VT DOE Tries to Pull a Fast One
There has been a lot of excitement during the past few weeks for Vermont homeschoolers, and not the good kind. The Vermont Department of Education tried to change the regulations governing home study. The problem is that they went about it in the kind of sneaky, back-door manner that you expect to see in Washington, not here in Vermont.
Just briefly, this is how the current law works. Homeschoolers in Vermont have to submit a yearly enrollment notice to the state. This consists of an information form, a curriculum outline (what you will be teaching each child), based on the 6 subject areas in state law, any adaptations being made for a child with disabilities (first time homeschoolers must have a physician fill out a form stating whether or not the child has any disabilities), information on any classes the child will take, and documentation of custody, if the child is not living with its two biological parents. If this is not the first year homeschooling, an assessment of the previous year must be included. This can be done by having a licensed Vermont teacher asses the child and fill out a Department of Education form (cost paid by parent). Or, the parent may prepare a report of what the child did that year in each of the 6 subject areas, along with a portfolio of the child’s work or standardized test results. (If the test is not in all subject areas, then portfolio samples must be submitted for those other subject areas.)
Okay, so, the Department of Education decided this year to change the law. But, instead of introducing a home study bill, they slipped it into a technical corrections bill. This was not a technical correction. The change would have gutted almost the entire home study law. Homeschoolers would submit a simple form at the beginning of the year (fine by me) and the students would have to take the NECAP test at the public school for the assessment portion (over my dead body).
Despite the fact that letting a standardized test dictate curriculum choices goes against everything homeschooling fundamentally is about for so many families, there was no meeting with the homeschooling community to discuss this.
The only reason we even found out about it is because there happens to be a homeschooling mother with older children who spends most of her time at the statehouse trying to prevent exactly this type of shifty activity. She informed all of the homeschool message boards and homeschoolers bombarded the Senate Education Committee with e-mails and phone calls, and they decided to remove the homeschool language from the technical corrections bill because, duh, it wasn’t a “technical correction,” it was a complete rewrite. This issue will be dealt with properly next year, meaning, you know, an actual bill, hearings, discussion, input from the people whose lives would be drastically changed by this bill.
The moral of the story is that we must never cease diligently keeping watch over what the government is doing. Even here in Vermont, the government is not above trying to slip something past the people.
Vacation-gate
Vermont had its own mini scandal this week. Or, I should say, scandal that wasn’t.
We had a big snowstorm on Monday that pretty much brought the entire state to a standstill. Our governor issued a statement assuring everyone that things were under control, even though he was out-of-state on vacation.
The problem: the public was unaware of his location.
Immediately, the speculation started buzzing on the internet. Everyone had some theory as to the reason for the governor’s secrecy. I’m not going to link to anything because, frankly, I want to save them the embarrassment.
Reality being often less titillating than imagination, he was simply on vacation, but he didn’t want to take a security detail, so he didn’t say where he was going.
But, there are still those who will not back down. The Burlington Free Press penned an editorial entitled, “Gov. Shumlin could have told us where he was.”
Even after admitting that Shumlin was in constant contact while away, that the state was perfectly able to handle the crisis in his absence, and that Lt. Gov. Scott did a fine job in his stead, they wrap up with the following.
But there’s more to being governor than staying in touch. During an emergency, putting out statements feels, at best, woefully inadequate. Vermonters, perhaps more than people in most other states, expect their elected officials all the way up to the governor to share their everyday lives.
Put another way, it would have been nice to see him out there Monday shoveling snow and pushing out stuck cars, just like the rest of us. At the very least he could have let us know where he was.
I think the Free Press, and anyone else who is bent out of shape over this tempest in a teapot, needs to stop behaving like an angry wife and let the governor be. He’s allowed to take a vacation. We don’t have a right to know where he is.
Besides, I bet he saved the state a nice little hunk of money by leaving his security detail at home.
Photos and Video from Wisconsin
If you’re watching what’s going on in Wisconsin, Ann Althouse, one of my favorite bloggers, has a lot of video and photo coverage. This is footage taken by her and her husband, who live in Madison. It’s always nice too see first person footage of any significant political event. (Sorry I didn’t link sooner.)
Check it out over at Althouse.
I may have gotten more liberal than I used to be, but I will always be libertarian at heart. And by that, I don’t just mean a civil libertarian; I mean a government-is-too-big libertarian.
Two recent stories in Vermont illustrate the problem with big government.
