April 2003 Archives

Nykki ñ Thoughts on Learning

4/26 homeschooling 2 links, gifted children 2 links, parental involvement, 1 link.
4/23 study tips for college 1 link.
4/22 time management 2 links.
4/03 standardized testing 5 links.
4/01 commentary on American education 1 link.
3/29 kids and war 2 links.
3/28 Sudbury schools 3 links.
3/23 teacher and student activism 3 links.
3/09 ACLU link and comments by Nykki.
3/07 corporal punishment 2 links.
3/04 Waldorf schools 1 link.
2/28 Teacher magazine articles (requires registration) 3 links.
2/27 Montessori 4 links.
2/26 direct tips for teachers 1 link.

Cyndi ñ Foundations of Education

4/23 book publishers, US Dept of Ed, UNESCO quote, 2 links not hot.
4/17 NY Times learning, activities, reading, 7 links not hot.
4/10 Crayola art activities, 1 link not hot.
4/09 Classroom management, 1 link not hot.
4/06 articles by and about teaching, 1 link not hot.
4/05 literacy, 1 link not hot.
4/01 hands-on activites, 1 link not hot.
3/26 newest books, 1 link not hot.
3/23 assessment of reading, 1 link not hot.
3/19 online reading activities, 1 link not hot; development 1 link not hot.
3/16 at risk, reading recovery, 1 link not hot; New England reading news, 1 link not hot.
2/26 first post (one archive link not functioning)

Jen ñ Elementary Education is Great!

4/21 organization and technology 2 links.
4/02 curriculum/standards/activities 2 links.
3/14 comment on movie, Lean on me. No links.
3/06 general comment, no links.
2/27 curriculum, 1 link not hot.
2/24 first post

Catherine ñ Educate Yourself

4/26 funding preschool 3 links, European models 4 links (one is duplicated), Head Start politics 3 links.
4/13 childcare, early ed, outcomes, legislation 7 links.
4/07 kid's and war 2 links.
3/24 career longevity 1 link, juvenile delinquency 1 link.
3/12 discipline, conflict resolution and multiculturalism 5 links.
3/09 discipline and moral development 2 links.
3/07 discipline 1 link.
3/02 parents' and teachers' views on kindergarten readiness 1 link.
3/01 funding for at risk kids 1 link.

Dirk ñ A Belgian Blog

4/26 lyrical reprise on what it means to be human 1 link.
4/25 media bias/freedom of speech in the U.S. 2 links.
4/24 analysis of connections between war funding and education, 1 link.
4/22 military recruiting 1 link (requires registration).
4/21 advertising (business interests) and education 1 link.
4/17 separation of church and state in Irag, link moved; corporate interests in Iraq and the U.S. 2 links (1 requires registration); classroom management & technology1 link.
4/14 political/economic agenda in Iraq 1 link.
(Trouble with archive linksÖ)
3/31 green living 1 link.
3/29 preschool, funding and war 1 link.
3/28 radio journalism 1 link.
3/26 cartoon, liberation of Iraq 1 link; kids and war 1 link; propaganda glossary 1 link.
3/25 war poem, budgeting for war 2 links.
3/24 parents and kids grappling with war 1 link; military recruiting 1 link.
3/19 costs of war 3 links; protests 4 links.
3/17 protests 2 links; teaching peace 2 links.
3/16 protest 1 link; commentary on movie, Stand and Deliver 5 links; adverstising/corporate interests and education 2 links.
3/10 gender and education 4 links.
3/05 discipline, tolerance, violence in schools 3 links.
3/02 student protest 1 link.
2/28 first post.

Inda ñ Educational Insites

4/16 long personal entry (funeral, importance of education, experiences in special education, etc) 4 links not hot, no explanation.
3/09 promo for the movie The Education of Little Tree, no links.
3/06 links explained ñ holiday activities.
2/28 link to Academy School (where Inda works), not hot.
2/27 first post.

