Blurts

Here is the text of the speech to be given Sept. 8.

So what is the problem here? Perhaps comments made by the Secretary of Education did not set the proper tone. He was attemping to encourage students to watch and to be inspired. Perhaps it is that the President uses his own life as an example? You have to admit that it is an inspiring example. Not a sports story. Not the story of a musician. Not the story of a tech billionaire. Still a good examle. Are people jealous that their own stories are less inspiring?

Wesley Fryer comment on the speech controversy

Florida GOP Chair  decides he would let his kids watch – ABC News

Rudy Ruiz – CNN

I have decided the debate over whether students should listen to a message from the President has done more to promote this event than about anything I can think of. The idea that someone might possibly not want them to hear what the President has to say should generate considerable interest.

You are also going to see multiple versions of the following (a wordle). Several educators have used the service to compare education speeches of several presidents. Yes, you may think this is the first, but it is not.

The Grand Forks Schools have decided not to carry the President’s message to kids. Evidently, administrators were intimidated by calls from local conservatives. In my opinion, a really bad decision and poorly handled. Why let the conservatives turn this into a political issue?  Finally, a national leader willing to argue the value of education to our kids and our educational leaders are afraid of what the kids might hear.

Wow – the online community is all abuzz over whether or not the President should offer advice to school children (see CNN Politics).

“The goal of the speech and the lesson plans is to challenge students to work hard, stay in school and dramatically reduce the dropout rate,” an administration spokesman said.

I think it is great to know the President is interested.

I hesitate to offer some insights into the politics of labelling oneself an “education president” because this is supposed to be an education blog and that would be political and that would be something we have heard before with little of consequence as a result.

Why not just listen and see what you think?

Here is a follow-up to a previous post on the California Open Textbook Project. ZDNet Government offers some California links to explain that the textbooks are only part of the problem. eBooks (or some equivalent) make little sense if students do not have computers or teachers are not prepared to teach with new resources. The post also offers comment on the method used in evaluating the resources that were submitted. The degree to which the options met CA standards was a primary variable in evaluation. Of course, some of the resources were not prepared with that purpose in mind. The best products, or at least the products most aligned with state standards, were generated by nonprofits. Some of the top rated content was created by the CK-12 Foundation and written specifically to address California standards.

If you are a gmail user, you probably noticed your email was off-line for some time today. A little disconcerting if you have come to trust the invulnerability of Google services. The problem turned out to be self-inflicted (see link). I think that makes me feel better. I do need to backup – nothing in one place even if that one place is the google cloud.

No, this is not a shameless attempt to boost my readership. (naked, naked, naked – there that should do it)

You may have encountered the phrase “teaching naked” via other online social services. Here is an NPR interview with the dean associated with the phrase. It turns out it is a phrase pretty much intended to attract attention and it is not anti-technology (using technology outside of class). What it really suggests is that technology is great, but students should use technology in preparation for class. Reminds me of expecting that students would read their book before coming to class. Challenge is how to convince student (then or now) that this is really the way it is supposed to work.

For suggested techniques, see my recent post on Prof. Kingsfield and his role in the Paper Chase.