Muffin Bottoms [not] Just another WordPress weblog

05/12/2018

Blame your state’s governor for gas prices, not Trump or Obama.

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 8:38 am

Please don’t blame presidents for local summer gas prices. Governor Malloy and State legislators in both parties are to blame here, and I trust that the other 49 states have similar issues.

 

 

Back in 2014 I caught Governor Malloy in a lie right in a coffee shop, right in front of the New London Day newspaper, and he responded by dropping Groton’s gas prices for 5 or 6 months. It was nice while it lasted.

Asking Governor’s Promise He’ll Represent People Who Pay At The Pump

 

During his visit at Muddy Waters, Marc Frucht of Groton slipped Malloy a card with a list of gas prices, hoping he could inspire an investigation into price gouging.
“Right now we have the highest gas prices in the state,” Frucht said.

“Maybe it’s worth investigating. He said he was going to look at it.”

https://www.theday.com/article/20140818/NWS12/140819700

 

 

Well now that gas prices are soaring again we all seem to be busy trying to blame either Donald Trump or Barak Obama.
I guess that’s a natural first reaction. But if we think it through maybe cooler heads will prevail.

I’ll leave all that behind this round, and ask the following rhetorical question.

How come New London CT’s gas prices are so much higher than Grotons, and how come Groton’s are higher than the rest of Connecticut?

Again!

10am 12may 2018 Cumberland Farms regular fuel.

Groton 2.89 /gal
New London 3.06
Weathersfield 2.97
Fairfield 3.11

Holy cow! It looks to me this time that Hartford is even gouging Fairfield and passing on the savings to itself and Groton. 😛

Seriously though. Gas was 230 something in Groton a few months ago people. Will it go past 4 dollars this time? We managed to keep it from doing that the last time. I’m not even cautiously optimistic this time. I’ll have to research this more deeply when I can, this just scratches the surface really.

Cheers,
marco

11/10/2017

Poem For Veterans Day

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Poetics — admin @ 1:55 pm

I stand here
One leg on the bottom step
On the stairs above me
Thinking deliberately
About just the right next moment
To lift my other leg
Just the right way
So my next step
Won’t trip me up
And leave me in a wheelchair
The rest of my life.

Every time

And I create this poem
As I think it.

hey vet
take a look at yourself
and smile at what you’re made of

we are the 99%
we gave 100%
110% really

ain’t a zero sum
game
ennit?

we get any real respect
or just buy one
get one free off the kiddy menu
at dennys and apple bees?

you say you support the troops?
where’s my frickin’ healthcare.
why am I missing teeth
when root canals would’ve cost you pennies on the dollar
why do bush and clinton and obama keep moving me in and out of Priority group 7!
when did the gi bill
become
in reality an insurance program
not a benefit
why does my college degree get me no new jobs
no raises
no additional health benefits
and no burial coverage unless I wanna just go in one of those statewide rows?

why does my eczema only respond to
agent orange meds
and I’m afraid to even find out if
gulfwarsyndrome
meds
would actually
get rid of it!

oh you fund raise off of me
you make yourself look good
you get yourself elected
you line your pockets
you say you support the troops
you wear your shed, right and true colors one day
you think a meanstreak
and you talk a mean line
and say you can’t thank me enough
then pardon
my
french
where’s
my fucking
healthcare.

and why are one out of four
homeless
panhandlers
and will-work4food signs
my brothers and sisters?

I’m a veteran
I’m the neo urban american warrior society
I bury my dead, I take care of children and elders
whether they’re mine or not
I think large thoughts on behalf of you and me and everyone else
And lastly me, really.
I’m the warrior society, the 99%, the bled, the light and the glue.
I served all of yall

I got your Veterans Day
hangin
right here.

roo ha!

 

[Hear this here…]=[http://youtube.com/watch?v=PFv6DtDLHPw]

 

08/18/2014

Asking Governor’s Promise He’ll Represent People Who Pay At The Pump

Filed under: Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 1:22 pm

This afternoon I gave our governor some data and asked him to do a favor similar to what Sam Gejdenson pulled off back when I was about 17 years old. He had managed to catch lots of gas gouging that caused southeastern CT to be the lowest wages and highest gas prices. Prices went down to something managable but crept back up little by little to where it is now once again New London County having some of the lowest wages in the state but the highest gas prices.

GasPricesForTheGovernor

I was telecommuting in Muddy Waters eating one of their famous Love Salads when the Mayor, Governor and many other democrat cronies walked in to do some schmoozing at this the third of three local coffeehouse stops including BeanLeaf and Washington Street Cafe.

I wasn’t prepared to speak with him but I remembered this issue historically and would love to pose this question of everyone from him to Richard Blumenthal to Joe Courtney. And no, not just because they’re democrats. Mostly because it hurts.

Well the Governor begged to differ and said he thought Fairfield’s prices were 10 or 20 cents higher, and I sought compromise saying then that maybe Groton, NL, Wtfd have the lowest wages and the second highest gas prices in the state and he agreed to look into it.

So while he was schmoozing with everyone I buried myself back in my laptop and went right to one of those gasprices dot com sites to get him some data. Jotted them down on the back of a biz card and handed it off to one of his staffers asking him to get that data to him whenever things are less pressing. He obliged.

04/16/2014

Of How A Teacher Intervened And Got Me Into College – True Story

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 6:03 pm

I was getting straight A’s in Language Arts going into my Junior Year.