Daniela ñ Building Blocks

3/13 independent learning activities 1 link.
3/09 pervasive developmental disorders vs AD/HD, and diagnosis3 links.
3/01 AD/HD advocacy organization 1 link.
2/28 first post.

Heather's Weblog

4/11 pregnant! :-) articles referenced, no link. Chatroom link for teen parents.
4/06 Vermont stats 1 link, Annie E. Casey Foundation 2 links, children with disabilities 1 link, and a youth-to-youth site 1 link.
4/01 tolerance, diversity, war resources, lesson plans, and activities 7 links.
3/28 divorce :-( social workers in schools 2 links.
3/16 children's rights and peace education 4 links.
3/12 radio link to a story on Homework 1 link.
3/09 behavior, gender and cultural issues 7 links.
3/05 Vermont State DoE link.

Tracy ñ My Foundations of Education Blog

4/25 parent involvement 4 links; teaching games 3 links.
4/24 bilingual education 1 link.
4/19 visual thesaurus 1 link.
4/16 math worksheets 1 link.
4/15 language arts, technology, networking 4 links.
4/11 comments on Kidder, no links.
4/04 "hard issues" ñ topics are updated so have to work to find the specific articles referenced in the blog 2 links; Second Step program summary no link; Asperger's Syndrome articles in Time Magazine 1 link.
3/27 Aspergers and hyperlexia, 2 links.
3/17 Vermont Online Library 1 link.
3/07 "terrible two's" 1 link; allergies/asthma/winter illnesses 5 links; social skills development 1 link; town school budgets 1 link.
2/28 parent involvement 2 links; local and state politics for kids 2 links; learning disabilities and callirobics 3 links.
2/24 comments on the movie Dangerous Minds 1 link.
2/22 Second Steps link, and a learning disabilities link.

Deborah ñ Inspirations

4/26 complaint, no links.
4/13 Gandhi quote, early childhood 1 link.
4/02 strategies for teaching about living in a world of violence 1 link.
3/22 federal gov preschool site 1 link.
3/18 discipline 1 link; early childhood ed., 1 link.
2/25 parent forum and kid-friendly too, re learning disabilities 1 link.
2/24 forums on various education issues/levels 1 link.
2/22 first post & invitation for inspirational thoughts, no link.

Crystal

3/28 dealing with questions with games, good practices of classroom management, 1 link not hot.
3/27 Christian schools 1 link not hot; literacy 1 link not hot; PTSD 1 link not hot; art as therapy 1 link not hot.
3/24 checking in post, no links.
3/20 laughter is the best medicine 1 link, not hot.
3/19 preschool motor skills and curriculum ideas 2 links not hot.
3/12 motor skill and Easter activities 2 links not hot.
3/07 holiday and seasonal activities 1 link not hot.
3/03 two book reviews no links.

Darlene ñ Lovetoteachkids

4/20 personal reflections on teaching, no links.
4/17 local teacher's issues 1 link to front page of local paper, have to search to find referenced article.
4/10 stigma of teaching on Oprah 1 link (also have to search to find the reference as this page is updated weekly).
4/03 reflections on the war, no links.
3/29 reflections on the war, no links.
3/27 reflections on the war, 1 link is "not authorized."
3/20 Cobblestone and Zoobooks' magazines, 2 links
3/11 art and craft activities 1 link.
3/08 craft idea 1 link.
3/05 crafts and projects, 1 link not hot.
3/04 arts and crafts 1 link not hot.

Angie ñ Joys of Kindergarden

4/27 reflections on kindergarten, link reverts from intended target to netster.
4/10 Core knowledge in early education 1 link; kindergarten in Malaysia 1 link.
4/08 evaluation tools and curriculum 2 links, one not active.
4/01 computers in kindergarten 1 link not active.
3/25 reflections on teaching gym and grammar, no links.
3/18 survival handbook for kindergarten 1 link.
3/13 assessing a child's readiness for kindergarten 1 link (not found).
3/09 substituting and geography, no links.
(trouble with last 2 archives)

Paula

4/16 math resources, 3 links not hot.
4/08 instruction, professional development reflections, no links.
3/25 comments about war and peace, no links.
3/20 inspirational, no links.
3/05 inspirational, no links.
3/01 Vermont Senate and Act 60, no link.
2/25 intro and first post.

