And if you’re new to Twitter or aren’t sure how to get started, check out TwiTip’s 10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners. Give it a whirl!

Now for the Great Links… and some real stinkers that also deserve attention.

Via EIA, Andrew Sullivan and Michelle Rhee – two peas in a pod? Believe it or not, yes. I suppose even Sullivan gets to be sensible every once in a while. Blind squirrel, broken clock, etc. etc.

There aren’t too many men teaching K-12, reports Eduflack. In MA, fewer than 25% of K-12 teachers are men. And it’s everywhere, too – in April 2007 I wrote a post about male elementary teachers in NY dropping to 9%, a 40-year low. Some folks like MenTeach have been trying to raise awareness for a while now. Check them out and subscribe.

Ted Tedesco of Woodbury, Vermont is a hero. He’s worked to restore the Pledge of Allegiance in that small school district. The admins’ solution to his request is ridiculous, but at least everyone sees it. That, and a generation of kids in Woodbury knows how important it is to defend their country and their culture. As I wrote in the comments of the Core Knowledge post:

“A few months ago I attended a reunion banquet for a tiny, rural high school that closed shop during the consolidation efforts of the 1950s. Their meeting included the Pledge of Allegiance. When the Pledge came up in the agenda, all of the ~100 in attendance rose – and some with great difficulty, as they were in their 80s and 90s – to recite it.”

You know where I stand on this issue, and there’s a reason why I call the Green Mountain State “The People’s Republic of Vermont.” [Sorry, Jessie.]

Across the pond, here’s why I like the Tories. They’ve got a plan to re-introduce a bit of rigor to GCSEs and A-levels. The GCSEs in particular have been gutted – remember this physics teacher begging the government via petition to return mathematical rigor to secondary physics?

“Hot Boys”? I’d prefer that EdSector’s Quick and the Ed bloggers had a bit more self-respect. I already have trouble taking them seriously – these post titles don’t help.

Schools suing bloggers? You betcha. PRO on HCPS links to a libel case against an unhappy parent. Well, if “libel” means “a school district seething when held accountable by the public.” Guess who won? [UPDATE: PRO on HCPS gives us a better link for schools suing bloggers.]

Litigation is expensive when you’re trying to fire a teacher, administrator or school employee. In nearby Utica, NY, Craig Fehlhaber’s hearings have cost the Utica City Schools $250,000 – and counting. If Fehlhaber wins, the district will likely have to reimburse his attorney’s fees as well. We went through the same process in Cooperstown several years ago. If you ever wondered why schools tend not to dismiss bad employees, now you’ve got one reason.

Dave at ‘Friends of Dave’ – a very sharp blog, subscribe with all deliberate speed – highlights some recent irony in California. The California Association of School Business Officers have a conference at which they’ll discuss our tough economic times and how their districts can cope. And that conference is at a hotel/spa/golf course in Newport Beach. Dave has a sensible take on it all, but c’mon, CASBO. He says, “It is a bit ironic that the people who are typically the ones telling their co-workers that they can’t have an extra ream of paper are the ones having a really nice time at a Hotel and Spa on the beach.” Agreed.

Victory in Iraq Day – November 22, 2008. ZombieTime has declared 11/22/08 VI Day and I’m with him 100%. Read his post to see why it’s appropriate to declare VI Day and you’ll see why I support it, too.

“Building a GREAT teaching workforce,” described by American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence’s Dave Saba. Saba/ABCTE sing the praises – rightly – of a new report on the effectiveness of alternative certification programs.

From the American Council of Trustees and Alumni:

“An article from today’s New York Times considers the debate over the extent to which professorial politics influences students. While nearly everyone agrees that faculties on the whole tend be politically one-sided, many observers dispute whether this imbalance has any consequence in the classroom. Brooklyn College history professor KC Johnson says “yes,” pointing out that the problem is less political than pedagogical, with many disciplines within the humanities (such as diplomatic and military history) being pushed to the margins. ACTA’s own Anne Neal agrees, noting that the problem lies not in a simplistic “left-right” characterization, but instead to the essence of what is taught. Do professors influence students? Yes, surely, since students cannot know what is not taught. That is why ACTA advocates the need for institutions to demand a coherent core curriculum offering exposure to such central subjects as Western Civilization and American History.

ACTA has, as the Times notes, followed these issues closely, with our publications on Intellectual Diversity and the core curriculum advancing a critique of the current state of higher education, and showing ways in which trustees can help their institutions reach a solution.”

