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Jul
28
A reminder for everyone’s Sabbath this week
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Thanks to Jeff Hess of Have Coffee Will Write for reminding me to remember. I hope I do not miss this next year. From Jeff’s site:
One year ago tomorrow Naveed Haq entered the Jewish Community Federation building in Seattle. He shot six workers there; murdering Pamela Waechter and injuring Layla Bush, Carol Goldman, Dayna Klein, Christina Rexroad and Cheryl Stumbo. If your heart so moves you this shabbat to remember those still healing you might say:
Mi Sheberakh
Avoteinu: Avraham, Yitzhak, v’Yaakov,
v’Imoteinu: Sarah, Rivka, Rachel v’Leah,
Hu yivarekh virapei
et haholah Layla, Carol, Dayna Christina and Cheryl batim Sarah
HaKadosh Barukh Hu
yimalei rahamim aleha,
l’hahlimah,
u-l’rap’otah,
l’hazikah,
u-l’hay-otah.
lah bim-hera
r’fuah shlemah,
r’fu-at hanefesh u-r’fu-at hagoof,
b’tokh sh’ar holei Yisrael v’holei yoshvei tevel,
hashta ba’agalah u-vizman kariv,
v’no-mar, Amen!
One of the differences between myself and rightwingers, when it comes to Israel and being Jewish, is that I want the entire world to be made safe for Jews to live. I want the world to be made safe, I want the people of the world to give safety to everyone, equally.
That is what I’ve worked toward and work toward, in whatever ways I can.
I love Israel, I want Israel to exist, but I have never been an extreme Zionist, because to be myopic in the approach – to think that there can be and should be only one place where Jews can live, where Jews can go, means that we care less and pay less attention to the incidents like the one in Seattle, and we use the incident in Seattle to say, See? We can’t live anywhere – we must have Israel.
Yes, we must have Israel. But not at the cost of making the rest of the world uninhabitable for Jews and inhabitable only in spots around the globe for individual religions, ethnicities, races, genders and so on.
My family will be going to Israel in just over a year. It will be my first trip there in 24 years. I imagine crying a lot – happy and sad tears. And I relish the idea of blogging the trip.
But I won’t stop believing that we must make it safe for people who are different to be able to live whereever they want, free from threats and actions that otherwise make people feel as though they must have a place to call their own. It’s nice – no doubt. Catholics have Rome. Irish have Ireland. Jews have Israel.
But think about the cost to human life that being able to say each one of those has had.
Pretty antithetical to the very roots of being Catholic, Irish or Jewish, when you think about it.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:55 pm July 28th, 2007 in Politics | 5 Comments
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Jul
28
‘Roots News making news: Lisa Renee and Glass City Jungle on WTOL
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Kudos to Lisa Renee of Toledo, who truly deserves the attention and accolades for her work with Glass City Jungle. I haven’t found a video of her tv appearance today but maybe someone will post a youtube of it or something??
Read the story here.
Her blog post about the coverage here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:27 am July 28th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
28
Remains of the Day, 7-27-07
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1. BLOGGAPALOOZA!!!!!!! More specific info here too.
2. Feagler & Friends – okay – well, I feared that it was going to look like I was getting beaten up but my family says that under no circumstances do they think that. Now, my positive spin is that no one succeeded in beating up on me even though they tried (how’s that for building up my confidence), but, I confess, I’m so critical of my appearances – or maybe just so used to everyone in my family (my main audience) not questioning me on political matters (ha), that I don’t know what a challenge feels like anymore. I’m told that Dick Feagler likes a debate so, if that’s what it looks like to everyone else, then I guess I should feel like I did just fine. Maybe we were all just worthy opponents, or something.
If you missed the show tonight, you can catch it again on Sunday at 12noon.
3. WaPo says GOP prez candidates making big mistake if they opt out of YouTube. I gotta tell you, I agree – it could be, could be – if combined with other efforts in a younger demographic, devastating for GOP candidates in all offices.
