Good or Bad idea

By KATHLEEN MEGAN The Hartford Courant
A sweeping change now underway quietly in Connecticut is transforming school curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade with the aim of raising achievement and ensuring that all students are ready for college and career.

The new Common Core State Standards — a set of academic goals that were developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers — are driving the changes. Along with 44 other states, Connecticut adopted those standards after they were issued in 2010.

The standards, however, are simply goals, and state administrators and teachers have spent many hours developing a new curriculum and training teachers in new strategies.

"We are trying to have teachers teach in a way that they were not taught themselves," said Alan Addley, Granby superintendent of schools. "That's a huge transformational change that cannot be simplified or overstated, to be honest. … It's just a huge undertaking, but it's one that we believe should happen and it takes time and resources."
Why have school boards, school superintendents. At my high school, it was all college prep, very high academic standards (I didn't take advantage of it), well rounded, and one goal, "Teach the student to THINK, learning will automatically come along" ...... "If the student hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught." Sheep, many years ago, set standards for their young, voila  all sheep are now the same.

Chinese students coming to US middle schools? It's starting to happen

Peggy Wang has lived in China her entire life. A successful, English-speaking executive, she frequently travels abroad for work, but never imagined that her most recent itinerary would include dropping off her 15-year-old daughter at a prestigious boarding school outside Washington.

While there is a long history of Chinese students pursuing advanced degrees abroad, especially in the United States, Ms. Wang's daughter, Susan Li, is part of a rapidly growing trend in which Chinese students are choosing to seek their education overseas as early as middle school or high school.

In the 2010-11 school year alone, nearly 24,000 high school-age Chinese were studying in the US, more than 15 percent of the total number of Chinese students in the US overall, up from virtually none five years ago. US middle schools hosted 6,725 Chinese middle schoolers in 2011, up from just 65 in 2006, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

This phenomenon, known as students "growing younger" in Chinese, is seen as resulting from two key interrelated factors: the rigidity of the Chinese education system, and a desire to avoid the gaokao, the country's rigorous college-entrance exam, for which six-day-a-week preparation begins in 9th grade.

Not surprisingly, officials at schools with a significant number of Chinese students say the students have heightened the sense of competition and achievement. But they also say the students have helped others see a more nuanced and human view of China. For many of the Chinese students themselves, it is most likely the beginning of lives lived abroad, given that the core of their education will have come in English – and without the gaokao.

Tropical storm Flossie: Hawaii braces for first direct hit in 20 years

According to the National Weather Service, the eye of the storm is headed directly for Maui and Oahu, with landfall expected Monday. Wind gusts could reach 60 miles per hour, but the greater threat is rain. Heavy rainfall could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in the mountains."

The storm is expected to bring 6 to 10 inches of rain over Maui and the Big Island, with up to 15 inches possible in isolated locations, and 4 to 8 inches of rain over Oahu and Kauai, with isolated maximums of up to 12 inches possible.

Sustained winds up to 45 miles per hour were expected, and the NWS says that "dangerously high surf" is already hammering eastern-facing shores of the Big Island, and will soon spread to the other islands and continue through Tuesday.

The entire state is under a tropical storm warning and a flash flood watch through Tuesday night.

Forecasters on Monday said the storm is weakening rapidly as it shifts to the northwest. But Hawaii is still preparing for the worst, directing nonessential workers to stay home Monday and opening evacuation centers in numerous locations.

"We're going to continue to prepare for the worst," Hawaii island Mayor Billy Kenoi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "We want people to exercise caution, stay off the roads if possible and minimize curiosity."

Hawaii's Civil Defense office urged residents to pay attention to flash flood warnings.

"People will say we're in love"

President Obama called California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday night to apologize for referring to her as the "best looking" attorney general.

"He called her to apologize for the distraction created by his comments, and they are old friends and good friends, and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments and her capabilities," Carney said.

"He fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workforce and that they should not be judged based on appearance," Carney added.