And I want to be a Paperback Writer

Fine, I admit it… I can be a bit of a romantic at times....

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:19:03 -0500

Fine, I admit it… I can be a bit of a romantic at times. But how can you not love this? <3

Blair: Why aren’t you in Europe?
Chuck: I was, and Paris. Only to get your favourite macaroons from Pierre Herme.
Blair: And Germany?
Chuck: … To pick up your favourite Falke Stockings, you know how I adore them.
Blair: What are you doing here then?
Chuck: You were right, I was a coward running away again. Everywhere I went, you caught up with me. So I had to come back.
Blair: I want to believe you, but I can’t. You’ve hurt me too many times.
Chuck: You can believe me this time.
Blair: Oh, is that it?
Chuck: I love you too.

I am pretty sure this is the cutest damn thing in the whole...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:14:06 -0500

I am pretty sure this is the cutest damn thing in the whole world.

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:13:18 -0500

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids:

hitrecordjoe:

leftcoastjane:

wow and oy!

alyson-noele:

rapisoffensive:

This was written by Marion Brady, veteran teacher, administrator, curriculum designer and author.

By Marion Brady

A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading tests for 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public.

By any reasonable measure, my friend is a success. His now-grown kids are well-educated. He has a big house in a good part of town. Paid-for condo in the Caribbean. Influential friends. Lots of frequent flyer miles. Enough time of his own to give serious attention to his school board responsibilities. The margins of his electoral wins and his good relationships with administrators and teachers testify to his openness to dialogue and willingness to listen.

He called me the morning he took the test to say he was sure he hadn’t done well, but had to wait for the results. A couple of days ago, realizing that local school board members don’t seem to be playing much of a role in the current “reform” brouhaha, I asked him what he now thought about the tests he’d taken.

“I won’t beat around the bush,” he wrote in an email. “The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.

He continued, “It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.

“I help oversee an organization with 22,000 employees and a $3 billion operations and capital budget, and am able to make sense of complex data related to those responsibilities.

“I have a wide circle of friends in various professions. Since taking the test, I’ve detailed its contents as best I can to many of them, particularly the math section, which does more than its share of shoving students in our system out of school and on to the street. Not a single one of them said that the math I described was necessary in their profession.

“It might be argued that I’ve been out of school too long, that if I’d actually been in the 10th grade prior to taking the test, the material would have been fresh. But doesn’t that miss the point? A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life. I can’t see how that could possibly be true of the test I took.”

Here’s the clincher in what he wrote:

“If I’d been required to take those two tests when I was a 10th grader, my life would almost certainly have been very different. I’d have been told I wasn’t ‘college material,’ would probably have believed it, and looked for work appropriate for the level of ability that the test said I had.

“It makes no sense to me that a test with the potential for shaping a student’s entire future has so little apparent relevance to adult, real-world functioning. Who decided the kind of questions and their level of difficulty? Using what criteria? To whom did they have to defend their decisions? As subject-matter specialists, how qualified were they to make general judgments about the needs of this state’s children in a future they can’t possibly predict? Who set the pass-fail “cut score”? How?”

“I can’t escape the conclusion that decisions about the [state test] in particular and standardized tests in general are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.”

There you have it. A concise summary of what’s wrong with present corporately driven education change: Decisions are being made by individuals who lack perspective and aren’t really accountable.

Those decisions are shaped not by knowledge or understanding of educating, but by ideology, politics, hubris, greed, ignorance, the conventional wisdom, and various combinations thereof. And then they’re sold to the public by the rich and powerful.

All that without so much as a pilot program to see if their simplistic, worn-out ideas work, and without a single procedure in place that imposes on them what they demand of teachers: accountability.

But maybe there’s hope. As I write, a New York Times story by Michael Winerip makes my day. The stupidity of the current test-based thrust of reform has triggered the first revolt of school principals.

Winerip writes: “As of last night, 658 principals around the state (New York) had signed a letter — 488 of them from Long Island, where the insurrection began — protesting the use of students’ test scores to evaluate teachers’ and principals’ performance.”

One of those school principals, Winerip says, is Bernard Kaplan. Kaplan runs one of the highest-achieving schools in the state, but is required to attend 10 training sessions.

“It’s education by humiliation,” Kaplan said. “I’ve never seen teachers and principals so degraded.”

Carol Burris, named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, has to attend those 10 training sessions.

Katie Zahedi, another principal, said the session she attended was “two days of total nonsense. I have a Ph.D., I’m in a school every day, and some consultant is supposed to be teaching me to do evaluations.”

