Monday, November 30, 2009

Meeting in the Bronx on school overcrowding: what can be done?



On Dec. 14, Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. is hosting a meeting about the school overcrowding crisis , rising class sizes, and what can be done about this.

It's at 6 PM at the Bronx Borough Hall. The flyer is to the right; just click on it to enlarge.

Please come! We will all have to work together to solve this critical problem.




Imposters Crash White House Meeting

November 30, 2009 (GBN News): The couple who crashed a state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the other night were not the only recent White House imposters. Despite heavy security, two men posing as “educational reformers” somehow not only got into the White House, but made it as far as the Oval Office for a meeting with President Obama. It is unclear just how the two pulled off the scam, but sources at the White House told GBN News that it may have been an “inside job”. Apparently the men, going by the names Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich, were personally vouched for by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

What was particularly troubling, the sources said, was that the President seems to have been warned about the two characters as early as the transition. The person who headed up his educational transition team, Linda Darling-Hammond, had reportedly cautioned the President that the sort of reforms championed by Sharpton and Gingrich were bogus. Ironically, Ms. Darling-Hammond had herself been considered for Education Secretary. Had she, and not Mr. Duncan, been chosen, it is likely that the two hucksters, and others of their ilk such as Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee, would never have been permitted near the White House.

Repairing School PC With XP Quick Fix Plus - Free Portable Software

Free "XP Quick Fix Plus" is a simple, portable and free software that can repair your computer system (OS: Windows XP) damage caused by virus with a single click, it is so quick, easy and safety program, just run it, and click on the button with the relevant fix!


Maybe your school PC's or your student laptop had one of these problems:
  • Disable on the Task Manager
  • Disable on the Registry Editor
  • Disable on the Folder Options
  • Missing Run Dialog
  • Disable My Computer Properties
  • Windows can't run exe files
  • Documents always open when windows start-up
  • Disable on Right Click (all 40 problems..)
...

This is the right time to draw XP Quick Fix Plus with 40 common Windows XP problems fixes, only 0.58mb, portable, small and fast, a must have on every computer and with a small extra, a command line utility to fix 6 common problems directly from command line !

Note ! There can be a problem with the same symptoms as described in XP Quick Fix, but it happened because of a different reason, in this case, XP Quick Fix, may not solve the problem but also will not harm your computer.

XP Quick Fix is a portable application, There is no install process, just unzip to any folder and run it.
It includes two files:
LFX.exe (584kb) the main program GUI with 40 fixes
QFC.exe (38kb) a command line utility with 6 fixes


How to use XP Quick Fix Plus GUI

Using XP Quick Fix is very simple, just run it, and click on the button with the relevant fix
Some of the fixes may effect only after a restart.

Clicking a fix button is safe and will not harm even a proper configured computer !


How to use the Command Line Utility

In a case there is no way to run XP Quick Fix Plus from Windows or if you need to run the fix from a batch file or script, there is a simple command line utility (QFC.EXE) included in the original zip file, only 38kb.

Open a command line (cmd.exe), change directory to the program folder and run QFC.EXE with the parameters:
  • QFC /t - quick enable the Task Manager
  • QFC /r - quick enable the Rgistry Editor
  • QFC /f - quick enable the Folder Options
  • QFC /e - quick restore the Run Dialog
  • QFC /p - quick restore My Computer Properties
  • QFC /x - Quick fix Windows can't run exe files

Note ! parameters are case sensitive.
Note ! You can run only one parameter at a time.


Tools on "XP Quick Fix Plus"
  1. Enable Task Manager
  2. Enable Registry Editor
  3. Stop My Documents Open at Start-up
  4. Enable Folder Options
  5. Restore Missing Run Dialog
  6. "Open With" or "Choose Program" Opens Notepad
and many more (40 tools)

Notes

Very important ! XP Quick Plus Fix will not remove any virus or mallware !!, it will just enable some of the features that were disabled by the virus or other programs, you still have to take the required steps to remove the virus, but it will for sure help you fight back.

Be aware, if your computer is a part of an organizational network some issues are likely because of the organization group policy, this tool is only for use with personal and private computers !

if you computer is part of an organization network advice your system administrator before using this tool !


LeeLu Soft Freeware License
Copyright © 2008 by LeeLu Soft. All rights reserved


Now, you can fixed your own computer or school lab PC's quickly and no need to reinstall the system:

Start to download XP Quick Fix Plus >>

Repairing School PC With XP Quick Fix Plus - Free Portable Software

Free "XP Quick Fix Plus" is a simple, portable and free software that can repair your computer system (OS: Windows XP) damage caused by virus with a single click, it is so quick, easy and safety program, just run it, and click on the button with the relevant fix!


Maybe your school PC's or your student laptop had one of these problems:
  • Disable on the Task Manager
  • Disable on the Registry Editor
  • Disable on the Folder Options
  • Missing Run Dialog
  • Disable My Computer Properties
  • Windows can't run exe files
  • Documents always open when windows start-up
  • Disable on Right Click (all 40 problems..)
...

This is the right time to draw XP Quick Fix Plus with 40 common Windows XP problems fixes, only 0.58mb, portable, small and fast, a must have on every computer and with a small extra, a command line utility to fix 6 common problems directly from command line !

Note ! There can be a problem with the same symptoms as described in XP Quick Fix, but it happened because of a different reason, in this case, XP Quick Fix, may not solve the problem but also will not harm your computer.

