Monthly Archives: March 2011

Common Sense

Today’s Idaho Statesman http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/03/25/1579773/3rd-reform-bill-clears-big-hurdle.html quoted some good sense on the part of a couple of Idaho’s state Senators, and good sense has been notably lacking in the debate over education reform. Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert said This bill is completely … Continue reading

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Computers for Students

An original provision of Idaho Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna’s Students First initiative as expressed in SB 1113 was that every student in Idaho would be issued a laptop computer as a 9th grader. He would keep the computer throughout … Continue reading

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…And the Unlovely Poor

Today I was looking for reviews of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and found this blog post that focuses more on the poverty of the Lacks family, then and now, than on the bio-ethical issues attendant upon the HeLa … Continue reading

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Thoughts on SB 1113

A computer for every student in Idaho – what’s not to like? I taught English. I regarded a major responsibility to be teaching writing, and to this end, I assigned my students to write as many essays as I could … Continue reading

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House Education Committee Remarks for 3-2-2011

Bills 1108 and 1110 We English teachers like booklists. Here are the five best I have read relevant to current issues in School Reform. All are currently in print, I think: The Death and Life of the Great American School … Continue reading

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