Monday, May 31, 2010

Zakaj potrebujemo izdelano terminologijo?

Med strokovnjaki se pogosto postavi vprašanje, včasih čisto odkrito in skoraj agresivno, drugič spet sramežljivo in skoraj naskrivaj: Zakaj sploh potrebujemo terminologijo, poleg splošnih slovarjev še terminološke, ali ne bi prevzeli kar angleškega izraza pa bi vsi razumeli . . . ?

Jezik je kompleksna in zanimiva tvorba, nastala iz nezadržne potrebe po komuniciranju, včasih enostavnem in

A political map of American voters

Using the 2004 National Annenberg Election Survey (a large super-poll of the American public) I can create a political map of self-described political opinion in 2 dimensions: fiscal and social conservatism/liberalism. We also have data on how each group voted. Sample size is 7000.


This is particularly important for europeans to understand.

Social conservatism was a somewhat stronger predictor of voting for Bush in 2004 than Fiscal conservatism.

Here is a nicer picture with all the data:


Unlike what is implied in libertarian political theory, fiscal and social conservatism are strongly correlated. About 60% of voters are located on a one-dimentional axis.


Still the group who like me is fiscally conservative but socially liberal/moderate is significant, at 16.3% of the voters. Libertarian leaning voters are in this group. The segment that is fiscally moderate/liberal but socially conservative is smaller at 11.7%.

Furthermore, the first group is much more common among the elite and opinion leaders than the second group. That is the direction the Republican party should take.

Fiscal Liberal, Social Conservative is the amusing sounding ideology of 30 Rock character Dennis Duffy, and is the smallest segment in the U.S. The joke works because the educated elite accept fiscal conservatism, some even admitting grudgingly that that is the intellectually superior position. Social conservatism on the other hand is (somewhat) unfairly viewed as having no intellectual foundation.

People who are both Fiscally and socially conservative are dominant at 30% of the population. Fiscal and social liberal is only 11%.

However, in the U.S liberal has become a dirty word (because of the failed liberal experience in the 1960s and 1970s). So many don’t admit to being liberal. Moderates are thus more Democrat than Republican. Many of those who call themselves moderate are really liberal or progressive.

Fiscally liberal, socially moderate/conservative voters did not vote for Bush. The reason is that this group is to large extent made up of minorities.

Musical Elective of the Month: May 2010

The Musical Elective Of The Month is Tift Merritt.

Tift is a 35-year-old singer/songwriter who grew up in North Carolina, but is now based in the Big Apple. Her music is in the alt-country vein, although her sophomore album went in a decidedly rock and soul direction. Tift's got a distinctive, pure voice that lends a warmth and forthrightness to her lyrics.

Sara and I recently saw her open for Amos Lee in Madison, Wisconsin. As a result of this command opening performance, she made me an even bigger fan than I was. Tift's brand-new album is released on June 1, 2010. It's called See You On The Moon, and already has received critical acclaim from the likes of The New Yorker, Paste Magazine and the Washington Post for its stripped-down production and showcasing of Tift's vocal talent.

Tift released her first solo album in 2002 and has three studio albums and one live album under her belt. Pretty good work. Her debut album, Bramble Rose, was widely heralded, making both Time Magazine's and The New Yorker's top 10 lists for that year. My favorite is 2005's upbeat Tambourine, featuring the tracks "Good Hearted Man," "Stray Paper," "Write My Ticket," and "Shadow In The Way." Tambourine was nominated for a Grammy for Country Album of The Year even though I think it is the least "country" of her three studio albums. Go figure. In 2008, Tift released Another Country, with the tracks "Broken," "Keep You Happy," and "I Know What I'm Looking For Now." She also released a live acoustic album, Buckingham Solo, on February 24, 2009. It is a great example of her clean, pure sound from her live shows.

Check out more at her official web site.
You, how did you get so wise?
I take the advice I find in your eyes.
Me, I’ve been waiting outside
Most of my life,
Oh like a rare b-side.

I’m just making you mixtapes with homemade covers.
Analog to show we’re lovers,
And here under the jacket folds inside,
I’ve taped my heart for you to find.

--"Mixtape," See You On The Moon (2010)

Click here for past Musical Electives.

Photo courtesy of www.playbackstl.com.


SAVE THE DATE!

Miss Tahiti 2010 is June 25!
Who will win the the 50th annual title?

Silence of the Mahasiswas

Silence of the mahasiswas — Lee Lian Kong
May 31, 2010

There is a Bob Dylan song that goes “I used to care, but things have changed”.

Malaysian students used to care. They used to live up to their grand Malay name “mahasiswa”; fresh, spirited, inspired. Now it is a deafening silence or, worse, clueless silence. We have become frightened and leashed. We have surpassed ourselves to become shining examples of obedience. Like dogs. If the dogs bark, the owners whip and yank on their steel collars. If they are silent, they are rewarded with treats. In time, we have forgotten how to bark.

The mahasiswas of today are like those dogs.

Historically, young people were a significant force in the development of this country.

They were heady with the victory for independence. The mahasiswas debated, protested and demonstrated for pro-justice, pro-human rights, justifying their position and manifesting the education they receive in the best institutions of the country.

Back in 1974 during the Tasik Utara issue they were reckoned forceful enough that desperate villagers look towards them to help. Twenty-six years ago, a staggering 5,000 students went to demand for the eradication of poverty in Baling.

Where are they now?

In Pavilion, sipping RM15 cappucino lattes, using a Blackberry to play “Texas Hold ‘Em”. In shopping malls, stretching daddy’s credit card to buy more things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like. Apathy, ignorance, oblivion is a pandemic amongst Malaysian youths. One can give the excuse that the mahasiswas of before were spurred by the injustice they saw when they worked as teachers in the outskirts. One can continue by saying it is not our fault that we are robbed of such experience and enlightenment. One can even cite the magic word: Akta Universiti and Kolej Universiti. Such an argument is nothing but a conscience struggling to save some face.

First-class facilities did not rob the students at the University of California, Berkeley and several other universities of their conscience. For months, theirs was a persistent effort to bring together students of all race, gender and opinions to pass a Bill to divest from any investment from companies that provided financial and military support to Israel. Compared to them, we fall short miserably in terms of empowerment, independence and desire.