4. Seems like i just read about another politician coming out of retirement but I can’t recall where. The neighboring town of Orange Village has one in Joe Dubyak for mayor. I’ve heard from a few sources that Mayor Bruce Akers wasn’t treated to kindly at the RPCC’s platform discussion, but I have to tell you – there’s not a soul challenging him.
5. Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave – that has to be a must-read. Read an interview with the author on Jewess.
7. This is really sad – I just went to Battuto in Little Italy with an elder stateswoman from my synagogue. We were there for lunch, no one else was there and I confess, I wondered, how can the stay open. The food was very good and the service lovely and everything else very nice. I didn’t know anyone who didn’t like the restaurant. I wish them well.
8. I’ve recently told some folks about how I was mugged in Manhattan in the mid-80s and the experience continues with me to this day. So I really, really feel for this guy. The events to which everyone and anyone is exposed on a regular basis which used to be considered trauma-inducing have become so much more common experiences. That just can’t be good – and I know, I know – believe I know – for some segments, that regularity of trauma has been going on for literally decades.
9. You know what I find most odd about the 50 Most Beautiful on Capitol Hill? The top 10 have a nice representation of a variety of ages. But then, in the remaining 40 top beauts? Ha. Primarily 35 and under. Obviously they are not watching Kyra Sedgewick, Minnie Driver, Holly Hunter, Glenn Close or Cherry Jones.
10. Read Chas on Med Mart. He flew, he saw, he experienced an MMPI mart experience. Oh my – is their acronym really MMPI??? And no one has a made a joke about that yet? Eh – probably like people saying to me, your name is Jill? Like Jack and Jill? Ugh. Ok. Nevermind. MMPI it is.
11. Denver branch of Bancrofts voting against News Corp takeover of WSJ.
12. I so want to hate AT&T because of SB117 and this really makes it so easy. Is anyone hearing of anyone being happy with AT&T?
Don’t be a looza – come see everyone at the ‘palooza!
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:19 am July 28th, 2007 in Politics | 2 Comments
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Jul
28
Kids Count Data Book 2007: Ohio falls two notches, now below more than half the states
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I haven’t had time to really delve into the data in the 2007 version of Annie E. Casey’s Kids Count Data Book. But you can start here for Ohio. The lefthand sidebar on that page gives you many other choices for info you can browse related to Ohio.
Quick glance says we’re holding or doing worse. I haven’t seen any MSM reports yet in Ohio on the data, but I haven’t googled for them either. Feel free to review and comment. Looks like a wealth of info.
For example, here’s an article about how Texas has the highest teen birth rate in the country (well above Ohio’s). Well, guess what – if you don’t believe in abortion, and you do think that abstinence-only sex ed should do the trick – you are going to end up with a lot of teen babies. Note that the Texas folks do realize that kids having kids is not desirable:
“Although Texas’ teen birth rates has gone down in recent years, we obviously need to do much more,” said Francis Deviney, director of Texas KIDS COUNT. “Our high teen birth rate represents a true crisis that demands immediate and serious attention. Babies born to teen mothers are more likely to live in poverty, drop out of school, have a child while in their teens and rely on public assistance.”
And an update: the Plain Dealer didn’t have anything, but here’s a decent length list of Ohio papers that did cover the data book’s release.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:04 am July 28th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
27
I don’t know if it’s a big deal or not, the Port Authority’s millage. But based on the anger over how the Cuyahoga County Commissioners (2-1) voted in a sales tax increase, I’d think that the port’s job just got a lot harder.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:43 pm July 27th, 2007 in Politics | 2 Comments
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Jul
27
Regula pays attention to the coming 911 crisis
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Prosecutors don’t get to pick their cases’ victims. And Democrats don’t get to choose who pursues all the issues that need to get pursued.
So it is that Congressman Ralph Regula (R, OH-16) seems to be on the verge of procuring money for Wayne County’s emergency services.
I’ve been harping on the 911 and wireless 911 problem for a while now. So even though the money isn’t targeted to that problem, I would hope that it’s one of the many links the first responders will seek to strengthen. Anyone know how the rest of the Ohio delegation is doing at the federal level on such moneys?
