM
- Melissa Westbrook said...
Well, this morning Dr. Goodloe-Johnson did say that (1) alignment is not standardization so we'll see and (2) that earned autonomy doesn't extend to curriculum.
There is an interesting document about the RHS LA Department's philosophy at the link that Maureen provided. That philosophy is why I am in the middle on this alignment. - 6/24/09, 11:14 AM
- LynneC said...
I think the key question may be what is standardization? The district isn't just planning to make sure that high school LA classes align to more rigorous college readiness standards (something that I think almost everyone agrees is a good idea). The district is also planning to (and has already proposed) a set, standard LA class for each of the four years of high school, to be accompanied by a standard curriculum guide for each class and a standard set of books to be used, in part because the district will then be able to do across-the-board standard professional development and do standardized performance assessments. That looks a lot like standardization to me. It will be interesting to see what kind of procedure is set up to identify existing course offerings that do meet the aligned standards, because it's hard to see how you can retain unique classes given the district's overall alignment plan. This will come up in all different ways -- for example, one of the board members at the Monday night meeting asked about the programs at Nova and the Center School and how those would be affected. And Cathy Thompson and MGJ were also clear that the district wants to see equivalent AP class offerings at every high school -- so what happens with schools like Hale where (whether you agree with it or not) the staff has intentionally limited the number of AP classes they offer?
- hschinske said...
Momma Snark, you are not alone. I have been wondering the same thing. I can think of several precedents in the math realm.
Helen Schisnke - 6/24/09, 2:21 PM
- Charlie Mas said...
Following along with momma snark's comment....
Did you ever wonder how we got to this place where the District says that they have no cause for confidence that every teacher is teaching to the Standards?
In 2001, Superintendent Joseph Olchefske declared that Seattle Public Schools had completed its conversion to a Standards-based Learning System. Those of you who were around at the time may remember filling in the other eye of your daruma. With that announcement, Joseph declared that the teachers were teaching to the Standards (or beyond).
So what happened?
What happened is that the principals failed to properly supervise the teachers. The principals didn't do the work (visit classrooms, review syllabi and lesson plans) to confirm that teachers were teaching to the Standards. I don't know that teachers ever really were all that faithful to the Standards, but without any supervision their fidelity lapsed all the more quickly.
So now the District is once again dedicating itself to the Standards. But there's no one in the District leadership with a 2001 vintage daruma - all of those people are gone, so there's no one in the District leadership who knows that we have been down this road before, so there's no one in the District leadership who will ask "What will we do differently this time to prevent a repetition of our previous failure?", so there's no plan to do anything different this time, so they will repeat their previous failure.
Unless the principals visit the classrooms, unless the principals review the syllabi and lesson plans, unless the principals do the work to confirm that the teachers are teaching to the Standards (or beyond), then there is no cause to believe that they will AND as momma snark noted, they are actually much more free than the Superintendent would like you to believe.
There is one difference this time, the MAP assessments. Supposedly, if a whole classroom shows up as ignorant of some critical content, the MAP will reveal that. Of course the same is true of the WASL, and I don't recall anyone using WASL results as evidence that a teacher wasn't covering the curriculum. - 6/24/09, 3:00 PM
- Dorothy said...
I've been around since Mr O's Standards Based Learning days, and have to say I have never seen it. I follow some education writers who are working hard to promote Standards based teaching and assessments. It looks good, but I've not seen it in action. Far from it.
That said, let's look at the RHS AP HG experiment in standardization and similar curriculum. Reasons for this included shared professional development and uniformity, all the teachers passionate and working together to create a common curriculum. So....
Well, my son had a teacher who pretty much followed the textbook. Read the chapter, answer some worksheets on Key Terms and Key Ideas and on to the next chapter. Very very much NOT a college level course nor a college level classroom experience. I had a chat with a friend of his who had a different teacher. I asked her about AP HG. She said that what was a shock and really hard for her was that the teacher taught/discussed all sorts of stuff that wasn't in the text, but that they were expected to read and learn the text on their own. That the class lessons didn't really follow the topics in the text, so it was quite challenging. I replied Ah, well, that's the way it is in college, that's the way AP classes are supposed to be. (reflecting of the increased depth, rigor, personal responsibility and higher order thinking of college.) Well, she said, she was in 10th grade and was not ready for that yet nor had she asked for it.
So much for common curriculum, common assessments, common experience and all that bunkum. - 6/24/09, 3:52 PM
- Sahila said...
Hi Dorothy -
"...AP classes are supposed to be. (reflecting of the increased depth, rigor, personal responsibility and higher order thinking of college.) Well, she said, she was in 10th grade and was not ready for that yet nor had she asked for it..."
I dont know the US system very well and am wondering what age 10th graders are... 16?
Wow, that's a lot of an education system to expect of 16 year olds, even bright ones, who are in the throes of adolescence...