What isn’t taught is, at this point, more destructive than much of the tripe that is taught.

When you’re done with those links, hop on down a few rungs and read the latest plea from Boston University Dean of Students Kenn Elmore. In “It’s time to show them what we’ve got”, Elmore writes with all the flair, conviction and intellectual seriousness of A Christmas Story’s Ralphie on that ‘What I Want for Christmas’ theme:

“Plenty of naysayers doubt that individuals with the opportunity to vote for the first time will actually show up.  They also point to prior statistics that cast a doubt that you — a young voter, a student — will even show up tomorrow or have cast an absentee ballot by now.  We often hear about record numbers of young people registering to vote but are disappointed on election day.  We apparently want to be on the list but just don’t have the time to make it to the party.

Let’s show the country that its young people care and have a say in the direction of our cities, towns, states, and nation.  Your local candidates, referenda questions, and national officers in waiting need to know that you showed up and made a decision.  Get prepped and do what you’ve got to do tomorrow.  Show the nation that we’re here and ready to bring it in the future.  Show ‘em what you got!

Be safe and stay well,

Kenn Elmore

P.S. Don’t forget that there are elections held every year (not every four).”

C+!

That post script is in line with an older post in which the good Dean “bemoans” the ignorant public.

Though I’m impressed that he nailed referendum/referenda, I do wish the Deanship was an elected and not an appointed position.

Mr. Malchow at the Dartblog wrote a fine summary:

“The college chaplain at U. Mass-Amherst is Kent Higgins. Like chaplains at many colleges, he is more than an administrator for campus faith organizations; call him a community organizer, bucking up the events, speakers, and causes which hew to his leftward bent, and attenuating those that do not. In this instance, it appears that Mr. Higgins laid intricate groundwork to secure for Obama canvassers academic credit “for the experience.” The scheme started to gain attention, and Mr. Higgins hastily put together the same package for McCain supporters. Really a rather funny story, which ends happily on account of—what else?—public embarrassment.”

The NAS’ Peter Wood has the play-by-play, then he follows it up with a piece at Phi Beta Cons.

University Diaries describes herself as an “enthusiastic Obama supporter” and still thinks it was a stupid idea.

I’m with Hube – I don’t believe them, either.

There’s a lot going around re: the 21st century global economy – part myth, part truth, part sense, part insanity. I’ve written several times on the film Two Million Minutes and responded to a few articles about education and the global economy.

The Teaching Company just sent the following bulletin which offers a free video lecture about China, India and the 21st century economy. My experience with TTC has been excellent, and their free lectures are top quality. I’d recommend them to anyone.

There is substantial interest in the future of the global economy because of the rising influence of rapidly growing countries like China and India. As a thank you for being our customer, here is a specially commissioned video lecture on the future of the global economy: Will China and India Dominate the 21st-Century Global Economy? delivered by award-winning Professor Lee Branstetter of Carnegie Mellon University.

Economists predict that China and India are set to dominate the 21st-century global economy and become the new engines that drive economic growth. But how will this transition affect the standing of the United States within the global economy? What are some of the challenges that the United States will face in adjusting to the rise of these Asian economies? What are the opportunities for American growth and prosperity in this situation?

View this free video lecture between now and September 29, 2008, to discover what startling effects the rapid growth of these two countries may have on the economic future of the United States.

Will China and India Dominate the 21st-Century Global Economy? is delivered by Professor Lee Branstetter of Carnegie Mellon University. An Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Professor Branstetter received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His teaching skills have earned him the Thomas Mayer Distinguished Teaching Award and a Harvard University Certification for Teaching Excellence. Professor Branstetter’s award-winning research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.

Feel free to send the link to this free video lecture to family or friends who might enjoy it—it is free for them as well.

Sincerely,

Brandon C. Hidalgo, CEO
The Teaching Company

I wrote yesterday about my dissatisfaction with the Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore’s push for voter registration. It’s a poor use of resources, it’s outside the scope of the Dean’s office, and it’s reason #52,907 why higher education is prohibitively expensive. I responded to a spirited commenter on that post and explained my reasons a bit more fully.

Today, the Dean’s Blog posted a guest editorial which makes the following claims/suggestions:

• The US is divided, unhappy, starving, and hated worldwide;
• Global warming caused Hurricane Gustav;
• Newspapers are full of suicide bombings;
• All students should vote, just not in Massachusetts;
• The last 8 years were a total disgrace.

