pandora

A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

pandora's Latest Posts

What Could Possibly Go Wrong By Bringing A Gun Into A Haunted House?

Filed in Delaware by pandora on October 21, 2015 • 12 Comments

Outside of going to the gun range and blasting away at paper targets while pretending that they are Muslims or black teenagers, there is nothing Armed-Americans enjoy more than showing off their guns in public. Open carry rules!

No self-respecting NRA member would think about making a grudging late-night emergency run to CVS to pick up some tampons for his wife without first pulling on some camouflage pants, strapping a Glock to his hip, and pulling the whole ensemble together with an AR15 dangling from his neck.

Because…. Something Might Happen.

It’s always Something Might Happen with this group – that would shoot their own shadow, or toddler. But this is a story happening in our own backyard – at Frightland.

Paul Ryan Tries To Herd Cats

Filed in National by pandora on October 21, 2015 • 12 Comments

It’s really, really obvious that Paul Ryan is being dragged, kicking and screaming, into running for the House Speaker. He really, really doesn’t want the job.

Rep. Paul Ryan has told House Republicans he will run for House Speaker if he is the unity candidate of the divided party.

Ryan spoke to the House GOP behind closed doors Tuesday and said if all factions can share his vision and he can get the endorsement of the major caucuses, then he will serve as speaker.

The news was confirmed by his spokesman Brendan Buck, who said according to reports, “If he is not a unifying figure for the conference, then he will not run.”

So, he wants the vote before the vote. And he has conditions:

He said Republicans needed to move from being “an opposition party to an proposition party.” He also said he would seek updates to the House rules — a common demand by the conservative hardliners that roiled Speaker John Boehner’s tenure — “so everyone can be a more effective representative.”

2016 Democratic Debate Thread

Filed in National by pandora on October 13, 2015 • 10 Comments

Share your thoughts with us as you watch.

The debate begins at 8:30 on CNN.

This Is Who We Are

Filed in National by pandora on October 1, 2015 • 92 Comments

I am no longer shocked. This is the life we have chosen. It is the American Way.

The Planned Parenthood Hearings Revealed More About Republicans Than PP

Filed in National by pandora on October 1, 2015 • 10 Comments

Watching the Planned Parenthood hearings was wince inducing. It was also one of the best ways to see Republicans in their natural habitat of ignorance and petulance. Everything you need to know about Republicans was on display yesterday. 1. Math is hard Have you seen this chart? Pay special attention to the source listed in […]

I, Robot? Sex Machine?

Filed in National by pandora on September 21, 2015 • 15 Comments

I came across this article on BBC. Pretty interesting and 100% predictable. All roads eventually lead to sex.

We Must Be Psychic! More Details On The SBA Test Scores

Filed in National by pandora on September 18, 2015 • 1 Comment

Whooocouldaknown??? State Average — Reading: 51.9 percent; Math: 38.8 percent Low Income — Reading: 35 percent; Math: 23 percent Disabilities — Reading: 15 percent; Math: 10 percent Black — Reading: 36 percent; Math: 22 percemt Hispanic — Reading: 40 percent; Math: 29 percent Learning English — Reading: 15 percent; Math: 15 percent I’m also gonna […]

State GOP Gives Sussex Republican Committee A Spanking Over Disparaging Remarks About Women

Filed in Delaware by pandora on September 17, 2015 • 3 Comments

Wonder if these “rules” will apply to Dem women?

Here’s the Delaware Republican Party statement:

Newark, DE: Delaware Republican Party Chairman Charlie Copeland has issued the following statement regarding the release of disturbing audio tapes in which Sussex County GOP officials make offensive comments about women leaders in the Delaware Republican Party and about women in general:

The recent release of audio recordings by DelawareRight.com in which Sussex County Republican leaders take aim at leaders of the Delaware Federation of Republican Women and the Sussex County Republican Women are offensive and counter to the fundamental beliefs of the Republican Party.

Guest Post: Opt-Out Ends The Madness Of High-Stakes Testing

Filed in Delaware by pandora on September 17, 2015 • 4 Comments

Kevin from Exceptional Delaware asked if we could share his post. The State Board of Education is having their monthly meeting at 1:00pm today. The Parent Strike press conference will begin prior to the meeting at 12:30pm in front of Legislative Hall in Dover. If any of our readers attend, let us know in the comments.

As a proud advocate of parent opt out, I watched in horror as Governor Markell vetoed legislation created for parents and their fundamental rights. The News Journal refers to House Bill 50 as giving parents the right to opt out. This is wrong. It’s about honoring a parental right that already exists, an attempt to codify that right and stop schools and the Delaware Department of Education from punishing schools over parent opt-out.