In New Zealand when I and my older kids went to school, we were focused on a multiple subject national school leaving certificate examination (School Certificate) in 5th Form (3rd year of high school, age around 16) - five subjects for 'average' kids, six for the 'brights', multiple subject University Entrance exams in 6th Form (4th year, age around 17) and multiple subject Scholarship exams in 7th Form (5th year - most kids around 18) for those who were going on to university... Your scholarship results determined what kind of funding assistance you would receive - A or B Bursary... for most kids, university education (in my time) ended up being totally free of tuition and book costs...
New Zealand now has a National Qualifications Authority in place which co-ordinates qualifications in secondary schools and in post-school education and training...
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz - 6/24/09, 4:21 PM
- Charlie Mas said...
Here's the thing. The District can only know if the teachers are teaching the curriculum if someone is actually going into the classrooms and confirming it. The only people who are available to do that are coaches and principals.
So how does the District believe that they are going to enforce their "fidelity of implementation" or "alignment" or whatever they choose to call it this time? Are they going to send principals into the classrooms or are they going to send coaches in? - 6/24/09, 8:43 PM
- Melissa Westbrook said...
Well, a principal's chief job - and this is true - is to be the academic leader for the school. They ARE supposed to be doing weekly visits to classrooms and guiding teachers. But principals, especially in secondary, have a lot more on their plate so Charlie is right; when will this oversight happen?
- owlhouse said...
Per the Standards-based Learning System introduced under Olchefske-
it is interesting that SPS leadership doesn't have that experience or point of reference to draw from. I was especially curious when Steve Scher asked Dr GJ what was happening in our district before her time, before the call for these changes. I don't have the exact quotes, but she did not have answers and seemed to think it was inappropriate for her to comment on SPS management or policies of the past, even if to draw parallels or distinctions.
Mama Snark said "...if teachers just nodded, smiled, and closed their doors to teach what made sense to them?"
I would agree that generally, teachers know what is best for their students and should be responsible for and trusted with developing curriculum, planning lessons and teaching. I do not want them to have to do this in the closet. It feels haphazard and just kicks the standardization and alignment questions down the line. - 6/25/09, 8:09 AM
- Mommasnark said...
Owlhouse, I'm with you. I am proud of everything I do as a teacher and have always welcomed parents, administrators, and other visitors into my room with no reservations.
That being said, if I was forced to teach a book that made absolutely no sense for me to to teach to a given group of students, or if I knew that other materials would help my students reach the standards more effectively, I am not sure what I would do as a Seattle Public School teacher. Bring up the issue with my principal? Go to the board? The Super? Quit? Or stick to what I know as a seasoned professional and trust my instincts?
It seems to me that all this talk of "alignment" really puts the teachers in a tough position. I always say I would love to teach in the public system again, but then I read this stuff and I'm not so sure.
Interesting that people are willing to spend $20,000 a year to have their kids taught by teachers who are trusted to make their own professional discretion when it comes to materials and curriculum. Does the district think this movement toward standardization will woo back those private school parents? Hmmmm... - 6/25/09, 9:50 AM
- adhoc said...
In 6th grade my oldest sons middle school (not just his teacher) believed that kids wouldn't read or engage if they didn't like what they were reading, so when doing book reports or analyzing books Kids were allowed to pick whatever books they wanted, without even the simplest guidelines such as fiction, biography, classic, etc. My son picked the book "Gears of War" which was a poorly written (but fun for a 6th grade boy) book about the video game, Gears of War. When it came time to analyze the book and answer critical questions, he was stumped. There really was nothing to analyze. It was a junk book with little meaning. I talked to his teacher about this and she said that kids have to read books that interest them, or else they will not fully participate, so his choice of Gears of Was was fine with her. Of further concern - since the class all read different books, many of which the teacher had not read, the teacher did not know to what extent the students analyzed their books, answered critical questions, or what they took away the book. My son was an A+ LA student that year.
The following year we transferred our son to a new middle school where they were assigned 4 books to read over the course of 7th grade. They were California Blue, The Giver, The Pearl, and The Outsiders. All great books. They did essays on the books, participated in several critical thinking assignments, and engaged in in depth discussion via socratic seminars and the such. And, the teacher could truly evaluate the quality of my sons work and his understanding, as it was a book that he was familiar with. My son loved the class, and surprise, LOVED each of those books. But he was truly held accountable for his work, and had to work very hard for his B-.
I say this not in defense of standardization, but in defense of some sort of alignment. Some teachers and schools are fantastic and do a great job, but others don't. With some alignment we could at least expect some consistency across the board. That's not to say that every 9th grader reads the same book at the same time, but perhaps some guidelines are in order - 9th graders must read 1 classic novel, 1 tragedy, etc. - 6/25/09, 10:44 AM


text:
Summers, 56, of Trabuco Canyon, has dedicated more than 38 year of service in the fire profession and will retire in October.
He came to the district from the Orange County Fire Authority in 2007 and served as Deputy Chief of Operations until October 2010, when he was appointed as fire chief.
During his tenure as fire chief, Summers led the Fire District with the goal of providing the highest level of service available to the citizens of Chino, Chino Hills and surrounding unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County, according to a news release.
Under his leadership, the Fire District saw many accomplishments, including the opening of Fire Station 67, new Fire Station 61 and a state-of-the-art Training Center, officials said.