Elmore introduces the guest post in “How Does Your Vote Really Count?”

“I often wonder if my vote is like pressing the botton [sic] on the walk signal at a street crossing — does it matter?”

Since Elmore started with a near-non sequitur, I suppose I’ll start there, too.

No, Dean Elmore, pushing those buttons probably doesn’t matter. Take New York City’s example:

“The city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled traffic signals, even as an unwitting public continued to push on, according to city Department of Transportation officials. More than 2,500 of the 3,250 walk buttons that still exist function essentially as mechanical placebos, city figures show. Any benefit from them is only imagined…

… Most of the buttons scattered through the city, mainly outside of Manhattan, are relics of the 1970′s, before computers began tightly choreographing traffic signal patterns on major arteries.”

I’d bet the situation in Boston is similar. Now that we’ve answered one of Life’s Big Questions, let’s move along to the bulk of the post, written by Dr. Margaret Ross, Boston University’s Director of Behavioral Medicine:

“I am not a particularly politically knowledgeable person …”

Eep. Admitting a lack of knowledge about a topic as an introduction to 300 words on it? I’ll let that slide. And though Dr. Ross isn’t a “particularly politically knowledgeable person,” I am – so on with the show:

“…but this election scares me more than others have.  The country is in a very vulnerable state:  people are terribly divided and angry, scared about their survival, we have been in a prolonged recession with no sign of relief, prices for basic necessities are high, healthcare is more of a mess than ever, the weather patterns show inexorable climate change (yet another storm is ravaging the Caribbean, Cuba and will travel to the southeastern United States).”

I agree partly with Dr. Ross – I’m not scared, but I’m concerned. That said, I’m not a hyperbolic fearmonger like Dr. Ross.

We’re not all “terribly divided and angry.” I hold a very unpopular view of the political climate for my demographic, and I don’t sympathize with most of the friends I have. I’m not angry at them, and that philosophical/conceptual rift is normal when one is truly in a diverse crowd. Relax, Dr. Ross – this isn’t a civil war between Code Pink and the Westboro Baptist Church. It’s just people being people.

Also, I’m not worried that I won’t survive. Gas prices are high – it’s a serious hardship for those who don’t live in a city. Those fuel prices make food more expensive, too, but we aren’t starving. Because I’ve cut back on shrimp and clams isn’t evidence that I’m “scared about [my] survival.” It just means I eat more soup and pasta.

And this is where the Good Doctor’s hyperbole and fearmongering really comes in – recession. Things aren’t wonderful – we all know that – but Hell in a Handbasket isn’t around the corner, either. For a crash course on what a recession is, check the Wikipedia entry.

Then consider that the GDP in the second quarter grew by 3.3%, according to the Department of Commerce, that inflation is nowhere near the 12% it was in 1980, and that our civilian unemployment rate of about 6% isn’t all that bad.

It’s also news to me that “inexorable climate change” is linked directly to Hurricane Gustav. Then again, I’ve only got a BA, so she’s the expert.

“We are fighting a war that few can comprehend or believe in.”

Actually, Dr. Ross, the polls aren’t as dire as you make them out to be. About 2 in 3 Americans oppose the war in Iraq – while that’s a majority, considering 1 out of 3 to be “few” is intellectually dishonest or downright ignorant [I'll let you choose]. Feel free to look over these poll results for several questions re: the war in Iraq.

“We are not respected as the force for good that we have been in the post World War II era; quite the contrary.”

I’d dispute that assertion if it wasn’t a book-length discussion. I’ll pass.

“Newspapers are filled with suicide bombings and natural disasters and we almost have to become hardened in order to continue to function.”

I hate to sound crass, but at this point I think that Dr. Ross reads only the New York Times and never leaves Boston/Cambridge.

“So, it seems to me that this election is a turning point.  We have two strong candidates, with very different ideas about how things might be done to begin to repair the horrendous damage of the last few years.”

It should be a turning point either way. I don’t think we have two strong candidates – I think we have only one – and I don’t think that you really think there are two strong candidates, either.

“My hope is that students all over America will vote.  It usually will mean registering and often will require procuring an absentee ballot.  I also hope that students will register to vote in their home states.  In general, Massachusetts votes Democrat.  There is every reason to expect this will be the case in the 2008 election.  Therefore, the votes of the many students in school throughout Massachusetts will be more significant if they are cast in the states from which these many thousands of students have journeyed.”

