MDHA Convention Center

Just want to remind folks as we wade further into the convention center land grab and billion dollar public funding of what should be an entirely private enterprise that MDHA's land grab attempt last year to condemn Joy Ford's property for a must have hotel on Demonbreun and Music Row has resulted in not one shovelful of dirt being moved since the parties came to a land swap agreement last October. Last October folks. Nearly a year now.

I shudder to think where that land owner would be if we hadn't gotten very vocal about MDHA's handling of that mess. I'm concerned that with Obamanomics and few real controls over MDHA taxpayers will get stuck with a lot of land and a lot of debt.

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America

I don't know about you, but this family can't afford any more government help.

Good question Motor City

Folks in Detroit are asking a great question. Why is a Detroit methadone clinic manager on Nashville's city council?

The article at MLive.com notes much of the trouble between CM Pam Murray (District 5-East Nashville) and residents of her district. They provide handy links to Nashville news reports and even YouTube video of the woman defending a recent zoning bill.

They also make mention of the brand spanking new WeThePeopleOfDistrictFive.com website for recalling the councilwoman. The recall effort's motto:

Our Councilmember should be from Music City...not Motor City

If you want to contact the recall folks email them at: WethePeopleD5@yahoo.com


With this article it looks like Murray will be fighting on two fronts now.

UPDATE: Channel 5 has a report on the petition drive. Remarkably, they managed to find Murray somewhere. I was unimpressed by her displaying a standard expanding file folder as evidence of all the work she's done in six years for the district. Not even an inch a year of paperwork.

"My true neighbors know I have done my job over there," said Murray."

What exactly is a 'true neighbor"? Exactly where do they live?

I caught a Channel 2 report with their Chris Bundgaard while making dinner but I don't see a link on their site. Pity. There was video of Bundgaard doing what so many had done before--trying to get a hold of Murray via phone and getting a full voice mail box instead.

UPDATE II: Here's the Channel 2 video.

Thanks for the link, Schaffdk.

The nationalization of your body

Mark Steyn's latest essay is about health care not surprisingly. As usual some good thoughts in there and well worth reading in full.

Here's the money quote that jumped off the page for me:

"And there's nothing you can do about it because,
ultimately, government health represents
the nationalization of your body."

There goes 'my body, my choice'.

Our National Treasure

Parody works because it's based in truth. I laughed several times. National treasure. Flushing it down our own toilets. Shear number of shovelers. I am a patriot. But when she said "I love the money fire" like she's remembering being a kid roasting marshmallows on cool fall evenings I lost it.

We're just insane to let this continue. I demand the right to destroy my hard earned money any way I see fit.

Hat tip: Lucianne.com

Fudging the numbers or simple error?

WSMV has a video report from Sen. Marsha Blackburn's (R) town hall meeting this morning. While reporter Cara Kumari describes that the meeting room had hundreds in it, that folks streamed out the doors, that the hallway was flooded with folks, that hundreds were turned away and that "900 showed up" the label at the bottom of the video view says "500 attend Blackburn's town hall."

Joker lands in Nashville

Spotted this near Broadway and McGavock Pike downtown yesterday. These Obama as the Heath Ledger version of The Joker have been popping up around the country. Florida officials have questioned one poster who admitted putting up 500. Apparently there's a contest. But the rules do warn against vandalizing property.

Once they get these cleared up could someone go after the "We buy houses" folks?

Textbooks being reviewed

It's review time for English Grammar and Composition, English as a Second Language and Foreign Languages materials used in Tennessee public schools.

If you want to see all the materials being considered it looks like the only place to do that is MTSU in Murfreesboro. In Nashville TSU is hosting the student and teacher materials only.

Here's the official press release. For some unknown reason the State Department of Education doesn't provide a list on their website of the textbooks currently under review for use by schools systems across the state. Thankfully, their Rachel Woods, once she got back into town, was prompt about providing me a copy of their Excel sheet with all the details. I'm posting the list in alphabetical order by book title below. If you'd like to see the entire Excel sheet it's here at Google docs.

Public comments should be sent to Morgan Branch, Director of Textbook Services, Tennessee Department of Education, 5^th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0379 before the September meeting. Citizens with questions about the process may also call Morgan Branch at 615-253-3160.

