southsider2k5

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:52 AM) Ridiculously good looks. The luck will come back, but I still think DT should be proactive and add another goal-scorer. The problem is that he has something like $300-$400k under the salary cap to work with. It would have to be a dollar nuetral deal, so just giving up prospects won't work.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:52 AM) Ridiculously good looks. The luck will come back, but I still think DT should be proactive and add another goal-scorer. The problem is that he has something like $300-$400k under the salary cap to work with. It would have to be a dollar nuetral deal, so just giving up prospects won't work.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 10:28 AM) Happy Birthday. It's your first one in 8 years (drink) not under OPPRESSION and TYRANNY. But to be fair, he has to share it equally with everyone now

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 09:43 AM) At least it's proven that we won't get too many answers anytime soon. I don't know if I like the fact that they are now putting "THREE YEARS AGO" up or not. Half the fun was trying to figure out if we were in flash forwards flash backs or flash f***s. Who the hell knew? Anyway, it was kind of weak last night... it's just getting too big at this point. I have a feeling Ben or Jack ratted out Kate so she'd be more willing to join them in heading back to the island. It was totally Ben. Not a doubt in my mind.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) It was odd that they didn't let cameras in there. The whole point of this was to nip any potential controversy in the bud by showing everybody he's done it again, 100% correctly. So why not have video cameras (they had print journalists and took regular pictures at least) and show everyone? Just doesn't make much sense to me. I'll bet it was so he could take the oath on the Quran, like he really wanted to... [/GREEN!!!]

Happy Birthday BB

So question of the day, in the end, who is the bad guy, Widmore or Linus?

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 03:25 PM) Standardization is coming via the free market. There are fewer and fewer textbook offerings and of those, Texas and California, via legal requirements, are setting the tone for the rest of the country. I think you have your cause and effect backwards. Standardization is coming because the federal government's requirements are making less and less demand for differing textbooks, because everyone is trying to teach the same things to their kids. As a result, textbook companies are making less variety to reflect the new marketplace.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 10:04 PM) ugh, what a boring argument peanut. Are you really going to argue classical liberalism for the modern day usage? Its like arguing calling somebody a "f**" isn't really an insult because 50 years ago it meant cigarette.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 06:08 PM) Iran's not a dictatorship, technically it's a democracy, but it's definitely not a democracy in the liberal Western sense. But even so, IIRC, the Ayatollah doesn't even have absolute control of the country. Strong, but not absolute. He controls who gets to run for office, so it is stretch to call it a democracy IMO. He just disqualifies anyone who doesn't trumpet what he wants to hear.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 06:16 PM) Not sure where else to put this, but Lou Dobbs is reporting on CNN that Caroline Kennedy is withdrawing her name from consideration for Hillary's vacant seat. Good. She was, you know, an absolute joke.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 03:45 PM) Funny thing about that... I work in financial technology, and have managed a fair number of tech professionals. And I can tell you without a doubt, that even for people in a highly technically specialized field, the success rates are much higher for those who can communicate effectively and think dynamically outside the world of bits and bytes. Its just much harder to get a job, keep a job, and advance, if you are a purely technical person who lacks people skills and some level of emotional intelligence. That doesn't mean that taking a few gen ed classes in college will solve that issue, but it does make for a more well-rounded and world-savvy person (unless the school and classes are of very poor quality), and that definitely ties out to those necessary non-technical skills. They are also able to adjust to a quickly changing 21st century job market. I can attest to that with my LA education, and how many times my job has changed in just 10 years.

Happy Birthday!