Sure, AUKU is a reasonable excuse. Being expelled and blacklisted, the possibility of not graduating, not getting a job or, worst of all, the dreams of owning a BMW evaporated are deterrents. However, AUKU is a blatant disregard to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which advocates freedom of speech, expression and assembly, an insult to Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has successfully played a part to place us at the lowest tier in terms of human rights. We proudly proclaim ourselves university students, in complete awareness of this knowledge, yet though our inaction we blindly accept this insolent law.

Aminul Rasyid, Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan, GST, subsidy cuts, economic burden on the rakyat are only a sliver of the issues insulting basic human rights. An innocent kid shot directly to the head by an irresponsible police officer. Economic terrorism leading to families not even able to have basic amenities such as water, electricity and education. We see, hear and know of all these injustices. Our awareness, if there is at all any, makes our silence all the more embarrassing when compared with our student bodies of 30 years ago, the outspoken student crowds of our neighbouring country, Indonesia, and America’s student unions divestment effort to stop Israel’s crimes towards Palestine.

Have those RM15 cappucino lattes completely numbed our conscience?

Thankfully, all is not lost. There are a few, but not enough, out there who publicly denounce AUKU and have courageously listened to their hearts and conscience, such as the recent famous four from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia caught participating in the Hulu Selangor by-election. To these brave young men and women, I salute you.

Is the new measure of poverty better?

Robert Samuelson looks at a proposed new measure of the poverty rate.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE - 2002

Panama's Justine Pasek, Miss Universe 2002

Exploring patterns

If you enjoy geometrical patterns or colouring or even if you are contructing a tiling system for your kitchen or bathroom, you might want to look at this site from Altair Design. Teachers and parents might like to look too, to see some activities to get kids painlessly interested in geometry. Explore the site - it has a huge variety of patterns that you can colour online, a competition you can enter, and a gallery of the best examples done by other people. The middle button at the top gives you some history and context for the site.

I also recently stumbled on some nice tiling patterns based on Escher's drawings in the Alhambra (one of which is shown in the picture). If you go to the page via the link, click on the individual patterns and you'll open up some spectacular PDFs.

Exploring patterns

If you enjoy geometrical patterns or colouring or even if you are contructing a tiling system for your kitchen or bathroom, you might want to look at this site from Altair Design. Teachers and parents might like to look too, to see some activities to get kids painlessly interested in geometry. Explore the site - it has a huge variety of patterns that you can colour online, a competition you can enter, and a gallery of the best examples done by other people. The middle button at the top gives you some history and context for the site.

I also recently stumbled on some nice tiling patterns based on Escher's drawings in the Alhambra (one of which is shown in the picture). If you go to the page via the link, click on the individual patterns and you'll open up some spectacular PDFs.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

ZEN ON SUNDAY

India's two Miss Universes
Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994, and
Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000

Original Articles on John Dewey Sought

We are seeking original articles on John Dewey for our upcoming issue of the Journal of Educational Controversy on "The Education our Children Deserve." The issue will include some of the most significant progressive writers of our time and we would like to include an historical piece on Dewey. The controversy posed for that issue is:


"The politicizing of education at the national level has centered on issues of standards, accountability, global competitiveness, national economic growth, low student achievement on worldwide norms, and federally mandated uniformity. There has been little discussion of the public purposes of our schools or what kind of education is necessary for an individual’s development and search for a meaningful life. There is a paucity of ideas being discussed at the national level around topics such as: how school practices can be aligned with democratic principles of equity and justice; how school practices can promote the flourishing of individual development as well as academic achievement; what skills and understandings are needed for citizens to play a transformative role in their society. Without conversation at this deeper level about the fundamental purposes of education, we cannot develop a comprehensive vision of the kinds of schools our children deserve. We invite authors to contribute their conceptions of the kind of education our children deserve and/or the kinds of schools that serve the needs of individuals and of a democratic society."

DEADLINE FOR MANUSCRIPTS: DECEMBER 31, 2010
PUBLICATION DATE: SUMMER 2011

Quick Post: First Editorial on Shared Sacrifice - Please Listen And Spread The Word! We're On The Radio

Thanks again to Shared Sacrifice for asking me to come on board and share my research, writing, and advocacy work on the student lending crisis. I encourage all of you to listen to my first podcast and spread that word. We - the indentured educated class - are on radio now! (Also, Matt Stannard's talk about the Teabaggers is well worth listening to . . . it's after my editorial).

Also, the White House letter writing campaign went exceedingly well. I am grateful to those of you who continue to volunteer and help others - many of you came out to join this second letter writing campaign, and I am greatly appreciative for the high turnout. Moreover, I am thinking of new goals, and hope that you will provide me with feedback and suggestions on how we can raise awareness about this crisis and therefore recruit more people to get involved.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Charter CAP Law Drives Mob to Go Non-Profit


May 29, 2010 (GBN News): In an unprecedented step, five major Mafia crime families in New York have joined forces to register with the Federal Government as a 501(c) non-profit corporation, GBN News has learned. The surprise move was reportedly precipitated by yesterday’s NY State Legislature vote raising the charter school cap. The new law doubles the number of charter schools allowed in the state, but precludes any for-profit organizations from running them. Without pursuing non-profit status, the Mafia would have had to abandon plans to move into the lucrative charter school market.


While on the surface the Mafia appears to be abandoning its customary pursuit of huge, illicit profits, its leaders may have actually chosen a wise course of action in a bad economy. “Even the Mafia’s bottom line is down,” said the Dean of the Manhattan School of Criminal Justice, J. Fredrick Runson. “As the great philosopher Al Capone once said, ‘I go where the money is’. Seeing how folks like Eva Moskowitz are making big bucks off ostensibly non-profit charters, the mob chieftains obviously saw a deal they ‘couldn’t refuse’.”


Even with the State Comptroller now being empowered to audit charter schools, the Mafia should still feel comfortable doing business with the NY City DOE, Dr. Runson indicated. “From his flaunting of the Committee for Fiscal Equity lawsuit on class size, to his habitually ignoring City Comptroller audits, Chancellor Joel Klein’s actions should make those mob capos feel right at home.”