The Chino Valley Fire District Board of Directors will convene in early August to discuss the process of recruiting Chief Summers' successor.

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From external source: Cricket
Cook pleased with England fightback
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:03:55 GMT
Alastair Cook praises the resolve of his England team as they finish the one-day series with a 34-run win against New Zealand.
England beat New Zealand in last ODI
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:16:18 GMT
England beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the final one-day international at Trent Bridge as the Kiwis take the series 2-1.
Frustrated Tim May resigns post
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:50:11 GMT
International cricketers' union chief Tim May resigns after becoming frustrated at the way he sees the sport being run.
India & SA kick off Champions Trophy
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:45:10 GMT
India and South Africa, two of the top three one-day teams in the world, open the Champions Trophy on Thursday.
Chopra in charge as Bears dominate
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:39:45 GMT
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Chris Rogers hits an unbeaten 161 after being dropped twice as Middlesex reach 320-3 on day one against Sussex.
Lumb scores century at Scarborough
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Former Yorkshire batsman Michael Lumb scores a ton as Nottinghamshire have the better of day one at Scarborough.
Richardson hits back after Hall haul
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:11:18 GMT
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McKenzie gives Hants edge over Kent
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:34:56 GMT
Neil McKenzie hits an unbeaten 85 in his first match of the season as Hampshire end day one on 265-4 against Kent.
Gloucestershire hit by Allenby ton
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:29:31 GMT
Jim Allenby scores his second century of the season as Glamorgan recover well on day one with Gloucestershire.
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Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:09:10 GMT
Hampshire complete the signing of Pakistan paceman Sohail Tanvir to play all formats of the game.
Bairstow extends Yorkshire deal
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:08:02 GMT
England batsman Jonny Bairstow is among five players to extend their contracts with Yorkshire.
Overseas plan 'puzzles' Northants
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:38:58 GMT
Northants chief executive David Smith is "puzzled" by plans start the County Championship overseas.
Hants hope to host World Cup games
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:38:28 GMT
Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove says the Ageas Bowl will be negotiating to host matches at the 2019 World Cup.
Australia don't know best team - Warne
Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:55:23 GMT
Shane Warne says the number of openers in Australia's Ashes squad suggests the selectors do not know their best XI.
Championship could begin abroad
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Glos concerned by Young absence
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Gloucestershire are worried their Twenty20 form will be affected by the absence of injured spinner Ed Young.
Gower warns of 'animal mentality'
Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:25:31 GMT
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AUDIO: Listen to Napier's four wickets in four balls
Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:13:37 GMT
Listen to Graham Napier take four wickets in four balls as Essex beat Surrey in the YB40.
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Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:35:26 GMT
Essex all-rounder Graham Napier tells BBC Essex that taking the wicket of Australian Ricky Ponting is something he has "dreamed about for a very long time".
AUDIO: Ponting happy with Surrey start
Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:15:12 GMT
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VIDEO: T20's clay pigeon cricket ball challenge
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VIDEO: Gayle on feeling 'unbeatable'
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VIDEO: Ponting 'would love to help' Australia
Wed, 29 May 2013 14:12:39 GMT
Ricky Ponting says he would "love to help out" the Australian team during the forthcoming Ashes series if required.
AUDIO: Flower defends follow-on decision
Tue, 28 May 2013 18:53:30 GMT
Team director Andy Flower defends England's decision not to enforce the follow-on after New Zealand are defeated at Headingley for a 2-0 series win.
England need huge improvement - Stewart
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:32:19 GMT
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James Harris's column: Settling in at Lord's
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Champions Trophy: Team-by-team guide
Tue, 04 Jun 2013 06:38:13 GMT
The form guide, squad details and the players who might catch the eye during the Champions Trophy in England and Wales
Champions Trophy: Guide to the tournament
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6. | Constantinople | ||
the word EPIC is HEAVILY over used with things like
"epic fail" their for in the case of something being truly epic you well need to use a truly epic word the word Constantinople well be used in place of epic dude i fucking caught a shark, that could breath fire wile i fishing. it was Constantinople
1. | Constantinople | ||
Capital of the Byzantine Empire. Was established as New Rome by Constantine the Great in the 4th century A.D. (The Byzantine Empire was actually the Greek-speaking Eastern half of the Ancient Roman Empire, which offically fell in 476 A.D., with the deposition of Romulus Augustus.)Constantinople became the center of Orthodox Christianity after the Great Schism of 1054. Constaninople was sacked in 1204 by Western invaders during the 4th crusade, who then established the "Latin Empire." Even though Constantinople was retaken by its rightful owners in 1261, it never again regained its former glory. The weakened city was taken by the opportunistic Ottomans less than 200 years later, in 1453. Now in a state of disarray, the city of Constantinople is called "Istanbul" by it's Ottoman occupants. It is understood by most and argued by many that Constantinople is the rightful property of Greece. It is the opinion of many that the Turkish government should give back what wasn't theirs to take in the first place. Since then, the Ottoman Empire has fallen, and the upstarts that inherited the broken nation seem to think they still have a right to be in Constantinople.