A fourth principal, Mario Fernandez, called the evaluation process a product of “ludicrous, shallow thinking. They’re expecting a tornado to go through a junkyard and have a brand new Mercedes pop up.”

My school board member-friend concluded his email with this: “I can’t escape the conclusion that those of us who are expected to follow through on decisions that have been made for us are doing something ethically questionable.”

He’s wrong. What they’re being made to do isn’t ethically questionable. It’s ethically unacceptable. Ethically reprehensible. Ethically indefensible.

How many of the approximately 100,000 school principals in the U.S. would join the revolt if their ethical principles trumped their fears of retribution? Why haven’t they been asked?

Worth it to read the whole thing!

Multiple choice tests are bullshit. Nothing is as simple as A, B, C or D.

This show will always be my favorite <3

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:39:46 -0500

This show will always be my favorite <3

I love peonies.

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:39:26 -0500

I love peonies.

God, I love Michael Buble. I love this cover.

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:35:39 -0500

God, I love Michael Buble. I love this cover.

"And then I realized, you just say “Hi.” They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that..."

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:22:30 -0500

““And then I realized, you just say “Hi.” They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word.””

- Running with Scissors

“Feel no guilt in laughter, he’d know how much you care.Feel no sorrow in a smile that...

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:15:59 -0500

“Feel no guilt in laughter, he’d know how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile that he is not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever; he would not want you to.
He’d hope that you could carry on the way you always do.
So, talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,
… The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day,
That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,
And fills you with the feeling that he is always near.
For if you keep those moments, you will never be apart
And he will live forever locked safely within your heart.”

Thinking of you and your family this holiday season.. RIP

This will always be my favorite Taylor Swift song <3

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:58:42 -0500

This will always be my favorite Taylor Swift song <3

The best.

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:57:24 -0500

The best.

Every time I read this it makes me so angry. If only more people...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:22:47 -0500

Every time I read this it makes me so angry. If only more people were aware….

THIS MAKES ME SOOOO UNBELIEVABLY SAD THAT IT IS OVER. :( :( Long...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:17:27 -0500

THIS MAKES ME SOOOO UNBELIEVABLY SAD THAT IT IS OVER. :( :( Long live HP.

It was 10 years ago today that the first Harry Potter film made its debut.

Pictured: In 2000, 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe, 10-year-old Emma Watson, and 12-year-old Rupert Grint pose after they are announced as the stars of the new movie franchise based on J.K. Rowling’s wildly popular novels. For the next decade, Radcliffe plays the boy wizard/hero Harry Potter, Watson is smarty-pants Hermione Granger, and Grint is insecure but loyal Ron Weasley.

(see more — Harry Potter Kids: See Them Grow Up)

“Jar of Hearts” This song gives me goosebumps every...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:16:15 -0500

“Jar of Hearts”

This song gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. I wish I had this to listen to around this time a year ago, maybe I could have dodged the dark place I slipped into. But regardless, I am stronger now - I am on my own and I am happy.

“I hear you’re asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms”

…. who do you think you are?

KD <3 , Kappa Sig and KPL Follies 2011 - We’re Sexy and...

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:23:29 -0500

KD <3 , Kappa Sig and KPL

Follies 2011 - We’re Sexy and We Know it !

2nd Place!

Just breathe and live <3

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:12:56 -0500

Just breathe and live <3

"Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot."

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:30:35 -0500

““Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.””

- Truman Capote, (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

I was always the type of student who never really spoke inside of the classroom. I sat there in my...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:06:18 -0500

I was always the type of student who never really spoke inside of the classroom. I sat there in my seat like a skeleton whose task was to only convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. I was taking up space. Through all of my teaching experiences I never really felt comfortable enough to break out of my shell and allow myself to share my own idea. I was always nervous that if I asked a question I was going to sound stupid. But this was not my personality at all outside of the classroom! I was social and outgoing and happy, but as soon as I sat down in my seat and my teacher looked down on me I went immediately back into the girl who was silent.

As years went on, I felt as though I walked through the motions. Walk into class, recite what the teacher said, walk out of class, continue to the next class: this is what my day of school was. I knew what subjects I liked and which ones were not my favorite. I loved science and writing, but I hated anything to do with math – I became extremely close minded and no one could change my mind. I had teachers I liked here and there but at the end of the day they did not really make an overall impression on me. I assumed that every teacher was a teacher and every student was a student, you stayed in your category and that was it. Of course, ever once in a while I would have a teacher who tried to be the “cool” teacher, but those were the classes we learned nothing from. I never truly understood what a great teacher was until I met Mr. Piazza.