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE - 1964

Miss Philippines Gemma Cruz is crowned Miss International 1964!

More on the League of Democratic Schools

In a post below, we described a visit to the Westside Village Magnet School in Bend, Oregon, one of the schools in the League of Democratic Schools. In the League's May newsletter, readers can read updates on the other schools. See page 6 for the highlights from LODS schools.

John Goodlad, the founder of the League of Democratic Schools, has recently published three articles in the Washington Post where readers can gain a deeper understanding of the motivations behind his life's work.

See:

Goodlad on school reform: Are we ignoring lessons of last 50 years? Part 1


Goodlad: Straight Talk About Schools, Part 2


Goodlad: How to help our schools -- Part 3



Common Characteristics of LODS Schools

 Democratic Purpose: LODS schools believe the primary
purpose of schooling is to develop in young people the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes students require for
successful participation in our nation’s social and political
democracy.

 Student Achievement: Students in such schools are
successful academically and socially.

 Ongoing Professional Development: All members of the
school community engage in continuous learning.

 Approaches to Learning: These are schools that use a wide
variety of approaches to learning, including engaging students
with parents and other adults within the community.

 Personalization: These schools deliberately personalize the
relationships among students, teachers, parents, and
administrators by faculty members’ gathering as a group for
dialogue and by making other arrangements to facilitate
communications among the members of the school community.


2010 goals for the League schools focus on developing "ongoing, sustainable mechanisms for deepening our community’s understanding and engagement around the public purpose of schools in our democracy."

Conservatives are outbreeding Liberals

Journalist Steve Sailer made the important point that white fertility was substantially higher in Red States than Blue States, something he calls "The Baby Gap". I would like to update and expand on his insight.

First, here is the correlation between total fertility per women in 2008 and McCain's vote share in 2008. The association is strong. In the latest available figure the total fertility rate of non-Hispanic white women is 1.86. You need 2.05 for replacement levels. The total fertility rate of Utah is 2.7, compared to 1.7 in Vermont.


On occasion patterns that are true in the aggregate are not true at the individual level. For example, rich states vote much more Democrat, but voting for President Obama in 2008 was actually negatively associated with income. The reason for the paradox is the *within* Red states in particular and to some extent also within blue state, income is associated with voting Republican.

For this reason I have evaluated the hypothesis using micro-level data. The source is National Annenberg Election Survey, which is essentially a super-poll of tens of thousands of Americans, with lots of questions.

I am looking at women 40-45 to get a good proxy for lifetime fertility. At this age mostly the children have not left home yet, and above this age the probability of having more children is extremely low.

Overall, conservative non-hispanic white women have 26% more children than liberal white women, a sizable difference.

The very conservative have 45% more kids on average than the very liberal.


So what does this imply? Political preferences are strongly related with parental views. This is probably not genetic. The likelihood to vote has been shown to be to some extent genetic, but not who you vote for. The link is cultural. Still how the ideology is transmitted is not important, just that it is.


Let us assume that if you have conservative parents, you become conservative with 70% probability and liberal with 30%, and vice-versa. With this number if you start off equally divided between liberal and conservative (there are more of the later, but many moderates are really liberal who don't want to admit it) in 1 generation the right will be 10% larger than the left.

Of course at the same time because of immigration and very high Hispanic (especially Mexican) birth rates, the Hispanic share is rising. Hispanics and African American voters are far to the left of middle, especially on fiscal issues.


The higher Conservative birth rate slows the demographic ascent of the current, liberal leaning Democrat party. However liberal white voters, who are ideologically very committed, will be replaced by equally left leaning but less ideological minority voters.

Based on these 2 long term demographic trends whites will become increasingly republican and the Democrat party increasingly minority.

Of course these long term trends are dominated by short term events. In 2004 Kerry won the overall young vote (18-29) by 9 points, while Bush won the white young vote by 11 points. In 2008 President Obama won the young vote by 34 points, and the white young vote by 10 points (54-44%).

Students create quilts to honor Holocaust survivor Susie S.

Students from Lisa Kreiger's class at Kalles Junior High School in Puyallup, designed two Holocaust quilts, which they recently donated to the Holocaust Center. These quilts were inspired by the class's Holocaust unit and were created to honor Susie S., the Holocaust survivor who spoke to their class in April.

Says Kreiger of the unit, "We examined the unit from the perspective of the theme of justice and injustice and the role of the bystander in helping, as well as the role of discrimination and propaganda in genocide."
Students were moved by what they learned in the unit and from Susie, a member of the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau.

Both quilts are on display at the Holocaust Center. Thank you for all of your hard work Kalles Junior High!

Income and Federal Tax Shares

Click on grapic to enlarge.  Source: Scott Hodge from Tax Policy Center estimates.

No Matter How Hard You Try, No One Will Listen

What follows is a mostly verbatim text from a student in our Bachelors program. This was written for a timed exam for students seeking prior professional experience credits, so she did not have much time to revise it. I think it gives it an immediacy lacking in most of the texts we read in academia.

For me, this student's story captures better than almost anything else I have read the tragic position of working-class parents of color in inner-city public schools.
I was the parent advocate for my own son. I had to advocate for his ADD disability. The origin of the advocacy initiative was the school saying if my son doesn’t take his medicine he cannot come to the school any more. I had a problem with this because when he was on the medicine he became a zombie and no learning was taking place. He was suspended more than he was at school. So my journey began with me being a parent who needed to advocate for my son who could not speak for himself.

First I had to deal with real emotions from the teachers who were tired of dealing with my son on a day to day situation. He was extremely out of order in class every day.

I was called to come to the school every day. Which made me lose two jobs. Taking care of my son’s educational needs ending up being my fulltime job. I had to advocate for my son’s education because the school district had decided if he didn’t take his medicine then you might as well keep him at home. I would come to the school in the mornings to calm him and help him get the morning classes out he way, and hopefully I could leave but normally that was not the case.

