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Messages - Steppenwolf

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641
Basically the old chancellor takes a job as a top exec of a media company. And the new chancellor is the former top exec of a top media company.

Lets start selling to kids in kinder garden. Great Idea Captain!

642
http://www.economist.com/node/17467194?story_id=17467194&fsrc=rss

New York's schools
A new head of the class
An innovative chancellor steps down

ONE parent outside PS 58, a public school in Queens, was glad to see the back of Joel Klein, who this week unexpectedly resigned as the city’s schools chancellor to join Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. But others mentioned how much he has improved New York’s school system. When Mr Klein took the job in 2002, graduation rates were low and test scores abysmal. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor who appointed him, said the system was “in a state of emergency”.

Mr Bloomberg wanted Mr Klein to shake things up, and he did. He pushed for a big increase in the number of New York’s charter (independent) schools. He devolved control of government-run schools to their head teachers, who were made more accountable. Schools were graded, and Mr Klein unblinkingly closed those that were failing. An academy was set up to train school heads.

New York’s high-school graduation rate increased every year he was in charge; it is now 20% higher than it was four years ago, compared with just 3% higher for the rest of the state. Test scores have improved. The Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation declared in 2007 that New York was the country’s most improved urban school district.

The city became a laboratory for school reform, with experimental programmes paid for by philanthropic organisations. This allowed Mr Klein to avoid the political battles he would have encountered if taxpayers had paid for them. Still, the pugnacious former prosecutor had plenty of other fights on his hands—with parents who backed legal moves to keep closing schools open and with the teachers’ unions.

Mr Klein’s dispiriting announcement comes just weeks after Michelle Rhee stepped down as Washington, DC’s chancellor. She too overhauled her district, closing failing schools while improving test scores. She convinced a reluctant union to agree to a pay-for-performance system. But her reforms were the central issue in the recent mayoral election, costing the mayor who appointed her his job.

Mr Bloomberg has filled New York’s gap with Cathie Black, the head of Hearst Magazines, a publishing company. She is said to be a good manager, and charming with it. But for someone with no background in education or public service, she will have a lot to manage: 135,000 employees, a $23 billion budget and 1.1m pupils. Wish her luck.

643
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/job-experience-and-new-york-city-public-schools/66487/

Job Experience and New York City Public Schools

The Times takes on Cathie Black's appointment, with an online debate that really isn't. Most of the participants are, at best, puzzled by the move. There's one rather vague defense of her appointment made by Marcus Winters:

    A modern school leader's job is to look at a system, identify what works and what doesn't, and attempt to improve outcomes. Classroom experience may help, but it is certainly not a prerequisite for success. In fact, a schools chief with an outsider's perspective may be more willing to consider reforms that break from the status quo. New York City's outgoing chancellor, Joel Klein, is proof positive that a degree from a college of education is not required to successfully run a school system.

    Promising policies have begun to take root in our public schools despite strong opposition from those with education backgrounds; policies that impose greater accountability for failure, reward success, increase parental choices and open the teaching profession to those who have not graduated from an education college hold substantial promise for improving student proficiency. These policies are generally championed by "outsiders."


This is a really squishy argument that strikes me as more of an attack on the education system, than a defense of Cathie Black. It begins by saying classroom experience "is certainly not a prerequisite." Needing proof for the claim, it cites Joel Klein, but--given that Joel Klein actually did have classroom experience--changes the claim to "a degree from a college of education is not required."

It's also not clear to me that the policies Winters is pushing--whatever you think of them--are "generally championed by outsiders." Whatever you think of Michelle Rhee, she's worked in education for most of her professional life. Whatever you think of Geoffrey Canada, he has Master's in education from Harvard. Whatever you think of Andres Alonzo, he taught special education in Newark, and worked in the administration in New York. To the degree that any of these folks are outsiders, it really isn't comparable to Black.

As usual, some thoughts from Cynic are instructive here:

    Assessing Klein's tenure is complicated. (Randi Weingarten's take - that he was a smart guy who failed to win over parents or teachers - is probably about right.) I take issue with any number of his ideas and initiatives. But one thing I have never, for a moment, doubted is the depth of his commitment to public education. He grew up in public housing in Queens, and went through the school system. "I owe my teachers and this city's schools more than I can ever repay," he said after his appointment.