Publisher	Book Title
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 1, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 1A, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 1B, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 2, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 3, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	¡Avancemos! Level 4, Student Edition
EMC Publishing, LLC	¡Aventura! 1
EMC Publishing, LLC	¡Aventura! 2
EMC Publishing, LLC	¡Aventura! 3
EMC Publishing, LLC	¡Aventura! 4
Perfection Learning	6 Trait PowerWrite 6-year student license
Perfection Learning	6 Trait PowerWrite 6-year student license
Perfection Learning	6 Trait PowerWrite 6-year student license
Perfection Learning	6 Trait PowerWrite 6-year student license
Perfection Learning	6 Trait PowerWrite 6-year student license
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 10/Level J Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 11/Level K Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 12/Level L Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 6/Level F Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 7/Level G Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 8/Level H Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Perfection Learning	6-Gr 9/Level I Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Skillbooks, consumable
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Abriendo paso: Lectura y Gramática
Holt McDougal	Abriendo puertas: Lenguaje, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Abriendo puertas: Literatura, Tomo I & II Combined Package
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	America Now
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	America Now
EMC Publishing, LLC	AP Test Prep: Mastering the Advanced Placement Spanish Language Exam
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L1 National SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L1A SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L1B SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L2 National SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L3 National SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Asi se dice! L4 National SE
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Bon voyage! 1 Student Edition
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Bon voyage! 2 Student Edition
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Bon voyage! 3 Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Bravo
Cambridge University Press	Cambridge Latin Course Unit 1 Student's Book (2009)
Cambridge University Press	Cambridge Latin Course Unit 2 Student's Book (2009)
Cambridge University Press	Cambridge Latin Course Unit 3 Student's Book (2009)
Cambridge University Press	Cambridge Latin Course Unit 4 Student's Book (2009)
Handwriting Without Tears	Can-Do Cursive - Consumable
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Catullus LEGAMUS Transitional Reader
EMC Publishing, LLC	C'est à toi! Level 1
EMC Publishing, LLC	C'est à toi! Level 2
EMC Publishing, LLC	C'est à toi! Level 3
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Chinese Link, Level 1, Simplified Character Edition
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Chinese Link: Zhongwen Tiandi, Level 2
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Cicero Workbook, A
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Conexiones: Comunicación y cultura
Handwriting Without Tears	Cursive Handwriting - Consumable
Handwriting Without Tears	Cursive Success - Consumable
EMC Publishing, LLC	Deutsch Aktuell 1
EMC Publishing, LLC	Deutsch Aktuell 2
EMC Publishing, LLC	Deutsch Aktuell 3
BETTER CHINESE LLC	DISCOVERING CHINESE Series
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Ecce Romani I (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Ecce Romani II (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Ecce Romani III (Print)
The Hampton-Brown Company, Inc. d/b/a National Geographic School Publishing and Hampton-Brown	Edge Series
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Elevator, Levels I, II, III and IV
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Encuentros maravillosos: Gramática a través de la literatura
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Energie, Levels I, II, III and IV 9-12
Perfection Learning	Essential Guide-Language, Writing & Literature, Blue, Hardback Ed
Perfection Learning	Essential Guide-Language, Writing and Literature, Red, Hardback Ed
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG NON-CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG NON-CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG NON-CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, BLUE, CORE PKG NON-CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, RED, CORE PKG CONS
Perfection Learning	ESSENTIAL GUIDE-LANGUAGE, WRITING, & LIT, RED, CORE PKG NON-CONS
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing
EMC Publishing, LLC	Exploring Chinese
EMC Publishing, LLC	Exploring French
EMC Publishing, LLC	Exploring German
Cengage Learning	Exploring Journalism and the Media
EMC Publishing, LLC	Exploring Spanish
EMC Publishing, LLC	Expository Composistion: Discovering Your Voice
Zaner-Bloser	G.U.M. Grammar, Usage and Mechanics 3-8
Zaner-Bloser	G.U.M. Grammar, Usage and Mechanics 3-8
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Glencoe Speech SE
Holt McDougal	Hodges' Harbrace Handbook
Holt McDougal	Holt Advanced Spanish, Nuevas vistas, Curso de introducción, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Advanced Spanish, Nuevas vistas, Curso dos, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Advanced Spanish, Nuevas vistas, Curso uno, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt French 1, Bien dit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt French 1A, Bien dit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt French 1B, Bien dit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt French 2, Bien dit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt French 3, Bien dit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt German 1, Komm mit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt German 2, Komm mit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt German 3, Komm mit!, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Fifth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, First Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Fourth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Introductory Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Second Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Sixth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Holt Traditions, Warriner's Handbook, Third Course, Student Edition