XP Quick Fix is a portable application, There is no install process, just unzip to any folder and run it.
It includes two files:
LFX.exe (584kb) the main program GUI with 40 fixes
QFC.exe (38kb) a command line utility with 6 fixes


How to use XP Quick Fix Plus GUI

Using XP Quick Fix is very simple, just run it, and click on the button with the relevant fix
Some of the fixes may effect only after a restart.

Clicking a fix button is safe and will not harm even a proper configured computer !


How to use the Command Line Utility

In a case there is no way to run XP Quick Fix Plus from Windows or if you need to run the fix from a batch file or script, there is a simple command line utility (QFC.EXE) included in the original zip file, only 38kb.

Open a command line (cmd.exe), change directory to the program folder and run QFC.EXE with the parameters:
  • QFC /t - quick enable the Task Manager
  • QFC /r - quick enable the Rgistry Editor
  • QFC /f - quick enable the Folder Options
  • QFC /e - quick restore the Run Dialog
  • QFC /p - quick restore My Computer Properties
  • QFC /x - Quick fix Windows can't run exe files

Note ! parameters are case sensitive.
Note ! You can run only one parameter at a time.


Tools on "XP Quick Fix Plus"
  1. Enable Task Manager
  2. Enable Registry Editor
  3. Stop My Documents Open at Start-up
  4. Enable Folder Options
  5. Restore Missing Run Dialog
  6. "Open With" or "Choose Program" Opens Notepad
and many more (40 tools)

Notes

Very important ! XP Quick Plus Fix will not remove any virus or mallware !!, it will just enable some of the features that were disabled by the virus or other programs, you still have to take the required steps to remove the virus, but it will for sure help you fight back.

Be aware, if your computer is a part of an organizational network some issues are likely because of the organization group policy, this tool is only for use with personal and private computers !

if you computer is part of an organization network advice your system administrator before using this tool !


LeeLu Soft Freeware License
Copyright © 2008 by LeeLu Soft. All rights reserved


Now, you can fixed your own computer or school lab PC's quickly and no need to reinstall the system:

Start to download XP Quick Fix Plus >>

How to Create Jobs

Nobelist Paul Krugman vs Nobelist Gary Becker.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Harvard's Finances

The Boston Globe takes a look at what went wrong.

Quick post - Despicable: For Profit School Sucking Money from U.S. Govt - $1 BILLION!

Absolutely disgusting. The taste in my mouth is so bitter, I can't even stand to write about this article.

Today’s New York Times Editorial on the “Over-Punishment in Schools”

Here is a link to some follow-up information from the media to our new You Tube posting below on the “School to Prison Pipeline.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/opinion/29sun2.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Entitled, “Over-Punishment in Schools,” today’s New York Times editorial talks about the concern we raised over the increasing criminalization of our students that has resulted from school policies and practices that channel students from the public schools into the juvenile justice system.

The editorial alerts its readers to the increasing awareness by social justice advocates of policies put into place in the last decade in schools across the country:

“… juvenile justice advocates across the country are rightly worried about policies under which children are sometimes arrested and criminalized for behavior that once was dealt with by principals or guidance counselors working with a student’s parents.

“Children who are singled out for arrest and suspension are at greater risk of dropping out and becoming permanently entangled with the criminal justice system. It is especially troubling that these children tend to be disproportionately black and Hispanic, and often have emotional problems or learning disabilities.”


One of the problems identified has been the overpolicing in the schools. The NY Times editorial talks about an attempt to address this issue by the New York Council that has drafted a bill called the Student Safety Act. One of the goals of the act is to bring greater accountability and transparency to the issue.

The editorial describes the goals of the act as follows:

"The draft bill would require police and education officials to file regular reports that would show how suspensions and other sanctions affect minority children, children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Detailed reports from the Police Department would show which students were arrested or issued summonses and why, so that lawmakers could get a sense of where overpolicing might be a problem.

"Most important, the bill would create an easily navigable system under which parents, students and teachers could file complaints against school security officers. This provision comes in response to a 2007 report by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which said students were being roughed up for minor infractions like talking back or walking the halls without a pass.


We would be interested in sharing actions taken in other states. Readers who have information on their state are encouraged to share it with our readers on this blog.

UPDATES

Here are links to a December 14, 2009 op-ed from the New York Times entitled, “Judging our Children,” and a December 16, 2009 editorial entitled, “De-Criminalizing Children.”

Both articles continue the conversation. The latter article urges Congress to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act of 1974. The act had required the states to humanize their juvenile justice policies in order to receive federal funds.

Another op-ed article from the NY Times on March 5, 2010: Cops vs. Kids

From the March 18, 2010 issue of the NY Times: School Suspensions Lead to Legal Challenge By Erik Eckholm

The latest from a NY Times editorial of September 18, 2010: One Strike and They're Out

Reduce The Rate - Rev. Jesse Jackson

Please sign up at www.reducetherate.org, and stay tuned for more details. I obviously believe in a far more radical approach to solving the student lending crisis, but this proposal is at least a step in the right direction. I want to thank the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Push Coalition for acknowledging this major societal problem.


P < AVC

Economics textbooks, including Chapter 14 of my favorite one, explain how firms shut down production when the price of output falls below average variable cost. Here is an example:

NY apple growers leaving more fruit on trees

New York's apple orchards are being carpeted with red as unpicked apples drop to the ground.