Vermont Ag Agency halts raw milk workshops
The Vermont Agricultural Agency halted workshops that taught people how to turn raw milk into butter and other dairy products. The workshops are designed to teach the skills, so the attendants can then use the techniques in their own homes. But, since the dairy products are produced in the class and samples are given, it poses a public health risk, so the workshops were shut down by the government.
The problem with this is that it limits consumer freedom. People should have the freedom to consume natural, un-processed foods. (I can’t even believe that I had to type that sentence, it’s such a no brainer!)
The state of Vermont already limits the sale of raw milk – sales can only be made from farm to individual, not through farmer’s market, store, or CSA – so the people buying it are very likely to be informed consumers. It seems like requiring that a written notice of the risks involved be distributed to workshop participants would be sufficient.
Sign at truck dealership at center of dispute in Jericho
The Vermont Transportation Agency is considering legal action against a store owner who uses his light-up message sign to promote community events and charitable causes. The law states that the sign can only be used for business related events that take place on site, such as sales.
The store owner posts messages for community members for free, but asks for optional donations. The money is used for charitable causes. The town’s local government supports the sign’s current use.
During a time of state government budget woes, it seems like the state needs to stop doing so much policing of what people choose to eat and what kinds of sign usage local governments want to allow and stick to the bigger issues.
Wouldn’t it be great if the state only handled the big issues and everything else was left to the local communities to decide?
Protests Around the World
I thought this was an interesting study in contrasts.
No matter what our complaints about our government are, it’s good to keep things in perspective. That’s not to say we should not continue to fight injustices. It’s just that we should also remember what makes this country a great place to live.
Here are the links, with excerpts:
Protesters Die As Crackdown in Libya Continues (title has since been changed)
Several people in Benghazi hospitals, reached by telephone, said they thought as many as 200 people had been killed and more than 800 wounded there on Saturday alone, with many of the deaths from machine gun fire. And after protesters marched in a funeral procession Sunday morning, the security forces opened fire again, killing at least 50 more people, a doctor at one hospital said.
[...]
The Libyan government has attempted to impose a near total news blackout on the country. Foreign journalists are not permitted to enter the country. Internet access has been almost totally cut off, although some protesters appear to be using satellite connections or telephoning information to news services outside the country. Al-Jazeera, viewed by many as a cheerleader for the democracy movements stirring up the region, has been taken off the air in Libya. Several people said Libyans were afraid to talk to the international news media over the telephone for fear of reprisals from the security forces.
Protesters Rally for 6th Day at Wis. Capitol
As union supporters staged a sixth day of protests at the Wisconsin Capitol, the state’s Republican governor [Scott Walker] reiterated Sunday that he wouldn’t compromise on a bill that would eliminate most of public employees’ collective bargaining rights.
The controversial measure aimed at easing the Midwestern state’s budget woes led to massive protests that started Tuesday and have gained steam each day. An estimated 68,000 people turned out Saturday. All but a few thousand opposed the bill, but the day marked the first time that a significant contingent of Walker supporters showed up to counter-protest. There were no clashes.
China Cracks Down on Protest Threats, Rounds Up Dissidents
After Internet messages calling for demonstrations in 13 cities surfaced on Saturday, apparently from Chinese-language sites based overseas, there were reports of activists being preemptively arrested.
[...]
The response by Chinese officials was a reminder of the government’s low tolerance for any hint of political discord. The country’s combination of surveillance, sophisticated management of information, and a willingness to deploy large numbers of security forces has so far allowed it to cut off even the most remote of challenges to the Chinese Communist Party.
Iran Forces Push Back Swell of Protesters
For a second time in a week, Iran’s opposition drew tens of thousands of supporters to the streets across the nation on Sunday calling for the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule.
In response, the government unleashed what witnesses said was an extraordinary number of security forces to violently battle the crowds. Witnesses said mobs of anti-riot police and plainclothes Basij militia lined the streets and on several occasions fired directly into the crowd and beat protesters with steel batons.
TMD 2011: BED Ballot Items
Burlington Electric issued a PDF to explain the two questions that will be on the March ballot. Here is the text of the PDF in its entirety, without comment (for now, anyway). The PDF can be found here.
An Explanation of BED’s Two Ballot Items
(Questions 3 and 4) on the March ballotBurlington Electric Department will have two ballot items on the March ballot, which, if passed, will improve the long-term financial and operational stability of our utility.
Ballot Question No. 3 will ask voters for a one-year approval to increase BED’s capital investment from $1 million to $3 million, which much more closely matches the annual cost of keeping the distribution system up to date and working reliably. Next year, voters will be asked to approve a charter change that will make this increase permanent.
