I just came back from the Iowa caucus in the precinct where Dad lives in Davenport, Iowa. Dad went to the Republican one, and I went to the Democratic one. The experience was eye-opening in a lot of ways.
First of all the caucus has more to do than just choose delegates. They also recruit delegates for the platform committee and something called the committee committee (??). The caucus is also supposed to make suggestions for the platform committee, but so much time was taken to determine the delegates that the recommendation at the end was made to submit suggestions in writing to the platform delegates, which was quickly voted in.
I took an elderly lady, Dorothy, from Ridgecrest to the caucus. She was surprised at the large turn out. She said some years there were only 10 people gathered. Our precinct had 206 voting plus maybe 25+ volunteers. Caucusers first filled out a form and either checked their name off on a registered list or signed in. Apparently independents can caucus with any party they wish in Iowa.
The caucus was at a small training school for disabled adults. Two different precincts met there. We met in the gym (about 1/3 the size of a normal gym). There were signs around on the walls with names of Edwards, Hillary, Biden and Obama. Obama's group was larger and noisier. The signs were hand lettered. The Obama organizers had brought in food, as had Hillary's group. Dorothy said this was unusual. None of the others brought food. Obama's group had all ages but with a lot of young people. There was a noticeable mixture of brown faces among the white. Hillary's group had a wide range of ages and a few brown faces. Edwards had mostly middle-class, white supporters.
The first order of business was to elect a permanent chairman. One could see they were not prepared for such a big turn-out. There was no PA system and the votes had to be calculated on a small hand calculator with no tape read out to check the results. The temporary chair had laryngitis and called on a friend to take over because he couldn't speak loudly enough. That man was promptly elected permanent chair. They asked for volunteers for a temporary secretary. A woman volunteered and was immediately elected permanent secretary. The next order of business was to pass around an envelope to invite people to contribute money to defray to cost of the caucus.
Then the job of tallying the votes started. Each candidate had someone who was in charge of tallying the votes. People signed their names on a list. The 1st round tally was Obama - 86, Hillary 49, Edwards 46, Biden 13, Kucinich 2, Richardson 2 and 5 undecided. They determined that the number of people who signed in at the beginning was 206. The "level of viability" was 15% of that or 31 votes. No one seemed concerned that these votes did not add up to 206. The chairman said, oh, someone must have left. Certainly it would have taken all night to determine who hadn't voted. Since Binden, Kucinich, and Richardson were below the viability level and even combining their votes would not reach 31, all their supporters had to find another candidate. At this time, even those who had chosen a viable candidate could change their votes. So there was much discussion and the final results were Obama 98, Hillary 53 and Edwards 52.
Looking at this result made me realize how important each person's vote is. If I had not brought Dorothy (a Hillary supporter) to the caucus, Edwards and Hillary would have been tied. How could that have been resolved? As it was, Obama got 3 delegates, Hillary got 2 and Edwards got 1. I noticed the Edwards crowd was not happy with the results but there was no way to divide a delegate in half and the precinct had a total of 6 delegates.
Dad's caucus went a little smoother. They did not have to assign delegates to each candidate, rather that would be determined at the county convention. The results in Dad's caucus was Romney 35, McCain 19, Huckabee 18, Thompson 8, Guiliani 6, Paul 4. Tancredo and someone named Hunter got 0. Of course, there was a minor glitch in that 90 people registered in the precinct but only 85 voted in the beginning. Then it was determined that some people had not got a ballot, so they voted and brought the tally to 90.
Are caucuses better than primaries? After seeing the process, I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that independents, such as myself, can participate in a caucus while we are shut out of the primary in Florida. There is something very convival about caucusing. I made a lot of new friends and got a chance to meet some neighbors. The primary process is very impersonal while the caucus takes on the character of a town meeting. I find the Democratic rules, however, very limiting. By forcing caucus to parcel out delegates according to the number of supporters means that some arbitrary decisions have to be made. For example, what would have happened if Hillary and Edwards were tied? How could they have broken the tie if no one wanted to give up? Edward came out the loser since he got one delegate to Hillary's two. If this were repeated across the state, you could potentially have Edwards with 48% of the votes to Hillary's 52%, but she would have twice as many delegates as Edwards. And what happened to those 3 missing votes? Did they really go home? Later, someone went to the bathroom (there were none in the gym) and was barred from coming back in. She had already voted, but potentially her vote could have been disqualified. The other down side of caucusing is that people have to be physically present. No allowance can be made for sickness or work.