With the best of the crop off to market, growers say this year it's cheaper to leave leftovers on the trees than to pick and sell them for juice....

One reason is an abundant crop, not only in New York but in neighboring Pennsylvania and nearby Michigan, which has produced more second-tier fruit than juice and applesauce makers need and driven down market prices.

When labor and transportation costs are factored in, selling anything but the cream of the crop for the supermarket can become a losing proposition.

"In some cases it's not worth the bother of picking them off the tree," said Peter Gregg, spokesman for the New York Apple Association.

The difference in prices is the biggest one-year swing some have ever seen. Last year, growers hurt by severe hailstorms were getting an above-average 12-18 cents per pound for processing apples, those sold for sauce and slices. The price is about 5-8 cents this year.

Thanks to econ prof Linda Ghent for sending this along.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Twittering about Student Loan Debt and Primary Care Physicians with MedicineSux

After posting an article about a handful of Democrats who are trying to add loan forgiveness for doctors to the health care legislation on Facebook, a great conversation via snippets on Twitter with the wonderful blogger over at Medicinesux, quickly ensued.  (There were also many insightful remarks made on my Facebook page, and I want to thank everyone for that lively conversation as well).

My energy remains focused on the overall student loan debt crisis. Of course, I do like to highlight the far-ranging cultural and intellectual ramifications of the problem I believe the crisis is causing and will cause. But I try to strike a steady balance between its macro (i.e., the broad range of societal problems it's causing) and micro implications (the human experiences of being rendered destitute by an unregulated student lending industry). It's nice to find people who can discuss the finer points of how the student lending industry is damaging their own areas of expertise - Medicinesux tells us a story of the hardships that many young doctors are now facing.

I don't dare speak about the health care debates. It's really too infuriating and for too many reasons - where does one even begin? Of course I think it's important to highlight how that crisis intersects regularly with the student lending crisis. I receive hundreds of emails each week, and so many of the stories I read also contain details about health problems and huge bills for medical treatment. I think it's safe to say that these emails probably reflect the struggles of millions of Americans who have to make the difficult choice to either pay for medical treatment or send money to the legalized student loan sharks.

I urged Medicinesux to write a blog post about our conversation last night. He made such good critiques that I wanted to read a fleshed account of those pithy remarks. I was delighted to find on my TweetDeck this morning a note from Medicinesux. He wrote: "wish granted," and provided me with this link.

In the next few weeks I am calling for submissions from readers. If you are interested in sharing your own analysis about the way in which the student lending crisis is affecting your industry, please write me an email (ccrynjohannsen@gmail.com). I look forward to reading and posting your accounts.



Student Lenders Selling the Souls of Those Seeking Education to the Devil - could one find a new twist on the Faustian pact with the Devil?  

My Crib

The Harvard Crimson visits the Mankiw family abode.

Friday, November 27, 2009

A Reading for the Pigou Club

A profile of the club's namesake.

Penggemar Mobil tamiya Speed Mini 4 wd Yogyakarta


Sekilas foto2 penggemar mobil speed mini 4 wd di yogyakarta

Etex Kurai (wahyu) dan Awal sholeh


koleksi mini 4 wd dan part2.


mobil milkishit tegar body tamiya asli dan kuning chukin

Pembuatan charger 5 ampere trafo merek ERA waktu charger 10-20 detik selebihnya pengechasan baterai siap panas dan mengeluarkan cairan. ^^

kawat hitam 0,78 dan kawat hijau 0,83


lumayan main speed disini, t4 perdana saya menjalankan mobil speed selama 2002 tak bermanin mini 4 wd. kalo jam set 6 trek dah tutup.


Trek di HARCO yogya biasa buka toko jam 09:00-22:00



mobil ke2 body hjh buntung cukup untuk speed dan tabung auldey lama 2002.


gabungan angkur ma tmn.

Gear satu set JY dan auldey 1300 mah NIMH

kilikan double

baterai auldey 900MAH ketahanannya bagus. belajar bikin mesin. angker auldey 10mm didapat dr mudik kebalikpapan.


mobil buatan ke2 dan ke 3 yang pertama body chukin udah patah nabrak ditek harco itulah resiko mobil speed. ibarat sepandai2nya tupai melompat pasti akan jatuh juga.

Is a Tobin Tax feasible?

The Tobin tax--a tax on financial transactions--is very much in the news. Before one gets to the issue of the desirability of such a tax, one has to address the question of whether the policy is even feasible. I am skeptical. Financial transactions are easy to move: If two parties to a financial contract can just as easily sign and enforce the contract in the Cayman Islands as in New York or London, there is little point in US or UK policymakers imposing a Tobin tax. Unless, of course, moving the finance industry offshore is the policy goal.



In his column today, Paul Krugman raises and then dismisses this issue as follows:

On the claim that financial transactions can’t be taxed: modern trading is a highly centralized affair. Take, for example, Tobin’s original proposal to tax foreign exchange trades. How can you do this, when currency traders are located all over the world? The answer is, while traders are all over the place, a majority of their transactions are settled — i.e., payment is made — at a single London-based institution. This centralization keeps the cost of transactions low, which is what makes the huge volume of wheeling and dealing possible. It also, however, makes these transactions relatively easy to identify and tax.
This passage left me scratching my head. Even if most transactions are now settled in one place, that need not be the case in the future after a significant change in the policy environment. It is not as if London has some large, natural comparative advantage in financial settlement that would persist despite a tax on transactions there. The finance industry is set up to take advantage of very small price differences. If London became ever so slightly more expensive, wouldn't contracting and settlement quickly migrate elsewhere?



