ABC News: Teacher Says No to Standardized Test

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Seattle Teacher Says Tests Kill Learning

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A great bumper sticker: Born OK the first time.

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Our search for just the right school for The Boy has been a multi-year odyssey. In Roanoke, The Community School fulfilled our dream of a school with rigorous academics, lots of time for physical activity and encouragement to mix socially with the bigger kids. The Boy loved it, and so did we.

The move to Richmond has been challenging. The new school, Stony Point, hasn’t lived up to our expectations. For the price we’re paying we want to be not only satisfied, but wowed. At this point, we are neither.

So our hopes for next year are pinned on Steward, a fabulous private school that we can afford only by making some significant sacrifices. If he doesn’t win admission there, we’ll send him to public school. For the money, it’s a better choice than Stony Point and we can make up the deficiencies with private music and art programs.

We want so badly to give our son the best education and social opportunities possible. How do other parents handle this?

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Thanks to Andrew for posting about this — you can read all about this unbelievable story here. No need to check a map — California is still in America. Unfortunately, America in 2008 is not the same country we grew up in.

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Nope — it’s 2008 New Orleans
Mayor Ray Nagin and NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley try out a pair of the NOPD’s new M-4 rifles Tuesday at the Superdome.

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I’m usually not a fan of PETA, but they have it right when it comes to shelter dogs.

Watch the ad.

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The FBI is spending a billion dollars on a database of biometric information.
According to Dow Jones newswires:

Besides including data on known criminals and terrorists, it will compile data on foreign visitors to the U.S. whose fingerprints and digital photographs were collected under a separate Department of Homeland Security program that monitors people entering the U.S. via air, land and sea.

I guess we can take the FBI’s word that everyday Americans won’t be included in the database. Really. We can trust them.

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A beautiful opinion piece in The New York Times has a lot to say about heroes — and how we should work harder to remember the ones who succeed in their tasks and go on to live long and (hopefully) happy lives.

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Well, at least one senator does. Arlen Spector had this to say:

“The NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It’s analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes, or any time you have records destroyed.”

Um, no.

Read about it here: ESPN - Senator wants to know why NFL destroyed Patriots spy tapes - NFL

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And now, McDiplomas.

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NASA Says New Rocket Might Shake Violently - washingtonpost.com
Engineers are concerned that the new rocket, meant to replace the space shuttle and send astronauts to the moon, could shake violently during the first few minutes of flight, possibly destroying the entire vehicle.

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Texans are reporting UFO sightings, and at least one guy is wondering if the end of the world is coming:

“People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it’s the end of times,” said Steve Allen, a freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide. “It was positively, absolutely nothing from these parts.”

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A six-year-old boy died yesterday after climbing on a tv stand to reach a pair of ice skates. The stand held a 32-inch television, which toppled over and crushed the child.

Our television is pretty heavy, and I doubt it’s secure where it is. It’s so easy to forget about child-proofing when your kid is school-aged, but clearly they can still be vulnerable.

Keep safe.

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