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Horace Workbook
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt English R/1-6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt English R/1-6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt English R/1-6
The Hampton-Brown Company, Inc. d/b/a National Geographic School Publishing and Hampton-Brown	Inside Series 6-8
Holt McDougal	Interacciones
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Journalism Matters SE
Holt McDougal	Kaleidoskop (paperback)
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Latin 1 Student Edition
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Latin 2 Student Edition
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Latin 3 Student Edition
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Latin for New Millennium St Txtbk L1
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Latin for New Millennium St Txtbk L2
Handwriting Without Tears	Letters and Numbers For Me Consumable
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Little Book of Latin Love Poetry
Pearson Longmam	Longman Cornerstone Series
Pearson Longmam	Longman Keystone Keys to Learning Series 6-12
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Looking at Latin
BETTER CHINESE LLC	MAGICAL TOUR OF CHINA Series
Holt McDougal	Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media
Cengage Learning/Heinle	Milestones Series 6-8
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	Models For Writers
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	Models For Writers
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Momentos cumbres de las literaturas hispánicas
BETTER CHINESE LLC	MY FIRST CHINESE READER Series
BETTER CHINESE LLC	MY FIRST CHINESE WORDS&I LOVE CHINESE Series
Handwriting Without Tears	My Printing Book - Consumable
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Nuevo ¡Bravo, bravo! Series 6-8 or Level 1a, 1b
Rigby, an imprint of HMH Supplemental Publishers Inc.	On Our Way to English K-5
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Ovid Workbook
Voyager Expanded Learning, Inc.	Passport Reading Journeys (series) 6-8*
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	Patterns for College Writing
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Realidades with Realidades.com Series 6-12
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print)
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar, Full Version (Print) Student Ediction Grade 6
Handwriting Without Tears	Printing Power - Consumable
Perfection Learning	Projects in Speech Communication
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Santillana Intensive English Series K-12
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Santillana Intensive English Series K-12
Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Scott Foresman	Scott Foresman Grammar and Writing Tennessee Edition 1-6
Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Scott Foresman	Scott Foresman Grammar and Writing Tennessee Edition 1-6
Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Scott Foresman	Scott Foresman Grammar and Writing Tennessee Edition 1-6
Shurley Instructional Materials, Inc.	Shurley English Series K-8
Shurley Instructional Materials, Inc.	Shurley English Series K-8
Shurley Instructional Materials, Inc.	Shurley English Series K-8
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	Song of War: Readings from Vergil's Aeneid
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	Speak Up!
Santillana USA Publishing Company	Spotlight on English Student Series K-5
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	St. Martin's Handbook
Zaner-Bloser	Strategies for Writers K-8
Zaner-Bloser	Strategies for Writers K-8
Zaner-Bloser	Strategies for Writers K-8
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Fifth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, First Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Fourth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Introductory Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Second Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Sixth Course, Student Edition
Holt McDougal	Tennessee Elements of Language, Third Course, Student Edition
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	The Bedford Reader
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	The Bedford Reader
Holt McDougal	The Challenge of Effective Speaking
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	The Lanauge of Composition
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	The Little, Brown Handbook
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	The Prentice Hall Reader, AP Edition
Holt McDougal	The Riverside Reader, Alternate Edition, Student Edition
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	The St. Martin's Guide to Writing
Bedford, Freeman & Worth	The St. Martin's Guide to Writing
Pearson Education, Inc., PA Prentice Hall	The Writer's World: Essays
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Tresors du Temps Student Edition
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.	Vergil Workbook
Cengage Learning/Heinle	Visions Series
Great Source	Write for College
Great Source	Write Source Grade 10
Great Source	Write Source Grade 11
Great Source	Write Source Grade 12
Great Source	Write Source Grade 9
Great Source	Write Source K-8
Great Source	Write Source K-8
Great Source	Write Source K-8
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 10
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 11
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 12
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 6
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 7
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 8
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill	Writer's Choice SE Grade 9
Great Source	Writers INC.
Zaner-Bloser	Zaner-Bloser Handwriting K-8

