@16:30, 4/25/15

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1

Opinion

Parents’ Role in the New York Test Protest

Apr 24th 2015

A reader says the focus on teacher opposition to state tests has overshadowed the efforts of parent groups.

Tests and Examinations; Education (K-12); Social Media; Parenting 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act

Contents

• 1 Legislative history
• 2 Provisions of the act
• 3 Effects on teachers, schools, and school districts
  • 3.1 Increased accountability
  • 3.2 School choice
  • 3.3 Narrow definition of research
  • 3.4 Quality and distribution of teachers
• 4 Effects on student assessment
• 5 Improved test scores
  • 5.1 Criticisms of standardized testing
• 6 Intended effects on curriculum and standards
  • 6.1 Improvement over local standards
  • 6.2 Quality of education
  • 6.3 Effect on arts and electives
  • 6.4 Limitations on local control
• 7 Effects on school and students
  • 7.1 Gifted students
  • 7.2 Unrealistic goals
  • 7.3 Gaming the system
  • 7.4 Variability in student potential and 100% compliance
  • 7.5 Children with disabilities
  • 7.6 Aligning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  • 7.7 Positive effects for students with disabilities
  • 7.8 Negative effects for students with disabilities
• 8 Effects on racial and ethnic minority students
  • 8.1 Attention to minority populations
  • 8.2 State refusal to produce non-English assessments
  • 8.3 Demographic study of AYP failure rates and requirement for failing schools
• 9 Funding
  • 9.1 Criticisms of funding levels
  • 9.2 State education budgets
• 10 Proposals for reform
• 11 Waivers
• 12 See also
• 13 References
• 14 Further reading
• 15 External links
  • 15.1 Government
  • 15.2 Interest groups

 There are numerous "poison pills".

2

Opinion

Video: A Sustainable Chef

Brian McGinn | Apr 22nd 2015

This short documentary explains why one world-class chef overhauled his menu to emphasize sustainable ingredients.

Cooking and Cookbooks; Chefs; Sustainable Living; Seafood

Videos suffer from low information content.

3

Food

Video: Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Meghan Gourley | Apr 24th 2015

There is sweetness coiled in every bite of this moist white bread.

Cinnamon (Spice); Raisins; Cooking and Cookbooks; Recipes; Bread 

I have made it.

I am avoiding sugar.

I can't resist it if it is before me.

Add some orange peel.

4

Opinion

The Importance of Good Principals

Apr 23rd 2015

Readers discuss an Op-Ed essay that urged more attention to the quality of school principals in addition to teachers.

Principals (School); Education (K-12); Teachers and School Employees 

The school principal is the school's chief and often only executive.  They are the agents of the school board.

These letters display an ignorance of the duties of the office.

5

Books

Editors’ Choice

Apr 24th 2015

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Books and Literature

THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS: The Great War in the Middle East, by Eugene Rogan. (Basic Books, $32.) Rogan offers an intricately worked but very readable account of a theocracy’s demise.

GALILEO’S MIDDLE FINGER: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science, by Alice Dreger. (Penguin Press, $27.95.) An academic who is an activist herself looks at the conflicts that arise when science challenges cherished beliefs.
I have little time to read.

They are all of interest.

6

Opinion

Homaro Cantu: A Chicago Chef’s Suicide

Apr 22nd 2015

Linda Suzu Kawano, a business colleague of Homaro Cantu, objects to speculation about his death by those who did not know him well.

Suicides and Suicide Attempts

None of us read others minds.
None of us can read the minds of the dead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder   ?

7

Opinion

Voice of America’s Mission

Apr 22nd 2015

Hans N. Tuch, a former deputy director of the Voice of America, writes that “it is incumbent on the Senate to reconfirm the Voice of America’s worldwide mission.”

Austerity is destructive in many ways.

8

Travel

A New Take on Tasmania

By SHIVANI VORA | Apr 23rd 2015

A new bike tour from Gray & Co. includes rides in the Huon Valley and Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.

Travel and Vacations

I would go.
This tour would not be my choice.

9

Real Estate

A Conversation With R. Byron Carlock Jr., Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers

By VIVIAN MARINO | Apr 21st 2015

Mr. Carlock is the national real estate practice leader at PwC. His division provides audit, tax and advisory services to managers of real estate assets.

Real Estate Investment Trusts

I have never wanted to find my joy in business management.

Design in the broad sense has been my way of understanding my universe.

10

Opinion

‘A Sustainable Chef’

By BRIAN MCGINN | Apr 22nd 2015

This short documentary explains why one world-class chef overhauled his menu to emphasize sustainable ingredients.

Documentary Films and Programs; Food; Sustainable Living; Restaurants

"Mr. Shewry is deeply aware of the stress overfishing poses to our oceans. I find his willingness to fundamentally alter the way he cooks, and to position his restaurant at the vanguard of sustainability, an inspirational and vital lesson. With a bit of effort, we can all use our creativity to protect the world around us, satisfy our appetites and forge a better tomorrow."

There is a conflict between our duty to ourselves and our duty to the future.
I have not discovered a general solution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_philosophy

11

U.S.

Answer Found to Mystery of Missing Bourbon, Kentucky Officials Say

By ALAN BLINDER | Apr 21st 2015

A grand jury charged nine people with engaging in organized crime, accusing them of being part of a syndicate that dealt in stolen bourbon and anabolic steroids.

