Double Checked

Idol Chatter

2007-04-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a chance to catch American Idol last night. I mean, Tony Bennett is no Gwen Stefani, but it was still a decent show. I really like how the competition inspires the contestants to keep getting better, though the whole voting thing is a little too "participatory democracy" for my taste.

And that Sanjaya is such a riot. I mean, his "Cheek to Cheek" was a little weak (lol, i do love those rhymes), but how can you not love that hair. Do you think that would be a good look for me?

Simon would make a great addition to the Fordham board. I'm sure he and Rod Paige would hit it off. I'll make a note to look into that.

Peace at last

2007-04-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

Thank God Florida finally put an end to the March Madness nonsense last night. Maybe some people around here will actually get something accomplished today. And just in time too, seems like Mike could use some cover.

At least they got something right

2007-04-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I've been a bit too hard on my colleagues/lackeys in my previous posts. Despite their efforts to derail this much anticipated foray into blogging, they did hit the nail on the head with their skewering of Demography Counts.

The idea that education can be examined in anything other than a vacuum is ludicrous. As if states can put in place policies outside of education that could spur job growth, or other economic improvements. What kind of hogwash is that? Isn't it obvious that the only thing that impacts a student's ability to achieve are rigorous standards?

Of course, this isn't the first time that this issue has been addressed. In addition to advancing the notion that something other than standards can advance student achievement, the hacks at Ed Week add insult to injury by only tracking 70 standards based policy indicators this year. The nerve of some people.

Great Minds...

2007-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, at least one great mind.

Deb Meier exhibits some of her squishy democratic (with a small "d", I'm sure she'd point out) rhetoric in her latest post.

The real point is that at least she sees the problem with the post offices too. But come on Deborah, we should at least try the charter model before moving to full fledged privitization, right?

Snubbed Again

2007-04-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

First, wikipedia ignores vital information on their Charter Schools page, now Alexander Russo chooses to link to the cheap imitation of Doublechecked rather than the genuine article. And worse yet, perpetuates the notion that our position on NCLB has been anything but crystal clear. Honestly, I don't know how Ed Week puts up with him.

Speaking of cheap imitations, I haven't seen Petrilli at all today. He was probably up late watching Entourage with Hess again. I swear, Rick is such a bad influence on him. Maybe I should propose taking away his vacation, and see how he likes it.

Feeling the Heat

2007-04-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Some troubling news out of Florida. First, they can't figure out how to count votes, now this.

But it seems better than the eternal damnation that awaits in Colorado. At least it's a special place in hell.

Wasted Weekend

2007-04-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well other than getting some housework done, it's been a pretty wasted weekend. But let me tell you, in addition to supporting some top-notch scholarship, Hoover makes a heck of a vacuum.

I spent 45 minutes in line at the post office yesterday waiting patiently for some of those new Star Wars stamps. 45 minutes! And when I got to the front of the line, they told me that they weren't actually going to be available until May. The nerve. You know what this country needs? Charter post offices, the sky's the limit if we put some competition in that arena.

Snubbed

2007-03-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this is no way to start a weekend.

Al Shanker gets mentioned in the second paragraph of the Charter Schools entry on Wikipedia.

Guess who's not mentioned at all? Wikipedia clearly has no sense of who is truly influential.

One more for Diane

2007-03-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe I could get Diane Ravitch to rough up Gerald Bracey too.

At least no one reads The Huffington Post.

They call him Flipper

2007-03-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

I've calmed a bit after my initial frustration of having this blog mocked before its time by my own lackeys...err...underlings...err...well, yeah, lackeys.

It stings a bit less when I remember what weak-kneed traitors they are.

Can we take this outside?

2007-03-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

It's great to see Diane Ravitch putting the smack down on Deb Meier. I mean, what place does democracy have in education anyway?

Scooped

2007-03-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Just as I was getting ready to finally launch this thing, some knuckleheads try to steal my thunder. And the worst part is, they endorse Entourage, what a piece of garbage. The Wire, now there's a show, but they could have made it only one season long if Baltimore had just opened enough Charters.

Honestly, you spend a decade building a piddling foundation into an education reform juggernaut/cult of personality and this is how you're repaid. Let this be a lesson to all you aspiring education demigods out there. Yeah, I'm looking at you Rotherham.

So we'll see if I can spare this effort at all, or if the cause, much like NCLB, is already lost.