Ballot Question No. 4 will ask voters’ approval for a bond of up to $9.875 million. Of this amount, up to $7.2 million will be used as a match for the Smart Grid Investment Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), part of the ARRA – American Reinvestment and Recovery Act – funding. Half of the smart grid project is being paid for by DOE. BED is responsible for the other half. This project will not only improve the efficiency of the system today but it will also provide a platform for the future as two-way communication between the utility and the customers becomes the norm, providing significant opportunities for innovative changes. The “smart meter”, which will be installed on customers’ buildings starting this year, will allow all customers to be aware of their usage at 15-minute intervals. While this is happening, BED is also developing the ability for customers to have access to their usage information through the web, which will provide much more detailed information than customers can access today. BED’s price for power can vary greatly throughout the day. This new information will allow consumers to help match their usage with varying price levels as we begin to develop new pricing opportunities in the future.
BED also has an opportunity to invest $2.675 million in VELCO (the state-wide transmission company of which BED owns approximately 6 percent), which provides a 12.5 percent return on investment. A one-time investment of $1.150 million will help recover some of the costs of the East Avenue Loop Transmission upgrade project that greatly enhanced reliability within the city of Burlington. This one-time opportunity is specific to BED. If we do not take advantage of it it goes away. Another $1.525 million would be for an annual investment BED is allowed in VELCO. If BED does not take advantage of this investment other utilities in Vermont would have access to it. The high rate of return on these two investments will help to stabilize rates over the long term.
This Is Just Crazy
Earlier this evening, I was venting about a right-wing view that frustrates me and I asked my husband, “Have I changed or has the rhetoric on the right gotten more extreme??”
He said that it was a little of both, which I think is true.
Here is an example of the game I don’t want to be a part of anymore (though not the thing I was venting about). From a right-wing blog,
After two years of these radicals in the White House we know one thing for sure…. They have no idea how the private sector operates.
So what kind of job-killing scheme have these “radicals” come up with this time?
First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday said she was “thrilled” to announce a new program that asks U.S. businesses to allow employees to spend part of the work day volunteering with young people.
Yeah, that’s radical. Asking people to mentor kids.
This is just crazy.
What’s worse is that it demonstrates just how much the White House does not understand how the private sector works.
For example, when my kids were in school, employees from General Dynamics used to volunteer their time to come read to kids at the elementary school, and the company paid them for their time.
Oh, wait. I guess that example of a private company giving their employees paid time to go volunteer with young people makes it look like Michelle Obama isn’t some sort of crazy anti-capitalist radical who doesn’t understand how the private sector works. Oops.
I’m adding a new tag for this.
Argh!
Someone remind me why I decided to start another political blog. Because every time I even think about politics, I feel like my head is going to explode.
Seriously, did things get, like, a thousand times worse while I was gone? I can’t believe I ever thrived on this stuff. I used to live and breathe it, now I can only handle it in small doses.
I’m not throwing in the towel, just venting. I have a few posts that I am working on. I just needed to get this off my chest.
After six years of homeschooling, my oldest has decided that he wants to go to high school next year. He will be in 9th grade, so I guess it’s not unexpected that he is feeling like he’s ready to be a “normal” kid. (Whether he still feels that way after getting there is another story.)
This past week, I attended a meeting at Burlington High School for parents of next year’s incoming freshmen. The meeting focused on the course selection process that will be taking place in the next few weeks.
This was a relief to me because I have been pretty stressed out about that process.
It turns out that BHS has a pretty straight forward system, and there is a lot of room for error on my part in deciding where he should be placed.
When I was in high school, schools still used a tracking system where kids were placed in one level for all of their classes and stayed there all though their high school career. I was worried that this was still the way things worked and didn’t want my son placed in the wrong track.
Burlington High School, while still using ability grouping within subjects, allows students to have a customized learning experience. They might be in an honors class for social studies, but still need a remedial math class, for example.
When asked by a parent about changing levels within the school year, we were assured that the placement is reevaluated after the first quarter and adjustments can be made.
This is not the kind of tracking that we had when I was a high school student, much to my relief.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I opened my Burlington Free Press this morning and saw an article entitled, “Are Burlington schools on the right track?”
A school board candidate in ward 7, Ed Scott, has made an issue of how BHS groups students. Scott proposes that the high school have less ability grouping, which he and the Free Press both wrongly refer to as tracking, and eliminate some AP courses.
