You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2012.
This is a case of the Educational system, although technically right, is looking very stupid and out of touch with reality when it comes to giving zeros to students who have not done their work. It is shameful though that a veteran teacher is going to lose his job over the issue.
“The Edmonton physics teacher who broke school policy by giving zeros to his students has decided not to appeal his suspension.
Lynden Dorval, a 35-year teaching veteran, had until Friday to file an appeal. He consulted with a lawyer who told him that based on past cases, his odds of winning are slim — a position also taken by the Alberta Teachers’ Association.”
Fighting the system is never cheap. The economic requirements essentially make the appeal process a joke.
“There’s a rare chance, or small chance, that I may have to pay for the whole hearing if I lose,” Dorval said on Friday. “I can’t take that kind of hit.”
Dorval became a hero to many for refusing to comply with the so-called ‘no-zero’ policy for incomplete assignments and missed tests at Edmonton’s Ross Sheppard High School.
We should seize the spirit of the Montreal protests and hold a demonstration to show our support for Mr.Dorval. It won’t happen because, unlike Quebec, the atomization and “me first” attitude quashes most impulses of solidarity before they begin.
“The thinking behind the policy, which was adopted by the school a year and a half ago, is that a failure to complete assignments is a behavourial issue, and marks should reflect ability, not behaviour.
But Dorval believes not giving zeros tells students that they don’t need to be accountable for their actions.”
The EPSB completely dropped that ball on this one. The PR that is dominating the news is almost completely negative against them. The issue of accountability is one that most people out of school can quickly and easily relate to. It spurs the gut reaction and the quick media analysis, as people tune out the explanation of why the board has a no zero policy in this particular school.
It should be a lesson to the Administration of the school and the superintendent as how not deal with an issue. This should have been resolved in house, because the nuance involved in putting forth their position is a no-win PR proposition.
“Dorval admits he first wondered if it was right to take a stand. But the response he’s received since then — calls, emails and letters from complete strangers, and talks with frustrated teachers — has validated his decision.
“It certainly has made my resolve even stronger than ever because the support I’m getting from people is just unbelievable,” he said.
Last week, Dorval said that he spoke out because as a 35-year veteran, he could retire and live on his pension if he lost his job, a price he expects to pay for speaking out.
He still hopes he can return to teaching, even on a part-time basis, once his suspension is complete.”
People of principle are hard to come by these days, I think Mr.Dorval would be an asset to any school that employs him.
Ask any cellist. They’ll tell you about what’s it’s like to play the cello part of Pachebel’s Canon in D. It’s the same 8 notes over and over and over again. The good news is, it’s easy to memorize. The bad news is you don’t know when to stop. There’s a rumor floating around that says Pachelbel either died while writing it, never finishing the cello part, or that he dated a cellist and it did NOT go well. This arrangement is dedicated to all the cellists that have fallen asleep while playing this song…or at least wanted to fall asleep. Steven Sharp Nelson actually began writing this arrangment while bored at a wedding.
Ahem…all the bitter cello-malice aside, Pachelbel’s Canon in D (written in the 1600’s) has stood the test of time — celebrated as the most recognizable piece of classical music. We like to call it the “one-hit wonder of the 1600’s.” It really is an amazingly-catchy piece of music. It demonstrates the musical form of the “canon,” when a melody is played and then repeated in a round by other voices. (watch how the melodies are passed from one cello to the next — right to left)
ALL THE SOUNDS YOU HEAR WERE CREATED BY THE CELLO — bowing, plucking, strumming, and beating the cello any way possible.
The bane of many musicians gets the Piano Guys tender treatment. Enjoy. :)
Astronomy is another passion of mine. Enjoy this short clip on the fate of our Sun and similar stars.
After running like the good hamster I was on the Diablo 2 treadmill I said to myself, “I’m done with action RPG’s, they are nothing more than beautifully constructed Variable Reinforcement Schedules that soak up my free time.
I quit. I really did. I was Diablo free for about 10 years. Then,
Greasing up the treadmill, preparing for the odd late night. Off I go…damn you D3, damn you to hell…
It is one of those lifetime events, as Venus rarely crosses the plane of our orbit while in front of the sun.
“Our nearest planetary neighbour will be passing between the Earth and the sun starting at 6:04 p.m. ET on June 5 and will be aligned in such a way that its passage will be visible with the naked eye. The transit, as it’s known, will last about six hours, but in most parts of Canada, it will be visible for only a few hours before sunset.”
That doesn’t happen very often because most of the time when Venus crosses Earth’s orbital plane, Earth is somewhere else in its orbit, so there is no direct sight line from Earth to Venus and the Sun
“Earth orbits the sun slower than Venus. If they both orbited in the same plane, like runners running around a track, then every time Venus ‘lapped’ Earth, there would be a transit,” Reid said.
“However, Venus’s orbit is ’tilted’ relative to Earth’s orbit, so the only way Venus and Earth can line up with the sun is if Venus laps Earth exactly when Venus happens to be passing through the plane of Earth’s orbit.
“That only occurs at two points in Venus’s orbit (the two points where the ring of Venus’s orbit ‘punctures’ Earth’s orbit). The odds of Venus happening to be at one of those two points when it ‘laps’ Earth are small.”
As with the annular eclipse that dazzled millions of people around the world on May 20, the key to viewing the transit of Venus safely is to avoid looking directly at the sun without a protected lens. Sunglasses or ordinary telescope lenses are not enough to protect the eyes.
To be safe, lenses must be treated with something like an aluminized film like Mylar or have a strong filter such as the type found on some welder’s glasses. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada lists a number of safe lens options in a special section of its website devoted to the transit.
Whatever viewing method you choose, the key, says Reid, is to not miss what will be your last chance to see Venus in transit.
“It will not occur again until 2117, so it’s worth trying to see it,” Reid said.
Made for our friends down south, but really our fine Harperites are feeding from the same trough so it applies to them as well.
I really wish my job was harder on finding and featuring the appalling nature of religion and the horrible shite it makes people do. Today’s disservice features Cardinal Timothy Dolan arguing that if forced to allow women access to birth control they intend to cease their charitable work done by the church on behalf of the poor. The illogical depravity of such a statement is currently ripping a hole in my frontal lobes as I seem currently unable to process this level of outrageous stupidity.
Un-frakking-believeable. This is why religion needs to be shat out of the collective bowel of humanity; as it has (once again) proven that religious doctrine has no place in a civilized rational society.
Clean your brain with Steven Fry’s thoughts on the RCC –
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…