*An email from the Voyegar Learning folks says: "If I may, I would like to offer a kind correction to the Voyager Expanded Learning listing in your recent blog posting. Passport Reading Journeys 6-8, should be 6-9."

Fuzzy Health Care Math

A commenter asked who the 46 million uninsured are. Fuzzy Health Care Math from NetRightNation tells us.

"In other words, some 31.85 million people reported as uninsured in 2006 did have some coverage, and the Census included them in both categories. Why? They were probably between jobs at some point during the year, which is not abnormal.

(snip)

It therefore makes no sense to screw over the 285 million who already have coverage by completely reorganizing the entire system to offer welfare to some 13.6-15.05 million without it."

Hat tip: Blue Collar Muse

5 Freedoms You'll Lose in Heath Care Reform

Today's must read regarding our current health care insurance debate. It's from CNNMoney which is not usually a shill for the Republican Party or Tea Party participants. Here's a snip from the article by Shawn Tully titled "5 Freedoms You'll Lose in Health Care Reform":

In short, the Obama platform would mandate extremely full, expensive, and highly subsidized coverage -- including a lot of benefits people would never pay for with their own money -- but deliver it through a highly restrictive, HMO-style plan that will determine what care and tests you can and can't have. It's a revolution, all right, but in the wrong direction.

Well worth the few minutes it takes to read this article.

Hat tip: NewBusters.org

Our heritage is at stake

This lesson and warning from Britain's Daniel Hannan (EU Parliament member). This was the fellow so admired for dressing down the British PM a while back and stating so clearly:

"You cannot carry on forever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorgement of the unproductive bit. You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt."

You can watch his whole speech at The Heritage Foundation and there is some great comments throughout but here's a money quote for our current manufactured health care insurance crisis. [Emphasis added]

If you decide to do this thing, you can’t do it experimentally for a year or two and then change your mind if it doesn’t work out. That isn’t our experience. That isn’t how the dynamic of the thing operates. One point four million people work for the British National Health Service. One point four million people. It is the third largest employer on the planet. The largest is the Chinese Red Army. The second largest is the Indian national railways. The third largest in the British NHS. And here’s the really scary statistic. Of that 1.4 million people, the majority are bureaucrats. There are more managers in that 1.4 million than there are doctors and nurses put together. … When you have that big a block of the electorate who feel that they have a vested interest in the status quo, you try and get any major party to go into an election promising a radical change. … Be absolutely certain before you make this change that you really do want to do it, because if it doesn’t work out, don’t imagine that people are then going to say: “Well, yeah; that’s alright; we’ll just go back to how it was.”

Sounds very much like the education blob.

Keep in mind there are only 60 million people in the UK. That's one health employee for every 43 people. Not one doctor per 43. One health system employee for every 43 people. So if we extrapolate that number to the American population of 304 million we'll get a health blob of over 7 million employees in one form or another and it will be the largest employer on the planet!

And you can be darned sure that the system will find the money to pay for all those employees before it finds the money for grandma's cancer treatment or saving preemies.

At about 27 minutes he states an NHS system in America would be un-American and warns that the NHS was begun as an emergency during war time and that power was never returned to the people.

At 31 minutes he compares the EU Constitution and the American saying the US Constitution is about the freedom of the individual. The EU Constitution is about the power of the state. We the people vs. His Majesty King of the Belgians. Bottom up vs. top down.

Hannan tells us we have a precious heritage that we are in danger of tossing away. We would do well to heed his admonition. Thankfully, many Americans realize this and are rising up to object to our government's all out effort to take our power away from us and keep it for themselves.

2009-08-7 Education Round Up

Accurate info v. rhetoric: From Insider Online:

Sixty-one percent of people say funding for public education should be increased, but that figure drops to only 51 percent when people are given accurate information about how much is currently being spent. That’s the finding from a survey conducted by William Howell and Martin West. Howell and West, who describe their survey in the Summer 2009 issue of Education Next, also find that accurate information about teacher salaries causes support for higher teacher salaries to drop from 69 percent to 55 percent.