    He went to college in the city, then went to Washington. His first job was at a nonprofit advocating for the rights of the mentally ill and disabled. He combined his lucrative career in law with continued pro bono work on those issues, right up to joining the Clinton White House as a Deputy Counsel, and then moving to Justice to head up antitrust. He's observed that "there is no higher calling than public service and I am so fortunate to have had that opportunity. In this great nation, for all its flaws, a person's opportunities are truly limitless and the obligation to give back is absolutely critical." 

    It takes, of course, more than sincerity and commitment to succeed. But they're probably essential prerequisites. Cathie Black has somehow managed to get to the sixty-seventh year of her life without ever once having held a position of public service. (She did spend five years at the helm of the Newspaper Association of America, a nonprofit trade group that ain't exactly the Mental Health Law Project.) She's one of fifty trustees at Notre Dame, and on the National Leadership Board of the Harlem Village Academies - a donors group distinct from the trustees, with no actual role in governance.

    There's no indication, on her resume, that education has ever been a preoccupation or particular interest. She wrote an entire book - a memoir cum self-improvement manual - and only raises education to point out that passionate teachers leave a more lasting impression, and so people entering business should devote themselves to things about which they are passionate. She attended parochial schools herself, and has sent her children on to private schools. This hardly sets Black apart from a legion of other successful corporate executives. But that's the point. Klein, despite his brief stop at Bertelsmann, blended public service with private-sector success throughout his career. Black has not.



    There's a law on the books in New York State that requires superintendents to have at least three years classroom teaching experience, and to have completed graduate work in education. I'm no fan of the law, but I do support the underlying notion that superintendents ought to be qualified for the jobs they hold. The State Education Commissioner can grant a waiver, for "exceptionally qualified persons" whose "exceptional training and experience are the substantial equivalent," of those credentials. Klein got such a waiver. So did Harold Levy before him. And there's a strong case to be made for the principle of mayoral control, and for the right of mayors to appoint who they want. It's likely that Bloomberg had private assurances that a waiver could be obtained before he made the appointment public. But in this case, I can see no reason why such a waiver should be granted.

    Black has no "exceptional training and experience" - she's a publishing executive. In New York City, they're a dime a dozen. She is, if anything, exceptionally unqualified for her new job. Which is not to say she would necessarily be bad at it. It sometimes happens that people enter an entirely new realm or discipline, and find that their past successes translate well. But that's a gamble, not a guarantee.

    It shouldn't be hard for Mayor Bloomberg to find himself a corporate executive, if that's who he insists on having, who has a passionate and longstanding commitment to public service and education. Who has past exposure to the key controversies. Who has actually thought about some of the key challenges. Just as the senate occasionally rejects unqualified nominees, without jeopardizing the principle of presidential control of the executive, I think that the Education Commissioner can safely reject this unqualified nominee, without challenging mayoral control of education. Let's find someone who really wants the job - that ought to be the minimal qualification for holding it.


I rarely find a narrative of "respect" useful, but there's something that feels really dismissive about this move. It's long been said that the new reformers deeply underestimate the complexity of the challenge facing educators. A mayor with near total control of the schools, importing a magazine publisher, with no significant previous exposure to public education, to run the largest school system in the country is a good way to bolster that critique.

I do not say this as a writer, so much as I say it as parent. My son is in fifth grade in New York city public school. This is a critical year because we're looking at middle schools--some of them private. My heart is with the public school system that helped make me. But this is the kind of ill-considered decision that sets you wondering. I can't, for the life of me, see how Cathie Black could be the best, most qualified, person to run the school system. As Cynic said, she may succeed spectacularly--but it's a gamble. A gamble made on the account of children.

644
Knowledge / Re: The best jobs in America.
« on: November 12, 2010, 01:29:52 AM »
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/11/americas-most-popular-jobs/

The following is a list of jobs with little in common. Annual salaries for these jobs range from just over $18,000 to more than $110,000. Some don't require workers to graduate high school, while others require a master's degree or higher. The reason they all appear here? They are the most popular jobs in America.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following 15 jobs account for more than 25 percent of total U.S. employment. For comparison purposes, the largest job -- retail sales -- employs 4,209,500 people, or 3.2 percent of the total American work force. By contrast, there are a mere the 660 people employed as prosthodontists, 1,170 who work as geographers and 870 radio operators nationally.