The Iowans will get some relief from all the political ads - TV, direct mail, phone calls, billboards, door to door, you name it. I even got a computerized message on the phone in the guest room at Ridgecrest. Now everyone will tottle off to New Hampshire for a few days until their primary. I expect to see a lot of them in Florida after that since our primary is Jan. 29.
Catherine
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Floods in Santiago
Estas fotos son del miercoles en la mañana; las zonas afectadas son todos los barrios a lo largo del rio; Bella Vista, La Joya, Nivaje,etc.
La riada ya paso por Mao y fue otro desastre, todas las cosechas se perdieron; en este momento (8.08 a.m.), las aguas estan llegando a Guayubin.
La riada ya paso por Mao y fue otro desastre, todas las cosechas se perdieron; en este momento (8.08 a.m.), las aguas estan llegando a Guayubin.
FCAT - right or wrong?
I would like to share a couple of recent editorials in the PB Post. One was written under Jac Versteeg's byline and the other I am sure was also written by him, although it came out as a general Post opinion. I like his often quirky take on Palm Beach County and his insightful comments about the FCAT. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/12/13/m10a_versteegcol_1213.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/12/16/a2e_fcat_edit_1216.html
It turns out that the "anchor questions" in the 2006 FCAT skewed the final result because they were given earlier in the test when the kids weren't tired. What this means is that a two hour test is too long to accurately measure what 3rd graders know. Duh. Any third grade teacher could have explained that to the state legislature. Also I have heard anecdotal evidense of students so terrified of the test that they had accidents or had to be sent home in tears due to nerves.
The FCAT was never intended as a way to make value judgments on the effectiveness of individual schools. Rathefr it was supposed to identify high-needs schools and students at risk so that resources could be directed efficiently. However, Jeb when he came into office created the system of school grades so that he could justify vouchers to allow his cronies with private school access to state money.
For anyone who is interested, here is a link to the report. http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatadvisory/pdf/FLAfirstrep-final.pdf It doesn't really say anything that any educator doesn't already know - that diagnostic testing is fundamentally different from measuring what students know, which is what the FCAT does.
Another important factor that makes school grades hard to use as measure of school progress is that the legislature plays with the test and how school grades are calculated every year. When school grades first came out, there were 3 areas - writing, math, and reading. Now the writing includes a "structure" portion which makes it a completely different test that measures a different "skill set" than it did in 1999. Now the school includes "progress" by the lower 25% of the students tested. Also, the results of the science test given to 8th and 11th graders are figured in. This is in spite of the fact that the science does not impact student grades in any way. This means they must be motivated to do well simply by loyalty to the school and desire to please the teacher??!! This works for upper class and middle class students but doesn't work for at risk students who do not see themselves as having a stake in the school and its teachers' success.
The state has also backed off on the requirement to refuse a diploma to any student who has not passed the FCAT. Now they allow students to use a minimum score on the ACT or the SAT. They must, however, continue to take the FCAT until the last time a retake is offered in their senior year. This means that any student who has acheived that score on the other tests has no motivation to do well on the FCAT.
While I am 100% in favor of improving school quality, I don't think either the federal government nor the state government is going about it in the right fashion. In the end, teachers are punished for situations that are outside their control.
Catherine
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/12/16/a2e_fcat_edit_1216.html
It turns out that the "anchor questions" in the 2006 FCAT skewed the final result because they were given earlier in the test when the kids weren't tired. What this means is that a two hour test is too long to accurately measure what 3rd graders know. Duh. Any third grade teacher could have explained that to the state legislature. Also I have heard anecdotal evidense of students so terrified of the test that they had accidents or had to be sent home in tears due to nerves.
The FCAT was never intended as a way to make value judgments on the effectiveness of individual schools. Rathefr it was supposed to identify high-needs schools and students at risk so that resources could be directed efficiently. However, Jeb when he came into office created the system of school grades so that he could justify vouchers to allow his cronies with private school access to state money.
For anyone who is interested, here is a link to the report. http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatadvisory/pdf/FLAfirstrep-final.pdf It doesn't really say anything that any educator doesn't already know - that diagnostic testing is fundamentally different from measuring what students know, which is what the FCAT does.
