Sunday links.
Simon Jenkins in the London Guardian is not the first to suggest that Afghanistan is morphing into Obama’s Vietnam.
I had a kind of e-mail dust up recently with some old high school pals of mine. They were reliving romanticized memories of LA’s Fairfax High School in the 60s. I reminded them it was racially segregated, no special needs kids allowed and every gay kid and teacher was closeted. Frank Rich then wrote the same letter.
Remember the NCLB Little Red School House that stood in front of the USDE? Did they really dismantle it? Or has become another one of Arne’s turnarounds?
Bloomberg threatens the end of civilization as we know it if state senate fails to extend mayoral control of the schools.
Illinois budget inaction on a very personal level.
137,000 Illinois college students will have their state aid cut in the Fall.
It doesn’t really work to have a lot of standardized tests, because first of all the ones that they have are pretty — there’s not a lot of content to them. You’re now getting teachers that teach to the exam instead of teaching the material. So, like, you learn how to fill in bubbles on a multiple-choice exam, instead of learning how to appreciate and understand physics or whatever - Adam Sealfon, one of NY’s high school valedictorians featured in the NY Times.