Bourbon (Whiskey); Robberies and Thefts; Organized Crime

Profound incompetence is here displayed by the officials.
They should ask the F.B.I. for help.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_whiskey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_spectrometry

Living there is not my choice.

12

World

Video: Italian Leader Urges Action for Migrants

Parliament TV, via Reuters | Apr 22nd 2015

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy addressed the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday in Rome and said the European Union must change its path to tackle the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

Immigration and Emigration; Legislatures and Parliaments

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/world/europe/europe-italy-migrants.html

Europe must take them in.
Killing them is not a choice.

13

Food

White Bread That’s Beyond the Ordinary

By MELISSA CLARK | Apr 24th 2015

One of the most forgiving, straightforward breads to make at home is just begging to be made into a PB&J or a BLT. (Article plus video.)

Cooking and Cookbooks; Bread

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017369-excellent-white-bread

Skip the sugar.
 There is enough in the flour.

Sooner is better.  As soon as you can is best.

14

Health

Chinese Scientists Edit Genes of Human Embryos, Raising Concerns

By GINA KOLATA | Apr 23rd 2015

An experiment long dreaded by many researchers, with the goal of eradicating disease genes, failed in the ways that had been feared.

Genetic Engineering; Research; In Vitro Fertilization; DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

Proceed with the research.
Science must learn how to do the editing.
The religious can fight about doing it to themselves.
Civil governments have no duty to limit peoples right to learn.
Civil governments can try to have secrets. 

15

World

Where Poles and Russians Meet, Ideals and Profits Clash

By RICK LYMAN | Apr 24th 2015

For more than a year, since the Ukraine conflict erupted, European nations have been having an argument among themselves about how to respond to Russia.

Ruble (Currency); Embargoes and Sanctions

Yes.   The Poles have good reason to worry about the Russians and the Germans.

They also have issues with Ukraine. 

16

Arts

Review: ‘Chef’s Table’ Profiles Top Culinary Talents

By NEIL GENZLINGER | Apr 24th 2015

This six-part series goes inside the kitchens and the minds of some of the world’s best chefs.

Television

I have no ambition to cook commercially.
I have watched cooking shows.  I probably will again.

17

World

Facing Migration Crisis, European Leaders to Meet in Brussels

By DAN BILEFSKY | Apr 23rd 2015

The need for the European Union to come up with a response gained new urgency after a ship carrying African migrants capsized over the weekend, killing as many as 900 people.

Immigration and Emigration; Human Trafficking; Boats and Boating

There is no way to stop the influx at the border for long.
The refugees cannot return whence they came.
Under present circumstances they would be killed.
They will die if they do not make the crossing into the E.U.
The E.U. has no internal travel restrictions.
Once equipped with enough cash to buy a ticket the refugees will go where they wish.

The only way to stop them is to kill them or make their homes safe for them.
The European leaders are not ready to face that choice.
Neither am I.

18

Business Day

A Mayor’s Green-Power Moonshot

By ANTHONY DePALMA | Apr 22nd 2015

Mayor Bill Finch came into office with a commitment to sustainability, and he has built the largest fuel-cell generating station in North America.

Alternative and Renewable Energy; Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The fuel cell plant does better than the Rankin cycle coal plant.
It is not a renewable system as long as the feed is fossil carbon. 

19.1 megawatts will not replace the 400 megawatt coal plant.
Mayor Finch gets some boasting rights.
Fermentation methane is sustainable. 
5o megawatts of it is more flow than Bridgeport has or can get.

19

Sports

Two Share Lead in New Orleans

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 23rd 2015

Boo Weekley had an eagle and seven birdies for an eight-under-par 64 and a share of the first-round lead with Brendon de Jonge in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in Avondale, La.

Golf

We are starting baseball season.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

MLB Scoreboard
Interleague
NY Mets	2	Top 1st
NY Yankees	0
American League
Cleveland	6	Final
Detroit	8
Toronto	1	Final
Tampa Bay	5
Boston	7	Final
Baltimore	18
Kansas City	2	Final
Chi White Sox	3
Kansas City	3	Final
Chi White Sox	5
Texas	5	Final 11
LA Angels	4
Houston	7	Final
Oakland	6
Minnesota	4	Final 11
Seattle	2
National League
Chi Cubs	5	Final
Cincinnati	2
Washington	2	Final
Miami	6
Atlanta	4	Final
Philadelphia	5
St. Louis	3	Final
Milwaukee	6
LA Dodgers	1	Final
San Diego	3
San Francisco		Postponed
Colorado
Pittsburgh	8	Final
Arizona	0

Boston:
http://nytimes.stats.com/mlb/teamstats.asp?team=02&type=teamhome

20

Your Money

How to Appeal College Financial Aid Offers

By ANN CARRNS | Apr 24th 2015

A student’s true financial status isn’t always reflected in an aid application, which is why an appeal can often persuade a college to give more.

Financial Aid (Education); Colleges and Universities; Scholarships and Fellowships

■ How long do I have to appeal a financial aid offer?

You can appeal anytime — even if something happens after you’ve enrolled and started classes. But your chances for success are best if you act as early as possible. Many schools ask for a commitment from students by May 1, so ideally you should file the request by then.

Not applicable for me.

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