I knew I had to find a teacher my son liked in the school so that we could get the process of learning started. Once I found the teacher that could deal with him, the school said no that he was to stay put in the class he was in. I don’t take no very well, and I had to figure out how to get this principal to change her mind on his placement. The first thing I did was go directly to the principal and appeal to her that my son needed to be with a teacher that he respected and enjoyed being with. She still said no.

The next step I had to come up with is to get his IEPs scheduled more frequently, like once a week until we get a handle on his behavior. The IEPs helped a little, I could tell the principal had an attitude problem and the teacher was just staring into space. The only person who seemed interested was the school psychologist. The meetings were supposed to benefit my child but they always turned into me being a bad parent by not giving my son his medicine. I knew I had to find a way to ask the right questions, because I felt the school perceived me in a bad light. Possibly a parent from the ghetto who was using the school as a baby sitter. In the beginning I didn’t know how to ask the right questions because the staff was always on defensive and that made me go on defensive with them.

I knew I had to understand the playing field better. Who could I trust? They needed to know what my expectations were for my child.

I got extremely frustrated at one point because the only thing the school was saying to me was force the medicine in him. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I defiantly was on the wrong side of the playing field with these educators who were smarter than me. I learned to write down everything , keep a journal so when stuff changes I would not have to remember by memory. I had 3 years of journals to refer back to.

The next step was how to deal with a hostile environment in the school. The staff, to me, was taking this too personal. Sometimes even yelling at my son telling him he was bad and going to be stupid. This type of environment was not conducive for learning for any one.

The next approach was to find ways of boosting my child s ego before he got to school. I would tell him that he was going to be the best kid today. And that if he could make it to lunch with no outbursts, tantrums, or attacking some one I would reward him with going to the park to play. I know he had a lot of energy and needed to get the steam off. If my son woke up in a bad mood it had to do with something he went through the night before, and I would have to solve this before I would take him to school. It would take till he got to the 6th grade before the outburst would stop. Because soothing him before he got to school did not work.

When my son got in the 6th grade I realized he still could not read or write, he was at a 3rd grade level so I had to hire him a tutor to get him up to par. The IEPs did not address his education they were only addressing his behavior. So not only was the school failing him I was failing him. So myself and the tutor took upon ourselves to have school every day and teach him his abc’s how to write and his math was below par too.

At this point I had to find a job to support us. My advocacy turned to letter writing first to the school district, then to a lawyer. I wrote so many letters my fingers were numb. I needed to find some one to help me with my case. My son’s education was suffering because the only thing the school was concentrating on was his behavior. He was being shipped from one alternative school to another. And he was not learning a thing. I became an assertive parent advocate so that I could be a effective parent in helping my child get educated. I talked to whoever would listen to me. I was at the school board more than I was at work. . . .

I finally found an educational advocate for my son, someone to speak for him at his IEP meetings. This worked because the staff listened to her she was one of their peers and could not say some of the dumb stuff they had said to me over the years. I found too that I had to keep up with the documents that labeled him mentally retarded. My son was not mental he had a severe behavior problem and I knew this was going to hinder him from learning because if everyday he was acting out he was not learning. I knew the resources were limited and I did not care, I asked for whatever the school district had in the budget to use for my son. I asked the school to hire him a mentor to walk with him to every class so he could stay focused on going to class and actually entering the class room and not walking the hallways. This worked perfectly until the school received budget cuts and the first person to go was my son mentor. I knew I had to walk in the schools shoes and I needed them to help want to help my child. This was a hard task, because once you start asking for things for your child you get labeled as the enemy.

I failed as an educator advocate for my child he is now 16 in and out of jail, he still can't read or write that good and if you ask him if he wants to go to school he will tell you no. My child has turned down any help we have offered him and at this point I hope he graduates, I don’t see this happening because he is 16 and still in the 9th grade. Nothing worked after he got old enough to say no to the forced medicine at school. . . .

Nothing happened because the school district fought me tooth and nail. They did not care if my son got educated, he was passed to the 9th grade and that is where he probably will be when he turns 18. My efforts went unnoticed because I was only advocating for my son, I did not meet any other parents that had children with type of disorder.

I learned that the school district has a long way to go on compassion for children that have problems. I was beat down so many times because I didn’t know the right questions to ask. Anybody who met my kid either hated or loved him. I fought a long and hard fight for my son but he has now chosen the thug life and school is on the bottom of his agenda. I have not given up. I do pray for him and call and encourage him. But when teens have their mind made up that they are already grown and can make their own decisions there is basically not much you can do. I have learned that you can only do so much with little support from educators who are supposed to be on your side. Yes I probably should have given my son the drugs but I still feel today that they should open schools for children like my son so that they can get the education they deserve and not focus solely on his behavior.

No Matter How Hard You Try, No One Will Listen

What follows is a mostly verbatim text from a student in our Bachelors program. This was written for a timed exam for students seeking prior professional experience credits, so she did not have much time to revise it. I think it gives it an immediacy lacking in most of the texts we read in academia.

For me, this student's story captures better than almost anything else I have read the tragic position of working-class parents of color in inner-city public schools.
I was the parent advocate for my own son. I had to advocate for his ADD disability. The origin of the advocacy initiative was the school saying if my son doesn’t take his medicine he cannot come to the school any more. I had a problem with this because when he was on the medicine he became a zombie and no learning was taking place. He was suspended more than he was at school. So my journey began with me being a parent who needed to advocate for my son who could not speak for himself.

First I had to deal with real emotions from the teachers who were tired of dealing with my son on a day to day situation. He was extremely out of order in class every day.

I was called to come to the school every day. Which made me lose two jobs. Taking care of my son’s educational needs ending up being my fulltime job. I had to advocate for my son’s education because the school district had decided if he didn’t take his medicine then you might as well keep him at home. I would come to the school in the mornings to calm him and help him get the morning classes out he way, and hopefully I could leave but normally that was not the case.

I knew I had to find a teacher my son liked in the school so that we could get the process of learning started. Once I found the teacher that could deal with him, the school said no that he was to stay put in the class he was in. I don’t take no very well, and I had to figure out how to get this principal to change her mind on his placement. The first thing I did was go directly to the principal and appeal to her that my son needed to be with a teacher that he respected and enjoyed being with. She still said no.