Yet my verbal SAT score was 150 points lower than my math/science! I wasn’t getting into UConn or other good schools with such low scores.

Crying, I asked my English teacher what could be wrong. He handed me a 1-page document similar to this one and told me, “It’s easy to explain. Your mother and father aren’t clergy, they’re not law and they’re not medical. You never heard latin prefixes and suffixes around the house; so you are at a disadvantage behind other students who are children of doctors, lawyers, ministers and rabbis.

I memorized all of these and the second time I took the SAT’s I increased my score by more than 100 points and got accepted to UConn.

I now hold UConn degrees in Literature and Native American Studies.  Thank you Mr. _____ at Fitch Senior High School! Thank you, thank you thank you.

 

 

OK, so here go some of the most common SAT prefixes:

 

pre – before (hence pre-fix is a word that comes before)

super – very or over (super-impose means to impose over)

dis – not (dismembered means not membered or not together)

uni – one (unicameral means one house)

a – not (atypical means not typical)

ex – out (exhale means breathe out)

in – in (inhale means breathe in)

neo – new (neoconservative means new conservative)

post – after (postmodernism means after modernism)

circum – around (circumvent the world means travel around the world)

ben – good (benevolent, beneficial, benefactor, etc. all carry positive charge)

mal – bad (malevolent, malnutrition, malice)

re – again (to review is to view again)

gen – birth (genealogy is study of family history)

chron – time (chronology is study of time sequence)

poly – many (polyunsaturated means many not saturated)

intra – within (intraspecies means within one species)

inter – between (interspecies means between different species)

ante – before (antebellum means before a war)

hypo – too little (hypothermia means too low of body temperature)

hyper – too much (hyperactive means too active)

 

some common SAT suffixes that you should be aware of as well:

– ble: able or capable (doable, corruptible, edible)

– ous: full of (porous means full of pores, or in other words, easily transpired through)

– ant: full of (elegant means full of elegance)

– ose: full of (grandiose means full of grandeur, grand-ness)

– fy: to make like the prefix (magnify means make larger, terrify means to make scared)

– ate: to make like the prefix (procrastinate means to make a longer time)

– ile: tending to (puerile means tending to childish-ness)

– ism: belief (racism, sexism, nationalism, etc.)

– tude: condition of (magnitude means the quantity of magnification)

 

Sincerely,

marco frucht

 

[ref]=[ http://www.proprofs.com/mwiki/index.php/Prefixes_and_Suffixes ]

04/15/2014

Arkansas Mother Obliterates Common Core in 4 Minutes

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 11:37 am

Pat Richardson Video: Transcribed by Marco Frucht

Arkansas Mother Obliterates Common Core in 4 Minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEGijN_8R0

I typed this in so that people can make direct quotes if they’d like. I sure would. 😉

I am here today not speaking just on behalf of myself; I’m here representing 1110 other parents, educators and taxpayers in our state who have some very serious reservations about the common core initiative.

We are not alone in this regard; 6 other states have pulled out of their agreement.

22 other states currently have legislation pending to either get out of common core or to make significant changes to it.

After listening to what was said this morning, I have come to the conclusion that this board is clearly as uninformed as the parents are or were, when these standards were adopted.

We were told the same thing that you were told, and that common core is a set of rigorous college ready internationally benchmarked standards that prepare our kids to compete in a global economy.

This is nothing more than an empty sales pitch for corporations and government agencies to profit from our kids and sell them down river in the name of saving education.

I’ve a math question for you, board members, are you ready? Get your pencils out. I’m not kidding. Are you smarter than a common core 4th grader.

Let’s find out. The problem is, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?

I’ll restate the problem, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?

Does anyone on the board have an answer? 5. And may I ask madam, how did you come up with that answer?

You know why? Because that’s what makes sense, right? That’s the way we were taught to do it on the 4th grade level.

This however, is what the common core standards expect our 4th graders to do. If they solve it in those two steps they get it marked wrong.

They are expected to draw 18 circles with 90 hash marks, solving this problem in exactly 108 steps.

Board members, this is not rigorous. This is not college ready. This is not preparing our children to compete in the global economy.

Skipping rote memorization of of multiplication tables is hindering their ability to master long division and fractions later on in the semester and now our children who were testing in the 80th or higher percentile in math last year are now coming home with C’s, D’s and F’s on their report cards.

Not because as Arne Duncan would put it that white suburban mothers think their children aren’t as brilliant as they thought they were but because… [cut off being over 3mins] Thank you

I encourage you to listen to us when we send you our emails, despite the comments that were made by our chairperson here today.

Our concerns are not based on hysteria or propaganda; they are based on fact and we are prepared to present those facts.

Can you see the trembling in my voice?

Parents have not had a voice here and you need to listen to our concerns. We are moving forward with our legislature to make some very serious changes to this; and all I ask is that you bend your ear and take us seriously.

We are college educated parents. I come to you with 12 years of college education and a former member of the national Honor Society, when I tell you this is not working and it’s not what they told you it would be.

We will save the privacy concerns and the testing concerns for our legislature; but when it comes to standards, that’s your ball court and we need you to help us with this; because this program is dumbing our children down.

Thank you.

10/05/2013

And now a note about John Boehner [Caveat: 1st I’ll say I don’t think much of Harry Reid either]

Filed under: Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Pop Culture — admin @ 6:17 am

Boehner told Harry Reid to “Go F___ yourself” when Reid said he was behaving dictatorially.

