text:
Town Square
Original post made by Wondering, Another Pleasanton neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2012
My understanding is that the We the People program participants enroll in a class called Comp Civics which is offered at Amador for credit but they only offer one section.
How can this happen in a public school? Granted, for many classes like Honors English there is a test students must pass, but ALL the students who pass the test and want to enroll get in as they offer more than one section. That, apparently, does not happen in Comp Civics. Many qualified students who meet the academic requirements are denied enrollment into the Comp Civics class since there is only one section.
I understand that federal funding ended for this program, and that is a good thing now that I find out how it works.
My question is: does this happen only at Amador or do all the schools that participate offer only one class and therefore have to reject many students who would like to enroll?
If anyone knows, I would appreciate the information.
In my opinion, a public school should only offer classes that will be able to accomondate ALL students who are qualified and want to enroll in them. If a class like Comp Civics must reject qualified students because only one section is offered, then that class must be cancelled until more sections can be offered to accomodate ALL the qualified students who wish to enroll.
I will be contacting my representatives on Monday but want to find out more about this program before then. I looked on the web but can only find general information. What I need to know is whether this happens only at Amador or in every high school where this program is offered.
It is important that Washington does not fund or support programs like this that exclude many qualified students in a PUBLIC school CLASS.
Comments (52)
a resident of Downtown
on Feb 26, 2012 at 12:09 am
Hi Wondering,
The requirements for We the People are not just grade-based (in fact, I don't even think they check your grades before you apply). For example, a really shy person could have excellent grades, yet they are probably not in a (comfortable) position to debate/speak in front of people. To answer your question, FHS also does it this way. The students are handpicked after seeing their ability to form an opinion and debate with others, but I don't think there is an excess of people qualified like you describe. The class itself is STRENUOUS and requires meeting almost everyday after school and on weekends and endless hours of work, so you really can't just be "qualified," you have to go beyond.
a resident of Pleasanton Meadows
on Feb 26, 2012 at 12:12 am
to be honest you kind of just sound like your kid did not make the team. the class is one section be it is in groups breaking up the class would make it unorganized.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 6:52 am
I do not have a child who applied to that class; my child is too busy with other classes and activities and does not have time for a class like this. I was at a party where I found out about several students not making it. I personally know some of those students, and they are very qualified (not just academically), and some of them are even in debate, speech clubs, are outgoing and simply qualified for what this class sounds like
My question now is this: is this the way Pleasanton (AVHS, FHS) does it? Or is this how it works in every high school that participates in the program?
Regardless of how a class is, every student who qualifies and wants to enroll should be allowed to do so. This is a public school district, and so far, I do not know of any other class that has such enrollment limitations. Even classes that have tough requirements accept all qualified (and some not so qualified) students.
Now, if this were just a club or extracurricular activity, I would not be so concerned. But this is a CLASS, and a class should not be rejecting students but accomodating everyone who has the potential of handling it with success.
We the people should be a club, not a class for credit. It should also not receive federal funding as no other club does. I read on the web something about the government having spent in years past 21.6 million in this program. That is a lot of money, and with budget deficits these days and cuts to education, how can our government justify financing a program that rejects so many students (only 30 can enroll out of more than 2 thousand students in a high school)? This program should not get funding from the taxpayers but from the parents of the small group that is allowed in the club (again it should not be a for credit class in a public school whose teachers are paid by taxpayer funds).
Please if someone knows more about this program outside of Pleasanton, let me know. I want to finalize my letter and emails.
I tried to find out information from the internet but I was not able to, and friends I have in other school districts did not know as they did not have this program at their high schools.
Does someone know how it works in other high schools outside of Pleasanton?
a resident of Bordeaux Estates
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:16 am
There are only 12 spots on the basketball team, there is only one quarterback on the football team. Volleyball and soccer are equally competitive. Even cheerleading has tryouts. This program has been around for almost 20 years and Amador always places very high in State and National Competition. While I tend to agree the school district shouldn't be subsidizing these exclusive clubs and that anyone who wants to compete should be given a chance to be on the team, I think decisions of this sort were made many many years ago that it's OK to have tryouts and pick only the students subjectively deemed to be "the best".