2. | Constantinople | ||
Proper Name for a City on the Bosporus Straits between Europe and Asia. Under occupation by Muslim invaders for more than 600 years now. At the hands of these captives, it is and has been the site of racist anti-Christian Pogroms, Genocide, and government-sanctioned looting and destruction of property of any and all of the Christian churches there. Proper ownership of this city would either go to the Hellenic Republic (Greece), possibly Rossiya, the Russian Orthodox Church, or The Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Church. If the English and French were not dumbasses, Imperial Russia would have finished off the Ottoman dogs in the 17th or 18th Century, but leave it to those French Toads and English Twits to screw everything up. Wait to go England and France, if it wasn't for your selfish ends, you could have saved many Christians! How arbitrary is this, when the Greeks go for Independence, the English and the British assholes decide to help Russia achieve her ultimate goal of a free Christian eastern europe. The proper name of the city located on the Bosporus Strait is Constantinople.
The only rightful owners of Constantinople are Christians. |
3. | constantinople | ||
A city which is currently under the custody of Turkey (since it has been besieged by the Ottomans in the 1400's) but in fact belongs to Greece (Hellenic Republic).
Constaninople is erroneously called "Istanbul" by the Turks (at least, that's how they call it). It is the capital of the Eastern Orthodox Religion, since centuries ago. Constantinople will soon be captured by Russia, and this will happen because of the big disputes between Europe and Turkey (thus Turkey will no more have control of it) and then it will once again be given to its original owner (the Hellenic Republic, or Greece). After Constantinople is freed from the dirty dogs (turks)
1/3 of Turks will be converted to Christianity 1/3 will die in the big slaughter which is coming soon 1/3 will flee to Asia |
4. | constantinople | ||
now Istanbul, not constantinople. why did constantinople get the works? that's nobody's business but the Turks! why they changed it
i can't say people just liked it better that way! we love they might be giants. |
5. | Constantinople | ||
Was Greek, is Greek, and will always be Greek.
Constantinople is the eternal Capital of Greece. I'm going to Constantinople, to greek Constantinople that is.
7. | Constantinople | ||
The last valiant stronghold of Constantine's Holy Roman Empire. Was breached by the Ottoman Forces of Muhammad the Conqueror using artillery designed by Christian Engineers. If Constantine agreed to purchase the designs for the siege cannons instead of turning them away, the Turks could never have captured Constantinople.


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Energy News
- October 3, 2012
- BIO Pacific Rim Summit to Showcase Role of Biomass in Building Biobased Economy
The Biotechnology Industry Organization's (BIO) 2012 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will feature breakout sessions focused on using biomass to replace fossil fuels in creating bioenergy, biofuels and other bioproducts. The Summit takes place October 9-12 at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, Canada. Online registration is available.
- September 27, 2012
- Solectria Renewables Powers the Largest Solar Farm in New England
Solectria Renewables, LLC, the leading U.S. PV inverter manufacturer, announced today that its Megawatt Solar Stations (MSS) were chosen for the 5MW True North solar farm in Salisbury, Massachusetts. This solar farm is the largest solar installation in New England and the first direct-to-grid solar farm in Massachusetts. The project was awarded to Solectria Renewables by Power Partners MasTec, LLC and recently achieved interconnection.
- September 7, 2012
- SolarWorld Breaks Ground on 25-MW Desert Star Solar Projects in California
SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer for more than 35 years, announced today that it has begun construction of its 25-megawatt (DC) Desert Star Solar Projects in California's Mojave Desert. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) division of SolarWorld, which owns the land and projects near Twentynine Palms, Calif., is overseeing all phases of the projects, including design, engineering, procurement, permitting and construction. Once completed later this year, Desert Star will rank among California's largest operating crystalline-silicon solar installations.
- August 29, 2012
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The Renewable Fuel Standard sets national goals for production and use of advanced biofuels. Since introduction of the RFS, U.S. companies have worked to rapidly scale up advanced biofuel technology – through pilot and demonstration projects – and a number are now constructing and commissioning commercial-scale biorefineries. These companies will present progress reports and discuss economic impacts.
- August 29, 2012
- Viridian Energy Supplies Carbon Offsets for the US Open
Viridian Energy, a leading provider of affordable, green energy, has announced that it will supply carbon offsets for all player travel to the US Open. Viridian has purchased 455 metric tons of carbon offsets, which is the equivalent of the 2.2 million miles that the tennis players will travel by land and air to reach the tournament site in Flushing, NY. The carbon offsets were generated from the New Bedford Landfill Gas Utilization Project in Dartmouth, Mass. The offsets are Carbon Standard and Green-e Climate certified.
- August 27, 2012
- Gulf Oil Adds LNG-Powered Trucks to Its Transportation Fleet
Gulf Oil LP, a national branded supplier of motor fuels throughout the United States and its territories, announced today that it has deployed 34 transport trucks that run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, Gulf will soon be supplying and distributing LNG as a cost-effective, clean alternative fuel to customers in the transportation sector and other interested bulk users. Gulf's move into the LNG marketplace is part of the company's ongoing strategy to diversify its energy offerings and provide the marketplace with a fuel alternative that is cheaper, cleaner, and domestic.