Update: NYU finance prof Aswath Damodaran reaches similar conclusions.

Please Resend

A student (from abroad, I believe) sent me an email query this morning, which I inadvertently deleted before replying. If you are that student, please resend. Everyone else: Never mind.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Graphics calculators in examination

Roger G. Brown from the University of Leeds (UK) has written an article entitled Does the introduction of the graphics calculator into system-wide examinations lead to change in the types of mathematical skills tested? This article was published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics earlier this week. Here is the abstract of his article:
The paper reports on the introduction of the graphics calculator into three centralised examination systems, which were located in Denmark, Victoria (Australia) and the International Baccalaureate. The introduction of the graphics calculator required those responsible for writing examination questions to consider how to assess mathematical skills within this new environment. This paper illustrates the types of mathematics skills that have been assessed within the graphics-calculator-assumed environment. The analysis of the examination questions indicated that only two out of the six mathematics examinations considered demonstrated any significant change in the types of skills assessed in conjunction with the introduction of the graphics calculator. The results suggest that it is possible to reduce the use of questions assessing routine procedures (mechanical skills) with a graphics calculator, but it is also evident that there have not been major changes in the way that examination questions are written nor the mathematics skills which the questions are intended to assess.



Graphics calculators in examination

Roger G. Brown from the University of Leeds (UK) has written an article entitled Does the introduction of the graphics calculator into system-wide examinations lead to change in the types of mathematical skills tested? This article was published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics earlier this week. Here is the abstract of his article:
The paper reports on the introduction of the graphics calculator into three centralised examination systems, which were located in Denmark, Victoria (Australia) and the International Baccalaureate. The introduction of the graphics calculator required those responsible for writing examination questions to consider how to assess mathematical skills within this new environment. This paper illustrates the types of mathematics skills that have been assessed within the graphics-calculator-assumed environment. The analysis of the examination questions indicated that only two out of the six mathematics examinations considered demonstrated any significant change in the types of skills assessed in conjunction with the introduction of the graphics calculator. The results suggest that it is possible to reduce the use of questions assessing routine procedures (mechanical skills) with a graphics calculator, but it is also evident that there have not been major changes in the way that examination questions are written nor the mathematics skills which the questions are intended to assess.



Download Free Educational Ebook - Finding Money for College Scholarships and Grants

This e-book is optimized for viewing on a computer screen, but it is organized so you can also print it out and assemble it as a book. Since the text is optimized for screen viewing, the type is larger than that in usual printed books.

Disclaimer
This report has been written to provide information about grants and scholarships. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering grants and scholarships services. If grants and scholarships, or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this report contains information on grants and scholarships only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this report should be used as a guide – not as the ultimate source of enter your report's area of expertise (legal, medical, etc.) information.

The purpose of this report is to educate. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report.


Contents


Contents..............................................................................................1 Contents..............................................................................................4
An Introduction to Scholarships..........................................................5

Athletic Scholarships: Getting and Keeping Them................................7

College Financial Advice And Where To Seek It Out.............................8

Financing Your Education: Coping With Financial Strain....................10

Help Is At Hand with Scholarship Searching Services.........................12
Looking Closer To Home: Institutional Scholarships..........................14
Low Income Families and Educational Financial Help........................16

Making Your Own Destiny With Company Scholarships.....................18

Managing Scholarship Requirements And Your Health......................20

Online Degrees And Scholarships: Supplementing Your Education....22

Passing the Test: Scholarships And The PSAT....................................23

Scholarships And Nationality: Your Guide........................................25

Scholarships for the Older Generation...............................................27
Scholarships, Grants and the Internet...............................................29

Scholarships, Grants and Your Family..............................................30

Showcasing Your Talents: Attracting Sponsorship............................32

The Outsider: Funding For Out Of State Students...............................34

The Questions to Ask About Grants and Scholarships........................36

The Scholarship Application and Making It Yours!............................38

The Search Engine and the Scholarship: An Unhealthy Relationship.40

The Travel Bug and How It Will Affect Scholarships..........................42

A Guide to Scholarship Applications................................................44

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Federal Grants.........................47

How to Write the Ultimate Grant Proposal........................................49

Lending A Helping Hand: The Difference Between A Hardship Loan
And A Hardship Grant .....................................................................50

All Resources...................................................................................52


Published by:
Charles H. Smith

P.O. Box 2225
West Columbia,
SC 29171
Charleshsmith.com

Copyright © 2008 Charles H. Smith All rights are reserved.
No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.


Download Free Ebook now!

Download Free Educational Ebook - Finding Money for College Scholarships and Grants

This e-book is optimized for viewing on a computer screen, but it is organized so you can also print it out and assemble it as a book. Since the text is optimized for screen viewing, the type is larger than that in usual printed books.

Disclaimer
This report has been written to provide information about grants and scholarships. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering grants and scholarships services. If grants and scholarships, or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this report contains information on grants and scholarships only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this report should be used as a guide – not as the ultimate source of enter your report's area of expertise (legal, medical, etc.) information.

The purpose of this report is to educate. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report.