So what are these mega-professions that employ so many people?

According to the BLS, the following jobs are America's most popular:

1. Retail salespeople

Perhaps a testament to consumerism, retail salespeople rank No. 1 in job popularity. Besides great communication and customer service skills, retails salespeople also have to know how to close a deal -- many of these jobs are commission-based.

Total employment: 4,209,500

Salary: $24,630*

Requirements: A high school diploma is preferred for entry-level positions. For those who hope to move on to retail management, a bachelor's degree is helpful.

2. Cashiers

Cashiers are responsible for working registers, monitoring cash drawers and taking payments at establishments that range from supermarkets and gas stations to retail stores and theme parks. Like retail salespeople, cashiers must have good customer-service and people skills, since they spend their day dealing with the public.

Total employment: 3,439,380

Salary: $19,030

Requirements: On-the-job training

3. Office clerks

Workers spend their days filling a variety of roles in an office environment, from entering data to preparing mailings. An office clerk's duties may vary daily, according to the needs of the company.

Total employment: 2,815,240

Salary: $27,700

Requirements: A high school diploma and a combination of word processing, computer and proofreading skills.

4. Combined food preparation and service workers

This category primarily encompasses those who work in fast food establishments as counter attendants and food prep workers. Duties often include taking orders and accepting payment, filling beverage cups, assembling food items and providing customer service.

Total employment: 2,695,740

Salary: $18,120

Requirements: On-the-job training. Employers look for workers with excellent customer-service skills, a neat appearance and the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.

5. Registered nurses

Nursing is the most common profession in the health care field. RNs provide treatment to patients in hospitals, outpatient facilities and doctors' offices. Some provide home care to patients.

Total employment: 2,583,770

Salary: $66,530

Requirements: RNs are required to have a bachelor's degree in nursing. Many hold master's degrees or an advanced practice nursing license (APRN).

6. Waiters and waitresses

Waiters and waitresses take food orders, accept payment and provide menu information to restaurant customers.

Total employment: 2,302,070

Salary: $20,380

Requirements: There are no minimal education requirements, though many establishments prefer staff to have high school diplomas.

7. Customer service representatives

Customer service workers answer questions, provide information, fulfill customer requests and handle customer complaints. While many work in call centers, others are employed in retail stores or at banks.

Total employment: 2,195,860

Salary: $32,410

Requirements: High school diploma, on the job training.

8. Material movers

This broad job category encompasses laborers that literally move materials. Think truck loaders, loading dock workers and baggage handlers.

Total employment: 2,135,790

Salary: $25,290

Requirements: On-the-job training

9. Janitors

Janitors are responsible for maintaining cleanliness in places like office buildings, museums, schools and hospitals.

Total employment: 2,090,400

Salary: $24,120

Requirements: On-the-job training, ability to perform physical work for extended periods.

10. Stock clerks and order fillers

Stock clerks and order fillers work in storage facilities, warehouses, and shipping and receiving departments, ensuring that orders are properly filled, stocked, priced and accounted for.

Total employment: 1,864,410

Salary: $23,460

Requirements: High school diploma, on-the-job training, ability to perform physically strenuous work.

11. Secretaries

Secretaries (not including medical, legal and executive secretaries) provide administrative assistance to an office in the form of answering phones, greeting visitors, ordering catering services, proofreading, entering data, scanning and faxing documents, and more.

Total employment: 1,797,670

Salary: $31,060

Requirements: High school diploma, though an increasing number hold an associate or bachelor's degree. Secretaries must also have good computer and communication skills.

12. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks

Employees in these positions serve as a corporation's record-keepers. Tasks include maintaining accounts payable and receivable, documenting and tracking budgets and preparing financial statements.

Total employment: 1,757,870

Salary: $34,750

Requirements: High school diploma, though many employers now require workers in these positions to hold an associate or bachelor's degree.

13. General managers

General managers are the top executives of establishments and organizations like restaurants, hotels, amusement parks and sports teams. They are in charge of the businesses day-to-day operations and long-term goals.

Total employment: 1,689,680

Salary: $110,550

Requirements: Most hold a bachelor's or advanced-level degree.