- August 27, 2012
- Electronics Industry Issues Guide for Reporting Substances Contained in Electronic Product Packaging
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, DIGITALEUROPE, and the Japanese Green Procurement Survey Standardization Initiative (JGPSSI) today released a guide for the supply chain disclosure of substances used in packaging for the global sale and distribution of electronic products.
- August 24, 2012
- NG Advantage - First U.S. Company to Announce Customers for Trucked Compressed Natural Gas
NG Advantage LLC, the U.S. leader in the new industry of trucking compressed natural gas (CNG) to enterprises not connected to a pipeline, has secured contracts with Pike Industries a subsidiary of Oldcastle Materials, the North American arm of CRH (NYSE: CRH), and Putney Paper, a subsidiary of APC Paper Group. NG Advantage will begin deliveries in early 2013. The multi-year contracts allow these innovative companies to realize both the economic and environmental benefits of lower cost, clean, North American natural gas. NG Advantage believes this is the first announcement of contracts for compressed natural gas delivered to enterprises beyond the pipeline in the United States.
- August 23, 2012
- Coskata, Inc. Elects Natural Gas Executives John A. Crum and Christopher A. Helms to Board of Directors
Coskata, Inc., a technology leader in the production of alternative fuels and chemicals, today announced that John A. Crum and Christopher A. Helms have been elected to the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. These appointments come on the heels of the company's recent shift in strategy to utilize America's abundant and low-cost supply of natural gas as the sole feedstock for its first commercial facility. With more than 60 years of combined experience in the natural gas industry, these executives bolster the company's expertise as it works toward commercialization.
- August 23, 2012
- Axion International Announces Purchase Order for ECOTRAX™ Rail Ties for One of the World's Largest Mining Companies
Axion International Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: AXIH), a leader in recycled plastic and plastic composite technologies used to produce ECOTRAX™ rail ties and STRUXURE™ building products, today announced the company's first purchase order from one of the world's largest mining companies. The "sleepers" (rail ties) are the mining company's first order of Axion's longer lasting recycled ECOTRAX™ products consisting of long-length ties measuring up to 16.5 ft and were the result of Axion's regional distribution agreement signed in 2011. This order of ECOTRAX™ rail ties, which is being shipped to one of the mining company's Australian locations, were selected primarily due to challenges in finding long-length hard wood rail ties to satisfy both above and underground rail tracks supporting heavier axle loads.
- August 22, 2012
- Blue Oak Energy Recognized on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in 2012
Blue Oak Energy, one of the nation's leading commercial and utility scale solar companies was named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list, an exclusive ranking of America's fastest growing private companies. Blue Oak was ranked #3063 on this prestigious list which has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success.
- August 22, 2012
- Chemical Engineer Announces Details of Chimera Energy Corp's Revolutionary Non-Hydraulic Shale Oil Extraction
Chimera Energy Corp (OTCBB: CHMR): With the purpose of dispelling incorrect rumors regarding CHMR's Non- Hydraulic Extraction process, Valdamar Perez Rios, Director of Weis S.A. has announced scientific portions of the new process that differentiate it from any prior technology.
- August 21, 2012
- Apartment Complex Drastically Lowers Energy Costs with LED Lighting Upgrades
TerraLUX Inc., an industry leader that designs, patents and manufactures LED-based lighting solutions for portable and general illumination applications, announced today that it has aided Village Place Apartments of Boulder, Colorado, in cutting the complex's energy costs and usage by retrofitting its lighting with TerraLUX's innovative LED solutions.
- August 15, 2012
- Agency Recognizes WPX Energy for Water Management and Drilling Innovation
WPX Energy (NYSE:WPX) received two awards in Colorado today for its water management practices and role in advancing modifications to a drilling rig that can now be deployed in tight, narrow canyons.
- August 15, 2012
- Pall Corp. Awarded Contract to Design Water Treatment System for U.S. Navy
Pall Corporation (NYSE:PLL) today announced that the U.S. Navy, under the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has contracted with Pall for a multi-phase project to develop an advanced shipboard desalination system specifically for the challenging operations in coastal waters. Pall will create a detailed design for Navy ship water treatment that will increase the volume and reliability of fresh water generation while reducing energy and maintenance requirements.
- August 15, 2012
- Acro Energy Offers Limited-Time 12-Month Free Solar Promotion
Acro Energy, a leading solar installation firm with 25 years of solar experience, will offer 12 months of free solar to new customers through Aug. 31, 2012 as part of aggressive expansion in the Southern California market. Valid exclusively with monthly leases, the limited-time promotion allows qualified residents to sign up for a solar energy system installed by Acro Energy.
- August 13, 2012
- Ascent Solar Launches EnerPlex™ Solar Powered Charger for Samsung Galaxy S III
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI), a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, announced today it has launched a charger for the Samsung® Galaxy S III® smart phone featuring Ascent's ultra light CIGS technology. Branded under Ascent's EnerPlex line of consumer products, the charger incorporates the company's solar cells into a sleek, protective Galaxy S III case, along with an ultra thin battery. The charger adds minimal weight and size to the Galaxy S III yet provides significantly improved battery life by harnessing sunlight for electric power.