Somewhere back near 1998 Boehner walked right in and bumped me for a haircut and shave in the Rayburn building basement barber shop and I said to both him and the barber that I learned on grade school field trips that since I was ahead of him in line I should get my haircut first.

The barber was very apologetic, but truly feared for his career. I could see in his eyes that he knew I was right.

For hundreds of years those barbers told little kids how important it was that there be places like Washington DC where everything is absolutely fair. I believe the word they made us little kids look up and learn fully for understanding was ‘egalitarian.’

So John Boehner threw F-bombs when Reid said he was behaving dictatorially and people were astonished, many just perish the thought and try to forget it, but I cannot.

John Boehner told me to go F— myself at that moment I too had to point out he was behaving dictatorially.  He also said he could buy and sell me in a minute’s time. All I could think to say quickly was to suggest he die trying.

A lot of people believe that he is just fronting for the Teaparty, cowed by them, and he’s trying his hardest to rein them in but the one fact I know from first person experience is that he is a very mean-spirited and selfish man.

…………………./´¯/)
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…………..\………….\…

03/01/2013

New London Board of Education meeting 28feb13 – rush transcript

Filed under: Academic,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 6:10 am
Rush Transcript – by Marco Frucht. Original Notetaking by Tambria Moore
New London Board of Education meeting at STMHS – Lecture Hall 7 p.m.
Thursday Night, 28feb13.
Each meeting airs live on Channel 22 Metrocast
Marco Frucht http://www.newlondon.org/Default.asp?PN=MeetingSchedule
Tambria Moore Board of education members include Ms. Margaret Mary (Peg) Curtin, Mrs. Delanna Muse, Mr. Jason L. Catala, Mrs. Elizabeth Garcia-Gonzalez, Mrs. Barbara Major, Mr. Bill Morse and Mrs. Sylvia Potter
mayor called on
mayor finizio recognizes boe
proclamation of Mayor designates March BOE month in city of NL
Says he won’t be there for the SOP initiative portion of the meeting as he has another meeting conflicting with this one on the Coast Guard museum
He believes the SOP proposal is good and pledges full support

