President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Arne Duncan to be the next Secretary of Education.
Gary Stager, “teacher educator, education journalist, speaker, school reformer” is not happy with the choice of Duncan, whose appointment he considers to be just another ‘social promotion’.
CEO of Hooked on Phonics, Judy L. Harris, is not happy with what Gary Stager had to say about the appointment; specifically, “”Gary Stager is entitled to his opinions regarding President-elect Obama’s selection of Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education and education policy generally. However, it is unfortunate he has tried to trivialize my views by likening my company and its product — Hooked on Phonics, a product that has helped millions of children learn to read — to a sponge (with all due respect to the folks at ShamWow). ” Here’s the rest of her statement.
I thought…
I thought that the headline read Obama’s pick for Secretary of Education is learning to read.
I was quite amused.
Why is there a Federal Department of Education? It seems this is a local or state function.
Think Global, Act Local
Think Global, Act Local
Except on education, the environment, and social welfare.
Lefties hate big box stores but they love big box government. Why they are unable to grasp that what is good for New York may not be good for Georgia or Montana is beyond me.
lefties
Why is it ‘lefties’ (talking about politics, not handed-ness here) are so seldom anonymous and ‘righties’ seem to love anonymity? (that is except for Kenneth W. Starr.)
Why don’t you attach your name/some name/or even a psuedonym to your positions? There are so many anonymii (?), maybe we should start a system composed of Mme. X and Monsieur Y?
Two of the righties do post under their names
Matt and I do post under our names and yet we lean right.
Ken Starr is an interesting guy with a great sense of humor. I met him at a conference in Michigan in 2007. If you knew nothing of the Independent Counsel days, you would have thought he was just an old man who could tell great jokes.
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Stephen Michael Kellat, Host, LISTen
PGP KeyID: 899C131F
Lean?
Lean to the right, if I leaned anymore I would be horizontal! 🙂
Obamas big box fix
Let’s just get all the kids hooked on phonics. That is a program that will work all across the country. We can send kids a coupon so they can buy it at their local Walmart.
That notorious lefty Eisenhower…
…created HEW, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare–but then, that old socialist Harding had originally proposed a Department of Education and Welfare.
Yes, Jimmy Carter split off Education (the smallest cabinet-level department).
Of course, in terms of the federal government attempting to tell the whole country how its educational systems should work, you have to thank that ultraleftist, George W.
Ultraleftist, George W
Just cause Bush did it does not mean I like it. Politics should not be if “my guy did it, it is OK”. If there is something you would give Bush grief about you should give Obama grief if he does the same thing.
Background on our libraries’ leadership
Background on our libraries’ leadership can be difficult to obtain. Our Boston Public Library’s new head Amy E. Ryan hasn’t appeared widely in any interviews like other new leaders have done for our city’s institutions. When the head of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston http://mfa.org/about/index.asp?key=4146 came on he was covered by the media, The Boston Globe, WBUR-FM Boston University radio 90.9 NPR National Public Radio, etc. Likewise for the Museum of Science Boston’s head http://mos.org/visitor_info/about_the_museum/presidents_welcome Part of BPL’s problematical approach with the media is the incompetence preparing BPL’s press materials. Compare http://bpl.org/news/pr.htm with http://mfa.org/press/index.asp or compare http://mos.org/visitor_info/museum_news/press_room The language used in BPL’s press materials turns off rather than turns on.
BPL needs a better person for marketing and press, news contacts. Someone who not only is passionate about the mission but makes the energies of our BPLers known. For example, profiling the staff’s curatorial expertise. Profiles of the curatorial experts should be encouraged in the media, the head of the Microtext Division Henry Scannel, the head of the Music Division Diane Ota, the head of the Audiovisual Division, the head of the, as it’s called, the General Library, the head of the Research Library, the head of the Kirstein Business Division, the head of the Government Documents Division, the head of the Book Delivery Unit, and so forth. The library is the people. The people who are our library should be promoted. BPLers should be encouraged to do more blogging like 1 in 27 at http://dudleybr.blogspot.com/ or Another Rosi Librarian at http://rosilibrarian.blogspot.com/
The BPLers union collective bargaining labor relations organization should make available online their BPLPSA Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association newsletter The Real Sheet http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41228381 compare the New York Public Library Guild at http://www.local1930.org/