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 12:07 PM) Off today and needed something to pass the time. Popped in "Meet Kevin Johnson". Figure I will watch from then on. Just leave it on in the back ground. I'll use spoiler tag just in case. But just a theory of mine.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) Yep. But, a lot of those students do get tons of scholarship money. However, they're screwed if they get to college because they can't keep up with the coursework due to an inferior education background. So, these kids are getting in and failing out. Which is doubly tragic because they were top of their class in their high schools. But when held to actual academic standards they can't do it. So, you get kids crying to you that they were in the top 10% of their school, and that they're trying so hard. But I can't pass you for effort. So, you have a poor school system f***ing them over because it doesn't support the type of basic education that is needed for an advanced degree. And you have teachers f***ing them over because they want to pass them. It's just a huge mess. A big part of that goes back to the new requirements put on to school systems. When you have a low achieving system, their primary concern isn't to give the kids the skills they need to move on in life, it is to get them to pass the test. We actually had a school in our system that had a very heated debate on whether or not junior high kids should be doing homework. It blew my mind because not only is homework important for the knowledge that is covered, but it teaches a couple of very basic study skills, most importantly the abilities to work by oneself, and to prioritize a time schedule. One faction didn't see homework as important, because it was taking up valuable time that could be used to help kids pass the ISTEPs. That is a great look into what happens when your primary concern isn't the welfare of the students. We end up moving students along to higher levels, when they haven't mastered the lower level skills. Then when they get to high school, or college for some, they don't have the ability to meet hightened expectations. They have never been taught to be able to interpret data independantly, prioritize it, and to know what to study, because they teachers give them study guides for high school classes, so that they learn what they are required to learn. Those same kids walk into their first college class and are completely lost when a professor thinks they should be able to do it themselves. In systems that are higher achieving, you don't have these kind of issues, (because kids are passing the test) so teachers are able to open up and teach more skills to go along with the knowledge they give.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) SS2k5, http://www.heros-inc.org/star.htm#Summary I may have mislead. The study took two sets of kids in k-3, one in a small, 12-1 maybe, ratio of T-S. The other were larger. The kids who had a smaller class size in that time of their life did better throughout the educational experience compared to the kids in the higher class sizes. Now I feel like our professor said that in a follow up study of class size in high schools there was not much difference in how they performed at that level. But I couldn't find it in that summary. Cool. Thanks for that.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 12:09 PM) So much so that good students get priced out of top private and public colleges. The price thing will be the death-knell of American higher education. And to bmags, maybe stigmatized is too strong of a word. But if someone told you he was attending Harvard or CoD, would you initially have a higher opinion of one? We, collectively, place high value on baccalaureate institutions and minimize the valuable contributions of 2 year schools and tech schools. Not only good students, but poorer students who REALLY need the education to break the cycle of poverty.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 11:37 AM) I read a study that lower teacher-student ratios are really just important in k-6 levels and not as important in high schools. I believe it was a study in Kansas. I, personally, like the American higher education system. I think it's good we keep such a liberal arts education instead of such specific "trade" schools like you would see in Germany. Interesting. I wonder if that has a change in higher achieving school systems? I would be curious to see what types of school systems were in the study.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 12:00 PM) But liberal arts isn't for everyone. And by stigmatizing trade schools we're denying some people the kind of education they need. I like the European system because there are more choices for students--so they get an education that is useful and beneficial to them. Too many students in this country go to college although they are academically unprepared or intellectually subpar because they feel like they have no other options. Not everyone should go to college, and even fewer people will flourish in a liberal arts setting. I do think that there is beginning to be a much needed switch--for example Stout has made a rather nice transition to a tech school. Which, by the way, is a big reason that it costs so much to go to college. Its simple supply and demand. The number of institutions and spots at them is relatively fixed. With more people attempting to go to college, the price point becomes the way of weeding out some people from going.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 10:05 AM) Now we get into education as a "right" and education as a "priveledge" (sort of like health care). College (as I think of the term traditionally) isn't for everyone. If we change how colleges do things (i.e. vocational stuff like mechanics, etc. are "college") then I'm for it. I think "trade schools" are better words then college, because we are all taught trades (econ, finance, mechanics, etc. etc. etc.) At that point, you start re-defining what education really is. I hate that we look at trade schools differently than we do institutions of higher education. Not every kid is going to be a doctorate. Why do we assume to stuff every single kid into the same box? Some kids best shot at a middle class life is to learn a blue collar trait, and not be forced to try to become a white collar employee that they aren't able to become. The important thing is that the option is there for students to learn something that will give them the ability to provide for themselves and a family for their lifetime, and it not be a "bad" or "lesser" thing.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) I think that there needs to be a standardization in some areas, but not in others. Math is pretty black and white. Science? I think standardization goes too far. History's history - although the political slant that is taught troubles me because kids aren't taught to see both sides of an issue and then learn to choose for themselves. I think standardization is good for curriculum, NOT how it's taught. It's like reading a college course guide. In this class, you will learn, XYZ. How it's taught should be left to the teacher to teach to his/her strengths. However, how much of that has the teacher been taught? Standarization, by its very nature, robs teachers of many of their teaching methods. When you tell a teacher the most important thing is for the kids to learn XYZ, and if enough of them don't your school and school system will lose funds, it means that they pretty much will be pushed to only teach XYZ, because that is the only thing that matters to the people who put school policy into place locally. Failing schools are what gets superintendants fired, and school boards voted out. In the end, they force the teachers to concentrate only on the standards. I have seen it first hand.

QUOTE (SnB @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 07:22 AM) agreed, that character was terrible. She was probably the guest star worst bit character they have had on there. I couldn't stand her character.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) Great post. I think I might break these education-related posts to a seperate thread, this is a good discussion. One thing you hint at here, in regards to no allowance for teachers to teach their way, is that there are so many standardized tests that many teachers only teach to them. In some cases, there is little time left except for teaching to those exams, which means there is no time for critical thinking and discussion. Further, some of the grants out there (i.e. Gates Foundation) are a great idea poorly executed - they have requirements that are far too constricting in order to get the grant money. Not sure of what the answer there is, since clearly you need some sort of semi-standard tests to establish base levels of education. It has gotten so bad, we literally had one of the schools in our system teaching kids how to take the ISTEP (IN standardized tests). We also had that same school steal some of the answers and try to specifically teach them to some of the worst students to bring up test scores. There is no doubt in my mind the pendulum has swung too much towards standardized testing.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 10:59 PM) Chuck Garfein brought up a good point on SN today to Brooks Boyer- why not have a 44 game package, for Obama being the 44th president and him being a Sox fan? That's a great idea... What was Brooks answer?

QUOTE (klaus kinski @ Jan 21, 2009 -> 07:49 AM) Yeah but it used to be so much better-at least after standing in line 3 hours, the players would lean over and take a picture with you-it was at least a little fan friendly Just not worth it now. I was under the impression that it had gotten better after moving to a smaller venue with less people being involved. Is it worse now than at the Hyatt?