Although their logo/slogan EDin’08 seems poorly chosen, billionaire philanthropists Eli Broad and Bill Gates get an A for Effort and Commitment for creating the new Strong American Schools project, and donating $60 million dollars to put education high onto the agenda of the 2008 presidential race (press release, April 25, 2007). You may have already seen their Histery of IRAK newspaper ad, which says — under the chalky mispelled words — “Debating Iraq is tough. Spelling it shouldn’t be. America’s schools are falling behind. It’s a crisis that takes leadership to solve. So to all presidential candidates we say, ‘What’s your plan to fix our schools?’ ”
Before writing a few serious paragraphs, I must do a school-masterly tsk-tsk over the choice [by education (and good-spelling) advocates!] of “ED in’08” as the Project’s logo. In 2007, virtually everybody from Bob Dole to Jay Leno, and from Merriam-Webster or the OneLook Dictionary‘s Quick Look, to Wikipedia and the acronym experts at Stammtisch Beau Fleuve, knows that “ed” as a word or an abbreviation means “education,” while ED is an initialism that stands for Erectile Dysfunction. You don’t have to be a stickler for linguistic precision, or even a too-quickly-aging Baby Boomer (and his significant other), to be turned off by a campaign promising more ED in ’08. Of course, certain pharmaceutical companies, and hordes of email spammers, might feel differently, but they don’t get a vote here at f/k/a. We prefer “ed in ’08” or “educate in ’08.”
during discussion
on the meaning of life the crunch
of a student’s apple
………….. by George Swede from Almost Unseen (Brooks Books, 2000)
Logo logos aside, citizens (and aliens) who want to see much more done to improve the education of America’s youth can readily agree with Bill Gates that “The lack of political and public will is a significant barrier to making dramatic improvements in school and student performance.” (New York Times, “Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort,” April 25, 2007) A campaign backed with scores of millions of dollars for publicity, organization and follow-through should go a long way to assure that presidential candidates (and the public) take education seriously enough to make it a top priority and construct (or demand) specific proposals. As project director Roy Romer, former Colorado governor and recent school superintendent of Los Angeles, noted at his related weblog, they want the next President of the United States, on his or her first day in office, to “make a Kennedyesque or Reaganesque call to get this done.” (Roy Romer’s Blog on Schools, “Why involve the presidential candidates in Education?“). Romer continues:
“The next president will pick one issue on that first day in office … and we want it to be education, because people will listen, they will pay attention and they will start acting.”
In their press release and public statements, the leaders of Strong American Schools make it clear that they will not be endorsing any candidates, but will instead focus on creating conversation, brainstorming and debate on three main areas (as outlined and expanded by Romer):
- American standards (agreed upon by the states not forced down their throats by the federal government). That means a fourth-grader is learning what she needs to be successful no matter where she lives, whether Iowa or South Carolina or California. All youngsters need to prepare for college and compete for good jobs, so they should have the educational foundation. That’s number one.
- [E]ffective teachers in every classroom. A lot of people would like to interpret this to mean that we are knocking teachers. That’s just wrong. We are trying to identify the best ways – notice I say ways, not one single federal way – to attract and support and reward the most effective teachers for every subject and every classroom. And that means compensating teachers based on performance and willingness to take tougher jobs. But again, there are many ways to do that, and we will be highlighting lots of different ways over the next few months.
- [M]ore time and support for learning. Again, there are a lot of ways to get this done. We want to explore the many possible ways to do that with people.
first day of term
her new school uniform
bright in the mist
……………………… by Matt Morden from A New Resonance 2
It looks like Roy Romer’s Blog on Schools will not be a mere trend-conscious afterthought. Romer seems to enjoy the weblog format and has already used the platform to “clarify” issues. For example, in “It’s Not About Specifics … Yet,” he tells those who want specific proposals that the Project wants to start a conversation, providing “some hard information and statistics and direction,” but listening to the ideas of others. Additionally, in “Great Launch … But Let’s Be Clear About ED in 08,” he says that “a couple of misperceptions have arisen, and I want to address them right now.” He worries that “Some of the news coverage used loaded terminology that we don’t use and we don’t agree with. When that happens, it’s easy for anyone to read and get the wrong idea about our positions,” and says “Let me give you two examples”:
- “National curriculum” – Somebody wrote that we are calling for that. Let’s be clear: Strong American Schools and the ED in 08 campaign are not calling for a national curriculum, period.
- “Merit pay” – Somebody said we want that. That’s wrong. We are not pushing some narrow merit pay scheme. The bottom line is … good teaching, effective teaching. What we want is to find a way to focus on good teaching. That is the outcome that matters. Good teaching … how do we value it … how do we support it … and how we reward it so we can get more of it.
