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Dec
16
Akron Beacon Journal on charter schools
Filed Under Education, Ohio, Parenting, Politics, Religion | Comments Off
It’s a long one called, “Charter School Challenge: Critics question rationale for alternative as Ohio’s big urban districts emerge from academic crises.” Thanks to a reader for pointing it out to me.
I believe that charters, as originally imagined in Ohio – to fill a community niche not otherwise served by a particular school, and usually initiated by parents with the help of the district – do still have a place. They would always have a place. But so long as people who want to privatize the delivery of education continue to peg that plan on poor performance? Not gonna win people over. It’s too shallow an argument, and always has been.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:28 pm December 16th, 2007 in Education, Ohio, Parenting, Politics, Religion | Comments Off
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Dec
16
Remains of the day, 12-16-07
Filed Under Remains of the Day | 2 Comments
1. More analysis of the value-added metric, via Into My Own from Columbus Education Association.
2. Democratizing Cleveland: The Rise and Fall of Community Organizing in Cleveland, Ohio, 1975-1985 – a new book, suggested by although not exactly recommended by Bill Callahan just yet.
3. If you want to complain (or praise) the election system in Ohio, don’t do it without watching this first (so that you’re informed as to what our Secretary of State wants to do – THEN, you can talk).
4. Want help keeping your New Years Resolutions? Someone must think I need that help because for the first time ever I received in my inbox a copy of the Yale Economic Review. I have no idea how I got on that list, but Stickk.com is a start-up that aims to keep you moving toward resolution of your resolutions through social networking. Here’s an article about it from the Yale Daily News.
5. Parent Hacks – never heard of this one but it says it’s tips from real parents. The implication being that the stuff we read in the parenting mags etc. isn’t. I know for a fact that sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t. Maybe Parent Hacks is more like all parents, all the time?
6. Women’s progress in science and tech.
7. Cleveland History of Jews and Judaism. I’m at the Hungarian synagogue.
8. From Joe Tone at Cleveland Scene, this is just so effed up.
9. Attention being given to drug and mental health courts. Thank you.
10. Blogging and liability. Read to the end, the Bob Cox quote.
11. Now, see – it does NOT take a journalist, an analyst, a commentator, a strategist, a legislator or a rocket scientist to have known that term limits would give a state a distracted government. Before they were put into effect. People. Hello. We knew this. Didn’t you? I hate it when this happens.
12. Jews who hate Reform Jews. Tell me about it.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:14 pm December 16th, 2007 in Remains of the Day | 2 Comments
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Dec
16
‘Roots News: The Chief Source in New Hampshire
Filed Under 'Roots News, Campaigning, Elections, Politics, WH2008 | 3 Comments
Lots of photos.
That’s the way you do it, boys. Nice job.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:37 pm December 16th, 2007 in 'Roots News, Campaigning, Elections, Politics, WH2008 | 3 Comments
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Dec
16
Dan Fogelberg, RIP
Filed Under Politics | 11 Comments
Ohdave at Into My Own’s blog title caught me completely by surprise. Dan Fogelberg died this morning at age 56, of prostate cancer.
My favorite albums of his were Souvenirs and Netherlands. I was 12 and 15 when they were released, respectively, but I listened to them well into my 30s. I think I still have the cassette tape of one of them that traveled around Israel and Europe with me.
Thoughts and comfort to his family.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:13 pm December 16th, 2007 in Politics | 11 Comments
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Dec
16
And the underdog wins (photo included)
Filed Under Culture, Flip, Jewish, Judaism, Religion | 5 Comments
When you ask people which side they believe will triumph, there’s no equivocating. But last weekend, in a debate unlike any you’ve ever witnessed, when the final tally was announced?
Well – take a look at this picture and tell me, is there any doubt as to who would win?
Queen, I mean TEAM Hamantash, but of course!
38 to 22 over the latke. Not even close.
We fought hard and the other team had props and unpaid volunteers badgering the audience – maybe even bribing them. And despite the fact that my team had to engage in negative campaigning (can you imagine how hard that was for me?), it was worth it, to redeem the reputation of the Hamantash.
Whether our win will go down in history next to the arguments of Alan Dershowitz and Milton Friedman, I can’t say. But at least for another year, the Hamantash is safe from ridicule and cyberbullying.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:12 pm December 16th, 2007 in Culture, Flip, Jewish, Judaism, Religion | 5 Comments
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Dec
16
“We miss more by not seeing than by not knowing.”
Filed Under Culture, Education, Health Care, Mental health | 2 Comments
I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV, but isn’t that a great quote (see more here about the quote)? It’s from Sir William Osler and is used at the conclusion of this “Diagnosis” column in the New York Times Magazine this week. I really enjoy these columns because they depict just how large a role luck has in health care. More quotes from him are here.
I’ve believed this axiom about observation for a long time – when I think about the overemphasis on testing in our schools or trying to make anything that is much more accurately analyzed through qualitative means rather than quantitative ones. It’s why I loved the storytelling I did for KnowledgeWorks – because it depended upon seeing in order to know what the small schools reform effort was accomplishing, if anything.
Seems to me that there are a lot of applications of this concept, pretty much everywhere in life.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:03 pm December 16th, 2007 in Culture, Education, Health Care, Mental health | 2 Comments
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Dec
16
Guide to politics and elections we all could use
Filed Under Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, Government, Religion, Women, Writing | Comments Off
I just ordered IT’S A FREE COUNTRY! A Young Person’s Guide to Politics & Elections from a bookseller because I couldn’t find it in the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and it was cheap through the ‘net. The book’s author is Cynthia Samuels, whose name rang a bell when I first saw it this morning on BlogHer. After reading up on her, I’m not at all surprised that her name is familiar to me. And so, of course, I had to write her, lol. (I used to make fun of how my older brother, when he was a teen or in his early twenties, just picked up the phone and called Isaac Asimov and actually got him and spoke with him at length. Similar stories with Ken Kesey and I don’t know how many others. Connection moxie must run in the family.)
Anyway – I am very much looking forward to reading Samuels’ book on this topic because I just bet that it has a lot of the basics we all should be remembering just about now.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:50 am December 16th, 2007 in Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, Government, Religion, Women, Writing | Comments Off
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Dec
16
NYT profiles crafts on the web, Etsy, Bazaar Bizarre
Filed Under Blogging, Culture, Marketing, Media, Tech | Comments Off
I’m bummed because I don’t see Shannon Okey or Knitgrrl in there, but it’s a looong article in the NYT Magazine:
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:25 am December 16th, 2007 in Blogging, Culture, Marketing, Media, Tech | Comments Off
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