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:45 am
The difference with sports (basketball, football) and this We the People class is that sports is an after school, extra curricular activity where parents pay a fee, sports boosters raise money, etc.
The Comp Civics, as I understood yesteday, is a for credit class, the teacher is employed and paid for by the school district (full time union employee with all the union perks and protections)
It is not a waste of time to change something that is not right. A group of friends (one of them a lawyer) are on board on this, and one found the information about funding cuts through NEH, which I believe happened last year. We will pursue this.
If you have useful information please post. Ie, do you know how it is done in other high schools. One of my friends is going to contact Arcadia High tomorrow.
Again, a class taught in a public school, for credit should not deny admission to anyone who is qualified and wants to be a part of it. You have it right when you say the selection was subjective.
If you want to compare this to football, then operate like football: not a class where you earn credit, extracurricular activity, "comp civics" boosters to raise funds, stipends for the teacher vs full salary, etc.
The class is even listed on the program guide for Amador, it is a class. You cannot compare it to a sport as the sport offers no credit and it is not a class (PE is but not the after school sports)
a resident of Vintage Hills
on Feb 26, 2012 at 9:26 am
Wondering, Don't Waste Your Time had it right; comp civics is exactly like a team. Only a select few, who were the absolute best, get to be on the comp civics team. It doesnt matter if you think those students were qualified because there were obviously students who were more qualified. And I don't doubt that selection is a little subjective, but everything in high school is subjective. I don't think this is anything to make a big stink about...
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:23 am
You have the right to your opinions Former Student, just like my friends and I have the right to pursue something that we think must change.
After all, our taxpayer money has been used in the past to fund a program that presents itself as a class in a public school and that excludes many, benefits very few.
It does not matter if the teacher thinks the best were selected, that is not how public schools operate. If you want exclusive stuff, go to a private school or a private club.
I guess I will not find useful information from posts here, only opinions, too bad no one here knows any facts such as how other high schools do it, how many high schools participate.
20+ million is a lot of money to give to PUBLIC schools so they can act like private entities that can exclude its students.
Again, a club would be the way to go for this team/program. A club funded by the parents, with a stipend for the teacher (versus a full salary for a union employee paid for by a public school district and funded by taxpayers), etc.
We already have the contact information of the people we need to talk to at the government level, but we need to find out how other high schools do it. That way we can see whether it is just PUSD that is excluding some who qualify and want to enroll, or if the entire program (all participating high schools) operate that way.
a resident of Birdland
on Feb 26, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Well, technically Comp Civics ISN'T funded and IS exactly like a team. Also, sports can be a class via athletic PE. If they let everyone on the comp civics team it would never do as well as it does now - do you know how hard it is to even organize 30 students, let alone more?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 2:00 pm
"Well, technically Comp Civics ISN'T funded and IS exactly like a team. Also, sports can be a class via athletic PE"
Comp Civics is a class and it is funded by paying the teacher the union negotiated salary with benefits and perks. No class in a public school, taught by a public school teacher, can reject qualified students. I am surprised that people studying the constitution do not know this. As for how hard it is to manage 30 kids: we are talking about seniors! Besides, other classes manage more than 30 kids by having more than one section.
If it were just a team, it would not give credit and would not be presented as a class - look at the program guide, it is on the AVHS website under counseling. The forms even have that as a class one can select when choosing classes. I just saw the forms on the AVHS website. It is definitely a class, not just a team.
As for sports being a class, I looked it up on the program guide: it is not. There are various PE options but none reject students.
If Comp Civics is "technically" not funded as you say, where did the millions of dollars per year in past funding from Congress for this program go to? Are you saying we have some misappropriation of funds? Please explain.
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Feb 26, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Hello Wondering,
You must be an advocate of the 'every child gets a trophy' syndrome. Yes, not everyone who applies for Comp Civics get selected. It's the same as athletics - not everyone makes the team. Get over it. There are other AP classes available at Amador that your child (or your friend's) can take.
I suggest you find out more about the program by talking Principal Jim Hansen before you start lawyering up on this.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 3:53 pm
No Public Secondary School can reject students for admission to a secondary school class as if they are applying to some sort of university.