The next step I had to come up with is to get his IEPs scheduled more frequently, like once a week until we get a handle on his behavior. The IEPs helped a little, I could tell the principal had an attitude problem and the teacher was just staring into space. The only person who seemed interested was the school psychologist. The meetings were supposed to benefit my child but they always turned into me being a bad parent by not giving my son his medicine. I knew I had to find a way to ask the right questions, because I felt the school perceived me in a bad light. Possibly a parent from the ghetto who was using the school as a baby sitter. In the beginning I didn’t know how to ask the right questions because the staff was always on defensive and that made me go on defensive with them.

I knew I had to understand the playing field better. Who could I trust? They needed to know what my expectations were for my child.

I got extremely frustrated at one point because the only thing the school was saying to me was force the medicine in him. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I defiantly was on the wrong side of the playing field with these educators who were smarter than me. I learned to write down everything , keep a journal so when stuff changes I would not have to remember by memory. I had 3 years of journals to refer back to.

The next step was how to deal with a hostile environment in the school. The staff, to me, was taking this too personal. Sometimes even yelling at my son telling him he was bad and going to be stupid. This type of environment was not conducive for learning for any one.

The next approach was to find ways of boosting my child s ego before he got to school. I would tell him that he was going to be the best kid today. And that if he could make it to lunch with no outbursts, tantrums, or attacking some one I would reward him with going to the park to play. I know he had a lot of energy and needed to get the steam off. If my son woke up in a bad mood it had to do with something he went through the night before, and I would have to solve this before I would take him to school. It would take till he got to the 6th grade before the outburst would stop. Because soothing him before he got to school did not work.

When my son got in the 6th grade I realized he still could not read or write, he was at a 3rd grade level so I had to hire him a tutor to get him up to par. The IEPs did not address his education they were only addressing his behavior. So not only was the school failing him I was failing him. So myself and the tutor took upon ourselves to have school every day and teach him his abc’s how to write and his math was below par too.

At this point I had to find a job to support us. My advocacy turned to letter writing first to the school district, then to a lawyer. I wrote so many letters my fingers were numb. I needed to find some one to help me with my case. My son’s education was suffering because the only thing the school was concentrating on was his behavior. He was being shipped from one alternative school to another. And he was not learning a thing. I became an assertive parent advocate so that I could be a effective parent in helping my child get educated. I talked to whoever would listen to me. I was at the school board more than I was at work. . . .

I finally found an educational advocate for my son, someone to speak for him at his IEP meetings. This worked because the staff listened to her she was one of their peers and could not say some of the dumb stuff they had said to me over the years. I found too that I had to keep up with the documents that labeled him mentally retarded. My son was not mental he had a severe behavior problem and I knew this was going to hinder him from learning because if everyday he was acting out he was not learning. I knew the resources were limited and I did not care, I asked for whatever the school district had in the budget to use for my son. I asked the school to hire him a mentor to walk with him to every class so he could stay focused on going to class and actually entering the class room and not walking the hallways. This worked perfectly until the school received budget cuts and the first person to go was my son mentor. I knew I had to walk in the schools shoes and I needed them to help want to help my child. This was a hard task, because once you start asking for things for your child you get labeled as the enemy.

I failed as an educator advocate for my child he is now 16 in and out of jail, he still can't read or write that good and if you ask him if he wants to go to school he will tell you no. My child has turned down any help we have offered him and at this point I hope he graduates, I don’t see this happening because he is 16 and still in the 9th grade. Nothing worked after he got old enough to say no to the forced medicine at school. . . .

Nothing happened because the school district fought me tooth and nail. They did not care if my son got educated, he was passed to the 9th grade and that is where he probably will be when he turns 18. My efforts went unnoticed because I was only advocating for my son, I did not meet any other parents that had children with type of disorder.

I learned that the school district has a long way to go on compassion for children that have problems. I was beat down so many times because I didn’t know the right questions to ask. Anybody who met my kid either hated or loved him. I fought a long and hard fight for my son but he has now chosen the thug life and school is on the bottom of his agenda. I have not given up. I do pray for him and call and encourage him. But when teens have their mind made up that they are already grown and can make their own decisions there is basically not much you can do. I have learned that you can only do so much with little support from educators who are supposed to be on your side. Yes I probably should have given my son the drugs but I still feel today that they should open schools for children like my son so that they can get the education they deserve and not focus solely on his behavior.

Fama on Financial Reform



Thursday, May 27, 2010

Alamat Perusahaan-perusahaan di Balikpapan


Alamat Perusahaan-perusahaan di Balikpapan



PT. TRAKINDO UTAMA.
Director Dwi Wiyatno Address Jl. Jend. Sudirman RT.046 / 011 No.848 – Phone: (0542) 762810 – Fax : (0542)763806 Service Lugiman – Parts; Ardiansyah – Marketing; Rudy Mardin.

PT. CORROCOAT INDONESIA.
Director Ir. Ardiansyah (Branch Office Director) Mr. Gerald Ralph Roxburg (Head Office Director) Address Branch Office and Workshop Balikpapan Jl. Projakal Km 5,5 No. 12 Batu Ampar Balikpapan, Head Office and Workshop Jakarta Jl. Cakung Cillincing Km 1 N0. 7 Jakarta East 13910 – Branch Office: Phone: (0542) 861823/24 – Fax: (0542) 861823, Head Office, phone: (021) 4612711 Fax: (021) 4400537 – Email: jakarta@corrocoat.co.id Service Application coating Service & repair Equipment, pipe internal, tank, vessel & heat exchanger, valve concrete coating/lining

PT. BUKAKA TEKNIK UTAMA
Jl. Mulawarman KM.21 Manggar Balikpapan 76116 Telp. : +62 - 0542 - 743312 Fax. : +62 - 0542 - 743319 E-Mail : bukakabpn@bukaka.com

PT. LIEBHERR INDONESIA PERKASA
Director Willy Hasjim Address Jl. Mulawarman No.17 RT.19 RW.04 Balikpapan 76116 - Phone: (0542) 764215 – Fax: (0542) 770327 – E-mail: ptl@ptl-liebherr.co.id – Website : www,liebherr.com Service Bucket and dump body industry, repair of heavy equipment part in workshop and main agent of LIEBHERR product.