I would argue that BHS’s ability grouping is a necessity. From reading the course selection guide diligently, to determine where my own son should be placed, I learned that the remedial level of courses are for students not reading at grade level. Those students are also assigned to a reading class. When they catch up, they can transfer to a college prep class.
What’s the problem there? Doesn’t it make sense to give a student the help he needs, until he is ready to move up? Does it make more sense to hold the rest of the class back?
Scott’s implication that a student is stuck on the bottom rung forever, once placed there, is outright false.
As for the honors classes, which Scott says BHS should not offer in 9th grade, I ask, why not?
I was in honors classes all though high school, with one exception. When I was a junior, I took a college prep senior English class, along with my junior honors English class, so I could graduate early. I can tell you that the senior college prep class bored me to tears, after being accustomed to the pace that honors classes moved at.
I’m not just saying that to make myself sound smart. The point is, there are kids who need to be challenged at a pace that most kids will not be able to (or not want to) keep up with. Why should BHS hold those students back?
If there needs to be more ability for a student to move up into honors classes, then we should find a way to make that happen. But that doesn’t mean we should do away with ability grouping.
The real source of the problem doesn’t get addressed in the article.
Kids who are placed in lower-level classes might not realize they have the ability to take more challenging courses. And while parents can sometimes override teacher-recommended placements in ninth grade, many parents aren’t aware of this and won’t do so, Scott said.
Even by Scott’s own admission, parents are the key. The problem is that many parents are not involved. When I was at the meeting at the high school, the other parents I spoke to noted the small number of people in attendance. If parents are not getting involved, then of course they won’t know what they have the power to do.
How can we work to solve that problem? That would go a long way toward solving the other problems.
One area that Scott is way off base is in his assessment of math “tracking.”
He also opposes rigid tracking for math in eighth grade that sets up some students to take algebra and leaves others behind, some never given the opportunity to get to high-level math such as calculus by 12th grade.
Math has to be “tracked.” Math is cumulative. You have to have the building blocks of the previous class to take the next class. It goes in a certain order. The reason the “tracking” starts in 8th grade is that, if you want to take calculus in 12th grade, you have to have algebra in 8th grade.
I know this because I have a 7th and 8th grader. My 7th grader wants to be a robotics engineer, so he really needs to complete pre-algebra this year, if he wants to be on track.
The thing is, with homeschooling, there’s time to make it up, if he hadn’t decided until a year or two from now that he wanted to be an engineer, I could do extra math with him to get him back on track.
There’s also time to make it up in college. I didn’t have calculus, since I graduated early, but that didn’t stop me from majoring in physics. In fact, the physics program at UVM is set up with the expectation that many incoming freshmen will not have had calculus until college.
If a student was weak in math in middle school, but catches on in high school and wants to work up to the higher classes, there is no way to do that without getting the extra class. You can’t go into Algebra 2 without Algebra 1, for example.
But, there’s no reason why a student couldn’t catch up by taking a summer course! I can’t imagine BHS wouldn’t accommodate that.
There is always room for improvement in any school system, so it’s good to have these discussions, but Scott’s suggestion of mixed ability classes does not seem practical to me.
I am sure there will be more of this discussion throughout the next month, leading up to the election in March.
(Congratulations to Haik Bedrosian of BurlingtonPol.com for being mentioned in the above-linked Free Press article! Here is his post about Ed Scott’s run for school board.)
Palin Is Not Presidential
I saw this Town Hall column by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, and it says exactly what I have been thinking about Sarah Palin.
She should not become a battering ram hammering at liberal critics — getting down into the mud with them — answering every attack, no matter how low, personal or undeserved it is. [Emphasis mine]
Their point is that, as a potential presidential candidate, she should stay above it because it hurts her to get into it, as evidenced by polling data. They don’t want that to hurt her.
I, however, don’t think she can stay above it.
Palin’s national career is characterized by her intentional divisiveness. That is why I stopped liking her almost immediately. From comparing herself to a pitbull to accusing Obama of “palling around with terrorists,” Palin’s rhetoric has been consistently intended to provoke a fight, an us-against-them mentality, right from the beginning.
It’s the president’s job to rise above the fray. Look at the way George W. Bush responded, or I should say didn’t respond, to the awful things said about him, both the true and the untrue. President Obama, too, for the most part, keeps out of it, and has made speeches calling for unity.
I hope Palin’s fighting spirit does hurt her approval rate with the public. I don’t want to see someone like that representing this country as its head.
This country needs and deserves a president who acknowledges that, while disagreeing strongly on some issues, he or she represents all of us.