14. Tractor-trailer truck drivers

This category only includes those drivers who operate trucks with a capacity of more than 26,001 pounds. These drivers are responsible for the timely delivery of goods along routes that may cover multiple states.

Total employment: 1,550,930

Salary: $39,260

Requirements: A commercial driver's license is necessary for all drivers. Some states also require a training program.

15. Elementary school teachers

The category includes elementary school teachers except those that teach special education. Elementary school teachers are responsible for instructing students in kindergarten through fifth grade on a variety of subjects.

Total employment: 1,544,300

Salary: $53,150

Requirements: Bachelor's degree, teaching certification.

* Salary information is according to the BLS, and is based on average annual salary from May 2009.

645
Knowledge / The best jobs in America.
« on: November 12, 2010, 01:28:43 AM »
Sorry... meant most "popular" jobs in America.

646
News Khabran / Re: Students Riot in London Over Tuition Fee Rises
« on: November 11, 2010, 11:33:55 AM »
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/students-riot-in-london-over-tuition-fee-rises/19710751

LONDON (Nov. 10) -- A huge protest against the British government's plan to triple university tuition fees descended into violence today after hundreds of angry demonstrators smashed their way into the London headquarters of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party.

An estimated 50,000 students, lecturers and supporters took in part in the demonstration against the ruling coalition's policy of charging students up to $14,500 a year for their education from 2012.

That might seem like a relatively small bill when compared with the cost of an American college degree, but it's a massive and unexpected hike for ordinary Brits, who currently pay just $5,300 in annual fees. As the government also intends to slash funding of university teaching budgets by up to 40 percent, most of that extra money will be used to plug the gap left by the withdrawal of state funds. That means students will be paying more from their own pocket, but won't see a corresponding rise in the quality of their education

While the vast majority of demonstrators marched peacefully through the capital, just an hour into the protest a 200-strong group of young people attacked Millbank Tower, the central London building that houses the Tory party's main office, as well as some 30 non-government businesses. Several police officers stationed outside the premises were injured as the mob surged forward and pelted them with bottles and placards. The crowd then smashed windows to enter the building, and once inside set off flares, burned placards and spray-painted anarchist symbols on the walls.

Some demonstrators used chairs seized from the lobby to smash more glass frontage, opening up the whole of the first floor to protesters. Riot police eventually managed to seal off the building and separate those inside from the 1,000-strong crowd outside, who threw sticks, eggs and other projectiles at the officers. In the street, cardboard signs were piled up for a bonfire and set alight.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party told the Press Association that the protesters failed to gain access to their office. However, at least 50 protesters managed to climb on to the roof of a neighboring building, where they waved flags and hurled beer cans at the police below.

Riot police are now attempting to remove the last remaining protesters from the building. Thirty-two people have been arrested and 14 others, including seven officers, were taken to hospital with light injuries, according to the London Metropolitan Police Service.

Britain's National Union of Students (NUS), which organized the march, has loudly condemned the actions of the violent protesters. "Disgusted that the actions of a minority of idiots are trying to undermine 50,000 who came to make a peaceful protest," NUS president Aaron Porter said in a tweet. Reporters on the BBC speculated that some of the people who barged their way into Millbank Tower might not be students, but members of ultra-left wing or anarchist groups.

"I am against the cuts. I am against the Tories," one unnamed masked anarchist, who had just thrown a glass at a riot police officer, told the Financial Times. "But I am more against the system as a whole. It needs to be burnt down and started again from the bottom up."

A thuggish minority may have targeted the headquarters of the Conservative Party, but many of the peaceful marchers vented their anger toward the Liberal Democrats, the junior party in the coalition, and their leader, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Students waved signs bearing the slogans "Liberal Hypocrites – Lying Pigs!" and "Traitor Clegg - stop Nick-ing our money."

In the weeks leading up to the May general election, Clegg and many other high-ranking party members publicly signed a pledge to vote against any rise in tuition fees -- a promise that persuaded many students to vote Lib Dem. However, when the party entered into coalition government with the Conservatives, it swiftly dumped that policy and agreed to ramp up student fees to help lower the country's record $245 billion deficit.

"We see [Lib Dem leader] Nick Clegg as a traitor, because he specifically promised -- there are videos and photos of him signing [the] pledge -- that he would vote against tuition fees," Lauren Crowley, a vice president of Kent University's student union, told Kent Online. "He's gone completely against that and a lot of students are very angry that he betrayed them."