Mission creep: Something Nashville can look forward to even if they don't work toward providing the education parents want for their children. The system will try to maintain its presence and so they'll expand their mission for survival's sake like St. Louis is doing.

"Long plagued by declining enrollment and academic struggles, the school district wants each new "full-service" school to serve as a community hub. The district is using roughly $1.7 million budgeted for schools already offering community education programs to turn them into full-service schools.
(snip)
Windom said security measures also are in place to make sure students don't come in contact with members of the public who seek services. BND.com

This made me laugh. After expressing that he was 'apoplectic' at the prospect of me being on the school board back in 2006 Councilman Mike Jameson (East Nashville/downtown) doesn't have much sympathy when someone else's ox is gored. He is quoted after this last Council BOE appointment as saying:

“The process is certainly not perfect."
Tennessean

That's for sure.

Not very encouraging: This among new BOE member Kay Simmons' initial comments:

“I think my experience has taught me to look objectively, at everything,” Simmons said. “The truth is that … there’s not an urban school district across the country that’s succeeding. We do need to look at different things. Nobody has the answer. My guess is that we won’t find the silver bullet either, but we need to peck away.” City Paper

The children don't have time to for the adults to just peck away at these problems with the view that no one has the answer. We need wholesale commitment to providing options for students that will work for them instead of offering the excuse that no one else can get it done either.

NEA To Do List: Every 4th of July the National Education Association holds its annual convention. What is voted on there is regularly outside the mainstream of America and often very surprising to parents who are trusting their children with these folks for so many hours of the day. Some items are just head scratchers. Why is this important to the education of children or the well-being of teachers on the job? For a peek check the New Business Items from the last Representative Assembly.

• to inform and influence President Obama's proposal to turn around 5,000 schools with $5 billion in five years beginning in the fall of 2010
• Develop success indicators beyond standardized tests while making sure that curricula promote the development of 21st Century Skills
• the local Association must be involved in any discussions regarding school reorganization, including but not limited to, charter school conversion;
• Tell the story to America of the importance of unions in assuring great public schools for every student
• NEA will zealously advocate for national health care reform that is consistent with the policies, resolutions, and legislative programs of the NEA and its state affiliates
• NEA will take such actions as may be appropriate to support efforts to (a) repeal any federal legislation and/or regulations that discriminate against same-sex couples, and (b) enact federal legislation and/or regulations that treat same-sex couples and similarly-situated heterosexual couples equally with regard to social security, health care, taxation, and other federal rights and benefits.
• To help state affiliates be more effective in opposing funding for charter schools that do not meet NEA criteria for support,
• The NEA will publicize and seek members' participation in the campaign for the defense of labor and human rights in Iran and for the release of the recently arrested Iranian trade union leaders, including Ali-Reza Hashami of the Teachers Organization of Iran.
• NEA will work with the Department of Labor in order to review and modernize the definitions of "teacher" and all other education professionals in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
• We oppose any efforts to restructure the U.S. educational system or local educational units on any basis that would allow schools to "cherry pick" students or institute separate and unequal educational models which could lead to further marginalization and segregation of student populations.
• The NEA go on record in support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) in their organizing drive to represent workers in the new Delta Airlines.
• That NEA recommend to its State Associations that "Juneteenth," a celebration by many African American communities that acknowledges the end of over 200 years of slavery in the United States, be placed on their written and electronic calendars. This day is June 19.

The Rep suggests: "While we are at it why not allow parents to at least see teacher performance reviews? How did students from one teacher at a school compare to students from another teacher? Currently those records are not available to parents."

I'd like to see some basic information posted outside their classroom doors:

Welcome to Mr. John Smith's Classroom
Masters in Education and a minor in music from Baylor University, 1973
TVAAS rating is 8.9
John.Smith@mnps.edu
Supervisor: Dr. Sally Jones sally.jones@MNPS.org

It seems amazing to me that we require parents to place their children in the care of people they've hardly had a chance to vet. It's even more amazing to me that the BOE grants tenure on a wholesale basis. Too much 'just trust us' going on.

