May 2012 - Posts

Observation vs. information


28 May 12 06:06 AM
There's the difference between "information" and "observation." An alert letting you know it's raining outside is information. Standing outside getting hit by drops of water under gray clouds while your brain melts from the earthy aroma, that's observing. Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 7 Comments    

The beauty of making things


26 May 12 08:23 AM
A lot of people have asked me how they can get a trolley like mine to play with. And I usually say, "Why don't you just make one? Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood A child finds joy making things. An adult finds release buying them instead . One of Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 2 Comments    
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NGSS: The first "S" means "science"


25 May 12 10:50 AM
As I sink deeper into the morass of words that pretends to advance science in the name of economic security (which is like asking a flower to open in order to fulfill an order for FTD ), I find comfort in reading Walt Kelly's Pog o, a document at least Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 17 Comments    
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An response to Anonymous


23 May 12 06:19 PM
My "NGSS: Meet the new boss" post got some responses by several cogent anonymous sources. Here's a response to one of them : Dear Anonymous, The "author" has a name (/me waves to Anonymous), Doyle. While a few of your thrusts do indeed carry some truth, Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 14 Comments    

A story about basil


21 May 12 07:06 PM
And she forgot the stars, the moon and sun, And she forgot the blue above the trees, And she forgot the dells where waters run, And she forgot the chilly autumn breeze; She had no knowledge when the day was done, And the new morn she saw not: but in peace Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 2 Comments    
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What we risk losing


20 May 12 09:21 AM
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 7 Comments    
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NGSS and Achieve


19 May 12 09:45 AM
I have been nipping at the heels of Achieve for a flawed draft attempting to push their corporate world-view into public schools. The board of Achieve is made up of "leading" state governors and high level businessmen. You can squeeze crap into a platinum Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 4 Comments    

More NGSS sputter


19 May 12 07:47 AM
The Next Generation Science Standards draft has a mindset error. We all carry myths. We tend to separate the science myths ("facts") from cultural myths ("stories"), but there are lots of basic science ideas most of us get wrong most of the time even Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 4 Comments    

Et tu, College Board?


18 May 12 09:32 PM
"The College Board was founded with a deep commitment to equity and must play a critical role in helping all students achieve high academic standards to thrive intellectually and to compete in a global economy." David Coleman, new CEO for the College Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 5 Comments    
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Cowardice


15 May 12 06:31 PM
I proctored our state end of course biology state exam today. At least somebody's profiting from all this I watched the passive resignation of young adults who finished a pointless section in less than half the time allotted, then sat there on a mid-May Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 11 Comments    
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NGSS: Meet the new boss


13 May 12 08:36 AM
This is too much science for one post-- I'll get around to splitting it up but wanted to toss it out there now since we only have 3 weeks to comment on the proposed standards. Meet the new boss Same as the old boss I've started plowing through the Next Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 25 Comments    

Light again


10 May 12 08:09 PM
May 11th is special to me--we're in the sunlight now, and will be for 3 months. This was written a year ago, and it works again today. We only get so many Msys in a lifetime. "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." Theodosius Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 5 Comments    

Hubris and humility


09 May 12 09:46 PM
The primary social consideration for savants is purely and simply one of professional duty. Savants are people who are paid to manufacture science; they are expected to manufacture some; they feel it is their duty to manufacture some.... The spirit of Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 4 Comments    

I've been slimed


08 May 12 06:11 PM
Every day I am asked what the secret is to ensuring every child in New Jersey graduates from high school ready for college and career, and I always have one simple response – outstanding teachers. I do not doubt that you have "one simple response"--I Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 2 Comments    
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Beltaine


02 May 12 07:04 PM
“It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines.” Wendell Berry, Life is a Miracle The increasing light, the returning horseshoe crabs, Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 2 Comments