Lewis Black, Bush and Education February 21, 2006

From The Washington Post (Thursday, February 9, 2006):

The new Bush Budget for 2007 "… creates a $100 million program to give private-school vouchers or expand tutoring for students who attend chronically poor-performing public schools."

On Saturday night, I had the pleasure to see Lewis Black for the third time in the past year. Some of you may know Mr. Black from the The Daily Show, his HBO specials or Conan O'Brien. If you enjoy a master story teller with a commanding stage presence, Lew is a must. I love him mostly because he and I are equally psychotic, but also because we are crazed by the insanity around us.

However, my adoration for Mr. Black and his Yale diploma aside, I was impressed with his astute observation about Mr. Bush's initiative for education. One hundred million big ones. But let's analyze that number a little more closely. It sounds like alot, right? But there are 50 states … they all have to share the money (we could try to mug Rhode Island and North Dakota for their share, but the incremental gain is negligible).

Corporal Punishment Lives! February 11, 2006

Hi Folks! This one comes to us courtesy of the general discussion board on Drexel’s Graduate Lounge (School of Education). As a graduate of a Catholic grammar school and high school run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland (MOTTO: There isn’t a young butt that we wouldn’t like to whip), I have been hit with a yardstick, a metal ruler, a leather strap, a wooden paddle and a history textbook. My reply to the article follows.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Court Orders College to Readmit Education Student It Had Expelled for Advocating Corporal Punishment

Where (or What) Are We Rushing Towards? February 1, 2006

As a teacher and a graduate student, the word "time" can make you shiver. The school day at The Greek American Institute and schools everywhere is all about time. Planning time, lunch time, class time, recess … they all have specific times and the appropriate sound bytes (bells, horns, tones and more) remind us that there is someplace else we need to be. I can remember having free time somewhere in my not-so-distant past; with two intense technology courses, free time for me has been reduced to being Sammy Spud on the couch watching the remote drag me through half-hour or hour-long electronic martinis until bedtime at 7:30 pm.