Pirated (gasp!) from some of my ED students' weblogs:

A link to the front pages of more than 20 international newspapers, updated daily.

A war glossary published by Geov Parrish of working for change.

Here's Slavoj Zizek's superb text on the war in Iraq (written before the war)"
"Today, Iraq. Tomorrow ... Democracy?
Much more is at stake in this war than the future of Saddam Hussein
The one good argument for war against Iraq is evoked by Christopher Hitchens: The majority of Iraqis are Saddamís victims, and they would be really glad to be rid of him. He is such a catastrophe for his country that an American occupation in whatever form is a much brighter prospect for Iraqi citizens. We are not talking here of ìbringing Western democracy to Iraq,î but of just getting rid of the nightmare called Saddam. To this majority, the caution expressed by Western liberals cannot but appear deeply hypocritical. Do they really care about how the Iraqi people feel?

In the same vein, I remember dozens of Western leftists in the early ë90s who proudly crowed that ìYugoslavia still exists,î and reproached me for betraying the unique chance of maintaining Milosevicís Yugoslaviaóto which I always answered that I am not yet ready to lead my life so that it will not disappoint Western leftist dreams. Few attitudes are more crassly ideological than a tenured Western academic arrogantly dismissing (or, even worse, ìunderstandingî) an Eastern European from an ex-communist country who longs for Western liberal democracy and some consumer goods.

However, it is all too easy to slip from this recognition to the notion that ìunder their skin, Iraqis are just like us, and really want the same as we do.î All we need to do is just give people a chance, liberate them from their imposed constraints, and they will join us in our ideological dream. No wonder an American official used the term ìcapitalist revolutionî to describe what Americans are now doing: exporting their revolution all around the world. They have moved from ìcontainingî the enemy to a more aggressive stance. Like the defunct Soviet Union decades ago, the United States is now the country subversively fomenting world revolution. Bush recently declared: ìThe liberty we prize is not Americaís gift to the world, it is Godís gift to humanity.î Indeed, and the United States just happens to be the chosen instrument for distributing this gift.

Abstract pacifism is intellectually stupid and morally wrongóone has to stand up against a threat. Of course the fall of Saddam would be a relief to a large majority of Iraqi people, and a whiff of liberal hypocrisy does taint many of the stated reasons against war. But the impending invasion and occupation of Iraq is still wrongóbecause who is leading it makes it wrong. This is not a question of war or peace in the short term, but of the ìgut feelingî that something is terribly wrong with this war, that something will irretrievably change with it.

HERE THEY COME:

1) Albania sends 70 commandos to join an advance party of six at a U.S. base in Kuwait. They will train there for two weeks before taking up "security and patrolling" duties.

2) Italy said it intends to send troops to Iraq to help keep order and assist with medical and humanitarian aid. The contingent would number between 2,500 and 3,000 troops from the army and navy, but that it would not have a combat role.

3) Denmark says the United States has asked it to send a further 360 staff to head a unit of about 3,000 people, nearly doubling the 380 military personnel and up to 25 police officers offered last week.

4) The Czech parliament approves a plan to send a field hospital with 250 staff to Iraq to provide medical care to Iraqis in the southern city of Basra, news agency CTK says.

5) Bulgaria's Defense Ministry says the United States has asked it to contribute a peacekeeping force for postwar Iraq, but it sees no need for biological warfare troops originally earmarked for support. The peacekeeping force will probably number about 100.

6) Poland is ready to send "several hundred" troops or police to help oversee the installation of a democratic government in Iraq. Poland has already contributed some 200 troops to the war, including 56 elite commandos, a ship and an anti-chemical unit.