The white stone walls surrounded us , a pride banner from the previous senior class hung on the side of the room, the windows always were cracked even in the midst of the of the frigid winter. The white board was consistently filled with different math equations and there was every marker color lined up on the side of the board with the exception of the pink marker – Mr. Piazza refused to use the pink marker. On the side of room was another board announcing the weeks worth of homework we had to suffer through: the board was always full. The room had no personality whatsoever, my math class was in a jail cell filled with sleep deprived students whose bodies walked from class to class in vegetated states until the 2:05 bell rang.

The thing was though, It wasn’t the space we were in that made the atmosphere so memorable and full filling that awakened us from our comas, it was the teacher himself. “Hey KP did you catch the House last night? It was a real good one.” I ask him as I entered the room swiftly. “No Brittney, I didn’t see it last night, I having way to much fun doing new math problems, you should try it sometime!” He would always joke about math as he would began to scribble notes on the board before class started. Laughing, the kid sitting next to me would be talking about something he did at a party over the weekend. Overhearing the conversation, Mr. Piazza turns to the boy and asks him about the fun story. After the boy explains it we all laugh as the story was slightly inappropriate, but it was Mr. Piazza’s class, he was chill about those things. Suddenly the girl in the back of the room shouts out “Hey KP what did you do this weekend?!” Turning away from the board and chucking about his reply he says “Well, my friend had a slammer this weekend, it was a killer math party. I did these equations that really got the girls. The only down part was that it was BYOB – you know, bring your own books.” Laughing historically we all turned to our notes and began to focus on the days assignment.

We all felt comfortable around Mr.Piazza, he was like one of us, yet he was teaching us everything we needed to know about Calculus and life. It was weird for me being able to come alive in a class and actually learn while enjoying my teacher and the atmosphere I was in. He grabbed your attention one way or another and had a way of making you want to succeed. He was passionate about the subject and got genuinely ecstatic whenever he introduced a new theory or concept. In his class, I learned the most I learned in once class throughout my whole High School Career, and I was never a math person until I became a student of his classroom. Rather than simply being numbers on a piece of paper he took the time to learn our names, who we were, and where we wanted to go. He was still a student himself, and wasn’t scared to admit when he was wrong, which made the teacher – student relationship even less noticeable, because he was still learning about the world himself. Mr. Piazza would teach us math, but in return we would teach him about who we were, what interested students, and how to get them interested in the things he was teaching.

The class room was more self motivated and inspirational. The one thing that I always noticed about Mr. Piazza that was different from all other teachers was that he was extremely passionate about the subject (math) that he taught. His positive attitude and passion for math radiated from the room, even I (the ultimate math hater) became to love math, and even considered taking math classes in the future.

There would be days where Mr.Piazza would write the completely wrong thing on the bored but the positive thing about this was that his students became so active in the class they caught the mistake, informed him, and he corrected it right away. It was not awkward to correct him, we all had each others backs. As I go back and reminisce on the environment we were learning in and the person educating us himself, I realize it didn’t matter that the room was gray stone cubicle or that it had a constant draft from the freezing winter air, it was Mr. Piazza who inspired us as students, it was him who made the room and it was him who gave us the desire to learn and prosper.

After experiencing many typical mind numbing teachers, I never really realized how fun learning could be. When I was asked the question about my own education experience he is the one person who comes into my mind immediately. I know it might sound a little cliche or cheesy to say that one teacher has completely changed the way I view education and they way I feel about education, but he really has.

Now in college, I realized that the sky is the limit. Asking questions, sharing point of views, and explaining my own new ideas within the class room are still possible and I realize that to be active and open in class is the best way to learn. Being scared of your teacher is no way to go through your educational experience because they are only there to help you. I guess I could say that I am really lucky to have a teacher that tore myself and my class out of their learning “student skeletons”. I may no longer be in Mr. Piazza’s class but that does not mean I am going to stop being excited about education and learning. A eternal light inside of me has been lit with the passion to learn and I hope that one day I can give back to my community by giving the students of the next generation the same experience that Mr. Piazza has given me.

“The party was great. The chicks totally were...

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:52:40 -0400

“The party was great. The chicks totally were diggin’ all the math equations I was doing. The only bad thing about it was that it was BYOB…. you know ‘bring your own books’.”

Strangest sense of humor out there, but the greatest person I have ever known. We all miss you already KP. Rest easy, I will do my best to continue everything you started.

"“Feel no guilt in laughter, he’d know how much you care. Feel no sorrow in a smile that..."

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:46:59 -0400

“

Rest In Peace KP.. forever and always in our hearts ♥

”

"I do believe I have been changed for the better… because I knew you."

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:07:07 -0400

“I do believe I have been changed for the better… because I knew you.”