Student recognition presentations
Isaiah Gomez – STMHS Student of the Month
Haley Brennan (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
Zakkiyya Griffin (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
Corinna Kraemer (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/NewLondon/NewLondon/Divisions/MeetingSchedule/AGENDA%20-February%2028%20%202013%20(Regular%20Meeting).pdf
deviating from the agenda, michael brown re program for competing for jobs in local economy
A Strategy to Prepare New London CT Students to Compete for Jobs in a Global Economy – Michael Brown..falls under the magnet school agenda item
talking about the foreign trade zone, and history of its formation and abandonment
leveraging of our location and access to global economy
there is an opportunity to grow nl into a center of trade
usa has about 20% of trade in global economy, how to get nl in the picture
port photo shows lumber from germany and other countries. yet not creating businesses around those products in nl
thailand uses our port, copper comes through our port, lumber etc.
we physically lie in the center of the global economy per a slide from Pfizer
highlighting a magnet school for international commerce
would develop skill sets around foreign languages fluency
talking about exportation of gas, coal and need to prepare students for those opportunities.
wanting to see fluency in a second language by middle school
transition nl high school, now perceived as substandard, create a school of international commerce to prepare nl to lead
core curriculum required by state could be enhanced with market place course work
he urges council and boe to seriously look at and consider this as way to create jobs and opportunities
speaks of 7th regiment which resides in nl, nationally ranked 5th in the world
7th regiment mission to prepare youth to maximize their skills and reach full potential
discusses the leadership of the program as degreed and highly specialized in the areas needed around music. it is a center of excellence with leadership – would work with the arts in nl to further nl goals
end of presentation
agenda reports and communications
letter from boe president to cga thanking for use of facilities for training session. for the record
letter from nlea, concerning contract article 24, institute continuing committee
is doing so, appointing herself and ms muse with dr fischer on that committee
report of committee
mrs muse chairs finance, reports as preparing budget 13/14 next tuesday, march 5 committee will meet re central serives 6 pm and march 6, re schools part, public hearing march 7 at this location and then discussion of budget of whole meeting in third flr conference room. budget to mayor by march 15
jason catala meets march 21 at 6 pm discussion of magnet school and academy
parent meeting march 14th at this location
dr fischer. principal of nlhs achieve 3000 program enabled success in improving cap scores
achieve 3000 presentation William Tommy Thompson
design of summer institute
the address the summer slide, reading dips with summer
widens achievement gap
set out to keep students in school longer, strategy to increase reading levels and teacher effectiveness. 100 9th grade entry students and existing as well as 10th grade recruited
goal to achieve one year of growth
also to increase teacher effectiveness
every less was recorded by video
team leaders sat with teachers post lesson to break down the process
pre assessments and post assessment. program company was reluctant to use preassessment and may not do their product justice in twenty day
program had bilingual support 1 to 20 ration
no ac during the summer facility was hot
had a uniform, shows t shirt
work hard be nice get better motto on the back
teachers ate with the student breakfast every morning and talk with them
computer based reading tool re non fiction ap articles of high interest with comprehension questions adapted to level of reader
everyone reads the same topic, at a level adapted to their reading level
goal read 40 articles in 18 days at 70 percent success rate
goal to double lexile growth. 94 percent attendance rate attributed to follow up to pressure kids and trip to ny
bbq and blue men group in ny
robert from achieve 3000 speaks
partner with the district to do one thing and do it well…increase student achievement
condensed one semester of work into 3.5 weeks
came to grade level and a half in that time. 74 lexile points
other cities 80 points, 91, 84 using the program in a year
touches on the prior presentation and the 1300 lexile level of college readiness
lexile levels for career paths available to set a goal
worked with dr fischers team in fall river with similar results
asked principal for feedback from students. one said it changed his life. tommy says he knew as a struggling reader the importance of reading better.
peg asks if students tracked over course of year. yes per tommy
trajectory is upward and plan on doing it again this summer
catala asks about the bilingual use of the program and thinks it would benefit esl students
tommy agrees it does, and any program is only as good as the administrators of it. the summer was a pilot to measure return on investment. return was phenomenal. will continue partnership. now 500 students, including all bilingual and special need students
they can read in article in their language and read the instructions in english, scafolding them into English
catala likes the video taping and coaching of the teachers
asking the student selection process of the 100
tommy looked at map scores, id of students below grade level reading. those are the students they aggressively sought for the program
teachers would come in teach 40 minute class, go to coaching with administrator or aspiring administrator for feedback
effective teaching such as turn and talk after the reading…how to get them to do so is a science, for effective talking
gave the teachers pointers on methods to prompt etc.
bill morse asks them to explain lexile
developed twenty years ago by metametrics to measure student progress in reading.
http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/glossary/
they can benchmark their progress to take the guess work out of where they are as readers and where to adjust their skills customized to the student
connecticut is a common core state and this is the standard
they are having a student answer a poll question and vote yes or no, common score standards ask students to take a position with a text and then use critical thinking to state why, and summarize what they read
process developed around no child left behind
its about accessing information, do I agree with what I am reading, say in wikipedia.
tommy said students were accessing stuff at weird times on their own…middle of the night, after school…
from the program at home
peg asks if they take their new knowledge and assist their peers. tommy said they liked accessing information on their own, read at their level, set their own pace, etc. gaining confidence. students said they approach regular school year differently as a result
end of presentation
dr fischer no on extracurricular activity and gpa requirement of 1.7 this year and 2. next year
tommy has provided tables of data on impact re fall winter sports
dstrict policy exceeds ciac requirements
students determined ineligible, able to practice with team, received academic support, very few placed on academic probation as imposed by the school. team established an early warning system to id students in need of support, made rapid response team of coaches volunteers and teachers to change that trajectory. camels for whalers provided assistance
ct college
barbara major asks about whether money allocated to hire people was used
yes
dr fischers wife, marie gravel, etc have also helped daily
all area colleges were contacted per fischer. all helping.
businesses, etc as well
even though they offer to pay tutors, challenge to find people at that time of day
may have to move hours
concept to expand to any student below gpa, given the success of the program
students could practice as working to get above the 1.7
football had 6 below, identified during the course of the season
coaches looked at progress every five weeks
in addition to semester grades