I’ve just emailed my state rep. Josh Mandel and asked for a status update from the Ohio GA re: renewing the 32 cent fee that’s supposed to be going toward Ohio’s efforts on the 911 front. You can read more here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:03 pm July 27th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
27
CJN on Mandel’s tour of duty: advocating for constituents and having a vote are not the same
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The Cleveland Jewish News offers the following information as to how State Rep. Josh Mandel’s (R, 17the district) physical absence from the Ohio statehouse will affect, or not affect, constituent representation in Ohio’s general assembly:
District director Jonathan E. Petrea and legislative aide Michael Lord will handle Mandel’s duties and answer to the community while he’s gone. Petrea, of Mayfield Heights, and Lord, of Pepper Pike, “know the district well and are capable of advocating for my constituents,” contends the Marine reservist.
…
Ohio law won’t allow Mandel to vote on behalf of his district while he’s overseas, Stivers told the CJN Monday. Nor will Mandel’s temporary replacements be able to vote in his stead. Stivers is sponsoring a bill that would allow for proxy voting, he says, but the bill has yet to move through Ohio senate.
The voting issue is important, but it’s not as critical as dealing with constituent issues, notes Joyce Garver Keller, Columbus-based lobbyist for Ohio Jewish Communities. Mandel’s staff should be able to take care of the constituency in his absence.
As for Mandel’s district being without a voting representative, “most (bills before the House) don’t hinge on one vote,” says Garver Keller.
As a constituent, I’ll have to wait and see what impact, if any, the lack of a vote for the district makes. But on a personal level, it feels similar to how I feel about the commissioners being able to pass a tax without my say: the Ohio general assembly will now proceed as it wishes without a vote on the record to weigh in. One question I’d be interested to have Josh answer is, how did he feel after the hard work he put into HB 151 ended up precluding a vote, for now?
I don’t actually know how it made him feel, but I know it would be upsetting to me.
Having a vote, a say, on issues has nothing to do with what Garver says about whether a bill hinges on that vote or not. It has to do with our representative government.
Mandel has been very empathetic to the conflict the constituents have about the war, yet still support his efforts. I’m in that camp. But likewise, I’m in the camp of constituents who feel conflicted about my state rep being unavailable to vote as my representative to Ohio’s general assembly because he’s volunteering for duty and will be gone for eight months. I know I’m not alone.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:44 am July 27th, 2007 in Politics | 11 Comments
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Jul
27
Part IV, Q/A with Ann Sheldon, OAGC: Be informed, be involved, be persistent (don’t I know it)
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This post is the final in a series of four posts. I posed the questions via email to Ann Sheldon, lobbyist and executive director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children.
The first post is here.
The second post is here.
The third post is here.
Q: What is OAGC’s opinion about the school funding amendment currently being promoted?
The school funding amendment is the only potential policy initiative that specifically includes the needs of gifted students. Naturally, OAGC members tend to support that language!
Q: One of its elements is for the Ohio Board of Education to define “high quality education.” Is this a positive move? Why or why not?
I guess the question I have about defining “high quality education” is whether the quality will be defined in general terms or for student groups with differing needs. The school funding amendment specifically speaks to the issue of defining high quality education as being dependent on differentiated needs. That is a positive move.
Q: What three concrete steps can individuals with an interest in the provision of gifted education in Ohio take to improve what’s currently available?
Great question! The short answer is this: 1) Be informed 2) Be involved and 3) Be persistent. The long answer is, naturally, a little more involved.
1) BE INFORMED — In order to advocate for gifted children at any level, from your own child to local district to state level and even to the federal level, it is important to know who gifted children are, what their needs tend to be, what can be done to help them, and why it is important to serve them. Your first stop can be the library or if you have internet access there are many websites to help out. If you start with www.oagc.com, there are many links that will provide individuals with the basics of identification, characteristics, advocacy issues, rules and laws, and research on best practices. From there, it is relatively easy to find more information on the areas that are of the most interest.