PT. THIESS CONTRACTORS INDONESIA
Director Ade Prawoto Address Jl. Mulawarman Rt.2 No.1 Batakan Kecil, Manggar (Km16) Balikpapan- Phone : (0542) 762151 (HUNTING), 021-75999601-604 - Fax :(0542) 762618, 770221, 021-75999400 - e-mail : aprawoto@thiess.co.id ,Website : http://www.thiess.com.au Service Base Support Facilities & Training Center


PT. PERTAMINA TONGKANG.
Director Slamet Sofyanto. S.Sos Address JL. Yos Sudarso No.1 Balikpapan – Phone : (0542)515661-5663 – Fax (0542)423766 – Email : ptkbpp@indo.net.id Service Shipping Services, Shipping Agencies, Custom Clearance, TBA/HOP, Cargo Handling.


INTA BALIKPAPAN
JI. Mulawarman No. 6, RT. 28/09
Manggar
Balikpapan
Phone: +62-542 770477
Fax: +62-542 770450

PT. IRVANA UTAMA ENGINEERING
Director Reza Pramana Address Jl. Markoni Atas No. 07 Balikpapan – Phone : (0542)423920 – Fax : (0542)423925 Service Skill Manpower supply

CV. BATAKAN TEKNIK UTAMA
Director Koestiono Address Jl. Milono No. 25 Balikpapan – Phone: (0542) 424053 – Fax: (0542) 410702 – Email: batakan@indo.net.id Service Design, Engineering, Fabrication & Coating, and Trading.



PT. SUCOFINDO
Director Did B. Tedjosoemirat (Jakarta), Bayu Rahardaya (Balikpapan) Address Jl. A. Yani No.1 Gunung Sari Ulu Balikpapan - Phone: (0542) 732188 – Fax: (0542) 732186 Service Integrated Maintenance & Engineering, Industrial Plane and Transportation Service (non destructive test), Sanitary & Phyto Sanitary (Pest Cambia Service), Laboratory for Analyze & Testing, Oil & bag Service, Laternational Standard Service (1509000,15014000,HACOP, Safety), Financial & Investment Service, Forestry, Fishery & Environmade Service, Agriculture Service, Consumer & Industrial Product Service.

PT Altrak 1978
Jl. Jend. Sudirman No 838, Balikpapan 76114
Phn. : (0542) 761978
Fax. : (0542) 761977
E-mail : al78@bpp.altrak1978.co.id This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it



PT Tjokro Bersaudara Balikpapanindo
Jl Letjen Haryono MT 25 RT 051 BALIKPAPAN
0542- 862325


PT. Pupuk Kalimantan Timur Tbk. [Balikpapan Branch],.
Jl. Pupuk Raya No. 54,Balikpapan 76101 Kalimantan Timur,Indonesia
Kalimantan Timur
No Fax.(0542) 763124
No Telepon.(0542) 764470, No Telepon.(0542) 764466
Fertilizer



United tracktors Balikpapan
Jl Mulawarman No 22 Kelurahan Manggar, Kecamatan Balikpapan Timur, Balikpapan
0542
750808 (hunting)
750828
bmblp@unitedtractors.com



PT. FLUIDCON JAYA
Hidup baru industrial estate
Jl. Mulawarman no.21 rt.23
Balikpapan (76116)

PT Schlumberger Geophysic Nusantara
Jl. Mulawarman Km. 20 Kel. Manggar
Balikpapan



PT Eka Dharma Jaya Sakti
Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 22
Kelurahan Gunung Bahagia
Balikpapan 76114, PO Box 370.
Balikpapan

PT. PARITAS
Jl. Ruhui Rahayu Dua, RT. 99 NO. 54
Balikpapan (76114)



Steve Eisman Blasts For-Profits, Arguing "Subprime Goes To College"

As a result of a lot of reading and research on this topic, I've mentioned the same thing, i.e., that the subprime mess looks pretty much the same when it comes to the student lending industry. In fact, I made a point to discuss the way in which Deutsche Bank and others have invested in student loans. I think it's all well and good that Steve Eisman is turning his attention to for-profit schools and blasting them for carrying out the same sort of unscrupulous activities as those  did on Wall Street. (Mr. Eisman, incidentally, was chronicled by author Michael Lewis in the Big Short for his open criticism of the subprime gambling on Wall St). Indeed, this problem needs to be exposed. However, I find this sole focus on the for-profits to be disconcerting for one important reason. It's great that Mr. Eisman has noted, as I have countless times (along with other student loan advocates) that we're on the "cusp of a social disaster." I would actually disagree with Mr. Eisman and say we're not on the cusp, we're there. It is noteworthy that he compares this situation to those who lost their homes. Even worse, as most of my readers know, student loan debtors can't flee from their debts (in some cases it follows you to the grave). If we can't make education affordable, as I've said countless times, we can say hello to becoming a Third World Country. This crisis is problem that I think needs to be addressed and needs to be solved immediately. I write that with different and deeper views on education as a result of the time I am spending here in South Korea as an instructor. But I digress. My biggest concern is this: it's not just the for-profits who should be scrutinized. The entire system is a disaster, and that means that all universities and colleges should be forced to reconsider the way in which they are allowed to increase tuition whenever they so choose.

On another note, I've referred to us for a long time as the indentured educated class, and it turns out . . . student loan-backed securities are labeled as indenture instruments. That's right! Now, if that doens't make your stomach turn as an indentured educated citizen, I don't know what does . . . Yikes.

PAGEANT POLITICS

25-May-2010, AP, SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A beauty queen known as the Dominican Cinderella for her rise from humble roots is trading pageants for politics and will serve as deputy mayor of the region where she was born.

Ada Aimee de la Cruz, who was the 2009 Miss Universe runner up, was voted to office on the ticket of Mayor Francisco Fernandez of the opposition Revolutionary Dominican Party in May 16 elections. She will represent Santo Domingo Norte, the country's fourth largest municipality with 445,000 residents.