Again, this shows the utter incompetence of the school board and school administration and the fact that they do not have any idea what they are doing.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 5:27 pm
You have great kids, competing in a Nationally recognized program, who are learning to be protectors of our rights and our future leaders. You hear of a few kids who's feelings got hurt because they didn't make the team( life lesson by the way) and you are going to spend your time trying to tear this apart? Pleasanton parents have this overwhelming sense of having to protect poor little Johnny from getting his feelings hurt and at the sametime put their head in the sand over the drug problem in our town. Kids in this town have no ability to handle adversity and disappointment because of people like you. Leave these elite kids alone and wake up. If you feel the need to be a bully parent, why don't you focus on the drug problem in this town, which includes heroin. We need more people who care about saving these kids from the terrifying consequences of the drug use going on right now. Focus your energy where you can make a difference for the GOOD!
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Feb 26, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Tend to agree with Really. The world is too full of do-gooders to the point where instead of somebody benefiting from a great program, nobody benefits because someone's feelings got hurt and the program is shut down.
It would take all my fingers and toes to count how many times my kids got the shaft either in school or a sports program. Smart kids will roll with the punches and make the best out of any situation.
Wondering, if you want to contact your government representatives I would be more concerned with why our kids cannot afford to buy a home even when they earn a great living? Why is China filling our universities with their children and our kids are left in the dust? Why are young foreign workers replacing young American workers in America?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 7:00 pm
The issue is that the public school district that the taxpayers all pay for is denying access to a classroom course. First of all, it is against the law for someone to have to 'apply' for the privilege of attending a public school classroom. This discriminates against students who for some reason do not get 'chosen' to be one of the elite ones who win spots in this class. The ACLU will have a field day.
It shows how those that run the school district do not have a clue.
BTW -- 'Really' must *really* believe the story of the 8 year old Heroin Addict story in the Washington Post from the 1980s called Jimmy's World.
a resident of Avignon
on Feb 26, 2012 at 7:24 pm
This is the problem with Pleasanton. Parents who can't handle it when their child's feelings get hurt. Hello, helicopter parenting!
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 7:42 pm
So, I'm confused...
do you think it should be only a club, in which case it can be exclusive?
Or do you think it should remain a class, but every single student who wants a seat should be accepted?
And who should pay for all the additional teachers who would be required to teach 3 or 4 sections of this course?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 7:53 pm
This is not about someone's feelings getting hurt. It is about what is right vs. wrong (perhaps even unconstitutional).
Public schools cannot reject anyone, and the CLASSES they offer cannot reject anyone who qualifies/meets the requirements.
Enrolling in a class in a PUBLIC school should not have a "tryout" the way sports do. If you want comp civics to be like a sports team, then do not call it a class, do not offer it as such (have you seen the catalog/guide?). Instead, have it be an extracurricular activity with a "coach" who receives a stipend supplied by the participants' fees and booster clubs funds. And do not expect Congress to fund it the way it has in the past.
A class may not reject any qualified student, it is that simple.
Even AP classes do not reject students. As long as the students have the requirements to get in, they are allowed to enroll. As many qualified students who ask to get in the class do so. Some succeed, some do not do as well but everyone is given the same chance. Why? Because this is a PUBLIC school, not a private entity, not a club.
From reading some responses (which I assume are from either students in the Comp Civics program or their parents or maybe the teachers running it), I question the quality of the program: you are studying the constitution and you do not understand that you cannot reject qualified students from a CLASS offered by a PUBLIC school and taught by a PUBLIC school teacher, all financed by TAXPAYER funds? WOW!
Will we pursue this? Yes, no class in a public school should reject any qualified student who wants to enroll. And no, I do not have a child applying, but I am a taxpayer who does not believe a public school should act like a private one. You want to be exclusive and have students apply and get in or not? Go to schools like Bellarmine, Harker, De La Salle, but not schools in PUSD!
I agree with a post above that the board and the administration have shown poor judgment and a poor understanding of the way things work.
So far I have found that not all high schools in the Bay Area participate. I now need to find out how those that do participate in the we the people program do it: do they reject students as well?
