messages

This is one of those serendipitous moments that lets me know that God does try to give us messages. I recently posted a poem by Darrell Scott.

Yesterday, my boss brought back information about our schools re-authorization process. Although we are a private alternative educational placement, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education still 'approves' our program.

Start with an insane list of data. Insane because we must go back three years into our old records and pull out information that we were never tracking because the decision to track this information was just made - oh, and by the way, we are going to so poorly phrase the directions for data collection that most of the information is going to be useless because the different programs collecting it are going to record it in different ways. For example --

"C. Average Daily Attendance for AEDY student population at every grade level."

What? How do you calculate this? From the FAQ --

Q: For data reporting purposes, how should AEDY programs determine “Average Daily Attendance?”

A: Average Daily Attendance should be calculated by taking the daily attendance of your student population by grade level (# of students you have in school that day by grade level) and dividing by the daily membership (# of students your AEDY program serves by grade level, even if they are absent that day).

That looks like the formula for a percentage. Not an average!!!

How about these two items.

M. Of the number of students in column B, how many at every grade level passed all 4 core content subjects (science, math, English, and social studies) while in your program?

N. Of number of students in column B, how many at every grade level passed at least 3 of 4 core content subjects (science, math, English, and social studies) while in your program?

Do I recount the students who passed 4 core content subjects for item N? They did pass at least 3 of 4 core content subjects. What if someone else doesn't? Then the data collected is useless. I do not have a problem collecting and submitting data if it is a useful exercise. This is going to be a very time consuming and useless exercise.

AND NOW THE KICKER -- Going back to my original thought. Darrell Scott wrote this poem which I read in the intro to Chuck Norris' autobiography. I post it on my blog. Next day I start reviewing this packet of information regarding the application for our school. The first page I randomly flip to when I get the packet - the first item my eyes fall upon is as follows --

(3) A private alternative education institution shall: . . .(III) Be nonsectarian in all operations and shall not provide any religious instruction, nor shall it display religious objects and symbols on the premises of the institution.

No God - in any form - allowed.

(FYI - 2008/09 AEDY Guidelines)

Like Father; Like Son

Darrell Scott Poem

I finished reading "Against All Odds - My Story" by Chuck Norris. Of course, it was about Chuck Norris. The first item in the book is dedication to Rachel Joy Scott. Rachel was one of the victims of the Columbine shooting. (Rachel Scott Dedication Site).

Her father, Darrell Scott, wrote a poem that Chuck Norris included in the opening of his book. With school starting in just a week, I though it would be appropriate to post it.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage.
You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms.
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere.
And ask the question "WHY"?

You regulate restrictive laws.
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand.
That God is what we need!

Supernatural

Dylan and I started watching downloads of Season One of Supernatural. I wasn't sure if I would like what seemed to be a re-hatch of an X-Files like show.

I was wrong. Supernatural has a well maintained feel and flavor. Seventy and Eighties Rock (Led Zep, Metallica, Motorhead, etc.), Big Engine Car (1967 Chevy Impala - that I think is enchanted), Two Brothers, a road trip, and lots of angry spirits (from Urban Legends, Mythology, and Religion).

The show is tied together, episode to episode, with a story involving a yellow-eyed demon that killed the mother of the two main characters (Dean and Sam). Each episode stands well alone as well. To get the full effect, it would, of course, be best to watch all the episodes.

The show is also filled with allusions and references to popular culture. Quotes and references to other movies and TV shows are present in every episode. It adds a level of interactiveness as you try to figure out where a remark by one of the characters came from because you know you have hear what they said somewhere before.

We are about half way through the second season. The new fourth season starts on September 18th. Who would have thought that CW could have created a show as good as The X-Files?

Olympics

I just spent 4 and 1/2 hours watching the opening of the Beijing Olympics. WOW!

I know it was pre-recorded, with the east coast of the US being 12 hours off of China, but ... What a thrill! The opening ceremony was epic. Filled with symbolism, it highlighted the history of China, displaying accolades to the three major religions/philosophies of China. The show then matured and payed tribute to the modern China. With more special effects than Star Wars (including a 500 foot LCD TV)and routines that involved the seamless co-ordination of over 2500 dancers or performers, I was drawn into the spectacle.

Ongoing coverage on any of the NBC channels or,

Yahoo Olympic Coverage or,

MSN Olympic Coverage