Romer might have been concerned about coverage such as found in the NYT article cited above, which stated, for example: “While the effort is shying away from some of the most polarizing topics in education, like vouchers, charter schools and racial integration, there is still room for it to spark vigorous debate.” It went on to point to the dislike of usually-Democratic teachers unions for “merit pay,” and the disdain for a “national curriculum” by state’s-rights conservatives.
windowless classroom
the blank look
same as last term
fund drive
the ivy covered building
has a new name
……………………….. by Yu Chang from Upstate Dim Sum
I’m looking forward to watching the conversation — and the dance of the candidates — unfold over the next year. Even beyond the crucial importance of the subject, it should be fascinating and instructive to see how so much money from a nonpartisan, nonprofit issue-group impacts a presidential election. I hope Roy Romer’s weblog will be a good place to find out what issues and controversies are bubbling to the top of the presidential stew, now that education has been taken off the backburner.
school’s out —
on the child’s forehead
a blue reward star
youth orchestra
two rows of harps
bow to applause
after school meeting
collage clouds turn
round and round
first day of term
a mother pushes scooters
away from the school
……………… by Matt Morden from Morden Haiku
chalk dust
in the eraser trough
autumn chill
a new term
clear water tumbles
over stones
…………………………………. by Peggy Lyles
“chalk dust” – To Hear the Rain (Brooks Books, 2002)
“a new term” – Snapshots Haiku Magazine #9 (2001)
q.s. quickies ……………
Less Stress In Deed: A couple days ago, Phillip L. Clay, chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was quoted saying “In the future, we will take a big lesson from this experience.” (New York Times, “Dean at M.I.T. Resigns, Ending a 28-Year Lie,” April 27, 2007) Chancellor Clay was referring, of course, to the tale of Marilee Jones, M.I.T.’s dean of admissions, who has become well known nationally for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. As the Times, reports, Jones admitted this week that “she had fabricated her own educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at M.I.T. Officials of the institute said she did not have even an undergraduate degree.” The article explained further:
“Ms. Jones, 55, originally from Albany [NY], had on various occasions represented herself as having degrees from three upstate New York institutions: Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In fact, she had no degrees from any of those places, or anywhere else, M.I.T. officials said.”
I’m not sure how much coverage Ms. Jones’ scandal got elsewhere in the nation. Here in the Albany area (and, in my town of Schenectady, home of Union College), the papers gave it a lot of space. Is this a tale of irony or simply hypocrisy? NYT tells us Jones was considered “a kind of guru of the movement to tame the college admissions frenzy.” She’s been touring the nation as co-author of the book “Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond. If the book tour continues, a lot of people might show up to see a prime example of getting through the higher education machine with about as little stress and as much success as possible. As a good weblogger should, I must caution my readers: Don’t Try This At Home.
drama class
the novice
botches a death scene
………… tom painting – frogpond XVII:3 (2004)
Pentacle Spectacle: Did you see that the “Use of Wiccan Symbol on Veterans’ Headstones Is Approved” (New York Times, April 25, 2007). Yep, it took them years, but the VA settled a lawsuit — to save the taxpayers the cost of litigation — agreeing, according to the Times, “to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.” I’m pleased to see that Americans United for the Separation of Church and State represented the plaintiffs in the case. In a country with religious freedom at its cornerstone, it seems to me that the VA has no place banning a requested symbol from the headstone of a deceased veteran — no matter that it is paid for with taxpayer dollars. They say there are no atheists in a foxhole, but I hope an agnostic or two will be suing soon for the right to have their symbol of choice engraved on their headstones, too.
FYI: Per NYT: “Though it has many forms, Wicca is a type of pre-Christian belief that reveres nature and its cycles. Its symbol is the pentacle, a five-pointed star, inside a circle.” An “Altreligion” website tells us that: “The pentacle, a pentagram within a circle, is the most recognizable symbol of Wicca. The pentacle represents the integration of body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements.”
winter solstice
adolescent wiccans
flunk a spelling test
………………. by dagosan
p.s. Update (April 30, 2007): Thanks to Brett Trout at Blawg IT for including f/k/a‘s post on Florida’s capricious Dignity Police in this week’s Blawg Review # 106. As I haven’t had time to cover the story, I was pleased to see in BR#106 that both Ted Frank at Overlawyered.com and Carolyn Elefant at LegalBlogWatch skewered D.C. Adminsistrative Law Judge Roy L. Pearson, Jr. for the abusive lawsuit he has been prosecuting against a neighborhood cleaner shop, in which he is seeking $65 million in damages for a pair of misplaced suit pants. The beleaguered mom-and-pop defendants offered $12,000 in settlement, but were rebuffed (see Washington Post article). Carolyn seems to have it about right, when she says
“As for Pearson, I can imagine the appropriate remedy for a lawyer who persists in pursuing $65 million for a pair of lost pants: How about a lost license to practice law? That seems like a fair trade.”