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Again.....you are dead wrong about the heroin problem. Ask some of the parents in Ruby Hill who are dealing with it right now. This is Pleasantons little secret. Ask the kids....they know about it. It's a bigger issue then any of the "not in Pleasanton" people want to believe or are trying to hide.. And frankly for you to even say that proves my point. Go ahead and keep your head in the sand. 1980s? Where have you been. While the parents have their heads turned the kids are getting into their parents oxy and once addicted, they move to the cheaper version, heroin. This drug is becoming more and more popular because of all of the pain killers available to these kids and the abundance of them in Pleasanton homes. Just because they are white rich kids doing well in school with successful parents, don't assume they aren't at risk for this drug problem and that this is only a dirty street drug in poor areas.
While we are at it, let's talk about AVID. Only a few benefit. Speech therapy...only a few benefit. Resource programs for the handicap...only a few benefit. How about we try to reach kids and make them the best they can be, including the best and brightest.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:08 pm
What is so frightening about this is that the administration appears to not have any clue about the Constitution whatsoever, yet those that have no clue about the Constitution are in charge.
And the issue is a class on the Constitution.
Maybe the superintendent, BOE trustees and all their flunkies need to enroll themselves.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:14 pm
"All men are created equal" is what is part of this country's founding documents. I can't find "Only the best and brightest from Pleasanton's elite are given access to public school classrooms" anywhere.
Anyone who wants to enroll in this Civics class must be allowed to enroll regardless of their race, creed, color or disability status.
If you want to talk about the so-called heroin problem, start yet another thread.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Let's say you have a classroom with 30 spots for mock trial. You pick the top most qualified 30 kids that are the best fit Let's say you have a class with 30 spots for AVID, you pick the top 30 most qualified about he kids that are the best fit. Your definition of "qualified" is your main premises. The kids who are in mock trial and AVID are the ones that qualified based on that years standard. There are many kids that would have benefited from either program but didn't qualify this year! Enjoy trying destroy something that is great for our school, our community, and our country. I agree with Really....your energy really would be better directed for the good and towards real problems that our kids are facing.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 8:56 pm
For the record, Comp Civics does receive credit as an AP class.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 9:13 pm
AVID is a good example. Not every kid can get into this. But this isnt about what is fair. That's a smoke screen for wonderings attempt to help the kids who's feelings got hurt by not being selected. In addition, there are kids every year trying to get into athletic PE but there are not enough spots. The thought that the school much provide seats for every kid that wants to take this class is really off the mark. This is simply parents trying to grasp at every attempt to make things happen for their kids rather than letting them compete with their peers and they don't care who they step on or what other kids they impact. Help your child find their niche and nurture that. Pushing them through the system with threats works sometimes but you are really cheating your child of their opportunity to find their greatest strength. Maybe not being selected opens another door for them and time to purse something else. Getting caught up in "this isn't fair" is what is robbing our kids of growth and other opportunities and these kids walk around with chips on their shoulders nicely held in place by their parents.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 9:16 pm
We are new to Ptown. While I do not know too much about We The People, our former school district has a similar process for the Mock Trial program. It was an elective class and had invitations. Not everyone who wanted to participate could because the numbers were limited.
There were also tryout for Show Choir and Chamber Choir...both of which were graded classes. These were VERY competitive.
All of these classes were offered by the school, taught by teachers and used the same resources as any other class. I think while most of the students and their parents were initially disappointed, they got over it and were able to go on to productive lives. I never heard of anyone asking for these success programs to be cancelled or threatening any other action. I would assure you that this type of thing happens at most, if not all, of the major school districts across the country. It comes down to budget and resources.
Unfortunately, life is not fair.
The fortunate thing is that I think all of these kids will still have some great opportunities in their lives. It sounds like these are really great students, so I'm sure they can still get into college. That is the great thing about our school district...if our students don't make the cur for one activity, there are lots of other places for them to use their talents.
By the way, at Foothill this year, not everyone who requested and was qualified for was placed into certain honors classes due to the sections being full. Thankfully, they did not cancel those classes for everyone.
a resident of Jensen Tract
on Feb 26, 2012 at 9:26 pm
The Center for Civic Education is the umbrella group that was federally funded. The federal funds went toward textbooks and training for We the People and Project Citizen among other programs. It was not an earmark since every congressional district received funds. The materials were available to every teacher who went through a training, at no charge to the teacher. There was substantial recruitment done to advertise the staff development. We the People employs a teaching strategy and curriculum used in thousands of classrooms, only some of whom compete. The curriculum is available to 5th graders, 8th graders, and high school civics classes. The curriculum is valuable without the competition.