if they were at that level and not attending class, looked at closer even
one coach required all such to attend study hall
asked if plan is written
no
they can go to their teacher to see what they need to do
team meetings would occur
catala asks about money allocated for people in place and what recruitment
positions posted, follow those guidelines
bill asks five weeks seems like a long period of time, would they consider three next year
a lot can happen in five weeks
staff at study hall in daily contact with teachers?
tommy said can look into timeline of monitoring, typically a unit exam is at four week mark
fischer says if you go in study hall volunteers walk around asking students about their work and class attendance
bill asks if staff is following up with teacher, and fischer says yes
also can check online, students missing assignments
all students are part of academic support program
bill asks if any remained benched, very few.
no student was benched throughout the sport season
sports and potentially clubs would come under this program
peg thought it had been not just for athletes. Barbara major thought it included clubs on vote. did not include band
barbara major had requested weekly progress report for her child to sign off on, would be helpful for the tutors to have that
ms major not that thrilled with it but glad to see they are getting the help they need. peg is glad she came around
catala concerned about confidentiality and volunteers
health school environment action learning
bdjms programs
ne science and sailing program and their forward thinking bussed to Stonington Borough
the grants are selective and so bdjms principal very proud
invites boe to basket bonanza
renzulli academy
one of three in the district grants is primarily about training staff
sustained funds will follow the student
will not result in school score going down, no…their score remains with their school
the school maintains the benefit of that students performance. looking at newer section of harbor
purpose to challenge gifted and talented based not just on cmt or ct mastery…also looks at non cognitive abilities, teacher recommendations
have a nl resident who put one of these schools together in hartford
second purpose is take what works and bring those activities to the students in other schools.
ms muse said idea at workshop was briefly talked about, she is shocked in reading hartford courant yesterday that it is set to be housed in harbor school. yet boe has not discussed it
extra budget expense, utilities, etc at harbor school cannot see why cant be at a particular school in separate classes like ap courses at high school
does the board vote on this, fischer says money follows the student, unclear how that occurs
audience applause
Peg thinks harbor school location up to city council
fischer says until released, it is school property
harbor school good sight to bring students from out of district
misperception legally where any school property stands
re edgerton school
glad through workshops or committees to discuss
dr adamowski
statute says technically school buildings and property are owned by municipality, under law when built as school and used as school, belongs to school for educational use. has to take specific action to turn it back to the city, formal action
point out much larger issue for nl schools. currently outsourcing 6.5 to educate special ed students. highest percentage in state
lowers per student expenditure by outsourcing
you will need every square inch you have to provide for students in your own district rather than bussing and outsourcing
has been hidden in past by the way these outsourced students were in the budget
lumps special ed, gifted and behavioral needs
major asks re annex building of harbor….fischer says can use as is
harbor school not handicapped accessible, could put special ed there, but not physically or multiply handicapped
some outsource charges include foster care, etc
number of districts have expressed great interest, increasing the dollars from them to us
major understands we outsource for special needs, can boe get idea re renzulli where every they go…couple of hours, all day… what happens
adamowski says small number of students would be all day, some shared time, some after school, some summer. it would be a gifted center
in connecticut gifted is part of special ed, would have a ppt to develop a program
potter asks if special ed would be placed in harbor school
fischer says other programs would be placed separate from renzulli, bringing them back from outsourcing.
outsourced students are all special ed
she says sounds like a plan to separate struggling students
adamowski says some, like autistic are bussed out, some distance. might have three or four class rooms for those students. might have classrooms for behavioral….basically multipurpose building
potter wants to look at this more
adamowsi says a very serious situation with number of outsourced students.
sense is it developed overtime and not managed well
skews tremendous amount of money out of district
potter understands that and believes in intermingling students of all kinds in an educational setting
adamowski says these students cannot mix with others, extreme and higher level needs
whether these students are located in district or out, in most cases they are in restrictive environments
adamowski thinks there may be some opportunities to have a restricted class in an operating school for an incremental period of time students could join a regular class
fisher says under individuals with dis act, required to take every step possible to make sure every option is looked at to have all students get prepared for success
proposes board to a workshop on special ed spectrum
some in full time residential programs, some get one hour of services
catala
suggests a field trip to a renzulli school
concerned about the 6.5 mill spent outsourcing
boe had been told in past doing a good job keeping as many students in city as possible, now hearing differently
muse asks about student starting at winthrop, then part of renzulli. asks what amount comes from winthrop. fischer says same as if student leaves the school district
as if the student moved to another town
for some this would be a percentage, for students spending a portion of the education at the renzulli school
fischer says need to talk about how this budget was developed and what it is meant to do
muse cannot understand why cannot accommodate at their particular school like the high school ap coursework
would not be eligible for this grant doing that says adamowski
a different model program is itinerant teachers who come to the school as she describes
over the last several years nl has cut that model dollars
adamowski says you could have a school based program if boe could fund by itself. cannot have magnet gifted and talented…as open to everyone by lottery
morse asks adamowski money connected with renzulli will only be forthcoming if separate program
Yes, it is for replication of the center program model
it could be within a school, yes
our classrooms
morse thinks academy for talented and gifted is a space issue, ties into curriculum k-12. does not like extractions. can look at each building, look at enrollment requirements and boe needs advised on current space use, current avail, and future next year needs
have to consider upgrade of spaces per their uses. not ready to make that decision without space use information and with the magnet vision etc
adamowski says have made decisions on Winthrop and Nathan Hale. to be made include bdjms and renovation of nlhs
adamowski asks, if you build a school, would you build it larger to accomodate.
adamowski says nl will need all space they have and perhaps more
morse says that is why they need a survey of what they are using, its condition, etc so they don’t operate 7 if you need 6. adamowski says the elementary schools are at capacity
liz asks how many are gifted and talents. fischer says envision about 50 students, cmt, noncognitive, recommendations and student work. in any population can be 1-2 percent. some students prefer not to identify as gifted and talented. some want full time some want part time
will bring recognition to district, may bring more funding. more funding can bring more programs. grant money breeds grant money. not intended to isolate kids, intention is to challenge
