VIC TOE REE
Smells Like: bullying , GLBTWe wrote about this district in an earlier post, and are heartened to see they have seen the light. Minnesota's largest school district has developed a model to address harassment and bullying of GLBT students that may serve as a national template. Stay tuned and see if this momentum even carries into the deep south bastions of homophobia.
STORY: Anoka-Hennepin School District Settles Lawsuits Over Gay Bullying, Gender Neutral Policy
So cool its hot
Smells Like: first amendment , GLBT , school dressSTORY: 'All The Cool Girls Are Lesbians' T-Shirt Sparks Controversy At Massachusetts School (VIDEO) (POLL)
Yes massa
Smells Like: racismWe see this as deeply rooted racism that is institutional and endemic to public education policy. Another way to maintain an uneducated and underemployed population of workers for generations.
STORY: Minority Students Face Harsher Discipline, Fewer Options, New Federal Data Shows
Cash for clunkers
Smells Like: education fundingWe have commented about this issue before...nothing new except that college students are rightfully ticked off at higher costs, debt, and no professional jobs in sight. We hope that college students will unite and engage in protests around the country. Cuts to education are the worst case scenario pre-K through post graduate.
STORY: Occupy Education: Dozens Of Protesters Demonstrating In State Capitol Arrested (VIDEO)
y'all a good man charlie brown
Smells Like: idiocy , immigrationFinally...Alabama has exposed the crew of Peanuts for what they are...illegal immigrants. We say round up Linus, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Schroeder, and Pig Pen and deport them. These are clearly a bunch of illegals brought to the US by Charles Schultz. They never seem to age either which suggests an alien like quality!
Actually, the get tough Alabama law requires that all companies doing business with the state provide documentation that no illegals work for them. The company in NYC that holds the rights to the play was reluctant to provide the required paperwork to Pelham High School, holding up production. The show must go on! This will be the most important theatrical performance ever in the state of Alabama! We also think that the use of a football requires approval by Crimson Tide coach Nick Sayban.
STORY: Alabama Immigration Law Puts Pelham High School's 'Charlie Brown' Play On Hold
Wrath of Khan
Smells Like: curriculum , Khan Academy , on-line learningFor anyone who has not explored the Khan Academy offering of courses, free, on-line, interactive and highly effective...get moving on this. We are fully behind this project and note the rapid expansion of courses beyond the sciences and math. School districts need to take note as well...beats sitting in lectures with limited and untimely corrective feedback and lack of student engagement. Get on the Khan and leave no child behind!
STORY: Khan Academy iPad App Launches With Free, Educational Videos On Apple Tablet
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Smells Like: GLBT , religionSTORY: 'Junkyard Prophet' Shocks Iowa School With Anti-Gay Messages At Assembly (VIDEO)
Bummer camp
Smells Like: kindergarten , school fundingGiven the overwhelming body of evidence that points to the power or high quality early childhood education, it saddens us to think that there are "coveted spots" and that parents have to pitch tents to get kids into kindergarten classrooms. This investment pays high dividends and the folks in Sacramento need to be provided with unfettered access. We would advocate that all of the parents "occupy" the school grounds until all children are registered.
STORY: Parents Camp For Kindergarten Registration At Lincoln Crossing Elementary School In California (VIDEO)
And the truth shall set you free
Smells Like: 1st amendmentJada's controversial essay made "comparisons between a slavemaster discouraging Frederick Douglass from learning to read and modern education struggles in her district." Her voice joins the thousands who have studied unequal access to education based on race and socio-economic status...but she was summarily harassed at school, transferred to another school where her parents saw little difference and an unsafe environment. While the superintendent admits they didn't handle her free speech very well (no kidding) he at least recognizes her right to dissent. The issue here is not only that the school does not seem to welcome free speech...they don't seem to like students to tell it like it is either!
STORY: Jada Williams, Student, Allegedly Harassed For Award-Winning Essay Comparing School To Modern Slavery (VIDEO)
Sledge hammered!
Smells Like: educational leadership , theftBrother (not sister) Sledge is one of a dirty dozen individuals under a federal investigation. The former assistant superintendent of Pontiac Schools has been indicted for money laundering and theft of $236,000 of school funds. The district is 24 million in debt and it looks like they have misspent or spent without proper authorization ten's of millions. Now that's educational leadership at its best! Is this why GM no longer manufactures Pontiacs?
STORY: Jumanne Sledge, Former Pontiac Schools Official Charged WIth Stealing $236,000 From District
Chain, chain, chain
Smells Like: idiocy , middle school , punishmentSeems like a bit of an overreaction by Shaw Heights Middle School in Adams County, Colorado. Maybe a bit of cabin fever, or just an inability to resolve a difference of opinion with an 11-year old...the cops were actually called and cuffed Yarija because she was rude to the principal. Does the school use capital punishment for late library books?
STORY: Yajira Quezada, 11-Year-Old, Handcuffed For Being Rude (VIDEO)
WE got slimed!