2) BE INVOLVED — Gifted students in public or private settings in Ohio are often not provided for as they need to be without some level of involvement from the parent. It there is a parent group for gifted children in your district, join it. There is definitely power in numbers. There are also a number of online opportunities/communities where you can ask questions, discuss issues, and get advice for advocating at various levels. Again, if you go to the OAGC website, you can find online groups, find out how to start a parent group, or determine how best to approach a teacher about your child.
3) BE PERSISTENT – It’s important to know that if something or someone is really important to you, don’t give up. If your child has special needs, find some way to meet them whether it is in their current school, at home, or some other environment. I tell parents frequently that they should take a cue from their children, who almost never accept “no” as the final answer. “No” can mean “not now,” “not at this school,” “not when you ask it that way” or a number of different things. “No” really only means “no” when you stop asking or seeking for an answer. Children are too important for you to give up on, so please never stop advocating on their behalf.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:30 am July 27th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
27
Michael Flory jeered by Plain Dealer
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JEERS . . .
to Michael Flory, once an up-and-coming Republican leader in Michigan, now a guy with a sexual battery conviction on his rap sheet. Asked in a Cuyahoga County courtroom whether he was guilty of forcing himself on an intoxicated young woman during a convention in Cleveland last summer, he replied, “Sure – yeah.” Such deep remorse tugs at the heartstrings, doesn’t it?
Precisely why I can’t believe Flory would go on to say this.
Just speculating, from a clinical perspective, but this guy has not hit the bottom yet. That bottom can be hard to find – just check out what’s going on with Lindsay Lohan. But, likely, he’ll remain his worst victim.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:21 am July 27th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
27
Remains of the Day, 7-26-07
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It does get easier, doesn’t it?
1. Sales tax you say? Why not just Put It On The Ballot?
2. King gives his review of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County’s platform meeting. I’m not sure what it means to compare my mayor, Bruce Akers, to Frank Jackson. But I know if I email Ralph, he will help me out with that. Ralph – us Pepper Pike residents have definite views about the mayor, that’s for sure.
4. How about a shout-out for some women who are running for office, Kelley Wenzlaff and Robyn Weirauch. If you’re an Ohio woman running for office, email me so I can post a link to your info too.
5. Finally, check this out – Chagrin Herald Sun has started community pages for each of the cities it covers. Pepper Pike News and everything. Thing is, how many PP residents are going to find their way there?
Gotta go put cucumber slices over my eyes.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:28 am July 27th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
26
WLST on Feagler & Friends, 7/27 and 7/29
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Is anyone who is going to Bloggapalooza able to digitally record Feagler? I’ll help you win my raffle basket….
Here’s the line up for tomorrow’s Feagler & Friends:
Newsmaker: Cleveland City Councilman Michael D. Polensek. The veteran Cleveland politician became international news when he wrote a letter to a Cleveland teen calling him a “crack-dealing piece of trash” and “dumber than mud.” The teen’s mother is threatening a lawsuit, but public reaction to the letter has overwhelmingly favored Polensek’s tough stance against what’s seen as a growing culture of disrespect. Polensek, who’s served the eastside Ward 11 for a quarter-century, has written similar letters in the past.
Roundtable: Mark Naymik, politics reporter, The Plain Dealer; Jill Miller Zimon, freelance journalist, blogger; Greg Saber, reporter, WTAM 1100.
Polensek’s Letter: The roundtable will continue discussion of Polensek’s letter and the public reaction to it.
Sales Tax: The Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners has approved a quarter-cent increase in the county’s sales tax to pay for construction of a new downtown Cleveland convention center. That, in turn, is expected to lead to development of a Medical Mart which is supposed to provide a steady stream of visitors to the new convention center. Opponents have objected to an additional burden in a county which already has the state’s highest sales tax and to the fact that it’s being imposed without a popular vote.
New Direction for Cleveland Schools: Cleveland school officials formally announced this week the opening of five single-sex schools; two for girls, two for boys. In addition, the Ginn Academy will serve as a school for at-risk boys. Glenville High School’s successful football coach, Ted Ginn, Sr., will direct the school. CEO Eugene Sanders also announced a new dress code requiring all students to wear conservative clothes in solid colors with collared shirts. Sanders also guaranteed that Cleveland third-graders three years from now will have reading skills on a par with third-graders around the state.
