The UnSchool

Did you hear the one about the school where the students are in charge and the parents pay $6000 for the privilege? The thing about students not taking standardized tests kinda hit me right between the grade books.

World's Record

A train has set a world speed record in --- you guessed it--- China:BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said. The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other

Cluster Fox Gets Simpsonized

Amen!

Federal Employees To Learn A Basic Truth

President Obama has indicated that Federal Employees will now have a two-year wage freeze.Apparently, the freeze also includes the traditional "automatic" cost-of-living increase that was to have been 1.4% this year. (As always, this freeze won't include the U.S. Congress, they'll get their COLA.)Teachers in our school district never get a "cost of living" increase.Welcome to our world, federal

Sunday Evening Recollection

*Sniff*Sometimes, when I go over and visit the Almighty Federal Website, I miss checking out the hijinks (and low jinks) of former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings...We had soooo much fun with her.The Current Boss of the Federal Bureau of Education Truth just doesn't seem to offer the same sort of inviting target.

Wonkitorial: Lights Out

In yet another sign that our country is in serious trouble, some municipalities are turning-off street lights while others are allowing paved roads to revert to gravel:The lights are going out all over America — literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being

Back To School At Warp Speed

Now we've seen it all.A jet-powered school bus that can reach speeds of 367 mph.Will the Wonders of this Modern Age never cease?

Investing The Union Way

The California Teachers Association, which forcibly withholds money from each of my paychecks, now has an authorized website to help me invest gamble what remains of my ever-declining teacher salary.This union legalized syndicate has some nerve.

Bonus Envy

CNN has a little story about how a variety of people will be spending this year's bonus. Including this clown who's getting somewhere between $50,000 - $70,000.Meanwhile, your EdWonk, who has spent years in the classroom, received a 1% pay cut and increased state income and sales tax rates. The result will be that my take-home pay will be about what it was in 2003.Even though I never knew that