Any advice for those New Yorkers at Boston University whose vote is useless, using that rational model, regardless of where they cast it?

“PLEASE register to vote, and please register in your home state.  Your vote will be crucial.  The votes of the many American students could well determine the results of what promises to be a very close election.

We have lived for many years with the results of what was a fatally flawed election in 2000.  My hope is that 2008 will bring us a new start.”

I don’t think it was “fatally flawed” at all. Oddly enough, the Supreme Court and our electoral college system both support me.

Dean Elmore takes over:

“Thanks Dr. Ross.  I’m going to take another view.

Isn’t voting in local elections more important?  Do local and state officials, and our representatives to Washington make more of a difference in the quality of our daily routines?”"

That’s an issue worth discussing.

But first, Dean Elmore might want to consider why he posted a tendentious, intellectually dishonest, ill-informed guest editorial that embarrassed his office and his University. Differing viewpoints are good and discussion is good – as long as everyone is informed, fair and honest.

trite, adj. Overused, “lacking in freshness of effectiveness.” Recommended synonyms: hackneyed, stale, shopworn.

The semester has officially begun – as signaled by Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore pandering to the kiddies on his Dean’s Blog. After inviting the University’s youth to spend a few minutes listening to Mary J. Blige, Elmore advises:

“Finally, if you are eligible to do so, I encourage you to register to vote.  I mean no political endorsement when I encourage you to take a look at the Rock the Vote Web site and use their easy registration forms.  (If you can suggest other sites, send them to me and I will post a tweet.)”

I’ve got a few suggestions, though they may not “jive,” as the kids say [!], with Elmore’s commitment to MTV politics. Students can:

• Fill out The National Mail Voter Registration Form available through the Federal Elections Commission.
• Visit the League of Women Voters website for more voting/registration resources than you can count.
• Google “voter registration” and see that every state makes it easy to register.

Those are a few of the “other sites” that we already pay for via taxes or private donations. Rocket science, Dean Elmore? No – common sense.

“If you drop off a voter registration form to my office, we’ll make sure it gets to the right place.”

I’d rather you focused on the business of education – God knows there’s plenty to do, even at an excellent University like [y]ours. Stick to your job.

No unnecessary bureaucracy or responsibilities. Really, Dean Elmore, if you want your students to register to vote, have them print out the federal form at drop it in a mailbox. That’s all it takes – and familiarizing students with one of the few no-nonsense facets of our republic is a better idea than coddling and nannying.

“Look for voter registration drives organized by departments, clubs, and organizations around campus.  Remember that elections are held this and every year.”

Boston University isn’t a rotten place – it’s wonderful, and it pumps out many talented graduates. Elmore, however, doesn’t see a problem with having to suggest to those on whom degrees will be conferred that elections happen every year.

Maybe it’s a reminder to international students new to Planet America? Probably not, since they aren’t voters.

“This Friday, during our weekly Coffee & Conversation session, let’s talk about voting and the upcoming election of the leader of the world.”

I’m as pro-American as any sensible person can get, but I don’t describe the President of the United States as the “leader of the world.” Leader of the free world has certain connotations – I’ll go with that – but I’ll leave titles like “King of the World” to young, excited lovers leaning precariously off the bow of a ship.

Maybe I’ll drop by the Coffee and Conversation the next time I’m on campus. Perhaps we could talk about treating college students as adults.

FYI, I prefer espresso.

I’ll leave you with Dean Elmore’s post script:

P.S.

I confess that I dig Girl Talk – can’t wait to see him on September 20.  I’ve got two extra tickets.  I’ll give them to the person who sends me the coolest photo of life at BU.  You can send the photo to dos@bu.edu by Tuesday, September 16, 2008.  I’ll post some of the good pictures.  Good luck!

Visit this blog often.

UPDATE: There’s a follow-up to this post at Intellectual Dishonesty and Fearmongering on the Boston University Dean’s Blog.

Dear Mr. Cantor,

Please consider this a formal FOIL request for scale scores by race/ethnicity referenced in the following document:

http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/07/from-chris-cerf.html

Hard copies are not necessary; electronic copies of the scores for 2003-2008 will suffice. You can e-mail those to mktabor@gmail.com. In your comment to Mr. Stern, you suggested that the data were freely available; you should, then, have no trouble fulfilling my request with all deliberate speed – and certainly within the five business day limit stated in our State’s FOIL statute. If the requested records cannot be emailed to me due to their volume, please indicate the actual cost of copying all records onto media convenient for your Office.