Another important factor that makes school grades hard to use as measure of school progress is that the legislature plays with the test and how school grades are calculated every year. When school grades first came out, there were 3 areas - writing, math, and reading. Now the writing includes a "structure" portion which makes it a completely different test that measures a different "skill set" than it did in 1999. Now the school includes "progress" by the lower 25% of the students tested. Also, the results of the science test given to 8th and 11th graders are figured in. This is in spite of the fact that the science does not impact student grades in any way. This means they must be motivated to do well simply by loyalty to the school and desire to please the teacher??!! This works for upper class and middle class students but doesn't work for at risk students who do not see themselves as having a stake in the school and its teachers' success.
The state has also backed off on the requirement to refuse a diploma to any student who has not passed the FCAT. Now they allow students to use a minimum score on the ACT or the SAT. They must, however, continue to take the FCAT until the last time a retake is offered in their senior year. This means that any student who has acheived that score on the other tests has no motivation to do well on the FCAT.
While I am 100% in favor of improving school quality, I don't think either the federal government nor the state government is going about it in the right fashion. In the end, teachers are punished for situations that are outside their control.
Catherine
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Golden Compass
I wanted to post a review of the Golden Compass. In spite of the mixed reviews, I would give it a 4 out of 5. Of course, this is coming from a dedicated Middle Earther and Narnian who was there practically at the beginning. Mom read me the Hobbit in 1955 and we both read the Lord of the Rings in 1964. I remember discovering C.S. Lewis's work about that time.
Many reviewers claim that it is anti-Catholic. I say, if the shoe fits, wear it. Methinks thou dost protest too much. I agree with the reviewers who say it is more against organized religion. Many of the buildings reminded me of the Mormon Tabernacle. I like the fact that the symbolism can be taken several ways, many of which are surprisingly spiritual, given that the author claims to be an atheist. For example, what is "dust" that the Magisterium hates so much? Is it free will? True spirituality? Is it coming from the spiritual world or an alternative universe or both? The Golden Compass can be taken for each person's own inner sense of truth, of right and wrong.
The special effects are truly amazing. Of course there are all the familiars that must be digitally altered. Jose and I stayed to see all the credits. There must be 500 people listed but no place credits. In other words, the frozen north is mostly created, not filmed.
There are a few weak points. I was expecting the inconclusive ending. After all, we know there will be at least 2 more movies. Technology seems to be haphazardly introduced. The Gyptian's ship uses both sails and paddlewheels. Lyra's friend Scorsby has an airship which they don't use for the first part of the trip across the north. Also, the children's familiars can change shape and when someone attacks the familiar, the person is hurt, too. So why don't the children's familiar's change into something big and dangerous when attacked? Apparently, the familiar's final shape determines one's future profession. What would happen if a soldier had a mouse familiar rather than a big mean dog? Okay, picky, picky. Anyway, I recommend seeing it in the big screen. The ice bear fight doesn't work very well on the small screen.
Catherine
Many reviewers claim that it is anti-Catholic. I say, if the shoe fits, wear it. Methinks thou dost protest too much. I agree with the reviewers who say it is more against organized religion. Many of the buildings reminded me of the Mormon Tabernacle. I like the fact that the symbolism can be taken several ways, many of which are surprisingly spiritual, given that the author claims to be an atheist. For example, what is "dust" that the Magisterium hates so much? Is it free will? True spirituality? Is it coming from the spiritual world or an alternative universe or both? The Golden Compass can be taken for each person's own inner sense of truth, of right and wrong.
The special effects are truly amazing. Of course there are all the familiars that must be digitally altered. Jose and I stayed to see all the credits. There must be 500 people listed but no place credits. In other words, the frozen north is mostly created, not filmed.
There are a few weak points. I was expecting the inconclusive ending. After all, we know there will be at least 2 more movies. Technology seems to be haphazardly introduced. The Gyptian's ship uses both sails and paddlewheels. Lyra's friend Scorsby has an airship which they don't use for the first part of the trip across the north. Also, the children's familiars can change shape and when someone attacks the familiar, the person is hurt, too. So why don't the children's familiar's change into something big and dangerous when attacked? Apparently, the familiar's final shape determines one's future profession. What would happen if a soldier had a mouse familiar rather than a big mean dog? Okay, picky, picky. Anyway, I recommend seeing it in the big screen. The ice bear fight doesn't work very well on the small screen.
Catherine
December 9th
I have a number of events to report, both upbeat and sad.
