"Education Reform" in Indiana

Mr. Elder speaks out against Daniels's education agenda.
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Teacher-Speaks-Out-Against-State-Education-Agenda-115772839.html

Seriously, I'm almost embarrassed to live in Indiana at times when Gov Daniels proposes education reform. His and the State Superintendent's educational reforms are some of the worst ideas I've heard, especially after you think about it for a while. Seriously, how does basing teacher's pay on standardized tests help students? You might say that the teachers would be more motivated to teach their students, but the problem is, that won't make a difference. Some students just don't want to learn, and there is nothing teachers can do to help them. Basing a teacher's pay on this is ridiculous. Another problem is the fact that not all teachers teach classes that are subjected to standardized tests, so there is no fair way to include them in this scheme. State standards for education are important; I agree we need to have some kind of standards. But these "one size fits all" solutions aren't that at all; they only fit some districts. By giving back local control to our schools, each district will be free to implement the solutions and reform that will help their students most. Ever since Daniels has entered office, he has implemented one screwup law after another that has led to a decrease in the quality of our education. From funding formulas based on free and reduced lunch counts to these new proposals, from a first-hand perspective, I can say that the quality of my education certainly has not gone up, if anything, it has gone down, due to all the budget cuts that we have had to make. Unfortunately, his departure from office will come too late to help me, but maybe future students and teachers will have a governor who puts education first and understands what helpful education reform is, like Frank O'Bannon. I can't wait to hear Daniels's response to Mr. Elder's email.

Remember, you're not my man Mitch!

Snow days!

How about those snow days? Its been nice having a weekend in the middle of the week, even if its going to mess up my summer later on. I guess I'll appreciate these days now though, heck, another one tomorrow would be nice, I've procrastinated so much stuff that there is no way I'll get it all done if we have school. Take a look at this video on gawker, that would be downright scary to get stuck in something like that! We talk about the snow we got, but they had nearly double that with gale-force winds in Chicago! Snow drifts covering cars, buses, trains, completely shutting down the city. We should be thankfully we didn't have anything like that. And for the first time in 12 years, Chicago Public Schools closed. Wow. That says something right there. I can't imagine going for twelve years without a snow day. Well, I should probably finish this S&W reduction (seriously don't need somebody to tell me not to break sentences in two), so see ya! (Or not, as the case may be.)