- August 13, 2012
- GreenHunter Energy to Present at EnerCom's Oil & Gas Conference 2012
GreenHunter Energy, Inc. (NYSE MKT: GRH) (NYSE MKT: GRH.PRC), a diversified renewable energy company predominately focused on water resource management in the unconventional oil and natural gas shale resource plays, is pleased to announce that Jonathan Hoopes, President and Chief Operating Officer, will present at EnerCom's Oil & Gas Conference 2012 to be held on Monday, August 13th at the Westin Denver Downtown.
- August 10, 2012
- GTSO: The Future Runs on Lithium
One day soon, lithium-ion batteries could replace combustion engines in most vehicles, and Green Technology Systems (OTCBB: GTSO) mining subsidiary GTSO resources is working to help secure stable, affordable supplies of the critical metal for future demand.
- August 10, 2012
- Alcoa Employees Embark on 10th Annual Environmental Expeditions with Earthwatch Scientists in Brazil, Canada and China
Alcoa Foundation announced today that 26 Alcoa (NYSE:AA) employees, have been selected to participate in a unique professional development opportunity with Earthwatch Institute, an environmental organization whose mission is to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Through the 10-year partnership, nearly 150 Alcoa employees have contributed around 9,000 research hours to find solutions to a range of environmental and sustainability challenges.
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Steve Pavlina Discuss ideas, articles, and podcasts from StevePavlina.com. New threads are automatically generated for Steve's latest blog posts. |
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09-12-2010, 10:53 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Member Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 40
| What is Steve's new mystery project?
I want to frakking know what Steve is going to be doing, and I want to know it NOW. In lieu of that, however, let's wank around with some speculation. Post your best guesses I'll begin: Go into space Clone himself Become a billionaire Star in a movie Fix the oil spill Start a country, micronation style (Steveland? Serene Republic of Pavlinia?) Start his own college (similar to the movie Accepted, lol) Have a fivesome Start a TV show (similar to what Tony Robbins did recently) Run for POTUS What are your guesses? What do you think Steve is going to be doing? |
09-12-2010, 11:28 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Retired Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: A Greyhound Station where I set my thoughts to far off destinations...
Posts: 4,380
Ha! I doubt it's any of those. He may do some of them, but I highly, highly doubt they are his projects. My guess: Start a new industry to connect people consciously I have no place to even guess the specifics, if I did, that means I'd have my own idea--and would be working with it. oF all those you listed though, I'd say the country is the most likely. |
09-13-2010, 07:48 AM | #5 (permalink) |
Family Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,929
Maybe a new career that is a mix of polyamory prostitution, raw food cooking lessons, and personal development life coaching, all rolled into the one product that he offers people. It's called sexfoodlifecoaching Maybe he will host sex parties that also teach personal development at the same time. XD This career called personalsexandlifedevelopment Maybe he will have an online TV show instead of blogging. This career called Televisogging. Last edited by roxyruby; 09-13-2010 at 07:53 AM. |
09-13-2010, 07:50 AM | #6 (permalink) | |
Family Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,929
| Quote:
Being a politician is not something new, and not really an opportunity wave that people are like hmm..a new way to make money! | |
09-13-2010, 07:56 AM | #7 (permalink) | |
Family Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,929
| Quote:
| |
09-13-2010, 10:58 AM | #10 (permalink) |
Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Europe
Posts: 839
I'm not bothered about what he does, but I am interested in how he goes about taking this new direction and the process involved. I've lost track on these forums over the years on the number of lost souls out there who haven't seen how they can change their life. The responses have normally been "do what you love", "follow your passion" and "focus on providing value". I watch eagerly to see how Steve will implement this into his new venture. It's always good to see the theory put into practice. |
09-13-2010, 11:25 AM | #11 (permalink) | |
Banned Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: India
Posts: 347
| Quote:
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09-13-2010, 01:33 PM | #14 (permalink) | |
Family Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,929
| Quote:
"So lately my subjective reality experiments...." he begins... | |
09-13-2010, 02:47 PM | #16 (permalink) |
Banned Join Date: May 2010 Location: England, UK
Posts: 665
In the other thread, Steve has alluded to changing the nature of the dream itself. This means something big. Something along the lines of taking the world into its next epoch. Therefore it would be contacting alien life to visit Earth or something within that scale. |
09-13-2010, 03:30 PM | #18 (permalink) | |
Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Mexico City
Posts: 11,168
| Quote:
I think both are pretty awesome, and my insane curiosity is very happy that someone started this thread. I mean... if not for enjoying ourselves, why else are we here? And this is enjoying... | |
09-13-2010, 04:08 PM | #21 (permalink) |
Family Member Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,133
Using social media to unite and organize people into project teams that will consciously work together to tweak the commonly shared characteristics of their combined subjective realities. "Reality Hackers" --- for a fee, they can modify your reality too! I guess I'm only half kidding... |
09-13-2010, 10:38 PM | #25 (permalink) |
Retired Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: A Greyhound Station where I set my thoughts to far off destinations...