Smells Like: school lunchesTake some nasty ground meat, treat with hydrogen peroxide, add connective tissue, beef scraps and trimmings and you have what has been referred to as SOYLENT PINK!!!!!!!!!! When approached to purchase this slop for burgers, three five-star world renowned restaurants declined (McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell... are you kidding me, Taco Bell even turned this down?). But, the US Department of Agriculture will be serving this up at a school cafeteria near you. It was approved with minimal standards under pressure by the George HW Bush administration. More shitburgers from the Bush family!
STORY: Pink Slime For School Lunch: Government Buying 7 Million Pounds Of Ammonia-Treated Meat For Meals
Paid for porn
Smells Like: middle school , pornographyAn arbitrator recently ruled that this pervert gets his job back at Glacier Middle School, plus back pay and benefits estimated at over $200,000. All he did was look at porn at school BEFORE the district enacted a stricter policy...hence...off the hook. So here is the solution if the school district fails in an appeal ( they have already spent over $300,000 on this case)...students should simply refuse to be in his presence. Parents can work to organize these kids and make sure his science classroom stays empty. Then the district can reassign him to...Internet Specialist!
STORY: Andrew Harris, Teacher Who Looked At Porn At School, To Get Job Back, Back Pay (VIDEO)
High Heel sneakers and an alligator school bag
Smells Like: dress code , GLBTThe US Supreme Court has ruled on school dress and grooming, essentially finding that the school may impose limits, if dress "disrupts the orderly operation of the school." Seventeen-year old high school junior Asante Coleman is openly gay and simply dressed in 6 inch heels, cargo pants, shirt and scarf. The school is claiming that the heels posed a "safety risk" and suspended Asante when he refused to peel them off. Look...if the kid wants to wear high heels, so what...but the fashionista's say: definitely give him a talk about them cargo pants, please!
STORY: Asante Cotman, Gay Student, Allegedly Suspended For Wearing High Heels To School (VIDEO)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/asante-cotman-gay-student_n_1321329.html
If you can't beat em', beat em' anyway!
Smells Like: corporal punishmentPort Arthur ISD Principal Bessie Johnson (Travis Elementary) is accused of using corporal punishment to "motivate" a group of fifth graders to perform better on standardized tests. She allegedly had the students kneel in front of their individual test scores and walked along beating them down the line. Shades of the Old Deluder Satan Act in colonial Massachusetts (1657?)...children are born evil and we need to beat goodness into them...or at least better test scores. And this level of brilliance is still pervasive in 18 states in the USA that still allow corporal punishment in schools. Corporal punishment does not work, does not teach, and does not motivate. The state needs to strip this idiot of her certification and send her for alternative training...Jiffy Lube perhaps.
STORY: http://blog.beaumontenterprise.com/bayou/2012/03/07/mom-alleges-port-arthur-isd-principal-gets-physical-to-increase-staar-scores/
Pale face speak with forked tongue
Smells Like: idiocy , parochial schools , punishmentWell, now that the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has solved all of the sexual abuse cases, they can turn their attention to more pressing matters. Sacred Heart Catholic School teacher Julie Gurta asked that Miranda be punished for committing what must be a mortal sin at Our Lady of Perpetual Motion...saying "Thank you" and "I Love You" in her native tongue, Menominee Indian. This must not be one of the "speaking in tongues" recognized by the RCC! Miranda was barred from playing in the girls basketball game and we are guessing was given a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers as well. Gurta and the basketball coach have since apologized, but Miranda's folks are questioning their sincerity after the fact.
STORY: Miranda Washinawatok, Wisconsin Student Punished For Using Native Tongue, Receives Apology From School (VIDEO)
Import, export...deport
Smells Like: high school , immigrationWith all of the vitriol spewed forth by the far right in this year's GOP campaign, this story does not come as a surprise. Daniela came to the US from Columbia at age 4 along with her family. She has a 6.7GPA in the international baccalaureate program and dreams of being a heart surgeon after completing studies at an Ivy League school. Damn...another illegal deadbeat sucking at the tit of public welfare! Kudos to School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho who voiced his opposition to the judges rejection of her application for a green card and issuance of the deportation order..."over his dead body!" And, kudos to the overwhelming outpouring of support from her classmates. As for the judge and the whole "get tough on immigration" policy...you are just another brick in the wall.
STORY: Daniela Pelaez, Valedictorian At North Miami Senior High School, Faces Deportation Order (PHOTOS)
I can't believe its not butter
Smells Like: elementary school , sex abuseThe more we read about the sex abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School, the sicker we get. In a hyper-vigilant mode, the school now must ban the use of blindfolds for non-visual sense reading lessons, and the science experiment in which kids get to make butter. Why? Accused perp Mark Berndt allegedly blindfolded children and fed them his semen on cookies. The school is drawing a correlation of science class manufactured butter on crackers to Berndt's actions. Not sure how the school will survive this but our hearts go out to all in this troubled school community.
STORY: Miramonte School Scandal: Blindfolding Banned From LAUSD Lesson Plans (VIDEO)
Jersey jokesters
Smells Like: elementary school , idiocyThey was just funnin' don't ya know! Two janitors at Gregory Elementary School in Long Beach, New Jersey, are under investigation for binding and gagging two 10-year old students in the school lav. Their defense...just a little joke. We are hoping that the full force of the law will be exercised here, and that the kids will not suffer any long term harm. In the meantime, these two geniuses are on paid leave. We are wondering if they are behind Hoffa's mysterious disappearance.....no joke!