I understand the concern you expressed to Eduwonkette, the inimitable – if anonymous – education blogger, regarding the data’s availability. After all, we can’t be sure that Ms. Eduwonkette is an American citizen [and thus a member of the "public"], let alone a New York State resident. You said:

“I’ve thought about it and decided i don’t want to give out information to someone asking anonymously.”

You need not worry about my identity or my citizenship.

And whereas I appreciate such earnest gatekeeping, undoubtedly in the interests of our State’s security and well-being [such data in the hands of our enemies from within or without, or on the desktop of one whose GRE scores have 500 or 600 points on the mean score of your teachers, might yield unpalatable, unpredictable conclusions], I am reminded of a passage in that FOIL statute:

“The legislature therefore declares that government is the public’s business and that the public, individually and collectively and represented by a free press, should have access to the records of government in accordance with the provisions of this article.”

Though your office may keep the gate, you don’t make the rules. Fear not: New York City’s Department of Education would do well to remember that the next time a blogger, or any member of that ‘free press,’ makes a request for information, you can grant that request with less hand-wringing and heartburn. There was no legitimate reason to deny Eduwonkette’s request; there are no reasons – legitimate or otherwise – to deny mine.

I do apologize that this request was made on a public website rather than via e-mail; as it is in the wee hours of Monday, I felt that it was inappropriate to call you, and your e-mail address was not at the ready [My Rolodex is less fertile than Mr. Stern's or Eduwonkette's]. A Google search of “david cantor NYC department of education” yields little of value, and your listings on the DoE website provide nothing in the way of electronic communication. A curious decision, but understandable when one considers that penchant for gatekeeping.

Many thanks to your and your Office in advance. If you need any additional information – though you shouldn’t, as referring to these data as “them” in the discussion on Mr. Rotherham’s website shows that we’re both entirely clear on the data in question – feel free to contact me at the phone number or e-mail address below.

Sincerely,

Matthew K. Tabor
e: mktabor@gmail.com
w: www.matthewktabor.com
p: 607.821.1752
Cooperstown, New York

UPDATE at 4.24pm, July 28:

For any interested parties, Mr. Cantor’s e-mail address is DCantor@schools.nyc.gov – God knows you won’t find it easily on the DoE website. Now that this post is the first entry for a relevant Google search, no one should have any trouble locating the e-mail address they need.

UPDATE at 10.07pm, July 29:

Mr. Andrew Jacob, to whom the above e-mail was copied, sent along the requested data this afternoon. It is available for download here:

http://matthewktabor.com/downloads/scale_scores_by_ethn_2.xls

Chris Ferguson – known in professional poker as “Jesus” – is famous for saying that the most important part of the game is “position, position, position.”

In non-curricular or extra-curricular public school events, the saying should be “permission, permission, permission.”

Obviously, the logistics of requiring constant approval aren’t realistic, but one need not have his fingers on the pulse of all things cultural, political, religious, etc. to realize that some issues are contentious and should require broad permission.

Solomonia mentions the resignation of Ron Francis, the Andover physics teacher who arranged for Wheels of Justice – a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, anti-American [and generally anti-Western] group – to talk to social studies classes in the school. The Jewish community [and, as Solomonia points out, more than just the Jewish community] was upset by the event. Who’d a’thunk it?

Francis would not say how much the backlash from the Wheels of Justice visit had to do with his leaving.

“I’ve looked over a variety of features,” Francis said. “It was a totality of different things. I wanted to move on to a different situation.”

Hopefully Francis’ physics lectures made more sense than whatever he said in that quote.

Francis’s politics aside, he exercised spectacularly bad judgment by not clearing the event with everyone involved. There’s nothing wrong with inviting [and welcoming] a controversial speaker here or there – I can think of quite a few seemingly-outrageous events from which I pulled value. But I was an adult then.

The lesson here? When you’re dealing with a mix of public services, controversy and minors, you need approval or you can expect problems.

And it’s not just when you’re dealing with an issue tied to the Middle East; it also happens when you take a bunch of kids on a field trip to Planned Parenthood. That’s going to rankle someone, whether it’s a parent, student, school employee, board member, taxpayer, American citizen – constituents of the Manchester, NH school district or not.

Permission from various stakeholders serves as an effective check on bad judgment.