Competition classes raise the money or pay themselves to travel to the
competition. The teachers, organizers, and judges volunteer their
hours after schools and on the weekends.
Not every student who applies for yearbook, or the newspaper, or leadership gets in. Many classes have some type of criteria. Many things come into play. All classes are paid for by tax dollars.
a resident of Birdland
on Feb 26, 2012 at 9:42 pm
I have had one child who made the team, and one who did not. It is competitive. The students who do not make the team are allowed to take AP Government. The AP government class actually better prepares the students for the exam. It is called "competition civics" for a reason. We understand the process and know that it is very competitive. This is one class. Why are you trying to kill a great program? Yearbook, leadership, etc. all screen students. We completely support the program and know that "wondering" has a lot of sour grapes. Support your student and help them to understand that all children do not get a trophy and that life is full of challenges and set backs that only make us stronger in the end. Let your children face the realities of life and don't live it for them.
a resident of Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Amador Valley is an amazing high school. Send your kids to Foothill if you have issues with Amador.
a resident of Downtown
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:11 pm
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:15 pm
As a former comp civics student, I can say that this program is not for everyone. It is demanding, time consuming and requires extreme commitment to do well. The rigor of this program requires for team selection to be exclusive and competitive. Amador has a high reputation in this program and is well respected in the program. The class has to be limited in size because to participate in the competition each school has to have 6 teams (units) of no more than 5 team members (hence, 30 students for the class). While academic credit is granted, the class itself is only one semester long and requires a lot of time after school and on the weekends. If the team excels to the state competition, like Amador has every year, then the preparation for the state competition is actually after the semester ends. When I was on the team and as we prepared for the state competition our comp civics class had actually ended, so all of our practices were after school and on the weekends. Not only is the course demanding on students, it's demanding on the teachers. To keep Amador competitive, the teachers need to focus on preparing the team for competition. There is simply not enough hours in the day for the teachers to prepare more than one class.
It's demanding, requires commitment and extends far beyond the normal requirements for an honors and AP class. Also, we had to pay out of pocket for our travel, while the team fundraises to help with expenses, i still had to pay out of pocket for travel. Also, honors and AP classes are selective. In a comment above, the original poster stated that as long as students were academically qualified, they got into AP and honors courses and if needed, they would add extra sections. That is not the case, I was denied admission to an AP course while at Amador and instead of complaining about being denied that class, I took an alternative honors course. While rejection is hard, you learn from it and I'm sure your child (or friends kid) will get over it. Take it as a life lesson, just because you are qualified for something doesn't mean you are going to get it.
a resident of Stoneridge Orchards
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:21 pm
And not every student who auditions to get into the top band is allowed into the top band. Comp Civics is the same way. There are only 30 spots in the class, the same way a top band only has so many spaces for so many musicians. You try out -- if you appear to have potential you get in. It is hard work and it takes a certain type of student to thrive in the environment, especially to have your ego crushed and reformed into someone who can actually critically think. Anyway, there are plenty of classes at Amador and other schools that are just like this, that have limited space and ask you to "audition." Please do not go stirring up trouble because your special snowflake of a child did not get in. Sometimes the best thing you can let your child do in life is fail.
a resident of Canyon Oaks
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I wonder if this is coming from the long standing tradition in this town of politics playing such a big role in who has access and who does not? I have a child who was part of the program and I feel that the selection process was very fair and that all students had equal opportunity to be chosen, they just had to pick the best teams. However, over the years I have witnessed more than I would like the vicious politics and favoritism that dominate many programs and sports in Pleasanton. This is why people feel the need to "lawyer up". There are some incredibly immoral adults in this town who will only do what is best for them.
I never felt that was the case with We The People.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Learn the difference between unconstitutional and illegal before you start throwing those big words around.