On a sad note, two local deputies were killed accidently in the early morning of November 28th. They had placed stop sticks in the road to catch a stolen car speeding toward Pahokee, but they did not (why? perhaps for lack of time) employ them with the lanyards to pull them back in. After catching the car, they ran out in the road to remove them and were killed by the K-9 unit chasing the stolen car. I knew Jonathan Wallace from the time he was a 7th grader. I had met Donta Manuel several times at the school and other events. Ironically, the car thief was a former student of mine, too. I remember calling his mother numerous times for behavior problems. His mother would always excuse his behavior - someone else was "messing" with him. He also blamed others from his misbehavior. I notice in the article that the family continues to make excuses. The school schedule was somewhat disrupted due to a candlelight vigil at the gym on Tuesday and the funeral at the fairground in West Palm on Wednesday. Many students were absent since a good portion of the town either is related to one of the young men or attended Jonathan's mother's church across from the school. Certainly, no one can miss the irony of two upright young men dead, while the perpetrator is alive in jail. God works in mysterious ways. Below are links to several articles in the Post.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2007/11/28/1128WALLACE.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/west/epaper/2007/11/29/a17a_wallace1129.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/west/epaper/2007/12/05/m1a_deputies_1205.html
Here is an appropriate quote: What becomes of the soul after its
separation from the body?
...The question concerns that which has a place and that which is placeless. The human body is in space; the soul has no place in space. Space is a quality of material things and that which is not material does not partake of space. The soul, like the intellect, is an abstraction. Intelligence
does not partake of the quality of space, though it is related to man's brain. The intellect resides there, but not materially. Search in the brain you will not find the intellect. In the same way though the soul is a resident of the body it is not to be found in the body.
~ Abdu'l-Baha,
Divine Philosophy
p. 127
On a lighter note, our football team won the state championship. They have won 4 out of the last 5 years. There was some talk of moving us up from 2B to 6A, although our total student population doesn't warrant it. My question is, what happens when we have a bad spell? We had a long dry time in the 90's. Anyway the 2B schools are trying to change us to 2A so they will have a change to win occasionally. This year has been a banner year, starting with taking a national championship in California over the summer and then the Muck Bowl. They have a28 game winning streak that started in 2005. Another evidence of Pahokee power house is 3 players picked by the Post for the best players in the last 100 years from Palm Beach County out of 15 positions.
I have mixed feelings about the football program. I know that for a small community, where football is one step below religion, having a winning team is a chance for bragging rights. On the other hand, neither the state nor the local school board gives points on our school grade and the federal government does not factor in championship games into AYP. Last year our school grade went from a C to a D and we did not make AYP, so we are now in restructuring. This means that the state could take over running the school and reassign all the teachers if we do not improve our grade or make AYP. I opposed allowing 2 young men to leave early for Orlando and miss class because they are often absent, come late to class and don't complete assignments. I got a lot of flack for that decision but I feel that we are sending the wrong message if we ignore poor school performance. I rather feel like a voice crying in the wilderness. While the football program generates some revenue, the money is generally plowed back into the program. In my opinion, only a few students are directly benefited through scholarships, while a large number are sidetracked with dreams of glory.
Here are a couple of articles:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/12/08/1208pahokee.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/11/30/w1b_prepplayoffs_1130.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/12/09/a8b_hsdorsecol_1209.html
Another upbeat note is that I passed my National Board. It was a long hard trek. The program generally takes 1-3 years, but I actually took it twice, so it took me 5 years. I guess I am a slow learner. I am uncertain if it will be of much benefit to me at this point in my career. I would recommend it more for someone closer to the beginning of their career or at least doing it before age 40. I will get a nice bonus and the opportunity to earn more money through mentoring but i would have to work until I am 68 to take full advantage of it. I cannot get the bonus if I stop working as a classroom teacher. All the new NBCTs will be honored at a ceremony on January 22 and at the school board meeting on January 23. I still halfway believe that I will log on to my profile and find out they made a mistake and that I really didn't earn it yet.