7) Romania's defense ministry says Washington has asked it to send peacekeeping troops to help stabilize postwar Iraq. Romania originally earmarked 278 non-combat troops for the Gulf. The government will decide in the next few days whether to send the troops, who include medical, engineering and military police personnel (Yes, they will...)

8) Turkey has agreed in principle to a U.S. request to send Turkish soldiers into neighboring Iraq for postwar peacekeeping duties. Gul said Washington had requested help in humanitarian work and reconstruction as well as troops to help bolster security.

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Plagiarism by warblogger, The Agonist.

I missed the Oscars, but Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks are reaping the benefits of their strong statements against Bush and the war. If you haven't seen Bowling for Columbine, all I can say is, you should.

Check out this Iranian weblog. Includes an interview with the creator of Fantasy Blog Share Market. May have to play!Sad news about a fire at a Deaf school in Russia. Meanwhile, the Deaf Majority Now movement in Vermont has had a couple more stories in the local newspaper, and been picked up by the national Deaf newslist, USA-L. Still gotta find the links. :-)

CNN: "The number of inmates in American prisons topped 2 million for the first time, the Justice Department reports. California, Texas, Florida and New York were the four biggest state prison systems, mirroring their status as the most populous states. [...] The total inmate population on June 30, 2002, was 2.1 million, an increase of 2.8 percent from the year before. Two-thirds were in federal or state prisons, with the other third held in jails, the report said [...] One in every 142 U.S. residents was in prison in mid-2002 [...] About 12 percent of all black men in the United States aged 20 to 39 were in prison, by far the highest single group. In contrast, 4 percent of Hispanic males and 1.6 percent of white males in that age group were incarcerated."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED08Ak05.html - former director of the Central Intelligence Agency R James Woolsey on World War IV (More to come).

According to the Romanian newspaper of Evenimentul Zilei (English-version here), Romania, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Spain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland will get the lion's share at reconstructing Iraq. That is, after the US companies get whatever they please. Romania has a list of 32 companies ready to make money in Iraq, the most important of which are 4 oil-related commercial entities. Bulgaria, too, has a long list of companies, the most interesting of which is "Bulgartabak" (headquartered in the town of Blagoevgrad, also known for hosting the American University in Bulgaria), a cigarette company! According to the article, France, Germany, Russia, and Syria will not benefit from contracts in the new American-dominated Iraq.

Boston Globe: "Researchers, genealogists, and the plain curious now can use the Internet to check more than 50 million historical records at the National Archives, from Civil War battles to family immigration files."

The US State Department has just released its 2002 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices." Some snipets:
* Israel: "The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there continued to be problems with respect to its treatment of Arab citizens"
* Iraq: "In February the Minister of Justice specifically informed the Special Rapporteur that prostitution is not punishable by death under the law and claimed that no one had been sentenced to death for prostitution in many years. However, security forces allegedly beheaded a number of women suspected of prostitution and some men suspected of facilitating or covering up such activities in October 2001. Security agents reportedly decapitated numerous women and men in front of their family members."
* Saudi Arabia: "The Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained."
* Kuwait: "In February a police officer was sentenced to death for the March 2001 murder of a news editor. The police officer believed that the editor had insulted the officer's tribe in articles written and published by the editor. "
* Romania: "Discrimination and instances of societal violence against Roma continued. "
* France: "In June the ECHR found that the prosecution of two journalists under the 1881 press law prohibiting insulting foreign leaders was unjustified, and the court criticized the law as outdated. The ECHR found that the Paris Court of Appeals interfered with the freedom of expression of two journalists in its 1995 ruling that they had insulted King Hassan II of Morocco. "
* Andorra: "Violence against women increased, and there was some discrimination against women in the workplace. There were some limits on workers' rights. Some immigrant workers complained that they did not have the same labor rights and security as citizens in practice, despite legal protections."