parents want their kids to have a greater challenge
says people are coming back to nl schools. this is about perception
there are requirements for starting a special ed program they are not necessarily cheap.
sks for submission of questions so they can respond
peg thinks some anxiety in teaching staff of changes that need to be answered
the grant is just for the training, used to train over time. train teachers who will be involved, and train trainers
miriam morales taylor suggested to come in with a workshop
muse asks if continual grants needed. no. once trained you continue to work with and train, even with teachers in other buildings
just as nl does with its math program
morse asks for space presentation prior to workshop
suspensions and expulsions
fischer directs attention to document
significant reduction of suspensions, expulsion not where they want to see it
were experiencing a lot of gang and pre gang stuff at hs
gangs in area have agreed to stop their activity in the hs, in cooperation with police, etc
intervention steps document
high school and middle school efforts to reduce suspensions in and out of school
have to have programs to reduce numbers due to issues and behaviors
trying to increase consistency in responses
consistent expectations
consistent adult presence in hallways
greeting and talking with students
increased communication
school culture to focus on problem solving rather than fighting
looking at programs with miriam morales taylor for in school programs
muse asks if boe can get breakdown of offense
adamowski recommends that be done annually
report policy not being followed per adamowski needs revisions
catala thinks list of interventions taken is a good list
fischer says the best prevention is students. they tell when problems build, they inform and ask for help.
magnet schools
letters from conl and nl harbour towers supporting magnet concept
jeff harris re third letter
opsail ct
part of the continuing presence of opsail would be educational. recommending maritime arts/industry magnet school with nl unique port and history
all three letters received for the record
ten minute break
public comment
mirna martinez
comment about budget 1.5 increase between schools and city only fulfills contractual and still could be cuts to busing. not able to bring back any service cuts.
setting nl up for no aspirations
renzulli – extremely concerned about setting this up in a city with already so many feelings between the haves and have nots
can do this in one setting instead of creating more disparity
the conversation of the 6.5 mill is actually special education services and gifted and talented etc confuses the topic
mongi
thanks parents for coming and teachers
gifted and talented separated into its own school is a bad idea. no business plan in place and considering funding another school
the special master and designation of the state, our priority is closing the achievement gap. we can do both, in the school
its a grant, a hook to buy into this program to establish this program funding it with resources we need to close achievement gaps
likes the achieve 3000. in school. ask the teachers what their problems are, listen to them about reading insufficiency
kathy
as parents they care for their own children, and others children
though of hanging on to harbor school without the finances to maintain them
does not like taking kids out of schools for the renzulli program. could be done inside existing schools
sees little things like the algebra class at benny dover
likes communication efforts, but recently cancelled last one
wants to be part of magnet school planning, renzulli caught parents by surprise
wants boe etc to encourage school governance the opportunity to review the budget as in the requirements
jason
appreciates boe asking questions about the renzulli charter school
says gifted and talented programs are good, but outside of the district as a charter school …a non profit private corp, with high admin overhead
not interested in taking the money out of the district
looks forward to the workshop
as for eligibility. extracurricular activities approve students as a whole. creating a barrier because they are struggling, make it available to everyone including those in sports.
support letters parroted adamowksi and fischer without informed opinion
may be a market interest in nl harbour towers letter writer
natasha
son at ct college childrens program
leery about sending her son to nl public school as her daughter there is not challenged enough. she has no incentive to do more than the norm
considering leaving, daughter has been moved from school to school and may not get into the school she desires due to the selection system of magnet schools
does not understand how we are at capacity in schools we build to attract more students
her daugher would not want to be separated because of her achievements
Tambria Moore society is not separated by how we learn and work differently
adjin
issue with money, administration board has 100k plus salaries, cut that and put it to the kdis
pockets getting fatter while kids are in poor buildings, bussed, nothing getting done
you get a raise from progress, not as matter of practice
william
son goes to nathan after st marys closed
attends pto meetings
son has progressed in math and reading
the magnet school system he has questions
hoping the website has the answers
asking goals, sufficient funds to be competitive in hiring and maintaining best and brightest teachers, guidance counselors for mid and high school. more teachers needed to reduce class size. does it allocate funds for repairs. boe and parents obligated to provide a quality program
regina
achieve 3000 program question 100 students with 16 teachers, class sizes need to be reduced
does not mean they need to be moved to separate school, just restructure to better serve students
comments that all have to set expectations of the students. tommy set expectations and did it.
kids in poverty can learn
set the expectation early and they will succeed
renzulli comment by fischer to train other teachers with same program within existing schools….why start with separate school.
capacity after magnet implementation or now?
gwen
community organizations with questions re magnet
when is the final decision, what magnets.
survey gone from web
who got to respond, what was the count, how long was it online
there will be a compilation and will be public information
cheryl
to morris, congrats on comment about harbor school and concerns
ill informed boe, you need to ask questions and expect answers.
job for network …is that a new position, why if so why with teacher cuts
if an old position with new description usually means more money
approval of minutes
approval of sop
morris asks if they have considered an international baccalaureate program
have to look at cost, time, resources, or make possible to go to regional existing program at fitch high school
district charter school development question
adamowski says misinformation floating around
says it is operated by the district and money stays here under reform
ufficient questions to take this strategy out and approve the rest
wonderful workshop topics to explore by the boe per adamowski
they need to commit to an improvement plan now
bill moves to strike 1.d from sop
morris
he agrees to a, b and c with three pathways to k-12
looks at redesign of curriculum and use of buildings. should and would rather have public hearings first
boe meeting cut off from cable
end of my blogging
sorry for any name spelling screw ups and of course my usual typos with my dysfunctional keyboard
Marco Frucht wow, about 45 minutes of meeting wasn’t included in the cable broadcast? After 1.d Mr Morse had lots of questions about lots of things and wanted many thing to go before the public for hearing and such. I don’t get the sense he felt very heard after they tried to get many up and down votes back to back and then adjourn the meeting anyhow. The two things I know for sure that passed were Network Administrator position getting filled and changing to a full magnet system, even though there’s no business plan and no timetable.
[ref]=[ http://www.facebook.com/groups/260778357373892 ]
http://www.newlondon.org

