Mu-mon-kan

I wrote this in response to an article on Wired’s website.

As with most fields, teaching is beginning to demand more. I believe that NY now requires elementary school teachers to have a Master’s degree and the starting pay hasn’t moved an inch (a friend of mine teaches at an public elementary school in NY and her co-worker is required to have her Master’s by year end, which is why I’m assuming they are now enforcing it.) Personally, I’m of Steve Jobs’ mindset, a complete overhaul of the current system. However, changing it to match a business model might not be an appropriate solution. He should probably defer to the group of people most effected the change: the teachers. Why not bring the most celebrated teachers into the discussion? Why should a businessman(men) decide what’s right or wrong in the schools? The saddest aspect of this whole story is the focus on the teacher. What role does the administrator play? If a school is full of competent teachers, 2 assistant principals, could a principal coast by doing nothing? Just some food for thought, the average salary for a teacher in NY is ~$50,000 (average, not starting). The average starting salary for an assistant principal in NY is ~$85,000. For a principal, ~$100,000+. I feel the balance of power should be pushed into the center. Allow teachers more leverage to oust an incompetant principal/assistant principal either by yearly surveys or some other metric. Not all the blame should be focused on the teachers. As I see it now, the administration has too much power. Sure, prior to being tenured, the administration can remove a poorly performing teacher and, after being tenured, the administration can make their life miserable. What if the teacher is purely victim of a personality clash and is, in fact, an excellent educator? Is a lifetime of misery the ethical way to remove people from a job? I feel these questions and issues need to be addressed before the discussion can move any further. I would love to hear teachers’ perspectives on their administration, especially people in NY/VT (the only 2 systems on which I have any knowledge.)

Really . . . if you have any thoughts, please comment.

This just depresses me.

Others can draw their own conclusions, but it seems to break scientific integrity to have the government so involved. How do they know how to best handle the information? Are they qualified? I’m guessing, no.

Currently Rocking Out To: Ballad of Nice & Easy – Gomez

I’m not sure how I feel about this. There’s something unsavory about it.

Currently Rocking Out To: Jah Work – Ben Harper

According to this press release from Creekstone Farms, the USDA denied them access to the necessary kits that test for BSE or Mad Cow Disease. Anyone want to speculate why?

. . . which isn’t the best news tonight since I’m slated to go to NY and visit my girlfriend. It does make me happy that I get to use the word inclement in a sentence, though. Such as:

My flight was delayed due to inclement weather.

Good word.

Currently Rocking Out To: Cornerman – St Thomas

I understand the need to accommodate people and their various diablities, but, perhaps I’m being judgemental or I’ve watched too much Mind of Mencia, but I’m not sure if it’s entirely healthy in some cases. You can form your own opinions on this, but, in any case, check out these products.

Currently Rocking Out To: Caring Is Creepy – The Shins

This is a cool little link for those who love ASCII images.

Check it out. It’s fun :)

Currently Rocking Out To: The Scientist – Coldplay

So I now have w.bloggar set up. Looks useful, but there are a few gripes (aesthetically speaking . . . I’m picky.) Maybe I’ll blog a little more now that it’s more convenient.

Please don’t hold your breath :)

Currently Rocking Out To: Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking – Snow Patrol

OK . . . I understand the hype and fascination with Web 2.0–which, incidentally, is an unfortunate name since the web itself hasn’t really evolved, just the flavor of applications being run on it, but I guess you have to market it somehow–but I feel the interactivity is being used for trendy, unnecessary, inaccessible, and, sometimes, annoying purposes. I’m constantly inundated with flashing widgets with drag-and-drop functionality for . . . what purpose? Do I go to a website to play with the widgets? Maybe some, but, most of the time, no. Does this functionality benefit everyone? After listening to the EO Webcast today, these thoughts plagued me throughout the day. A great deal of this new technology is used for it’s slick “wow” factor and much of it that could improve the site’s accessibility falls by the wayside. Sure, I can make the site cool for 85% of the world . . . but what does that make the site for the other 15? I know that I sometimes fall prey to time constraints in my own applications. If I don’t have time to make it 508 accessible, then I skip that step. However, I am always XHTML and CSS compliant. Hopefully, that’s half the battle.

Simplicity is not a bad thing. I try to design the way I live. Objects don’t end up in my house unless they have a functional purpose (at least not the objects I buy.) So, I try to model my web apps the same way. Some of the greatest websites are the simplistically functional (check out dictionary.com if you’re looking for a great, recent example how simplicity can improve usability.) I absolutely encourage experimentation and the sharing of ideas and blogs are a great medium to accomplish this. So, by all means, let me know what you think about this issue. I’m not trying to keep anyone from doing cool things, but I am trying to keep the largest number of users in mind.

Currently Rocking Out To: Goodnight and Go – Imogen Heap

I’m not talking about that root of all evil. Or that one. That one, either.

I’m talking about money.

Always the necessary evil–survival wouldn’t be the same without it–it compounds as you “succeed” in life. For instance, I just closed on a condo, to, finally, be unfettered by the shackles of a monthly rent payment. However, this newfound freedom(?) almost triples my previous monthly liability and, paradoxically, seen as a step in the right direction, by the majority of society. Do I really need it?

The justification of the purchase is deceptively easy since the condo existed prior to my purchase which follows my belief in leaving behind a small footprint on the earth when I die (the less environmental impact, the better.) Is this just the start of exceedingly easier and easier justifications? Will I be able to stop when I before I completely exceed my needs? Have I already?

I’m not looking for answers, I’m just talking to myself . . . online . . . in public.

Currently Rocking Out To: Broken Box – Queens of the Stone Age