At the very least, a large dose of e-shaming for pro se plaintiff Pearson seems in order.
Thanks to Toronto law librarian — and “info diva” — 
Rather than stress the Copyright Law protection aspect of the Day, I hope you’ll learn about the Fair Use exception to copyright. We have an essay on Haiku and the 
Limbo illustration 
“The theology is complicated, but the bottom line is that Augustine, believing in mankind’s original sin, persuaded a church council in 418 to reject any notion of an ‘intermediary place’ between heaven and hell. He held that baptism was necessary for salvation, and that unbaptized babies would actually go to hell, though in his later writings he conceded that it would entail the mildest of [hellish] conditions.” 
There will surely be dissenters to this bleeding-heart approach to limbo and unbaptized babies and fetuses. One priest wrote of his “serious concern” over tampering with the limbo doctrine, when the task was first assigned. Writing “
In his hit song 
Speaking of limbo, 
Blackberry Blackout: In Sunday’s New York Times April 22, 2007), Matt Richtell has an op/ed piece that delves into the psychological reasons for the excessive attachment so many people have to their Blackberry devices — as especially demonstrated during the 12-hour blackout of the Blackberry network last week. In “
“Several years ago, [Harvard psychiatry professor John] Ratey began using the term ‘acquired attention deficit disorder‘ to describe the condition of people who are accustomed to a constant stream of digital stimulation and feel bored in the absence of it. Regardless of whether the stimulation is from the Internet, TV or a cellphone, the brain, he said, is hijacked. “I liken it to a drug,” Mr. Ratey said. “Drug addicts don’t think; they just start moving. Like moving for your BlackBerry.”
Thin Ice. Speaking of digital obsessions: I spent far too much time today re-formatting my Jan. 2006 
The slogan atop the official website of 
I’m surprised that yesterday’s Insurance Journal article, “
Speaking of New Jersey, irresponsible politicians and Prof. Grace, Martin’s quickie posting “
bar assoc. . . . . .
“Under the present system, giant insurance companies, like Allstate and State Farm, can legally collude to fix prices, a chilling practice that serves as the very definition of anti-competitive conduct. McCarran-Ferguson also opens the door to agreements that assure policy holders don’t receive appropriate compensation in the wake of instances like Hurricane Katrina. And they can even divvy up areas, with one company agreeing to avoid areas monopolized by an alleged competitor.”
p.s. Whether or not you agreed with it, you probably enjoyed our blurb two days ago (via 
You may recall that I speculated last month, in the giant essay 
“The Arizona Board of Appraisal issued two cease-and-desist letters to the company that operates the popular real estate Web site Zillow, saying it needs an appraiser license to offer its ‘zestimates’ in Arizona. ‘It is the board’s feeling that (Zillow) is providing an appraisal,’ Deborah Pearson, the board’s executive director, said Friday.” 
” . . . vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. “Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break.” (at 98)
Please 
The new issue of Harvard Law Bulletin (Spring 2007) has an interesting discussion of 
I’m happy to say that I don’t have to select my top twenty most-influentional American haiku today. Instead, I’ll simply share a few from the latest issue of 
Over at the London Times Online, 
Yes, I’m still neglecting the upkeep of our 
If we had known that Jonathan Friedan was constructing 
Jonathan also listed comic-lawyer Mad Kane’s seasonal poetic wail, 
At 
We told you 
In the latest edition of the D.C. Bar’s Washington Lawyer Magazine, bar president James J. Sandman 
Looking at our weblog statistics page, I learned that one visitor found us today after 
[
And click 
My friend 
………………….. 
[haiga 
Harvard Law Professor 
In the face of arguments from heavy-hitters like Richard Posner, Edward Levi and Cass Sunstein against the use of analogical reasoning by judges and lawyers, Weinreb has written
Although written for legal scholars, students, and practitioners, I hope it will become must-read material for webloggers and weblog commentors — so as to ease the frequent agita I get perusing those sources. Legal Reason is filled with examples from both the law and everyday life — and it’s easy enough for editors from all generations and political persuasions to understand. I plan to share examples and ideas from the book with my readers (and my long-suffering friends). And, I already know what a number of my relatives will be getting for Christmas 2005.
Suffolk U. Law School prof 
Barack Obama just finished his speech to the DNC. Here’s my haiku reaction.
