How can this be fixed?

President Obama wants a major overhaul of No Child Left Behind. NCLB is the major legislation that President George W. Bush passed in an attempt to raise the level of education in this country by emphasizing testing and improvement for EVERY student.

People have to understand something. Funding is tied to nearly everything, especially in education....attendance rates, graduation rates, passing rates, etc. You get the idea. Naturally, the better a school does, the more funding it receives. Can this lead to dishonesty? Sure. Students are passed who no in way should be passed. Students who have major disciplinary issues are not punished because again, suspending students and/or sending them home counts against attendance. Only major discipline issues will send a student home.

Standardized testing...this has led to major problems for schools and children. Teachers are teaching to the test, plain and simple. Their jobs are on the line. They are pressured by administrators to do well, no matter what kind of students walk through their door. Is that fair? Maybe not. It will force teachers to attempt to reach every child though.

But what happens when teachers teach to a test? Critical thinking and/or problem solving skills are not practiced. Instead, students become strategic test takers. Filling in a circle will never replace problem or project based learning. Furthermore, filling in circles will never substitute for learning writing skills and/or learning things like American History or Geography. Consider this: a grad student/classmate of mine said recently during a conversation about First Ladies that Eleanor Roosevelt did a lot and was a powerful First Lady because "FDR sat around a lot." That lack of common knowledge is disturbing. I once ran talked to an undergrad who had no idea where Mexico was. USA TODAY ran an article a couple months ago that said that more undergrads are taking up to seven years to get their bachelor's degree because they are taking so many remedial classes. This is not a surprise. Public edcuation is failing them. Education needs to be improved, big time.

Best ratings yet.

My guess on the upcoming edition of Dancing With The Stars will be the highest rated ever. Pamela Anderson, Erin Andrews, and Kate Gosselin???? Too much "car wreck" type "stars" there to ignore.

From Yahoo! TV...

Overhyped cast announcements have become a twice-yearly tradition for "Dancing With the Stars," but this week, the hype may actually be deserved. For its tenth season, kicking off March 22, ABC has assembled the A-list of the B-list, ranging from the biggest "Bachelor" ever to the biggest (ahem) "Baywatch" babe ever to the most eccentric NFL star ever.

But above all, the show managed to score Kate Gosselin, one of the most talked about and controversial reality TV stars ever. Already, she's attracting attention for the fact that she'll need to be in Los Angeles to rehearse and tape two to three episodes each week, presumably leaving her eight young children behind (though reportedly she'll practice her routines back home in Pennsylvania). Expect that storyline to gather steam as the season progresses — unless, of course, voters send her packing quickly. Here's how we think Kate and the rest of the cast will do:

How does this happen so much?

How do so many Howard Stern clones and show contributors get on-air?

When will they learn?

Basketball player Greg Oden is doing the apology tour for as Jim Rome put it, "taking pictures of his package and e-mailing them to his girlfriend." WHY would anyone do this? Can anyone justify doing this? As Jim Rome said today, being a soulmate or in love is still no reason.

Here is the article from the Associated Press.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden(notes) is apologizing for nude photos that have surfaced on the internet. Oden says the pictures, taken with his cell phone and sent to a former girlfriend, were taken about 1 1/2 years ago. A friend told the 21-year-old Tuesday morning that the pictures were making the rounds on the internet.

“I would like to apologize to everybody: Portland, the fans, the organization,” Oden told reporters at the Blazers practice facility. “It was very embarrassing.”

Oden is out for this season after fracturing his left kneecap during a game against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 5. He averaged 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in 21 starts. The 7-foot-center was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft out of Ohio State. He missed his rookie season after have microfracture surgery on his right knee.

Facebook and Phone Etiquette

Can someone please help me out with manners for Facebook and cellphones in terms of the following issue: How long should you keep someone's contact information in your cellphone? How long do you keep someone as a friend on Facebook...even if you have no point in hearing from them or stopped hearing from them for months? Are there "rules" for the removal of info/former friends?

Report the Facts. Respect the truth.

Channel 3 in Cleveland followed up the Fox 8 story about the Chippendale dancer with this effort from video journalist Carl Bachtel. If you can't see the video here, please go to wkyc.com and see the story. It's at least more tastefully done than the one on Fox 8. At least Carl didn't get a shot of himself in the bed.

Yes, this is a top 20 news market!

I grew up watching what is now Fox 8 in Cleveland. It seemed to be the most likeable station. They hire hometown talent and do a good job on sports. Many fine reporters and anchors have moved on from Cleveland to even bigger markets. Kelly O'Donnell, Martin Savidge, and Vince Cellini to name a few. With people moving on to bigger jobs, you would think that the journalistic standards in Cleveland are pretty high. Then, stories like these have to air...

The fact the guy is a Chippendales dancer has so little to do with the story but the reporter made it a big part of the story. The tight shot of him "travelling with a six pack"????

This aired during the five o'clock hour on Monday, December 21st. I wonder if I was the only one who felt uncomfortable seeing this on the news.

I wonder what the perception would be if a woman had done this story. Hmmmmmm...