02/04/2013

OPINION: Beyonce Knowles; Underachiever Of The Millenium

OK,

Beyonce LipSync’d the National Anthem and she sang her medley of perishable non-memorable hits “LIVE.”

Anyone hardly even know what LIVE means anymore??? Yes, she cranked up the mains and left her full-on backing track pumping loudly in her monitors so you mostly heard her, and faintly heard everything she prepared. She really could have just skyped the entire show in but she had something to prove. Back when she was young, she sang a capella on late night shows. She was one of the few artists who didn’t put a rider in their contract refusing all a capella songs, even Happy Birthday. Many artists resented her that. She was very talented. She can sing like a bird, and she often does, but she isn’t very courageous and she most likely never wrote a real song in her life.

Flash forward to the present. She has been singing more and more with the Backing Track dialed in and cranked up to… well to 11. Yupper, she can’t dance OR sing live as well as Madonna. (and that’s not saying much.) Should we compare/contrast her voice with Odetta’s? Aretha? Mario Lanza? Nina Simone. South Park’s Chef even… OK I’ll stop there. As for dancing, right! She’s no madonna, she’s not even a Paula Abdul or a Janet Jackson. In fact can I complain about something as far as dance moves go? Janet and Paula already did all that. I rarely see anything done by anyone that hasn’t already been regimented 15 times already the past 50 years! (except maybe Pink but that’s different)

Who’s going to be the next James Brown, Little Richard, Madonna or MJ? It’s not Nicky Minaj and it’s not Lady Gaga and it darned sure isn’t Ms. Knowles.

So OK, she admitted publicly she lip sync’d the National Anthem, and then belted it out a capella to show the world that she can carry a tune if asked. And then she proceeded to lip sync a medley of potent soundbytes during the Superbowl’s halftime that was so stunningly flawless that she can now forever say she did it “live.” Yup, virtually live. What’s the truth-in-advertising quotient on that one, does it have to be 26% live to call it “live?” Well she nailed it at something like 66% or more. Yay. Happy for her.

Songs that are “not worth lip-syncing!” as many of my friends keep suggesting, I’m serious people. We’re going to remember “Yesterday,” and “Summertime,” “Johnny B Goode” and “Follow The Drinking Gourd” forever, trust me. “Wipe Out,” yes, and the “Hawaii 5-0 Theme song;” but “put a ring on it?” “If I were a boy?” “Me myself and I???” Oh come on. I already attribute “If I were a boy” to little Mimi Sledge of the Sledge Grits band because she does it with just vocals and an acoustic guitar better than Beyonce EVER could.

Well, Pete Seeger, his Grandson Tao and Bruce Springsteen led a civic choir of hundreds in This Land is Your Land. 100% live with a very meaningful song. All the verses to boot! Not a backing track to be found for miles. I would challenge people like Beyonce to write a real song for once or get out of the way so people like Beyonce’s little sister Solange, Frank Waln, Kinnie Starr, Crystal Crow Dog, Wab Kinew and I can make our way up there where we belong.

Idle No More.

That’s all I can say for now.

Pete Seeger sings “This Land Is Your Land” for President Obama’s Inauguration

follow the drinking gourd: (Audio)

Immortalized song Summertime from Porgy and Bess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_db7zHR7cc

Same for Johnny B Goode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG7UL9NfP8c

02/13/2012

FLIM-FLAMMYS: reviewing this year’s Grammy/Naras Ceremony

FLIM-FLAMMYS: A Marco-Style Review of the Grammys.
  12feb12. Mystic, Konetiuk!

And now I’ll attempt to make all my snarky remarks over at FB and Twitter into one large post so I can delete all the one liners for good.

Most of the words are mine, unless the little iKons show you otherwise. J

😉

@tinselkorey LOL I did JazzHands 2day too. Also friends of mine sang at pregrammys at the Renaissance. Wish I were on that coast this wknd!

18 hours ago

Open

Adele, I have Amy Winehouse on line 1. She wants you to give her back her hairstyle. #grammys #grammy #grammys2012

rosannecash rosanne cash

The Minaj outfit just screams ‘GREAT MUSICIAN’! #IWoreThatInThe80s

12 hours ago

in reply to ↑

@MarcFrucht Marc Frucht

@rosannecash You’re being sarcastic, right?

11 hours ago via web

replies ↓

rosannecash rosanne cash

@

@MarcFrucht um.yes.

11 hours ago

marco capellimarco capelli @atizine

Close

@rosannecash @Terry_Ware @SandraBernhard I’m with you there, Roseanne. I’m watching it in a bar with the sound off, and reading tweets. 🙂

@calinative LL Cool who? I guess at least he kept his same name forever instead of changing it every week like P doody, diddy wah daddy…

11 hours ago

rosannecash rosanne cash

I notice The Boss doesn’t need to wear a miter to sound like he owns the whole freaking world.

11 hours ago

»

jamileh Pump up the Jam

@

@rosannecash I know I could just google it but…what is a miter in this context?

11 hours ago

rosannecash rosanne cash

@

@jamileh Minaj showed up on red carpet with a.. Bishop. Wearing a miter.

11 hours ago

in reply to ↑

@MarcFrucht Marc Frucht

@rosannecash @jamileh If she really wanted 2 shock us she coulda ripped up a picture of Pope Ratzinger, oops. n/m. Sinead already dunnit..

11 hours ago via web

· Open

I ribbed Adele at the end of last year a bit, and now she sweeps. What’s up with that? twitpic.com/81bcur/full

Oh wait, Adele won an award? holy wah. Who’d’a thunk it. Congrats lady. Here’s hoping you win a couple more, eh?

11 hours ago

@NeyomFriday I haven’t paid attention to anything by him since Grenade. What’s new with him?

Steampunk was popular at the last 2 NAMMs. I think I’ll play my folk music and classical guitar in front of gears, maybe I’ll win a grammy

10 hours ago

@mrdaveyd Man, I reached for my Pick Of Destiny and it wasn’t there. Who stole my pick? Nicky Minajjjj, you got my pick???

10 hours ago

@M_CCarpenter @rosannecash woah, first I thought that was Tina Turner doing her Pinball Wizard stuff all over again.

