Open Mic Night: Yes, Maybe, and Hell No

Richardson Gymnastics Center

It's Monday, time for Open Mic Night at the Richardson City Council. Three speakers took the time to speak to the council, with three quite different messages.

After the jump, the descent from yes to maybe to hell, no.

Poor, Pitiful Haiti (Part 2)

The scale of death and destruction of the Haiti earthquake was just the beginning of the ongoing story of ever-increasing disaster. If you haven't done something to aid the survivors, please reconsider. If you have, thank you, now consider doing even more. Things are that bad.

24 Questions for Elementary Physics

The State Board of Education (SBOE) has been meeting in Austin to set the curriculum standards to be used in Texas schools for the teaching of social studies. The board is split, with eight of the fifteen members solidly or frequently in the conservative camp. And by conservative, I'm talking Texas conservative. For example, former chairman of the board Don McLeroy wants to rehabilitate communist witch hunter Joseph McCarthy in our children's history books ("Read the latest on McCarthy. He was basically vindicated."). Read the Washington Monthly article for scary details about this powerful faction setting standards not only for Texas schoolchildren, but for textbook publishers who will sell into states all across the country.

After the jump, what century-old math questions can tell us about teaching social studies in the 21st century.

Poor, Pitiful Haiti

Given the vastness of the death and destruction from the Port-au-Prince earthquake, nothing else is worth talking about today. The hair length of first-grade boys and the fate of elementary school cafeteria murals don't deserve much attention in any case, but today, they come to mind only as examples of first world problems that show just how blessed most of us in Richardson, Texas, are. Hug someone you love today, then go to WhiteHouse.gov to learn how you can help the people of Haiti deal with this incomprehensible natural disaster.

Labadee, Haiti

From 200903 Labadee

I've been to Haiti. Well, yes and no. What I saw was the beautiful sand beach on a cruise line's private property on the north coast of Haiti, safely fenced off from the real Haiti, the Haiti seen in today's news stories from Port-au-Prince. What can I say? The vast gulf between my vacation experience in Labadee and the day-to-day life of residents of Port-au-Prince, even before yesterday's disastrous earthquake, is immeasurable. I can't defend it. I can't say what can be done about it. Pity is not a solution, but it's what I feel right now. Hopefully, Americans' spirit of generosity will prove true again and many of us will go to WhiteHouse.gov to learn how we can help the people of Haiti.

RISD and the Vision Thing

This week, the school board for the Richardson school district (RISD) announced a new Vision Statement for the district. I know what you're thinking. Motherhood and apple pie. Ho hum, right? Maybe not this time.

After the jump, what the changes might tell us about what's to be expected from the new superintendent the RISD is searching for.