Contents


Contents..............................................................................................1 Contents..............................................................................................4
An Introduction to Scholarships..........................................................5

Athletic Scholarships: Getting and Keeping Them................................7

College Financial Advice And Where To Seek It Out.............................8

Financing Your Education: Coping With Financial Strain....................10

Help Is At Hand with Scholarship Searching Services.........................12
Looking Closer To Home: Institutional Scholarships..........................14
Low Income Families and Educational Financial Help........................16

Making Your Own Destiny With Company Scholarships.....................18

Managing Scholarship Requirements And Your Health......................20

Online Degrees And Scholarships: Supplementing Your Education....22

Passing the Test: Scholarships And The PSAT....................................23

Scholarships And Nationality: Your Guide........................................25

Scholarships for the Older Generation...............................................27
Scholarships, Grants and the Internet...............................................29

Scholarships, Grants and Your Family..............................................30

Showcasing Your Talents: Attracting Sponsorship............................32

The Outsider: Funding For Out Of State Students...............................34

The Questions to Ask About Grants and Scholarships........................36

The Scholarship Application and Making It Yours!............................38

The Search Engine and the Scholarship: An Unhealthy Relationship.40

The Travel Bug and How It Will Affect Scholarships..........................42

A Guide to Scholarship Applications................................................44

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Federal Grants.........................47

How to Write the Ultimate Grant Proposal........................................49

Lending A Helping Hand: The Difference Between A Hardship Loan
And A Hardship Grant .....................................................................50

All Resources...................................................................................52


Published by:
Charles H. Smith

P.O. Box 2225
West Columbia,
SC 29171
Charleshsmith.com

Copyright © 2008 Charles H. Smith All rights are reserved.
No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.


Download Free Ebook now!

How Little We Know

Economist Russ Roberts opines on financial reform.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanks for lives past and present

crossposted from Daily Kos

I was, perhaps appropriately, listening to a recording of the Brahms Requiem when I saw the email: Greg Kannerstein had passed away. Let me quote two paragraphs from Haverford College President Steve Emerson's ('74) email:
A mentor, student, teacher, colleague, coach and friend to thousands, Greg recently stepped down from his role as our Dean of the College after a 41-year career marked by boundless enthusiasm for Haverford. He had begun work on his new appointment as a Special Advisor to Institutional Advancement and Lecturer in General Programs when emerging health issues forced him to take a medical leave last month. His illness was diagnosed only weeks ago.

My heart aches at the thought of losing Greg. I believe it is fair to say that every Haverfordian who has passed through the College since 1968 has been touched by Greg’s spirit. Whether in his role as coach, teacher, Athletic Director, Dean of Admissions, or Dean of the College, Greg was always there for Haverford, and for everyone in the greater Haverford family.


And that got me thinking about the thanks I want to offer -

Greg and I did not overlap as students at Haverford - he was class of '63 and my original class was '67. But when I returned in the Fall of '71 he was already back as a fixture on the campus he loved, and where he would spend the rest of his life. Greg was a friend for almost 4 decades. Two others I did not know as well also passed recently, Gerald Bracey and Ted Sizer. I knew both through their writings, Jerry much better through electronic exchanges over more than a decade and the occasional phone conversation, and Ted through one long conversation several years ago in Providence when we were both there for a conference on education.

Bracey could be acerbic. He was a brilliant man, and did not tolerate fools and idiots when it came to matters of educational policy. He could totally devastate the kind of sloppy thinking that has unfortunately so shaped our educational policy in recent years. His writings over the year pointed me in the direction of research I needed to absorb. Our last exchange is when he arranged for me to get a copy of his final book, Education Hell: Rhetoric versus Reality, which may be the best single book on education policy I have read in several years. I did not get around to writing an online review before Jerry passed, but I was so impressed I bought a number of copies to give to Members of the House interested in education with my strong recommendation that they read it. As part of my thanks for his life and work, I promise I will review that book here before the end of the year.

Ted Sizer was one of the most generous spirits I have ever encountered. He was a consummate educator, usually of other educators. His book Horace's Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School laid out clearly one of the real crises in American education. That and his subsequent work led to some of the most meaningful reforms in American education: The Coalition of Essential Schools, which is largely based on his insights and work, and the Forum for Education and Democracy, of which he was a Convener, are illustrative of his positive influence.

I am thankful for men such as Greg, Jerry and Ted, who cared deeply for others, for education, and who served as mentors and inspirations for so many.

Which makes me realize how thankful I am for something else - the students with which I am blessed each and every day. The inspiration I received from Jerry and Ted would have far less meaning were I not able to live it, to pass it on to others. The model of service to others that Greg lived similarly is something I feel honor-bound to pass on by attempting myself to live it. And I am blessed because each day I enter my classroom I am presented with a multitude of opportunities through the lives of the young people before me.

I am thankful that they are willing to trust, to allow themselves to be challenged, push, provoked, and that they trust me not to abandon them, to encourage them, to comfort them when they struggle. That requires me to go outside of myself, and certainly makes me more humane, or if you prefer, allows me to begin to realize my own humanity.

There will be many other things for which I will offer thanks, today, tomorrow and for the rest of the year.

Greg's death reminded me of the importance of thanking him for sharing his life with so many of us, and that I need to say the same of Jerry and Ted.

There is an ancient Buddhist saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. So perhaps it was for me when I got to know Greg - who was very much a teacher, not only as a coach, but in the classes he also occasionally taught, having himself seriously studied literature at the graduate level. And certainly reading and later knowing Jerry and Ted helped shape my own teaching.