Clegg today defended the policy in parliament, saying it was a "progressive" way to cover the higher education bill. Under the plans, students would borrow money to fund their fees from the government, as they do now. They wouldn't start paying off the loan until their annual earnings reached $34,000 -- up from the current level of $24,000 a year -- and would repay at a rate of nine percent of their income above that level. Interest rates will also be higher for graduates who earn more.

Despite the deputy prime minister's assurance of fairness, it seems likely that his newfound belief in charging for higher education will cost his party dearly at the next election. Student leaders have declared they will try to have Liberal Democrat politicians who break the pre-election pledge recalled. And speaking to a crowd massed outside the Houses of Parliament this afternoon, NUS president Porter asked students to take their protests into Lib Dem constituencies.

"This is just the beginning," he crowed. "The resistance begins here."

647
News Khabran / Students Riot in London Over Tuition Fee Rises
« on: November 11, 2010, 11:33:06 AM »
Could this be whats in store for the rest of the west? London? But that's not third world!

648
Gup Shup / Re: What bothers you the most?
« on: November 09, 2010, 02:45:29 PM »
 
Have you ever wondered, which hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing, and wishing you had?

 :sad:

I've given up on thinking about these things.

To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart.

;)

649
Travel / Re: [Travel] All About Dubai
« on: November 09, 2010, 02:38:02 PM »
Better get you trip in before January 2, 2011. Canadians will require a VISA to enter the UAE. I say ban the Sheiks from Canada. Buncha cry babies.

650
Travel / Re: [Travel] Top 10 Human Made Wonders (Ancient)
« on: November 09, 2010, 02:33:44 PM »
I want to see Petra in Jordan. In ancient times, it was a hub of activity in the middle of the desert and a main stop on the fabled "silk route". Why? Its a very clever history. :)

651
Knowledge / Re: Negotiating Salary
« on: November 09, 2010, 02:05:45 PM »
I think I'm getting better at interviews... I hope. Good advice... not an easy topic to bring up. Most of the top tier companies have career bands. So, unless you get your self into a Director or higher role, salary negotiations are limited and there isn't much play.

So, knowing what the job is worth is very important. I've failed an interview because of an over bid.

652
Well, there isn't away to delete it. Just don't log in. Sad your leaving, your one of the cool ones. :|

I heard most teenage break ups happen right before the holiday season or test time. It could be the added stress of exams or.... the added cost of buying presents. Indians are CHEAP. Its genetic.

653
 :omg:

654
When you say someones name wrong you usually feel pretty bad. Its good to be exposed to many cultures and places. I dare you to try and do business with a person in japan while showing them the bottom of your feet. :D

655
:wow: I don't remember making it personal at all. Some names are simply easy to pronounce but there are foreign names that are hard to pronounce, so you shouldn't have such high expectation, you can't blame someone for mispronouncing your name or go on getting defensive and offended about it.

Exactly..i love the fact my name is something different and i prefer to be called by full name.. the great thing is everytime someone pronounces it they always ask what it means :happy:

anyhow i personally think that just changing your name doesn't give you automatic "fit-in" status :) therefore, why the change? I just don't understand why it is so difficult for us to accept ourselves as who we are and be proud of it :)..

from experience...if someone have mispronounced my name they usually get it right the 2nd or 3rd time the most except those who don't want to give it a shot :pagel:

Me being from the northern part of India might find it difficult to Pronounce a name like Owen or Noah. It not about how to pronounce the name, more about who needs to pronounce the name. :)

656
Why is everyone always shocked when i say something smart. :|

657
Jimmy chung and Kimberly li have a better chance of making it passed the resume stage. :)

658
Cheene figure it out long before us miss KILLA... Punjabi's are just slow. Money Money Money Money!

659
PJ Games / Re: Want to meet...
« on: October 31, 2010, 10:34:23 AM »
 
I'd like to meet superman, if anyone, cares :love:

Is he a PJ character?

660
PJ Games / Re: Want to meet...
« on: October 30, 2010, 10:29:43 PM »
The topic is who do you want to meet from PJ. I doubt manmohan singh comes here...or your prince charming.

well who would you like too meet?

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