To take this to court would be so unbelievably petty and asinine. Your allegations are both small minded and erroneous. Anyone who would claim that the school's policy is unconstitutional would have to have no knowledge of how the constitution's text or interpretation. There is no constitutional violation here. There may be a federal or a state law that this violates. And maybe if you could show that, people would agree with you. But the fact that you haven't elaborated your claim of unconstitutionality or illegality shows that you have either not done your homework, or that no such law exists.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 11:22 pm
These students were "qualified" and complaining that they didn't get in? Qualified by whose standards and by what academic requirements? Theirs? Their parents'?
As a former participant, I can tell you that WTP changed my life, and I'm sure it did for many if not all other alums. Yet you would go to great lengths to deprive funding for an educational program that immensely benefits students, albeit only those who are deemed able to withstand the rigors of the program. Seriously? What kind of person are you? I've seen some ridiculous things that taxpayers get mad at, but this takes the cake. Anger about paying taxes to fund a war you don't agree with, I get. Anger about paying taxes to fund a program that helps students beyond what the books can teach? Not so much.
Re: Again, how has the school discriminated based on race, creed, color or disability status in this instance? I see no allegations that this was the case. Before you jump to conclusions and make baseless accusations, get your facts straight. And I'm pretty sure the ACLU is busy handling real social problems...not whiny high school students.
a resident of another community
on Feb 26, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I once knew a dangerously handsome young man who was a We the People(informally known as "Comp Civics") student at the national level in California, and a Judge at the State level in Maryland(thus geographically outside of Pleasanton as you wished). To answer your question, yes- Every high school in the country that competes obeys the same limitation.
But your theory on ALL government school funds being used for the education of ALL public high school students for ALL programs has ME wondering...
If, on average, ~58,000 people on a given year inquire about enrolling in a government funded program informally known as "The Boat School"(federally funded), ~15,000 complete the application process(federally funded), ~5,000 successfully interview and receieve a nomination from their member of Congress(federally funded), 1,200 walk through the gates on induction day, 980 graduate and become officers exactly four years later after recieving their education(federally funded), 407 medically and academically qualify for Naval Aviation after screening(federally funded), 200 slots are assigned after the selection process(federally funded), 180 will complete primary flight school(federally funded), the top 20 will go on to advanced jet school to learn how to fly a fighter(federally funded), of that 20, the top 15 will learn to fly the F/A-18E/F Superhornet(federally funded), of the 15 that go to sea, 1 will be launched over the bow of the aircraft carrier on any given day with $85,000,000 worth of taxpayer dollars strapped to him or her, are we to let EVERY high school student in America(since this entire process is federally funded) who is "qualified" and feels up to the task and WANTS to do this be the ONE (1) who gets launched off the bow in a Superhornet?
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 26, 2012 at 11:29 pm
"Wondering" seems to believe that her opinion = constitutional law. Where in the world did "wondering" come to the conclusion that every public school must make every course available to every qualified student? As many have correctly pointed out, there are numerous examples of for credit courses that have high barriers to entry and/or enrollment limitations (choir, band, athletic PE, leadership, yearbook).
There is much that I love about living in Pleasanton. What I do not love is the way that many of our parents behave. So your kid, or some of your friend's kids, did not make the cut for the Comp Civics program (which by definition means they were not qualified). What exactly is it that you will be modeling and teaching them by trying to take this to court? That mummy and daddy will never let them fail? That if you can't have something, you will make sure that no one else can have it either? I'm sure that it doesn't feel good to not see your name on the list but it won't be the last time that your kid doesn't get something that they want. The best thing that you can teach them is to pick themselves up, dust off and move on to the next challenge.
p.s. college application season is right around the corner. What is your plan when your child doesn't get in to the college of his choice? Who are you planning to sue then?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 26, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Children cannot be denied admission to "exclusive" courses in a public school, even country club high schools like Amador and Foothill. The only admission requirements I know of connected to PUSD is Tri-Valley University, that fraudulent university you all had running at your school administration site, but even then, you admitted everybody that applied (all 1,555 of them) regardless of what their qualifications were, as long as they had several thousand dollars.
Sounds like the lawyers will be busy again.
Also I'm pretty sure those coming up with lame excuses and defending of this practice are coming from those who have some role in the school management, board, teaching or the PTA.
