The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

But given his history, it still makes me suspicious.

It's all part of his master scheme to eliminate Amtrak

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

But given his history, it still makes me suspicious.

You mean something like this?

[Alex]

I don't know that recess appointments are really something that needs to be covered up. It has a storied history (our second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was a recess appointment not trusted by the senate, was widely considered insane and then attempted suicide before resigning from the court after the senate again refused to confirm him) and Clinton and Bush have, over the last 16 years made it pretty much standard practice, doing it 300 times or so.

But if Reid can keep a quorum in Washington over the Thanksgiving break, then good for him.

[BDBopper]

The GOP Race is over! Huckabee wins!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYv2YW6azE

Mike Huckabee - Chuck Norris Approved!

Come on at least admit you got a chuckle out of the ad.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by BDBopper

The GOP Race is over! Huckabee wins!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYv2YW6azE

Mike Huckabee - Chuck Norris Approved!

Come on at least admit you got a chuckle out of the ad.

That was pretty good......I like this one:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=tjOuL5qwNIc

[BDBopper]

Those were good ads too.

[wendybeth]

Found this buried near the bottom of the news at the Fox site: McClellan claims White House actually lied to him!.


What a surprise.

[Prudence]

How much do I hate "No Child Left Behind"? Let me count the ways....


I was lucky enough to be part of a "gifted education" program in grades 1-6. (although by grade 6 it was beginning to be watered down, as parents started insisting that their tax dollars paid for it and little Johnny was definitely a genius, even if testing proved him dumb as a post, and therefore little Johnny has to be let into the gifted class - and if he can't keep up with the pace of the other students then they just need to slow down for him.)

So, today's paper brings the following article: Has "No Child" law cheated gifted students?

I hate mainstreaming, I really do. I think kids should be socialized across ability barriers of all kinds. But when it comes down to the brass tacks of learning, children should be taught based on their abilities.

I can't even imagine where I would be today if I hadn't had the opportunity to learn in those environments. Kids already face enough pressure from their peers to not appear to be smart. Do they really need adults pressuring them to stay with the rest of the group and not leap on ahead?

This is the part of the article where I lost it:

In recent years, school systems have gradually embraced the notion that all students, including the gifted, should study in regular classrooms. Alternatives, such as putting gifted children in separate classrooms or schools, or pulling them from regular classes for bursts of enrichment, are widely rejected as undemocratic.

Yup, we should all be as homogeneous as possible, otherwise we're undemocratic traitors.

[JWBear]

More forced dumbing-down of America. Thanks George.

[katiesue]

Originally Posted by Prudence

I hate mainstreaming, I really do. I think kids should be socialized across ability barriers of all kinds. But when it comes down to the brass tacks of learning, children should be taught based on their abilities.

I'm not a fan of mainstreaming either. I was in gifted programs as well but ours were more of the enrichment variety than seperate classes for each subject. Nothing made me battier than waiting for the teacher to explain, yet again, a simple concept that the rest of the class already got an hour ago for the one person who just couldn't keep up. I don't think it helps anyone really. The kids who get it instantly are bored and the kids who need extra help get ridiculed for holding up the whole class.

Maddy's school is obsessed with test scores. That's it - not learing but what you get on the tests. And not the end of the chapter test the state tests. It makes me wonky.