STORY: New Jersey Janitors Accused Of Binding And Gagging Students In Bathroom (VIDEO)
Weeding them out
Smells Like: drugs , entrapment , high schoolAnother teenage crush has turned sour in south Florida. Honor student Justin Laboy fell in love with a 25 year- old undercover cop posing as a high school senior coed. She asked him to buy her some weed, which he did, and...love hurts. Justin was busted along with several others in the sting operation in Palm Beach. Looks like entrapment to us. After all, as Meatloaf profoundly put it..."I'll do anything for love." The kid just didn't listen to the rest of the lyric!
STORY: Teen Falls In Love With Undercover Cop In Marijuana Sting, Gets Arrested
Driven to drink
Smells Like: alcohol , high school , idiocyHey, if you didn't bring enough to share with everyone... Anne teaches at Bayshore High School in Manatee, Florida, and was tested at 0.112% blood alcohol level during the school day. Not sure if there was a kegger going on in the teachers lounge, or if she just had a five martini lunch! She was busted by the principal who smelled booze on the breath. Either Anne needs to get into the 12 steps or should switch to vodka and orange juice. Bottoms up!
STORY: Anne Wampole, Florida Teacher, Breathalyzed At 40 Percent Above Legal Alcohol Limit At School, Put On Leave
Silly putty
Smells Like: health care , idiocy , school fundingTalk about getting perky with a health care perk! Buffalo public school teachers have a sweet health care rider that provides any plastic surgery procedure, including botox and tummy tucks at a cost of nearly 5.2 million dollars to the school district last year alone. The teacher's union is not really interested in negotiating on this coverage, even though budgets are tough and teachers have been laid off. While we fully support health care coverage, this has morphed into a ridiculous burden on taxpayers and the millions of dollars going to a booming cosmetic surgery industry in Buffalo ought to be invested in the students.
STORY: Buffalo, New York Teachers Get Free Plastic Surgery (VIDEO)
No early out
Smells Like: professionalism , teachingYou can stick that retirement option! Congrats to Olivia who has been teaching since 1935. Imagine all the dizzying pendulum swings she has seen in education. She currently teaches reading to Kindergarten and Pre-K children at Ashburn Lutheran School in Chicago. Considering that half of today's crop of teachers leave the classroom within five years, this is an incredible accomplishment.
STORY: Olivia Neubauer: 100 Years Old In 2 Weeks And Still Teaching At Chicago School (VIDEO)
Value-subtracted analysis in NYC
Smells Like: assessment , teacher evaluationsMore misguided folks blindly following shoddy research that supports value-added analysis in education.
Grounded in the Tennessee STAR Study, which has been essentially discredited, the political attack on public schools pretends to use data and statistical analysis, now to rate teachers. Here is the direction we would like to go...have all elected officials submit to value added analysis and publish the results to the electorate. Better yet...base their salary on the value they have added to the economy. For example, once unemployment reaches 7% or lower, start paying them 50%. When it hits 6%, up the salary to 70%. Once it dips below 5%, full salary. And as a bonus (merit pay) when we stop going to war for one year, throw in health care....but no contraception!
STORY: New York City Teacher Ratings: Teacher Data Reports Publicly Released Amid Controversy
Immigrants need not apply...to college
Smells Like: college , idiocy , immigrationGeorgia lawmakers are tough on undocumented immigrants. They want all members of the University System of Georgia to ferret out these students from the total enrollment of 318,000 to make room for "real Americans." A recent audit reveals that there are about 300 undocumented students enrolled (about .09%). We are guessing that Georgia will have to search far and wide to fill those 300 seats with "real Americans" (whatever that means). Ludicrous way to spend legislative effort but Georgia wants to follow Arizona in getting tough on these folks. Red meat for the red states.
STORY: Georgia’s immigration law targets universities
Chicago joins South Africa
Smells Like: school closings , school reformLikening the closing of under-performing schools in Chicago to apartheid is gross hyperbole and does little to advance what will be done to improve the education of the nearly 7500 students impacted. Will they be moved to high performing schools? What metrics are being used to determine performance levels of the schools themselves? Is funding being shifted with them or to some for-profits that will operate the schools? This debate is political and to suggest that education and politics are not necessarily intertwined is naive.
STORY: CPS Board Approves 17 School Closings, Overhauls, Teachers Union Calls Vote 'Education Apartheid' (VIDEO)
Slash and burn
Smells Like: Romney , school fundingThe Michigan budget surplus was highly touted by GOP presidential hopeful and Flip-flopper in Chief Mitt Romney. Mitt not only likes the size of the trees in Michigan...he loves the down-sized education budget pushed through by Governor Rick Snyder. We can expect the same under Romney...cut education funding at a time when we need to invest more heavily in public education.
STORY: As Michigan Primary Nears, Mitt Romney, Gov. Rick Snyder Praise Budget -- Despite Education Cuts
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