"I'm here to shatter the myth that beauty queens are airheads," the 23-year-old told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I want to help youth so they do not find themselves without anything to do because of a lack of plans and opportunities."

The 6-foot-tall beauty starts work Aug. 16 and will become the first former beauty queen to assume an elected position in this Caribbean nation.

She said she would promote education and sports programs for children in a municipality where only half are enrolled in high school and where the illiteracy rate is 10 percent among those older than 10, according to government statistics.

She said most schools in her municipality offer only a fifth-grade education.

De la Cruz also envisions creating work programs for impoverished women and promoting her hometown of Villa Mella for its popular pork products.

"We're going to build a pork rind park as a tourist attraction," she said.

De la Cruz recently earned an accounting degree and recalled how she worked since she was 16 in a women's clothing store to pay for her studies and transportation.

She was crowned Miss World Beach Beauty in 2007 and Miss Dominican Republic in 2009. She stepped down from that position a month before it expired.

"At 23 I have achieved all my goals. From here to 35 you never know, I might even reach the presidency," she said with a laugh.

Mafia to Run NYC Charter School

May 27, 2010 (GBN News): The Mafia, which has recently taken an interest in funding innovations in education (GBN News report, April 30), will reportedly be opening a new themed charter high school in New York City this fall. The school will specialize in the study of criminology, from a non-traditional perspective.

A Mafia source described the program to GBN News as, “More vocational than academic.” The source went on to say that, “The kids will do a lot of hands-on learning, more ‘how to’ than theoretical. We guarantee that they’ll come out well-prepared for exciting jobs in the field, or else.”

J. Fredrick Runson, Dean of the Manhattan University School of Criminal Justice, is not surprised that the Mafia would want to run a charter school. “All those hedge fund guys are figuratively making a killing on charter schools,” he told GBN News. “The Mafia will do the same thing, only they can do it literally.”

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein told GBN News that he could not comment on the reported plans for the school, since “We’re in a delicate phase of plea bargaining – I mean, negotiations.” However, he did say that he is happy to work with any group that can run an effective charter school. “If they get good test scores,” he said, “Like any other charter school, we don’t care how they do it.”

The Next Financial Crisis

As foretold by Harvard's Jeremy Stein.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE - 1986

Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde, Miss World 1986

Andrew Cuomo: stop listening to the privateers, and start listening to parentse!



Andrew Cuomo announced for governor this weekend; according to news reports, he decided to support raising the cap on charter schools after he met with the hedge fund operators, and got their promise of contributions to his campaign.

He seems to have completely swallowed the line of the charter school lobby, according to his new campaign document, and implies giving parents a say in co-locations ‘a poison pill”:



I believe public education is the new civil rights battle and I support charter schools.

New York must be the leader when it comes to education reform. This starts with the increasing the charter school cap from 200 to 460. But increasing the cap won’t result in more charter schools if we too tightly restrict where they can be located or how they can be approved. We believe that public review and consultation are important—especially when charter schools will be co-located with traditional public schools—but this cannot become a poison pill that prevents opening new charter schools.

It’s unbelievable how bad it’s gotten and how much public education has been undermined by the hedge fund privateers, that its considered a positive sign that Robert Duffy, Mayor of Rochester, pro-charter and pro-mayoral control, who is Cuomo’s pick as lieutenant governor, feels as though he must assure parents that their neighborhood schools will not entirely disappear, according to the Gotham Schools:

We will guarantee a place for elementary school children at their nearest neighborhood school, if that is what the family wants. There will be choices of other schools with special programs and services, but every young child will be able to attend a neighborhood school if their parents choose. That will reduce transportation costs.

Some vision of public education!

If you are on Facebook, please friend Cuomo, and then post a comment on his Facebook page, as I have. Urge him to start listening to parents, for a change; not the hedge fund operators.

Ask him to oppose raising the cap on charters without rigorous protections for parent and student rights. And ask him to start paying attention to improvements for our public schools, where the vast majority of our NY students attend. Public school parents may not have millions to contribute to his campaign, unlike the hedge fund operators, but we vote!

Helping Ourselves

There's a bit of an uproar in California over an arrangement between the for-profit Kaplan University and the California Community College Chancellor's Office that makes it possible for students locked out of community college courses to enroll in a Kaplan course at a reduced rate. The arrangement stems from the overcrowding and under-resourcing of the California community college system, which is nothing less than under siege. Of course, it also stems from a completely sensible desire of Kaplan to expand its reach and enrollment. The California State Legislature, by failing to adequately support its community colleges, created that opportunity. Kaplan is doing exactly what we'd expect any educator to do--responding to student demand. We denigrate that action only because it will also result in profits. Let's at least be honest about that.

To me the really distasteful part of the backlash against Kaplan comes from those who are outraged that an agreement was reached to ensure the transferability of credits--an arrangement in which faculty were not consulted. Faculty members are used to being consulted on which courses they will and will not accept. Professors like to sign off on what courses can count to "replace" theirs--seemingly because they want to ensure educational quality, but let's face it, it's also because it helps to protect their jobs. The more courses deemed transferrable, the more it will become clear that the current system is inefficient--if many courses equate with each other, why have so many different people in different places teaching them?

But undergraduate education isn't meant to serve faculty; it's meant to serve students. This is something people seem to ready to forget. The president of the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges was quite straightforward about her priorities when she told a reporter, "I'm hard pressed to see where we could...make this favorable to faculty." Huh? Since when is ensuring the continuation of a degree, and the portability of credits, meant to be about helping the faculty?

I get it--this move opens the door to a lot of scary possibilities. One is that Kaplan and other for-profits will fulfill a need and let the Legislature off the hook in future funding of state higher education. The degree to which we treat that as negative should be at least partly informed by empirical evidence on how California's community college students fare at Kaplan. Kaplan is to be commended for providing the data to allow a study on that topic to take place, and Scott Lay, president of the Community College League of California is a smart guy to recognize that as a real opportunity. Make that commitment a real one, and assess the outcomes of the arrangement. Then we'll have something more solid with which to pass judgment: evidence on how this affects students.