Cheryl D. Mayes wants to replace MNPS BOE member Karen Johnson (District 6-Antioch). From Mayes' blog:

"I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you to share your personal stories with my staff and me. Please email your personal stories to us at CherylDMayes@gmail.com. We would like to know about the great things you and your students have experienced with MNPS. Please also share your concerns and your ideas for making our school system the best nationwide."

She's got a poll at the bottom of her blog asking "Are you satisfied with the type of education your child currently receives with MNPS?" Here's a clue, Ms. Mayes, check the number of folks who have chosen NOT to enroll their children in MNPS if you want to know what improvements to make. Last week I saw corporate suits from a rival grocer at Aldi's. You've got to know your competition.

Next August 5 of the seats on the School Board will be up for election. Once again Nashville has an opportunity to change the majority on the Board. Obviously, it's not too early to begin working on ensuring the board has the best qualified applicants who will provide the system with the oversight and vision it needs to provide a good education for every MNPS student. Get involved early.

We need a few more parents like this fellow in San Diego:

"David Page says the problem is that parents are on their own. Teachers have a union. So do principals. School board members get to vote plans up or down and top administrators make decisions in the salmon-pink offices of San Diego Unified.

But parents are often too intimidated to speak up or too star-struck with school staffers to question them, Page said. Education is a world loaded with its own numbing lingo -- categorical funding, supplement not supplant, program improvement -- and it seems overwhelming to understand it, let alone to fight it." Voice of San Diego

He's right. There really isn't a union for parents and child child advocacy organizations rarely stand behind parental rights.

Local connection: "Under Terry Grier, [Page] has been critical of the way the school district is planning for the stimulus dollars earmarked for disadvantaged kids, especially an early effort to develop plans by "clusters," as haphazard and lacking real input from parents." Yup, Terry Grier Vandy grad and the former Superintendent of Williamson County, TN schools.

Enough for today.

The Education Doctor is in

I've virtually bumped into a new education blogger in Nashville. The Education Doctor's inaugural post was on July 15 and since then the 11 posts to date have been informative and thoughtful. This from the About page:

Welcome to my blog devoted to educational issues in Nashville and Tennessee more generally.

Who am I? I’m no insider to educational politics or Metro schools. What I am is a scholar and informed observer of educational news. With talk of more charter schools and mayoral control there’s a lot going on in the schools right now. I will bring a fresh perspective to these discussions. In doing so, I’ll explore what the research tells us about what works in education and bring in data to shed some light on current debates. Hopefully together we can find the prescription for Nashville schools.

The doctor is in.

I've no idea who this anonymous blogger is but I welcome them to the conversation. A couple of snips to pique your interest:

Self Governed Schools: "Third, despite the head of the AFT (Al Shanker) leading the call for charter schools in 1988, teacher unions opposed charter school laws after he stepped down. This was partly due to the intermingling of advocates for autonomy and innovation with anti-union rhetoric blaming union rules for the existing system’s inflexibility. Whether this was deserved or not, it shaped the charter school debate. Unions are now trying to get back into the charter school discussion by opening unionized charter schools. It will be interesting to see how the discussion of Self Governed Schools evolves and whether they in turn provide competition to charter schools."

What's the SCORE?: "The practices highlighted are good ideas. And they may in fact be leading to positive outcomes for the communities that are pursuing them. But it’s not clear these are the most evidence-based practices."

AYP, part 2: "Here’s what we know so far. MNPS has 30 schools on the high priority list. This means that 22% of their schools have failed to meet standards for 2 years in a row. The problem gets worse by grade level as 10% of elementary schools, 20% of middle schools, and 33% of high schools are high priority."

You might want to add The Education Doctor to your RSS feed.

Christmas Tigers

This 30 second lesson on how Congress is too often run is 70 years old. This snip is from the classic Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". In this scene the senior senator schools the junior senator on the ways of DC. It's maddening to be told that there's no time to read the bill. That sections of it are placeholder's for only God knows what. That we're too unsophisticated to understand it and that the entire dictionary is wrong and those words don't mean what they used to mean.

