Democracy In Action: Ohio, Wisconsin, and …

By , July 2, 2011

“There’s something happening here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear.”

In Ohio, public employees needed 231,000 citizens’ signatures to force a statewide ballot regarding SB5 — which outlawed collective bargaining by Ohio’s public employees.

This past Wednesday, opponents of that law delivered petitions with 1,298,301 signatures — more than five times the required number.

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As Expected, Amazon Terminated Its California “Associates” (including me)

By , June 30, 2011

As expected, Amazon.com yesterday terminated its advertising relationship with 25,000 California web publishers, including me, after Gov. Brown signed an “Advertising-Nexus Tax Law,” which would use advertising relationships as a “hook” to try to force Amazon and other out-of-state retailers to collect California Sales Tax.  I’ve posted separately about this on my separate blog for LessonIndex.com:  http://blog.lessonindex.com/2011/06/california-forced-amazon-to-stop-advertising-here/

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Cheating on High-Stakes NCLB Tests

By , June 16, 2011

Under the federal “No Child Left Behind” law, school districts, schools, and teachers face harsh, punitive consequences for failing to do the impossible (consistently increase test scores for 14 years in a row).

It’s no surprise that some administrators and teachers have turned to cheating on the high-stakes tests required by the federal “No Child Left Behind” law. Read more »

Thoughts On Learning That Reading My Book Review is a Class Assignment

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By , June 11, 2011

I just learned that last January (2010), one of my book reviews was included as assigned reading in an AP English class (taught by Ms. Tsuruda at Mililani HS in Hawaii).

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High Payment Threshholds for Affiliate Programs

By , May 31, 2011

I’ve recently noticed several merchants who’ve created in-house affiliate programs with alarmingly high payment thresholds. Here’s why it’s a bad idea.

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My New Wireless Headset

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By , May 25, 2011

How did I live without a cordless telephone headset?

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Is Facebook Transforming Our Language?

By , May 7, 2011

Language is constantly evolving, but sometimes the process is hard to understand. Facebook provides a great example.

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Common Goals and Other People’s Intentions

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By , May 3, 2011

Sometimes when we criticize others, we find a mirror.  Here’s my story, and my plea that we stop talking past each other, and instead focus on our common goals for our children’s education.

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Education Reform: Perverse Incentives

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By , April 22, 2011

Over the past few weeks, I’ve read many dozens of news articles, editorials, and research studies about current “education reform” efforts.

Today, I realized that nearly all the “disputed” ideas involve accusations of perverse incentives.

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Update: LessonIndex.com

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By , April 6, 2011

Over the past few months, I’ve been pleased with the success of my newest web site, LessonIndex.com. Read more »

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