Realistically, one only teaches with the cooperation of the student. So for me, when the student appears and is willing to travel down the road of mutual exploration and learning, that is when the teaching begins. Without the students I am not a teacher.

Thanks for these lives, the three recently passed, and the 180 currently on my roles who represent present and future, and the several hundred still in our building who have previously shared the experience of learning with me.

I am truly blessed.

Peace.

Thanks for lives past and present

crossposted from Daily Kos

I was, perhaps appropriately, listening to a recording of the Brahms Requiem when I saw the email: Greg Kannerstein had passed away. Let me quote two paragraphs from Haverford College President Steve Emerson's ('74) email:
A mentor, student, teacher, colleague, coach and friend to thousands, Greg recently stepped down from his role as our Dean of the College after a 41-year career marked by boundless enthusiasm for Haverford. He had begun work on his new appointment as a Special Advisor to Institutional Advancement and Lecturer in General Programs when emerging health issues forced him to take a medical leave last month. His illness was diagnosed only weeks ago.

My heart aches at the thought of losing Greg. I believe it is fair to say that every Haverfordian who has passed through the College since 1968 has been touched by Greg’s spirit. Whether in his role as coach, teacher, Athletic Director, Dean of Admissions, or Dean of the College, Greg was always there for Haverford, and for everyone in the greater Haverford family.


And that got me thinking about the thanks I want to offer -

Greg and I did not overlap as students at Haverford - he was class of '63 and my original class was '67. But when I returned in the Fall of '71 he was already back as a fixture on the campus he loved, and where he would spend the rest of his life. Greg was a friend for almost 4 decades. Two others I did not know as well also passed recently, Gerald Bracey and Ted Sizer. I knew both through their writings, Jerry much better through electronic exchanges over more than a decade and the occasional phone conversation, and Ted through one long conversation several years ago in Providence when we were both there for a conference on education.

Bracey could be acerbic. He was a brilliant man, and did not tolerate fools and idiots when it came to matters of educational policy. He could totally devastate the kind of sloppy thinking that has unfortunately so shaped our educational policy in recent years. His writings over the year pointed me in the direction of research I needed to absorb. Our last exchange is when he arranged for me to get a copy of his final book, Education Hell: Rhetoric versus Reality, which may be the best single book on education policy I have read in several years. I did not get around to writing an online review before Jerry passed, but I was so impressed I bought a number of copies to give to Members of the House interested in education with my strong recommendation that they read it. As part of my thanks for his life and work, I promise I will review that book here before the end of the year.

Ted Sizer was one of the most generous spirits I have ever encountered. He was a consummate educator, usually of other educators. His book Horace's Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School laid out clearly one of the real crises in American education. That and his subsequent work led to some of the most meaningful reforms in American education: The Coalition of Essential Schools, which is largely based on his insights and work, and the Forum for Education and Democracy, of which he was a Convener, are illustrative of his positive influence.

I am thankful for men such as Greg, Jerry and Ted, who cared deeply for others, for education, and who served as mentors and inspirations for so many.

Which makes me realize how thankful I am for something else - the students with which I am blessed each and every day. The inspiration I received from Jerry and Ted would have far less meaning were I not able to live it, to pass it on to others. The model of service to others that Greg lived similarly is something I feel honor-bound to pass on by attempting myself to live it. And I am blessed because each day I enter my classroom I am presented with a multitude of opportunities through the lives of the young people before me.

I am thankful that they are willing to trust, to allow themselves to be challenged, push, provoked, and that they trust me not to abandon them, to encourage them, to comfort them when they struggle. That requires me to go outside of myself, and certainly makes me more humane, or if you prefer, allows me to begin to realize my own humanity.

There will be many other things for which I will offer thanks, today, tomorrow and for the rest of the year.

Greg's death reminded me of the importance of thanking him for sharing his life with so many of us, and that I need to say the same of Jerry and Ted.

There is an ancient Buddhist saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. So perhaps it was for me when I got to know Greg - who was very much a teacher, not only as a coach, but in the classes he also occasionally taught, having himself seriously studied literature at the graduate level. And certainly reading and later knowing Jerry and Ted helped shape my own teaching.

Realistically, one only teaches with the cooperation of the student. So for me, when the student appears and is willing to travel down the road of mutual exploration and learning, that is when the teaching begins. Without the students I am not a teacher.

Thanks for these lives, the three recently passed, and the 180 currently on my roles who represent present and future, and the several hundred still in our building who have previously shared the experience of learning with me.

I am truly blessed.

Peace.

Take Out Your Pencils 3

In my most recent Ec 10 lecture, I discussed Arrow's Impossibility Theorem. Here, from my favorite textbook, is a fun problem based on it:

A group of athletes are competing in a multi-day triathlon. They have a running race on day one, a swimming race on day two, and a biking race on day three. You know the order in which the eligible contestants finish each of the three components. From this information, you are asked to rank them in the overall competition. You are given the following conditions:

  • The ordering of athletes should be transitive: If athlete A is ranked above athlete B, and athlete B is ranked above athlete C, then athlete A must rank above athlete C.
  • If athlete A beats athlete B in all three races, athlete A should rank higher than athlete B.
  • The rank ordering of any two athletes should not depend on whether a third athlete drops out of the competition just before the final ranking.

