DU educators, tell me about Margaret Spelling and the current state

of NCLB. I just watch the repeat of her little happy talk session on C-SPAN. I haven't been tracking this much lately, but are things getting as rosy and glowy as she described? She strikes me as the same type of person as *--very sure of her own importance and ideas.

... read through this:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/20040212.html

Spelling is someone without significant education background, and is, quite simply, one of Bush's toadies. Keep in mind that her first practical act as a Sec. of Education nominee was to attack PBS on a diversity issue. What does that tell you?

She's as agenda-driven as the rest of the Bushies. NCLB isn't good for education--finding ways to teach students to think for themselves is. I don't think Spelling is at all interested in the latter. Neither is Bush. Horrors, if they did, they might come to the conclusion that he's an utter, raving asshole. Spelling is there to protect Bush's reputation with the right, period.

around. She was Bush's underling in TX--and has come to take charge of the US Dept of Education -and run it like the TX department did--which if you do a seach-the Tx schools that claimed to do good-cheated. She is a Ron Page (former Dept of Educ cabinate head)--who once called teachers 'terrorists"--then tried to wiggle out of saying he did (much like DeLay who is not saying the some 'misinterpreted" his threat to judges).
Plain and simple-she is the Hammer to inforce the NCLB-which is NOT good for our kids (teaches kids how to take tests-to memorize material).

... that was my point, exactly. :)

Bush has taken so little interest in his own education that I can't see how he might make informed judgments about his own appointees for the same. It's about ideology, and, ultimately, about vouchers.

in the 4-7-05 mailing from the Southern Poverty Law Center, as having come out opposed to the SPLC programs for school children that teach tolerance. FBI statistics show that schools are one of the most common places for hate crimes to occure. The SPLC has attempted to educate children and teens on the importance of tolerating people of different backgrounds.

The "religious right" has begun an organized attack on the SPLC programs. The Rev. Terry Fox aid, "Tolerance itself can be a dangerous word." James Dobson, the founder of the politically powerful "Focus on the Family" is leading the movement to secure a place for intolerance in public schools. And Bush's new Secretary of Education is coordinating efforts with Dobson and Fox.

For more information, please see:

www.tolerance.org

conflict mediation between kids (for ANY reason ) and educational materials involving the civil rights movement and any other movement in which people stepped up to the plate for a cause.

She won't be any better than paige....
Maybe even more inflexible in terms of NCLB

I distribute SPLC materials to local schools. For the life of me, I find it mighty odd that anyone could be offended by their wonderful resources.