A Different Debate: It was mostly the same look: a line of Democratic candidates, each at his or her own podium, answering questions about issues of the day. But this time, the questions all came from ordinary people via the popular Internet video site YouTube. The debate itself elicited little new from the candidates, but it demonstrated the growing populist power of the Internet. It might also have demonstrated growing political interest in the 18-to-34 age group, more than 400,000 of whom watched the debate on CNN.
I always think that people are just trying to up the ante, like stump the chump. Except it’s me they’re trying to stump.
One thing about the Polensek letter: has anyone heard or read anything about it from Roosevelt Coats, Ward 10 councilman and South Collinwood neighbor? I know the person involved is said to be from Glenville, which is Ward 8 and 9, but still – I’ve got to think that Coats has something to say, yes?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:59 pm July 26th, 2007 in Politics | 4 Comments
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Jul
26
Mandel informs residents re: impending deployment
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Although the article isn’t online yet, the Charin Herald Sun had an extended story today that included information about how State Rep. Josh Mandel (R, House D-17) will cover his bases while on his voluntary tour of duty for the Marines in Iraq.
From the article:
-he will not be able to cast votes in the Ohio House while he is in Iraq;
-his district director Jonathan Petrea (Mandel’s former campaign manager) will handle local issues for constituents;
-his legislative aide Michael Lord will handle legislative issues;
-in his letter mailed last week (which, sadly, encountered some bulk mail problems that Mandel is working to fix and hadn’t reached everyone yet, as of today), he also included an application and return envelope for those over 65 to seek Homestead Exemption tax relief.
I believe he had an event Tuesday night or last night in Chagrin and another private event over the weekend. I did not attend either one, however, I believe he may be asked to address the Pepper Pike Democratic Club next week if it’s possible. Information about that will be available on the club’s blog.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:49 pm July 26th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
26
Read it here but be prepared: his battery and their wifi faded.
Early highlights:
Roger Bundy got a question in about the imbalance of risk being taken. Way to go, Roger.
I note, from Chas’s notes, how Mayor of Cleveland Frank Jackson talks about the rewards the City of Cleveland will reap. That’s nice, Mayor, but it’s the entire population of the county that would be paying so I’d suggest you universalize that message a bit more (can be done, but you need to do that).
Chas’s notes indicated that Merchandise Mart leader, Christopher Kennedy (no mistaking that gene pool) speaks about Cleveland, Cleveland and Cleveland and then says that his outfit wants to act as he agent for the county in negotiations for where the mart would be. What’s with that – what does that actually mean?
The county produces the money but Cleveland holds the control?
Hope Chas writes about his trip to Chicago as well as the rest of this meeting.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:33 pm July 26th, 2007 in Politics | 3 Comments
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Jul
26
Part III, Q/A with Ann Sheldon, OAGC: NCLB shown to damage academic gains
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This post is the third in a series of four posts. I posed the questions via email to Ann Sheldon, lobbyist and executive director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children.
The first post is here.
The second post is here.
Q: Is the document Gifted in the 21st Century still valid? If it’s not, why not and what if anything should replace it?
The “Gifted in the 21st Century” report was commissioned in 2002 by State Superintendent, Dr. Susan Zelman. The purpose of the report was to set up a long range plan for gifted education. This document can be accessed under the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) documents at http://www.oagc.com/?q=node/49 . In my opinion, even though little progress has been made toward the goals set forth in the document, the report is still very relevant. If there were adequate political will to actually implement the recommendations in the Gifted in the 21st Century report, gifted children in Ohio would be afforded many more opportunities. The only area that really needs to be updated in the report is the recommendation relating to how e-learning can be used to increase access to opportunities from across the state. So much progress has been in technology over the past few years, Ohio really could deliver appropriate content and instruction to every corner of the state, if policymakers made it a priority.