Can't get to DC but want to attend one of the USHMM's teacher seminars?

On August 24, 2010, the Holocaust Center is partnering with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Seattle University to bring to Seattle



Register Now! (Space is limited.)


This one-day, information packed seminar will provide educators with a solid foundation for teaching about the Holocaust in their classrooms.

We are proud to welcome as our keynote speaker Carl Wilkens, former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda, and one of only a handful of Americans who chose to stay in the country after the genocide began. Wilkens is currently the director and founder of World Outside My Shoes.

Sessions are lead by the Holocaust Center's master teachers and USHMM teacher fellows - teachers who have had extensive training and experience in the subject of the Holocaust and genocide.

If you've been teaching the Holocaust for years, or if you have never taught the subject before - all teachers will find the day challenging, thought-provoking, and insightful. No one will leave without having gained new resources and new ideas.

Sessions include:

Nazi Ideology and the Holocaust: An Historical Overview
Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust
Breakout sessions (Social Studies, Language Arts, and others)
Nazi Propaganda
Local Resources
Antisemitism and the Holocaust
Understanding Contemporary Genocide: The Case of Rwanda (Carl Wilkens)
Stories from a Survivor (Evening program - open to the public)


This incredible professional development opportunity is FREE. Lunch, snacks, and all materials are provided. Clock hours available. Regsitration is now open and space is limited.




Perspectives on the Holocaust: A Seminar for Educators
August 24, 2010
At Seattle University, Seattle
Sponsored by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Seattle University.


Questions or want more information? Please email Ilana Cone Kennedy, Director of Education, Holocaust Center at ilanak@wsherc.org.

The World Economy in a Nutshell



Thanks to Tim Schilling for the pointer.

Modesty, Gradualism, Balance

A couple years ago, I participated in a panel discussion on libertarianism in Mike Sandel's Justice class, along with my friend and colleague Jeff Miron.  Jeff is a true libertarian, and he defended that position with gusto.  By comparison to Jeff, I seemed lacking in conviction.  I described myself as a "libertarian at the margin."  By that, I meant that given our starting point today, I believe more reliance on individual liberty and less on governmental solutions is usually a step in the right direction, but I often recoil at more radical libertarian positions.

David Brooks's column yesterday offers a good explanation of skepticism about big radical ideas, such as pure libertarianism.  It made me feel better about my watered-down variety.

Race to the Top's Dropouts

UPDATED 5/28/2010

The deadline for state applications in Phase Two of the Race to the Top (RttT) competition is next Tuesday, June 1st. Only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, succeeded in winning funding in Phase One. The U.S. Department of Education has estimated that 10-15 states will win funding in Phase Two.

With the higher stakes -- more states will be funded this go 'round and this could be the final competition (despite the Obama Administration's request for a third round of RttT funding) -- more skirmishes have broken out, particularly between would-be reformers and teachers' unions. The nastiest of these disputes appears to have been in Minnesota, which apparently scuttled its application as a result. Just check out these quotes:
Governor Tim Pawlenty, 2012 Republican presidential aspirant: "Unfortunately, the DFL-controlled Legislature in Minnesota refuses to pass these initiatives because the they are beholden to Education Minnesota, which is the most powerful interest group in Minnesota. What we saw in this session should be an embarrassment to the DFL-controlled Legislature. They continue to put the interests of union members ahead of the interests of schoolchildren and education accountability."

Education Commissioner Alice Seagren charged that the state had been "bought and sold" by Education Minnesota, the state teachers' union and made "legislators afraid to step up."

Education Minnesota teachers union president Tom Dooher said that Pawlenty was doing "a great disservice to the state of Minnesota" by deciding not to apply for the second-round grants. "The problem with the governor is that if you disagree with him about policy he calls you an obstructionist. Tim Pawlenty has had eight years to do something about eliminating the achievement gap. Now, given one last chance, he does nothing."
Aggressive policy action has occurred in an attempt to win Phase 2 funding. Colorado's new teacher tenure and evaluation law has been widely heralded as a potential model for the nation. Florida's simplistic, poorly designed legislation, which would have based half of a teacher's evaluation and salary on a single test score, was wisely vetoed by Charlie Crist, the state's Republican governor and now-independent candidate for U.S. Senate.

Other states where notable policy changes have passed, potentially boosting Phase Two competitiveness, include Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland (although on-going disagreements and lack of union support may hurt), North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Legislative efforts continue at the eleventh hour in states like Kentucky, New York (5/28 update), and Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia's IMPACT teacher evaluation system and recent teachers' contract agreement could help its chances, but the lack of support from the Washington Teachers' Union and contentious relationship between the WTU and DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee won't help.

All states are busy gathering stakeholder support for their applications. The deal struck in Rhode Island to save the jobs of teachers in Central Falls should boost that state's chances in Phase Two; the recent announcement that more local teachers' unions as well as the state AFT chapter will sign onto the state's application also bodes well. The New Jersey Education Association, which opposed the state's Phase One application, announced its support for Phase Two. [6/1 Update: Apparently, Governor Christie undid this compromise at the 11th hour today.] Other states that have announced greater stakeholder support than in Phase One include Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Others have set this week as a deadline for districts and unions to support the state application.

Let's look at which states are -- and aren't -- competing in Phase Two. In total, 38 states (and DC) expressed an intent to apply in Phase Two, but by my count 35 states and DC will actually submit an application by the due date (ID, MN and WV filed intents but have since pulled out). By my count, six states which did not submit an application in Phase One are applying in Phase Two: Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada and Washington.

Here's the full breakdown:

OUT (13)
Phase One Applicants (9)
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Minnesota
Oregon
South Dakota
Virginia
West Virginia
Wyoming

Phase One Non-Applicants (4)
Alaska
North Dakota
Texas
Vermont


IN (36)
Phase One Applicants (30)
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California (applying in partnership with only six large urban school districts)
Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts (state education commish has suggested state may not apply)
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Utah
Wisconsin

Phase One Non-Applicants (6)
Maine
Maryland
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
Washington

PHASE ONE WINNERS (2)
Delaware
Tennessee