Today, the State Board of Education will have their monthly meeting, and they will discuss Regulation 103. To give some quick back-story here, Regulation 103 covers school accountability. Born out of Race To The Top, Delaware won in the first round partly because we already had this regulation in place. Race To The Top was an abject failure. But the DOE and the State Board are attempting to further legitimize this program under the guise of the Delaware School Success Framework. This “school report card” is nothing more than Federal mandate PLUS the many layers of complexity the DOE added to it. This regulation will put any Title I school in jeopardy if the students don’t perform well on Smarter Balanced. This week, we will hear about the creation of 10 new so-called “Focus Schools” and 4 “Focus Plus Schools”. The DOE will attempt to sell this as yet another way of “fixing” these high-need schools. The truth is, these labels are punitive in nature and are just another step before they become “Priority Schools”. We all know how that went a year ago.

Comment Rescue: Dorian Gray, Education And The Uncomfortable Truth

Filed in Delaware by pandora on September 16, 2015 • 16 Comments

I keep going back to Dorian’s comment on my Education post. Here is what he said:

I have a solution that nobody will like. It’s warranted and would address the very neediest, but good luck convincing anybody…

Start paying reparations in the form of schools. The idea that how good a public school is is based on where your parents/guardians live is one of the biggest examples of institutional racism I can think of (beside mass incarceration, maybe).

What other public services work this way? Can you imagine if people moved to ensure their post office was the very best rated post office in the area!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Poverty And The Smarter Balanced Assessment

Filed in Delaware by pandora on September 10, 2015 • 63 Comments

Last week LiberalGeek took a comment I posted about the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) scores and turned it into a graph. Now we have many graphs and charts.

Inside you will find charts of the four districts that serve city of Wilmington students (click on charts inside to enlarge). You will also find a chart of Charter Schools. Pay attention to the trend lines. Some are more obvious than others. Before I continue, let me say this: I do not support the SBA, but since we’ll be using these scores to judge and label students, teachers and schools we need to look at the data. This test will have consequences.

Charter Schools Ruled Unconstitutional In Washington State

Filed in National by pandora on September 5, 2015 • 14 Comments

Wow.

In the ruling, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that charter schools aren’t “common schools” because they’re governed by appointed rather than elected boards.

Therefore, “money that is dedicated to common schools is unconstitutionally diverted to charter schools,” Madsen wrote.

Justice Mary E. Fairhurst agreed with the majority that charter schools aren’t common schools, but argued in a partial dissenting opinion that the state “can constitutionally support charter schools through the general fund.”

I always wondered why charters just received tax payer money when they weren’t listed on operational referendums. Consider that districts have to clearly spell out how they will use our money if the referendum passes. Shouldn’t the amount being diverted to current (and future) charter schools be listed? Those figures could result in public schools losing operational funds that the public actually, you know, voted on. Our referendum votes include funding these charters. Shouldn’t charters have to tell us how they plan on using our tax dollars?

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Results Are In

Filed in Delaware by pandora on September 3, 2015 • 22 Comments

I’m not even sure where to begin. I’ll start here:

Only half of Delaware students are proficient in English and fewer than four in 10 are proficient in math, according to results of the state’s tough new standardized test, the Smarter Balanced Assessment. (link takes you to the results)

It’s no secret I’m not a fan of standardized tests, mainly because I think we’re using them incorrectly. We focus on handing out gold stars to schools who pass and slap “failing” labels on schools that don’t. But… maybe this is changing?

“There will certainly be an increase in regards to how the state allocates resources–and that’s really part of the value here–let’s understand which districts and which schools have the greatest struggles, and let’s make sure that we, as a state, are able to allocate resources to those students who need it most.”

Hey, that sounds like equitable funding. Could it be? I’m skeptical tho, since I lived through the Priority School fiasco. “Allocate resources” is usually followed with the threat of charter conversion, privatization and closure. We’ll see. That said, if these tests were actually used to help struggling schools (instead of punishing them) I’d change my tune.

pandora

pandora's Latest Posts

What Could Possibly Go Wrong By Bringing A Gun Into A Haunted House?

Paul Ryan Tries To Herd Cats

2016 Democratic Debate Thread

This Is Who We Are

The Planned Parenthood Hearings Revealed More About Republicans Than PP

I, Robot? Sex Machine?

We Must Be Psychic! More Details On The SBA Test Scores

State GOP Gives Sussex Republican Committee A Spanking Over Disparaging Remarks About Women

Guest Post: Opt-Out Ends The Madness Of High-Stakes Testing

Comment Rescue: Dorian Gray, Education And The Uncomfortable Truth

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Poverty And The Smarter Balanced Assessment

Charter Schools Ruled Unconstitutional In Washington State

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Results Are In

Of all the fines levied against him, how much will Donald Trump actually pay?

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