Posts: 4,380
These guesses are really amusing: politics, religion, etc. Steve doesn't vote. He wrote an article on why you should never have a religion. But are those (religion and politics) the only things you can use to change the world on a massive scale? Nope! Look at what he's already done: entrepreneurship--that may be a hint, and can certainly be a big "change the world" tool. Now think. What throughout society has brought us ahead by leaps and bounds? Invention. His technology background kinda aligns with that too; as well as his entrepreneurship. Now, with Steve's business skills, and his utilization of blogging before it was big lead me to think he's inventing a new industry. And of course that industry would align with his values. The fact that it was a new industry would also mean there was no name for it. If it *is* this, I'm really looking forward to it. With Steve's track-record, it will *definitely* be something to look into! |
09-14-2010, 12:36 AM | #28 (permalink) | |
Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 613
| Quote:
Get laid first 'Mr. Sex - how special is it' thread starter and then feel free to make comments like that, lol ! You guys crack me up! | |
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Education experts get paid to answer the riddle, "Why can't Johnny read," a question that's grown broader over the past forty years and now includes why Johnny can't do math, explain the Revolution, and name the ocean off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the answers experts have come up with and imposed on schools for those forty years are a large part of the problem. As we approach November's election, let's review some "expert" opinions featured in the pages of NEAToday shortly before we went to the polls last time.
The governor of Arizona declares that "nothing is more important to the future of public education than raising student achievement." Building on that breathtaking platitude, she manages in three short paragraphs a greatest hits of clichéd references to the "global economy," "21st century workforce," innovation, and the "highest possible standards."
A "blogger and activist" places his trust in the Internet, which apparently for the first time in history enables a father to answer his child's questions as they "look at pictures," something you could never do before laptops when all we had were books. He doesn't want his son "to learn a predetermined curriculum." He touts "learning how to learn," one of the few education clichés the governor omitted. He's overjoyed that the boy "has gotten used to instant gratification." After all, who needs patience and perseverance in the twenty-first century?
Star Wars' George Lucas wants all students equipped with wireless computers "24/7" so they can "communicate with their peers in other nations." He claims this will yield "great benefits" educationally. He also favors students working in teams without textbooks, a disaster reformers have been promoting since 1970 and one of the reasons many students haven't been learning much. It's also unclear where the benefit lies in having kids who don't know much collaborate across the classroom, let alone across international borders. Despite Mr. Lucas's infatuation with the new millennium, "every field of endeavor" hasn't become a "global field." Multiplication and writing a sentence still can happen at the local level.
The CEO of networking giant Cisco claims technology will enable teachers to "spend more time with students" because we won't be using paper to take attendance anymore, a task which occupies about three minutes daily and often takes longer on a computer. Instead I'll be spending quality time with my students via "secure Web sites" as they work on their "individual educations." This "new classroom experience" will somehow make learning "an engaging, interactive way of life," provided you're plugged in to a receptacle.
Other experts share this fondness for "distance education," where kids learn in isolation via the Internet instead of in an outmoded "brick and mortar schoolhouse." One enthusiast, like the blogger-Dad, rejects a systematic curriculum. She advocates a "customized education" based on each child's "talents, abilities, and passions." This sounds very empowering, but if you're really concerned about a twelve-year-old's future, I'm not sure how much you should be guided by his educational passions. Besides, reformers have been peddling this notion for decades under the brand name "student-directed learning," and it's another reason American kids don't know as much as they should.
NEAToday's editors express their hope that No Child Left Behind and its "test heavy regime" will soon pass away. Two pages later Education Secretary Margaret Spelling rededicates herself and us to No Child Left Behind, which is currently being replaced by the even more test-heavy Common Core. A child-centered "activist" prescribes a "return to celebrating childhood" where high schools "look more like the kinder (children's) gardens of yesteryear" and "playfulness" is at the "core" of learning. Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis wants schools to cure our "cultural bankruptcy with a full pocket of good music." Multiculturalists advocate lessons that are "culturally relevant." A veteran 1970s reformer demands an end to "fear-driven methods of instruction," code for the evil twins, classroom discipline and content.
They even got an architect to offer an opinion. Based presumably on his knowledge of roof loads, he prescribes a "change in teaching practices to accommodate collaborative, project-based learning and personalized, self-directed learning."
I'm sure he'll be calling any minute to consult me about his latest shopping mall design.
If these five-year-old bright ideas sound familiar, it's because we've been hearing them for over forty years. Even worse, we're still hearing them. The projects, teams, collaboration, lifelong learning, student-directed learning, curriculum-free curriculum, technology hype, guaranteed success for everybody – all of it has been playing without success at your local school for nearly two generations. Continued...
Reformers preach about changing schools for the future. All they're really doing is renaming and recycling their bankrupt, failed pipedreams of the past.
There's room for new ideas in education, and I certainly can improve as a teacher. But as long as school reform means gimmickry and slogans, unfounded theories and rose-colored promises, American public education will never recover.
