Unbelievable - and yet not so shocking...

Someone has actually come up with a reason why not to rely on wind power as an alternative to oil…

Military radar. That’s right – wind turbines just might interfere with military radar. We don't know - but they might... so they must be studied, and the FAA has decreed that no more can be built (by refusing to issue the required safety permits) until the Department of Defense study – with no published completion timeline – is finished.

Yea, and we believe ya, too.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/14855761.htm

MIAMI WINS!!!

Yea for the Miami Heat - '06 NBA champions! :)

I don't have any really great reason for liking Miami - other than maybe ha ha to Kobe Bryant - but I'm glad Miami won!!! See the celebration: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/

An Interesting Look at AYP

I was surprised to read that only 28 percent of Florida schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) this year, so I went searching to see how Minnesota compares. According to the MN Dept of Ed, 82 percent of our schools were making AYP as of October ’05. That did not surprise me so much.

The Bush vs. Bush article is amusing – apparently now Jeb is saying that the Florida rating system is more meaningful than his brother's AYP system... because it makes the FL schools look much better. Watching how one brother has to distance himself from the other in order to make excuses for his state's poor performance is pretty entertaining! While I do suspect that the whole AYP system is rigged to produce failure and open the door for vouchers, I also believe that it has done some good in forcing schools to take a hard look at who’s learning what. The problem is not the tests or the standards, but the sanctions. We need more help, not less!

I would love to see a state-by-state breakdown of AYP rates. Bet the blue states do better.

Check out the Florida numbers:
http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/ (Bush vs. Bush: AYP vs. FCAT)

And the Minnesota numbers:
http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

A Question for Fathers...

Interesting article in the current Fast Company magazine - "What Kind of Dad Are You?" - blames men for being conspirators in a corporate culture that continues to see juggling work & family as a female problem, and offers suggestions for how dads can actually change the culture where they work!

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/07/138whatkind.html

It's nice to think that we're inching closer to the day when childcare will be considered a family problem, not just a women's problem...

Father's Day

Great ad for The Economist magazine:

“Have more intelligent fights with your father.”

Since my dad was a CPA, I can relate! :)

"Covering"

I am intrigued by a new book called “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights” by Kenji Yoshino, a Yale law professor.

The premise is that prejudice has evolved beyond the pressure to convert – as for gays to try to be straight, for example – through the pressure to pass – like the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy – to a new place where those who don’t share the majority culture are expected to “tone it down” or downplay their differences.

I think it’s probably true.

One thing that’s been bugging me for the last few years is the notion that white America is no longer prejudiced against blacks per se – and in fact embraces those blacks who choose to embrace a suburban lifestyle – but still looks down on urban blacks who make different lifestyle choices. A black man in a polo shirt & khakis is welcomed just about anywhere, but a black man wearing headgear and a baggy T-shirt is not.

According to Yoshino, today’s civil rights laws protect people based only on what they are, not on what they do. So a woman can’t be fired for being black, but she can be fired for wearing her hair in cornrows. (True story.) She can’t be fired for being gay, but she can be fired after having a public commitment ceremony with her partner. (Another true story.)

How far have we really come, baby?

Brooks on the Sexes

David Brooks’ column this week surprised me – not because he makes a case for gender-separate education, but because a normally articulate columnist is reduced to ridiculous generalizations to make his points.

AAUW did pretty extensive research on gender-separate education in the 90’s and came up with a clear conclusion: it’s good for girls, but not for boys. Girls relax in a more cooperative, less competitive atmosphere where they can excel without fear of not being feminine enough. Boys, however, are left with each other – competitive and annoying. They generally don’t learn more or achieve more.

But Brooks ignores this research completely, relying instead on one random author to make his case. He then throws out some ridiculous statements:

For example: “…these new-wave young adult problem novels, which all seem to be about…” – has he read them all? How on earth would he know what they “all” are about? There is a ton of young-adult literature out there today. I’m an English teacher & I haven’t begun to read it all.

And “…men and women can excel at any subject. They just have to be taught in different ways.” Have to? Or else what – they will fail to learn? Such a sweeping statement is easily refuted by just a glace through several centuries of American education.

Too bad Brooks didn’t do his homework – he could have written a meaningful piece instead of a superficial, one-sided argument that will go no further than entertaining dinner-table conversation.

Read the column “The Gender Gap at School” at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/davidbrooks/index.html?8qa

Mpls MOSAIC begins today

The mayor was right in his letter to the Strib today (http://www.startribune.com/563/story/484346.html) - amid the current immigration debate, it makes sense to pause & notice the amazing mosaic of ethnicities in the twin cities! This weekend, the Mpls MOSAIC arts festival kicks off a celebration of the many facets of who we are with performances by local folks with roots from around the world.

Some of our Youth Slam League spoken word artists will be on stage at 9:30 - and myriad other options run up Hennepin avenue as well. Check it out 6-10pm tonight!

Details & event schedules: http://www.minneapolismosaic.com/

Youth Speak!

Spoken word as the movement of the future - I am coming to believe in it more & more! My students are able to articulate really important concepts and ideas through spoken word poetry, and that is step one toward impacting the world! Call me crazy, but the potential for voices to be heard & understood that often are not because they don't embrace standard English - huge. And exciting!

We had a blast with the Youth Poetry Slam League this spring - went undefeated! - and they just continue to grow, both in skills and in readiness to speak to the world. The most fun I had in all the great facets of my job this spring was with them. I am inspired every day.

Check out their web page!
http://henry.mpls.k12.mn.us/Spoken_Word.html

Go Patriots!

Great article about the "magic" of our school in the paper today! Bravo Patrick Henry HS!

http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/471108.html

Interestingly, the genesis for the article several months ago was, "Why is this school doing so much better than all the others with tough kids?" but over the course of his research it turned toward a theme of, "Can we sustain our success through all the budget cuts?" Of course the answer is no. Everyone's exhausted!

I'll believe money doesn't matter in education the day I see the exclusive private schools accomplish what we do within our budget.

We have a lot to be proud of. Go Patriots! :)

Another Young One at the Helm

I mentioned a few weeks ago that both the superintendent and teacher's union president in St Paul are in their 30's - and now we can add the new teacher's union president in Minneapolis to the list too! Even though I voted for his Boomer-age opponent and don't like some of his positions, I still think it's fun to have a Gen X teacher at the helm. Makes for interesting times! :)

Face it...

"Not everything we face can be changed, but we must face things in order to change them."
- James Baldwin