Q: How do you feel the Ohio achievement tests help or hurt gifted students in the public schools?
Quite frankly, Ohio achievement tests have done more to hurt gifted students in Ohio than just about any other policy initiative in the state. With such a huge emphasis on minimum levels of proficiency, any student who is above proficient can be virtually ignored in the current system. The “Gifted in the 20th Century” report quite nicely summarizes the problem with the Ohio Achievement Tests: “Although Ohio’s overall accountability system is robust, it does include perverse incentives that can negatively impact students who are gifted and unintentionally limit their ability to demonstrate sufficient growth.” While there could be a glimmer of hope with the inclusion of value-added measures in the accountability system, as long as the main emphasis remains on minimum standards, districts don’t need to focus on students who need substantially more. That is hurtful to high ability students.
This is not a situation unique to Ohio. A new study from the University of Chicago provides us with the proof we have sought that the assessment provisions under NCLB (No Child Left Behind) do damage to the academic gains of both the highest and lowest performing students. Please go to the following link for more information on this study: http://www.aei.org/docLib/20070716_NealSchanzenbachPaper.pdf.
Q: Are there any reports or studies that identify what if any links can be shown between the education or lack of education of gifted students and contribution to the overall health of a region or state?
I wish there were, but studies of this nature are fairly specific and costly. Informally, if one looks at regions where there has been some attention paid to gifted students, such as Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina, it would be appear that there may be a link to economic health and education of gifted students.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:30 pm July 26th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
26
Remains of the Day, 7-25-07
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Enormous sigh. What a day. If you haven’t heard my tale of suburban deforestation, count yourself lucky.
1. Everybody is spinning this but chances are, the amendment that bans marriage between people of the same sex could have been written so that the lawsuits, and the fear experienced by those who are in fact in abusive relationships, would have never materialized in the first place.
2. I do not agree with the decision that says virtual child porn is legal. I guess the law needs to be changed.
3. On the other hand, writing laws to be flexible so that an enforceable, legal distinction is created when it comes to predators versus irresponsible teens seems like a win for logic.
4. Go Shannon. Handicraft for the Cure – love it.
5. It’d be nice if some of this dough could be used to boost wireless 911. How many people do you know without landlines?
6. I wish there was more lead time for this announcement, but if you’re thinking about running for elected office, then consider attending the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections training workshop this Saturday from 9am-1:30pm. Over coffee today, I told a friend with campaign experience that if I ever run for Pepper Pike City Council, I’m going to run on a platform that includes mandatory notification to all adjacent property owners to property that’s undertaking a tear-down and new construction of what’s being done when. Think suburban deforestation. Just wait for the individual post on this topic.
7. Please please please Mary – follow through on this threat against charters that can’t get their financial act together, for real or even just with their records.
8. Pho reviews a current article about science and religion which features CWRU’s Lawrence Krauss – always a character.
9. I know we don’t know everything but still, the entire incident screams out for why the exclusion of courses on Common Sense is a huge error in the education of Americans.
Just when I was sure my fifteen minutes of fame had long ago expired, I’ve been asked to do this week’s Feagler & Friends. The topics look very fun. I’ll post more when I know more.
Now – on to my beauty sleep.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:05 am July 26th, 2007 in Politics | 5 Comments
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Jul
26
Part II, Q/A with Ann Sheldon, OAGC: talk of "world class education system" results in "little more than rhetoric"
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This post is the second in a series of four posts. I posed the questions via email to Ann Sheldon, lobbyist and executive director of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children.
The first post is here.
Q: What is your assessment of where Ohio is, compared to where you think it should be, in regard to public school K-12 gifted education?
A: Gifted education in Ohio is definitely in decline. Four years ago, 37% of all identified gifted children were reported as served by Ohio districts. That percentage has dropped to 28%. There is no one, single overwhelming reason for the decline. But there are some obvious culprits, including increased district funding pressures, increased state and national emphasis on minimum standards, and a pervasive anti-intellectual sentiment in Ohio.