There are some in Congress that have taken up the 'lost cause' of defending citizens against their own government. They have my deepest appreciation and support. The rest of you, you who enable big government, whose allegiance is with your cohorts in Congress, who can't take the time to read and understand the bill, who have forgotten who you were sent there to represent and what the Constitution actually says and are only decorating a chair...well, we'll see you at a town hall meeting and we'll be skipping over your name at the next election.

(My apologies for the quality of the clip. Despite assertions from the left to the contrary we don't have big bucks from the health care industry or the RNC financing this little blog.)

Flag this

Big Brother sends out a sister to encourage us to rat each other out. Good grief can the Obama administration get anymore controlling?

Feel free to check the White House blog before it disappears.

I'll help them out. Use this link: flag@whitehouse.gov
and send them this URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

Planning ahead

Not sure Cheatham County can wait a year for a new director. From the Cheatham County School Board Watchdogs:

Tim Webb - Tennessee Commissioner of Education Applies For Director Position

It has been confirmed by Tim Adkins and the Ashland City Times that Tim Webb, Commissioner of Education has applied for the Director position along with 18 other applicants. Webb has stated if he is to get offered the position he would not be available until July 2010. Webb was appointed by Governor Bredesen to his position in February 2008.

Hottest August on Record

If you're a congressman this is very likely to be the hottest August on record. This is traditionally the season for congressmen to go home and 'listen' to their constituents. Often those listening tours had been filled with friendly folks whose biggest concern has been getting Dad's disability payment untangled. Such is no longer the case.

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas). “The days of you having a town hall meeting where maybe 15 or 20 of your friends show up — they’re over. You’ve now got real people who are showing up — and that’s going to be a factor.” Politico

Real people. Not ACORN shills. Not party hacks. Real people with real concerns and questions about how Congress is handling and mishandling their lives. "I've never done this before" is a phrase I have heard over and over at various rallies. People are getting involved like never before and the tools to help them get involved have never been more readily available. In wonderful intergenerational moments grandchildren are teaching their grandparents about Twitter and YouTube.

Already YouTube is filling up with camera phone videos of uncomfortable and confrontational meetings between the rabble and their representatives. No pitchforks or tar and feathers yet but if congressmen don't get a clue soon, it's going to get ugly. Refusing to meet with constituents is not the best response. Legislators are going to have to allow a hefty amount of spleen venting AND they're going to have to actually have some common sense responses to questions that are going to be presented. Waving voters off as being too simple minded to understand the complexities of governing will be fuel, not water, to the embers. Telling them that it's such an emergency that time is of the essence won't work either. People understand that doing something can be worse than doing nothing at all.

What I know about embers from years of camping is that that fire can look cold in the morning but a scratch with a stick can reveal embers that are eager and able to create a conflagration. Voter discontent has been below the surface for a long time. Republicans and Democrats have added to the problem by not policing their own and accommodating bad policy in back room deals for what they want, by forgetting that they are servants and not masters, by forgetting that we do have a Constitution and citizens who can still read and understand its plain meaning. And let's not overlook the fact that many of these irate citizens are folks many of us predicted would feel the sting of betrayal for voting these folks into office.

Food for that citizen fire is a newly organized effort "Operation Embarass Your Congressman" from a Texan (thank God for Texas) which is encouraging folks to attend these Congressional town hall meetings carrying their own video equipment. This from the website:

"Simply use your freedom of speech in public forums to accomplish our mission. The Mission is this: "To expose the arrogance, ignorance, and insolence of our elected representatives." We want to do this on a LARGE SCALE - NATIONWIDE! These arrogant, ignorant, and insolent people have embarrassed America, trampled the Constitution, and ignored their constituents for far too long. Attend their townhall meetings during recess and press them with intelligent questions (unlike the main stream media), asked in an intelligent manner to see if they are really in touch and on board with "the will of the people."

We're ready for your close up Congressman.

UPDATE: Apparently, our commenter from Obamaland isn't the only one peeved that the right learned how to organize community support and influence legislators. Bill Hobbs tweets the following.

Classy and not

For a 'racist' Sgt. Crowley seems pretty deferential to the handicapped black man he allegedly targeted. This photo from the White House.

Event host Obama, on the other hand, seems completely unconcerned about his good friend Gates' ability to negotiate unfamiliar stairs with his cane.