Catherine
On a sad note, two local deputies were killed accidently in the early morning of November 28th. They had placed stop sticks in the road to catch a stolen car speeding toward Pahokee, but they did not (why? perhaps for lack of time) employ them with the lanyards to pull them back in. After catching the car, they ran out in the road to remove them and were killed by the K-9 unit chasing the stolen car. I knew Jonathan Wallace from the time he was a 7th grader. I had met Donta Manuel several times at the school and other events. Ironically, the car thief was a former student of mine, too. I remember calling his mother numerous times for behavior problems. His mother would always excuse his behavior - someone else was "messing" with him. He also blamed others from his misbehavior. I notice in the article that the family continues to make excuses. The school schedule was somewhat disrupted due to a candlelight vigil at the gym on Tuesday and the funeral at the fairground in West Palm on Wednesday. Many students were absent since a good portion of the town either is related to one of the young men or attended Jonathan's mother's church across from the school. Certainly, no one can miss the irony of two upright young men dead, while the perpetrator is alive in jail. God works in mysterious ways. Below are links to several articles in the Post.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2007/11/28/1128WALLACE.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/west/epaper/2007/11/29/a17a_wallace1129.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/west/epaper/2007/12/05/m1a_deputies_1205.html
Here is an appropriate quote: What becomes of the soul after its
separation from the body?
...The question concerns that which has a place and that which is placeless. The human body is in space; the soul has no place in space. Space is a quality of material things and that which is not material does not partake of space. The soul, like the intellect, is an abstraction. Intelligence
does not partake of the quality of space, though it is related to man's brain. The intellect resides there, but not materially. Search in the brain you will not find the intellect. In the same way though the soul is a resident of the body it is not to be found in the body.
~ Abdu'l-Baha,
Divine Philosophy
p. 127
On a lighter note, our football team won the state championship. They have won 4 out of the last 5 years. There was some talk of moving us up from 2B to 6A, although our total student population doesn't warrant it. My question is, what happens when we have a bad spell? We had a long dry time in the 90's. Anyway the 2B schools are trying to change us to 2A so they will have a change to win occasionally. This year has been a banner year, starting with taking a national championship in California over the summer and then the Muck Bowl. They have a28 game winning streak that started in 2005. Another evidence of Pahokee power house is 3 players picked by the Post for the best players in the last 100 years from Palm Beach County out of 15 positions.
I have mixed feelings about the football program. I know that for a small community, where football is one step below religion, having a winning team is a chance for bragging rights. On the other hand, neither the state nor the local school board gives points on our school grade and the federal government does not factor in championship games into AYP. Last year our school grade went from a C to a D and we did not make AYP, so we are now in restructuring. This means that the state could take over running the school and reassign all the teachers if we do not improve our grade or make AYP. I opposed allowing 2 young men to leave early for Orlando and miss class because they are often absent, come late to class and don't complete assignments. I got a lot of flack for that decision but I feel that we are sending the wrong message if we ignore poor school performance. I rather feel like a voice crying in the wilderness. While the football program generates some revenue, the money is generally plowed back into the program. In my opinion, only a few students are directly benefited through scholarships, while a large number are sidetracked with dreams of glory.
Here are a couple of articles:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/12/08/1208pahokee.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/11/30/w1b_prepplayoffs_1130.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/sports/epaper/2007/12/09/a8b_hsdorsecol_1209.html
Another upbeat note is that I passed my National Board. It was a long hard trek. The program generally takes 1-3 years, but I actually took it twice, so it took me 5 years. I guess I am a slow learner. I am uncertain if it will be of much benefit to me at this point in my career. I would recommend it more for someone closer to the beginning of their career or at least doing it before age 40. I will get a nice bonus and the opportunity to earn more money through mentoring but i would have to work until I am 68 to take full advantage of it. I cannot get the bonus if I stop working as a classroom teacher. All the new NBCTs will be honored at a ceremony on January 22 and at the school board meeting on January 23. I still halfway believe that I will log on to my profile and find out they made a mistake and that I really didn't earn it yet.
Catherine
Sunday, November 25, 2007
post Thanksgiving
I have decided to set up a blog/commentary for those of my relatives that are interested. I plan to focus on e3ducation issues, post links to interesting articles, and recount my daily experiences at my current high school. I have recently certified as a National Board teacher in Young Adult and Early Adolescent Art, and so plan to discuss matters related to the National Board.
Also, with Dad's permission, I plan to post the letters he wrote back to his family during World War II on the same date that he wrote them, plus 64 years. I will also post the pictures he took. I am hoping that he will be able to make some comments about his perspectives on those events 60+ years ago. I would invite any servicemen reading this message to read and post their comments/responses, as well.
Catherine
Also, with Dad's permission, I plan to post the letters he wrote back to his family during World War II on the same date that he wrote them, plus 64 years. I will also post the pictures he took. I am hoping that he will be able to make some comments about his perspectives on those events 60+ years ago. I would invite any servicemen reading this message to read and post their comments/responses, as well.
Catherine
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