While Ohio policy makers may talk about turning Ohio’s public schools into a world class education system, there has been little more than rhetoric to bring this about. Every world class system should look not just at improving performance levels of their lowest performing students, but at every level from bottom to top. In Ohio, there is a good deal of emphasis on bring up the bottom, which is essential. However, there is very little emphasis on top performing students, which is also essential if we are going to have a viable world class education system and economy.
Even the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) legislation that was recently passed in the biennial budget bill does little for top students. In fact, the legislation actually prohibits STEM schools based on ability. High performing countries and other states all have specialized STEM schools for those students who have incredible talent in the STEM areas. Why prohibit a school from taking these talented students to a higher level? If there is “brain drain” in Ohio, and there is, we have caused it ourselves. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any support for correcting the problem. There are too many people who are too concerned about “creaming the top” whatever that means. I always cringe when I hear that statement. There is so little emphasis on high ability students in this state, their talent just sits at the “top”, cream waiting to spoil. What a tragic waste.
Clearly, I could go on and on in answer to this question! However, it might be more useful for those who wish to gain more information to go to the advocacy section of the OAGC website, which has a number of different links to policy issues relating to gifted children and gifted education. The link to that area of the site is http://www.oagc.com/?q=alerts . Readers might be particularly interested in a document that was revised in January describing the state of gifted education in Ohio. The link to that document is: http://www.oagc.com/files/State%20of%20Gifted%20Education%20in%20Ohio.pdf
Q: Based on your experience as a lobbyist for gifted education, what can you tell us about the differences, if any, between prior Ohio legislatures and administrations, versus the current one, as those differences affect the provision of gifted education in Ohio?
To be honest, it is too soon to tell how the Strickland administration will differ between the last two administrations. While the governor seems sincere in his desire to move K-12 education efforts forward, we didn’t see anything to back that desire up in the budget recently passed. In terms of support in previous administrations, gifted education received the largest boost in funding from the Voinovich administration, largely in response to the DeRolph lawsuit. Since then, there has been little progress and little emphasis on gifted students in Ohio.
The change in the legislature is somewhat more interesting. The biggest gains for gifted education occurred in the mid to late ‘90s when the economy was humming along in Ohio. The state has seen little economic growth in the current decade, and party relations dipped to an all time low. In 2007, the Ohio House has become more balanced, with the Democrats winning back some seats and political clout. The Senate is still heavily Republican, but generally leaning in a more moderate direction. While there are signs of more cooperation across the parties, there appears to be little interest in either party to move ahead on issues that would support gifted children. Even policy initiatives that are virtually cost free such as allowing early access to the Ohio Achievement Test or the Ohio Graduation Test have met been met with somewhat silent rejection. What is truly ironic is that there seems to be such a great push for Ohio to become competitive on a global level. But, general speaking, policymakers on both sides of the aisle, do not seem to see a connection between support of talented students and global competitiveness!
Gifted education isn’t really a political correct initiative for any politician, regardless of party affiliation. It is really difficult to support students, who are viewed by the general public as already having too much. The fact that there are very few opportunities for the vast majority of these students seems to be completely lost on the public and policymakers alike. The politicians who embrace this issue, typically have some experience with gifted children or who tend to be somewhat more global thinking.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:45 am July 26th, 2007 in Politics | 2 Comments
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Jul
26
Michael Flory, MI "Republican activist," tells why he pled guilty to sexual battery
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From WOODTV, in its story titled, ” Michigan Republican activist pleads guilty to sexual battery”:
In a statement issued Tuesday, Flory, who has a law office in Okemos, Mich., and is the former chairman of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans, said accepting the plea would mean less emotional hardship for the victim and witnesses who would have been called to testify.
He was among the young Republicans, ages 18 to 40, at a convention in Cleveland. The victim, 21 at the time, was intoxicated and became ill, and Flory took her back to her hotel, said assistant county prosecutor Carol Skutnik.
“She said thank you and goodbye, and he forced his way into her hotel room and forced several sex acts on her,” Skutnik said. “Afterward he was bragging about it.”
Flory put a different slant on why he accepted the plea deal.
