"Waiting for Superman" Taiwanese Style

NMA, a Taiwanese company that became famous for doing animated news stories, has posted its cartoon version of the Davis Guggenheim film, "Waiting for Superman."  While NMA labels itself as a serious news source, their video plays more like a satire and features scenes such as cartoon Barack Obama holding a cardboard box while teacher's unions fill it with cash and also characterize unqualified teachers as court jesters juggling balls. The video's translations are amusing, but it concerns me that this is Taiwan's view of the U.S. educational system labeled as a legitimate and serious news story.  Watch it and let me know what you think:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrgpxoS8nzE&feature=player_embedded.

No Snow Days for You!

I just read a very interesting article about the Mississinawa Valley Schools in Darke County, Ohio.  Since Ohio school districts can only use three inclement weather days this school year, in the case of a cancelled school day, the students will be required to do online assignments from their home computer.  I like the idea and also the rationale from Superintendent Lisa Wendel.  She believes that this experience will help prepare students who attend college and will most likely take an online class as part of their college education.  Of course many questions arise, such as what if a household does not have a computer?  Snow days may soon become a thing of the past, just like using a hard-bound dictionary to check your spelling!

Zuckerberg Donation to Newark Schools

I was wondering when this was going to start -- the uproar and criticism of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million dollar donation to Newark schools.  Critics are saying that the donation is in the form of stocks to be distributed over a five-year time period and that there are conditions attached.  One of the conditions is that the Newark public schools, which are currently run by the state of New Jersey, would then come under the jurisdiction of  Newark's mayor, Cory Booker.  The press is calling the donation a political move and questioning it's timing -- right before a contentious election.  What I question is why Oprah, who very publicly opened a girl's school in Africa, and who said she chose Africa because school kids in the U.S. are too "materialistic," is all of a sudden championing education reform by plugging the movie "Waiting for Superman" and announcing Zuckerberg's donation on her show.  Could it be because this is her talk show's last season and she is trying to atone for her girl's school public relations disaster?  Please share your thoughts.

My First Blog EVER!

Welcome to my first blog posting ever!  While I never was conceited enough to think that my thoughts and opinions were so interesting that other people would actually want to read them, for the sake of a grade in a class, here I am!  Until this class, I never followed anyone else's blogs either -- mostly because I sit in front of a computer for about six hours out of my day and that is the last thing I want to do when I get home.  I don't participate in any social networking site, instead preferring to share my photos, information, memories, etc., personally with people in my life who are truly important to me.   What a wonderful segue way to my first blog topic -- Facebook.  At my son's school open house, his teacher was asked why her picture wasn't on the school website.  She then told a story about students copying her picture that used to be on the website, Photo shopping her face onto pictures of compromising positions and then posting them on a fake Facebook page.  Friends alerted her to the page, she took the necessary steps to have the page removed and then had to go before the school board to explain that it really wasn't her.  She was exonerated, but a public apology was never made.  How many people who did not  know of this incident looked at that page and formed an immediate opinion about her?   She could not even pursue the students who committed this act because they are protected by free speech -- something I didn't know until I read  Bob Sullivan's blog (http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/10/the-headlines-conjure-up-every-parents-nightmare-teachers-fired-for-flirting-on-facebook-with-students-the-new-york-post-r.html) entitled "Teachers, Students and Facebook, A Toxic Mix."  While his blog is mostly concerned with teachers who "friend" students on Facebook and the resulting consequences, it was the part about postings on the Internet being covered by the free speech amendment that concerned me.  I'm going to learn a lot about technology in this program and I may not always like what I learn.  For now, I'll stay off of social networking sites.  For me, the best privacy setting is not to participate.