According to Arrow’s theorem, there are only three ways to rank the athletes that satisfy these properties. What are they? Are these desirable? Why or why not? Can you think of a better ranking scheme? Which of the three properties above does your scheme not satisfy?

---
If you enjoy this kind of thing, click here for the previous installment in this series. And let me note, before anyone asks, that I will not post the answer, so instructors can use the problem as homework.

When you realize the significance of Twitter- Lynnette Khalfani-Cox responds

With the continued support from readers, I have been able to throw myself into work that's meaningful and just plain good. I want to thank all of you for allowing me to be of service. I am humbly honored to be able to advocate for those who are struggling to pay off their debt and ensure that the student lending crisis is not marginalized.

Your stories have inspired me to reach out to as many people as humanly possible, and urge them to think about this major societal crisis. Today I feel as if this work is beginning to pay off.

A few moments ago I was delighted to have received a few Tweets from Lynnette Khalfani-Cox . I sent her a quick tweet last night about the student lending crisis, and here's what she said in response:

-"The student loan crisis is very important to me. I had $40K in college debt. Have written about this problem for years."

-"Under the Obama administration, I think there will ultimately be a push for more student loan forgiveness too."

Khalfani-Cox has a high media profile. She has appeared on Oprah and is frequently interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, etc. about issues relating to debt. It's a good thing that she responded, and I want to publicly thank her for her remarks.

On another front, I am working with a loose coalition of people, some of whom are connected to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, about the student lending crisis. (The group I've mentioned several times, TICAS.org, is also a part of this group. That's a very important group. TICAS was founded by Robert Shireman who is now the Deputy Undersecretary of Education. So, yeah, they're a critical connection to the White House). More details about this collaborative work will follow, but for the time being I wanted to provide you with a quick update of activities and correspondence.  (I still need to post about my email correspondence with Dr. Noam Chomksy, too).

Also, many of you are encountering some serious problems with CITI. As many borrowers are aware, CITI took over AES. I am in the process of responding to several people who have asked me for advice with this situation and some other lenders. I have specific instructions and will send that out to the people who requested help shortly. NOTE: If you feel that your lender may be up to illegal activities, I urge you to get in touch with me ASAP. There are ways we can combat these problems, and I can provide you with assistance. (Please email me here - ccrynjohannsen@gmail.com).

All right, that's enough for now. Phew. I am excited! This Thanksgiving will be much better than I thought. And, yes, I will be working tomorrow. The student lending crisis continues at a rapid pace, so there is no resting at this point.

On a final note, I got a great job, and it will allow me to devote more time to my advocacy work and writing. That means I'll have more time to be of assistance to more people who feel trapped by the student lending crisis.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.





Hooray! Perhaps we're being heard!

Knocked Up...and Knocked Out?

Maybe I'm just a little too sensitive these days. After all, women at the end of their third trimester can be like that. But when I read about a new campaign, one to prevent unplanned pregnancies among community college students, I was a bit taken aback.

According to the nonpartisan group in charge, 48% of community college students "have ever been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant." And this is a problem, the group contends, because dropout rates are higher among students who get pregnant while in college. So, presumably in order to increase degree attainment in the public two-year sector, we need to slow this trend and prevent unplanned pregnancies.

Ok, on the face of it, this seems like a plausible argument and approach. After all, it's hard enough to get a degree while working full-time, let alone while parenting too. And sure, there's plenty of research suggesting that the children of planned pregnancies are more likely to be raised in stable, intact families-- and to benefit from that arrangement. With college being the new high school, it makes some sense to continue the conversation about healthy relationships and safe sex in the postsecondary environment. And bringing social and health services onto campus makes everyone's lives a bit easier. All good things.

But something about this effort worries me. Let's go back to those initial stats-- nearly half of all students attending community college either have been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant. Well, the average age of a community college student is 29, and nearly 60% of community college students are women. Furthermore, we know that childbearing has a time horizon-- the peak age of fertility and egg qualityis around 27. So, all this statistic tells me is that many community college students are parents--which could mean that after becoming parents adults are more likely to choose to attend a community college or that attending community college increases the likelihood of getting pregnant. Which do you believe? And in a society that values children and higher education, what is the optimal percentage of community college students who should have had this experience?

These aren't easy questions to answer. We could try and make it simpler to accept the Campaign's argument by focusing on what seems negative-- college dropout. But it's not entirely clear that these are causal effects-- that getting pregnant causes college dropout. Sure, that seems like a rational connection, but it's also plausible that an overwhelming (biological?) desire to have a child now-- even an unspoken, "unintended" desire-- leads some to get pregnant and also drives a decision to leave college (for now). What's most important is that we see women returning to college after having children-- so these aren't dropouts, so much as stopouts.

We might also ask ourselves, what is the function of the American community college, if not to serve as the "second chance" institution where adults can return to resume an education after starting a family? Participating in this campaign must cause at least some community college leaders to pause and wrestle with that question. Doesn't the community college have the potential to be one of the healthier educational institutions, where real life meets academic life-- and childbearing and parenting occur without the usual stigma? After all, this is a place where we educate adults-- not teenagers.

I'll raise just a few more thoughts before leaving it open to discussion (which I have no doubt this little post will generate):

1) There's some evidence that rates of college entry and completion are lowered not by childbearing, but by marriage. In fact, unmarried mothers are more likely than married mothers to attend college. Sure, again, that's not necessarily a causal relationship-- but shall we begin to discourage marriage among community college students too?