“While I am confident a trial would have demonstrated the full truth regarding these allegations, my experience as a lawyer was that this course is the best avenue for all parties involved,” Flory said in his statement. “The possibility of being unavailable to raise my young son was simply too much for me to risk, and this will allow us to get on with our lives.”
I don’t care if this man is God. If I were the mother of his young son, I’m thinking that not even God, if he’s pled to sexual battery on a 21 year old girl, while a married man in his 30s, deserves a moment of unsupervised time with his young son.
As I wrote elsewhere, for what? For what were all these victims created? That’s what Mr. Flory should be pondering.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:12 am July 26th, 2007 in Politics | 3 Comments
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Jul
25
Carnival of Ohio Politics #75
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The Carnival of Ohio Politics #75 is now posted here.
There are several new contributors, some voices that have been absent now and then and many of the regulars. Please read and enjoy, link and love.
Great effort, Ohio blogosphere!
And boy, am I tuckered out from editing… 
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:33 pm July 25th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
25
Remains of the Day, 7-24-07
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Isn’t this supposed to be the summer?
Remember: tomorrow I’ll be posting more questions and answers from Ann Sheldon, Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Gifted Children. Also: some reflections on Rosemary Palmer based on participating in a conference call with her and finally, I’ve been asked by more than a couple of people to please wrap up and post my “Fred Nance Owes Me” entry. I’m trying, I’m trying!
1. This is an old, old, old idea. A couple of friends have even tried to convince me to go.
3. I bet E.J. Dionne would agree with what I wrote about the psychology of Ted Strickland.
4. Have they really had a change of heart over our Internet privacy?
5. I love Hair. Largely because I had a crush on Treat Williams. But still. John Edwards‘ folks did a great job with it too.
6. I’m not really sure what this is other than another site looking for people who follow different topics to write about those topics for more or less…free, and then seek to have the writing posted. But there’s a politics section and others. If the spirit moves you…
7. Montgomery County GOP choosing statehouse candidates.
8. Please tell me that this is a joke? With newspapers supposedly having less and less room and wanting to be hyperlocal and interactive, what on Earth is that article doing in there? Totally inane.
9. What makes that article inane is the fact that the WaPo also published this one, about moms in the house, the House of Representatives that is. Along the same lines:
-read about India’s first female president: a lawyer, congresswoman and former governor (not to mention 72 years old)
and
-I don’t watch 24 but it’s got a new CIC, and she’s a woman (not to mention an outstanding stage actress).
Time to round up the carnival animals…
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:49 am July 25th, 2007 in Politics | Comments Off
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Jul
24
Former Chair of MI Young Republicans, Michael Flory, pleads guilty to sexual battery
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From The Plain Dealer:
Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik said [Michael] Flory’s lawyers, Henry Hilow and Bill McGinty, surprised her with a plea offer as trial witnesses from several states were arriving to testify.
The plea bargain, she said, doesn’t include any suggestion of leniency, and the state will seek incarceration. She also said she hopes to present evidence of several “other incidents of sexual misconduct” in which Flory took advantage of vulnerable young women.
The victim, who is 22, declined to speak after Flory’s guilty plea.
She and some supporters lamented when the incident became public last winter that Flory and his followers within the Republican organization had been smearing her reputation in retaliation for accusing Flory of rape. Skutnik said she found that to be true.
“People were using every opportunity to try to trash her, on Web sites or whatever,” the prosecutor said. “He’s been running around telling everybody what a piece of trash she is, so she was very happy to see him plead guilty.
Read the article for more information.
And still, I say, this happened in Cleveland, last summer, during an event with many young people, including “rising stars” of the NEO Republican persuasion. I find it extremely difficult to believe that not a single one of them knew what was going on. Though I don’t anticipate that any of them will say anything.
I will, however, repeat what I wrote at the very beginning, in February, that if Cleveland wants to attract large gatherings of similarly aged politically-minded people – and why shouldn’t we? Then we need to make it clear that people will be safe among whomever is in town, native or visitor.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:20 pm July 24th, 2007 in Politics | 4 Comments
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