10 hours ago

Have U seen Katy Perry play guitar? I’m scratching my head trying to figure out why her label won’t let her shred in public!

10 hours ago

I thought for sure she was Tina’s granddaughter. Time for some family tree stuff! She’s got Mark Anthony’s belly though.

10 hours ago

Please 4give my allcaps; but since WHEN DID MY GRAMMYS BECOME A REALITY SHOW??? Deep breaths…

10 hours ago

“Has Snookie shown up yet? If not…be grateful.”

— Susan ______

Just spied my buddy Little Steven. I swear if he showed up w/o the round bandana over his head everyone would think he was me! #grammys

10 hours ago

“Men Without Women one of my fave albums ever.”

— Dawn ______

“Too funny, when I saw him playing I did a double take I was like does Marco have a twin? Lol”

— Cody ____

Dawn, you know that long bluish purplish coat he wore with Disciples of Soul is at Foxwoods Hardrock out in the hallway there, right?

http://twitpic.com/ome1f

🙂

Woah, what’s Lady Gaga wearing, that French inquisition helmet thingie???

10 hours ago

And I’m sorry, I mean no agism here, seriously. Do each of the Beach Boys look like Senator McCain in intense pain or what???

“That net thing made think of those things they put on hams or turkeys…well, it did.”

— Allison ____

@Podemskichick I’m not a fan either. Plain White T’s are the only Violent Femmes wannabes I’ll tolerate really. #grammys2012 #grammy

10 hours ago

OK I give up, who’s the blond dude doing Bm looking stratocaster solos on a cutaway classical guitar while Sir Paul’s tryin’ to sing? (I’ve got the sound off so I think it was that, or was it C? Anyhew…)

“Joe Walsh. Diana Krall on piano.”

— Colin _______

Oh that makes sense. He’s still doing Rocky Mountain Way no matter what axe you put on his lap. 😛

“LOL…it actually wasn’t bad. But kind of surprising to see ol Joe up there with the classic acoustic.”

— Colin

neat. I’ll have to catch it on youtube or reruns. 🙂

I definitely saw some interesting vibrato but for the most part it looked quite boring. In my not so humble opinion. 😛

@CatalinaByrd wait that’s taylor swift? I thought it was Grace Potter just not showing panties or anything…

9 hours ago

@FolkAlley Dust Bowl? I thought she was recreating that Orwellish Hillary Clinton 1984 ad they did before the primaries last time around.

9 hours ago

I love Chris Brown!

Could someone maybe please help me find out if maybe I might’ve caught Stockholm Syndrome maybe?

Got to agree with you there. Losing /world/folk/nativeamerican was a punch in the gut, to be sure. Not to mention all the others!

8 hours ago

@DanteRoss @lorrieboo you’re right, that says it right there!

2 hours ago

@lorrieboo LED ZEPPLIN never won a Grammy and TRAIN have won 3. #grammys The whole shabang in a nutshell right there

5 hours ago

Retweeted by atizine

@tinselkorey once in a while something musical happens at a grammys. It’s like watching The Dead for hours hoping for that moment. Oops…

2 hours ago

“Too late, you said it. The living deadheads will be coming to get you soon. Don’t panic.”

— John ____

hahahaha. Well I won’t be the first to have said it. I don’t think Jerry Garcia was the first either. I just made the analogy. 😉

@ThatEricAlper I think Michael Jackson broke Roger Miller’s longstanding streak on the male side. How far back do the female records go?

2 hours ago

Slowly wake up to realization that “Breaking Dawn” didn’t sweep, didn’t even win any… Wait wrong Ceremony…

2 hours ago

@459GangNutty wow! Maybe my favorite quotable of the whole nite! You said a mouthful, toots. “Whitney Houston died YESTERDAY and the WHOLE GRAMMYS CHANGED..JESUS DIED 2000 years ago and he is STILL waiting on US TO CHANGE”

1 hour ago

@ThatEricAlper Nothing wrong w’ AmericanIdol as realityshows go. I just came up hoping 4 Grammys 2 B THE LAST event 2 cave & become one.

1 hour ago

RT @YummyMummyclub : Dear Adele. Please don’t do drugs. Ever.

9 hours ago

Retweeted by atizine

@ThatEricAlper Truly believe the worst side effect of the move from hippy to yuppy was the global shift from pot to coke

1 hour ago

Levon Helm took americana? That man IS americana, and I mean that in a good way.

1 hour ago

[earlier refs]

http://muffinbottoms.org/?p=330

http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/ATI/ati347.txt

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/feb/09/monday-round-town-plus-soft-pack-says-hi-from-la-w/

06/10/2011

Blogging a Poem I Wrote That’s Disappearing From The Net

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Poetics,Tech — admin @ 7:11 am

Untitled

by Marc Frucht

What profits a man
Who has almost everything
Yet still he must
Steal from the poorQué beneficia a un hombre
Que pudo tenerlo todo
Pero él guarda el robar
El más pobres del pobre

[ref]=[http://web.archive.org/web/20050122085604/http://www.sondra.net/al/vol6/62Frucht.htm]

This was first published at Autumn Leaves which appears to be going away.

Two more poems archived at the following URLs:

http://www.frucht.org/whyweclash.html

http://www.frucht.org/secondblackmesamemory.html

————————————–

http://www.reverbnation.com/marcofrucht

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