2) There's also evidence that while parents finish college at lower rates, that's largely a function of having to take longer to finish. They tend to work and enroll part-time, so when we look at a typical window of time for completion, their rates look low. Give them longer, and parents finish up. Is this a problem? I can only argue yes from a purely economic perspective that says the sooner the economic returns begin, the better.

And that perspective is one that may be limiting our views here. After all, don't we treasure higher education for its intergenerational benefits-- what it allows us to pass on from parents to children? Presumably these benefits only occur if we do, in fact, have kids. Some demographers (and also some right-wingers) are concerned with the delays in fertiility among college-educated women -- and we're bringing pregnancy prevention efforts into colleges?

It's all a bit confusing. We don't want students to get knocked up and knocked out, sure. But maybe instead of trying to alter student behavior we should instead invest more in supportive services to help parenting students complete degrees? The Campaign notes that community colleges already offer childcare-- but it doesn't make it clear that campus childcare centers are notoriously over-enrolled, and sometimes too expensive. Increasing the availability of high-quality, inexpensive, on-campus childcare seems like another good way to promote degree completion among parenting students. Another approach would be to increase students' financial aid so that they can afford to purchase decent health care, to ensure healthy pregnancies and healthy children.

If the Campaign has an unintended side effect of stigmatizing pregnant and/or parenting students attending community college, it will have more than failed-- it will have made things worse. We have enough anti-child environments already. Efforts like this one should proceed very, very carefully.

Yet Another Nail in the NYS Regents Exam Coffin


On November 19, the Office of the NY State Comptroller released a report of its findings from an audit of local district scoring of high school Regents exams. The results, while not surprising to those closest to high school education in NY State, was nevertheless stunning in its confirmation of just how badly skewed the entire Regents examination system has become. Equally startling was the mainstream press’s utter failure to note the findings, virtually all of which agreed with by the Regents themselves. (Note: only Maura Walz at the Gotham Schools website seems to have reported on this so far.)

The audit team randomly selected 200 NY State high schools and, using a team of experienced high school teachers, rescored nine non-multiple-choice questions on one 2005 subject area exam (identified only as Exam A) and thirteen non-multiple-choice questions on another 2005 subject area exam (Exam B). In total, the Review team rescored almost 2,400 Exam A papers and over 3,200 Exam B papers, looking only at questions where local school exam graders has discretion over how many points to award their students’ answers. Their findings in summary:

“…a significant tendency for local school districts to award full credit on questions requiring scorer judgment even when the exam answers were vague, incomplete, inaccurate, or insufficiently detailed.”

That sentence euphemistically recaps the much more disturbing details of their findings:

1. For Exam B, the locally reported total scores of the thirteen questions were higher than the Review Team’s re-scored total on 80% of the examination papers reviewed (totals were the same on 15% of the papers).

2. For Exam A, the locally reported total scores on the nine questions were higher than the Review Team’s re-scored total on 58% of the examination papers reviewed (totals were the same on 32% of the papers).

3. For Exam B, the locally reported total scores were at least three raw score points higher (or lower) on 34% of the exam papers re-scored by the Review Team. Three raw score points can easily scale to ten or more points on the student’s final, converted score. While not detailed in the report, one can well imagine that “bubble students’” tests were most prone to this higher level of score inflation to ensure they passed the raw score hurdle to receive a converted score of 65 or more.

4. For Exam A, the locally reported total scores were at least three raw score points higher (or lower) on 17% of the exam papers re-scored by the Review Team.

5. Exam B contained two five-point essay questions. The locally reported scores on these two questions were higher (or lower) than the Review Team’s re-scoring in 47% and 43%, respectively, of the exam papers reviewed.

6. Eighteen of 192 selected schools failed altogether to submit their requested Exam A papers, and 20 of 205 did not submit their Exam B papers. Even the Comptroller’s audit report suggests that these compliance failures might be attempts, as they put it, “to avoid scrutiny.”

7. Review of SED’s procedures for follow-up on privately-lodged complaints of scoring fraud or irregularity found no evidence that twelve of them had ever been investigated. Thus, even an honest teacher who whistle-blows on scoring fraud has virtually no guarantee that SED will conduct any investigation whatsoever. The door for cheating, fraud, or just looking the other way on exam grading is wide open and seemingly encouraged by SED’s actions and lack thereof.

Combine this pattern of fraudulently inflated grading with the persistent dumbing down of Regents exams and the concomitant lowering of the raw score needed for a passing scaled score grade, and the end result is an examination system that is utterly meaningless as a measure of knowledge or understanding. Even worse, as the Comptroller’s report makes clear, SED has failed completely to follow up on any of these issues, even having in hand another report from 2003/2004 detailing almost exactly the same problems.

What has become clear in the past five or six years (noticeably since the advent of NCLB), is that the NY State Regents examination system, once a moderately respectable measure of academic achievement, is now broken almost beyond repair. As long as the numbers are up, everyone rests easy; nobody seems to care that they are meaningless, as witnessed by the high levels of remediation required of first-year college student products of our state education system. As usual, the losers in this breakdown are the students and their sadly unaware parents.

It seems clear as well that the time has come for a major investigation and overhaul of SED and the Regents system. Governor Paterson and others in Albany, when will you wake up and start doing what’s right for the children in your state?