That's because learning isn't new for the twenty-first century. It isn't mysterious.
It's just hard.
Five years ago NEA's president warned that a faulty vision of the future will betray our nation's youth. He was wrong. The greater danger lies in ignoring the lessons of our past and the continuing folly of our present.
Peter Berger teaches English in Weathersfield, Vermont. Poor Elijah would be pleased to answer letters addressed to him in care of the editor.
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Coax and AB switch?
6 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Coax and AB switch?I currently have a coax cable used to connect to "cable tv" in my 5th wheel. I would like to use this coax to also connect to a satellite antenna. Would it work to install an AB switch in the coax so that the single cable could be used for either cable or satellite?
Re: Coax and AB switch?This will depend upon the coach you have an how the cable wiring is run. Do you have a video control center inside the coach where you simply push a button to select TV, VCR, Aux (possibly more like Sat, DVD, etc)? If so then you will likely be able to make an A/B switch (at both ends of the cable) work. Let me know I will give you details. You can also use a special splitter called a diplexer and you would again connect one at each end of the cable so you don't have to make a selection, it will identify the signal and send it to the correct source.
The bad news might be that if you don't have a control center the coach builder may have installed splitters to send the cable signal to the various TV's. If this is the way the coach is setup (very common with 5th wheel and trailer builders) then you will not be able to use this connection and will have to a new dedicated cable. Bill
Traveling the Western US by RV Winegard SK-3005
Re: Coax and AB switch?There is a coax run coming from the aerial and one from the cable jack at the back of the trailer. They both feed into a switchable signal booster (which only gets turned on when using the aerial) and then splits off to a couple of tv jacks. My intention would be to put the AB switch on the cable run prior to it going into the booster. Therefore there should be nothing between the coax jack at the back of the trailer and the jack that the satellite receiver attaches to but the AB switch. The AB switch is just a passive $10 unit with one coax line coming in and two (A and B) coming out.
Re: Coax and AB switch?It sounds like you are describing a splitter and that will not work (you will lose half of your channels) but if you get a good quality A/B switch where you must physically push a button to select a source you can do just as you have described.
Traveling the Western US by RV Winegard SK-3005
Re: Coax and AB switch?An A/B switch which has 'buttons' to select which output to route all the signal to is exactly what I'm talking about. I was pretty sure that that would work but I wanted to get some expert second opinions. Thanks!
Re: Coax and AB switch?One for $10 might not be the best choice as you are sending a high quality signal through a low quality connection. Take a look at one like this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2049619 Bill
Traveling the Western US by RV Winegard SK-3005
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The Vermont Agency of Transportation began a series of forums on Monday night, gauging public feedback on performance.
The first took place at Rutland High School.
Deputy Transportation Secretary Sue Minter, who ran the forum, said Vermonters' biggest concern when it comes to transportation is safety.
That's becoming harder for the agency to handle with a tightening budget and fewer drivers.
"With a very rural state and a lot of roads to maintain, it means that every individual has to pay a lot to make sure that we have safe roads and bridges and adequate public transit systems," Minter said. "That's what we're focused on."
Vermont, with a population just above 600,000, has a road network spanning close to 15,000 miles.
VTrans oversees roads, plus thousands of bridges statewide. And that's just for car travel.
The agency is also responsible for rail, bus, train, and other transportation methods statewide.
For fiscal year 2014, the agency is proposing a budget of approximately $450 million, but Minter said, it needs $700 million to function at its peak. That means rehabbing more bridges, repaving more roads and creating innovative transportation services.
"Over the last 10 years, people have been driving less and actually consuming fewer gallons of gasoline," Minter said. That's putting stress on the agency's primary revenue source, she said: The gas tax.


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Posted 9:25 am Friday, January 11, 2013
Using veterans to secure schools brilliant idea, January 11
Regarding the Jan. 6 letter about school Security, submitted by W.H. Keyworth, the writer makes a valid point about retired or other military veterans being ideal for school security. In fact, as a retired military security specialist, I was a campus security officer (unarmed) in Northern California, and I would like to add my thoughts.
The first, and most important point, is the idea "demilitarize their mindset." Bad idea, simply because their mindset is an absolute must: quick reaction, discipline, an ability to be proactive rather than reactive and awareness of surroundings. You don't want to know what is on the school campus; you want to know what does not belong there. You want any school security official to have those abilities, and the ingrained ability to react swiftly to any and all alarms, even those that turn out to be false. As far as "screening to weed out" those with PTSD, absolutely. Any local VA clinic or Veteran's Service Office would more than likely be very helpful in that area, if only our local leaders would invite them to a conference to address the issue.
I am 100 percent for gun ownership rights, but an armed school official is armed isn't going to be nearly enough; school officials, parents and children must be made aware of the threats that are out there, and in such a way that the youngest of us are not scared to go anywhere, but are confident enough that they can identify a threat, real or perceived. But that letter brought up a great idea, and I just wanted to expand on that, using personal experience.
Norman B. Poppell
Norman B. Poppell