PUSD caused this problem because of a combination of any of the three issues: 1) poor planning on the school administration in planning adequate sections for this class and 2) prima donna teachers and administrators turning a class into an 'audition' only classroom and 3) they don't know what they are doing (i.e. for instance having Tri-Valley University, a fake college, run on your campus) and maybe should stick to something simpler.
And to the poster above, life is fair. In the good ol' US of A, life is fair, or if the government operates in a manner that isn't fair, the courts ultimately make it fair, punishing those that created the unfair policies in the first place.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:25 am
Wow! Talk about total disregard for people. I am an Amador parent and have nothing to do with the admin or this class. But I am disturbed by your comments towards the school, teachers and admin. I totally disagree with your opinion as well as "wonderings". And you are loosing more crediabilty the more you write To The administration, teachers, volunteers, and students of Mock Trial: We commend you and support you. Congratulations on your success! Ignore the noise and distractions created by a few nutty people and march on towards your goals and future and represent Pleasanton and Amador as you know how. The sad reality is that there will always be a few who try to destroy a successful program and taint the positive experience, a lesson learned... And unlike the parents and kids that didn't get selecteded to participate, you will roll with the punches and grow from the adversity! Thank people like this as they only make you stronger. To wonderings and again.....pathetic
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:31 am
Disturbed/Amador Parent, you refer to Mock Trial students, etc.
Mock Trial and "We the People" Civics are two separate programs.
Either way, you should read up on the 14th Amendment, particularly the Equal Protection Clause, and the case law involving that. A sad reality is that perhaps your education did not cover that particular topic.
P.S. And the word is "losing" not "loosing."
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:39 am
You've made the assertion several times that a public school can't deny a student access to a class for which they are qualified. Tell me what the legal basis is for this claim? I grew up in California public schools, as did my children. There have always been classes that were audition only or limited enrollment. Common sense would tell you that you can't require a school to keep opening sections of a class just because more students want to enroll in a particular course.
In the specific case of the WTP program, the competition is limited to 6 units of 5 students per unit from each participating school. Even if we followed your (incorrect) premise and let in every student who wanted to enroll in the class, theoretically opening up an infinite number of sections, there would still only be 30 students allowed to compete.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:56 am
The case in California is Daniel v. State of California, a class action lawsuit filed related to equal access for all California students to participate in advanced classes based on the 14th amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
[Copter, I hope you aren't a legal profession or an employee or trustee for the school district.]
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 1:12 am
Re Again:
That case settled. That it was filed doesn't establish anything in terms of legal precedent.
a resident of Country Fair
on Feb 27, 2012 at 1:28 am
Although Daniel vs. CA was a successful lawsuit, the circumstances of the suit were far different from the circumstances in the Pleasanton schools (and any other school that participates in the We the People Competition). The aforementioned lawsuit complained of inequality between course offerings in different districts, particularly districts of different socio-economic statuses and far different ethnic balances. A valid comparison would be to bring suit against the state claiming that other, less well-off districts were not offering a We the People class and that the lack of such an offering was hindering the ability of their students to pursue higher education. The result of the Daniel decision was to provide funding to schools who could not afford to offer AP courses at their school as a means to level the playing field between more affluent districts.
Citing Daniel as precedent is a reach as unless I've missed something (possible) it did not require the more affluent schools to open more sections for its classes with competitive enrollment standards.
I'm curious as to how you would like to see this program restructured given the fact that the rules for competition are 30 competitors and the class involves an AP test. If your answer to that is to allow all students to be in the AP class to take the test and only have 30 compete, then that is how the system currently works. If you have another idea, lay it out.
For the record, I am a teacher in Pleasanton, but that is the only way I am associated with the Comp Civics Program and I am not in a social studies department.
I am likely the only teacher dumb enough to comment here.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 27, 2012 at 1:58 am
You appear to not have looked at the court files. The case was brought forth due related to Inglewood Unified (which did offer some advanced courses). The case was settled by the State, thus is applicable throughout the *State* for equal access to education and equal access to those courses, citing the California Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
Just like you cannot have a hard limit for number of houses in Pleasanton (29,000) to cap its growth, you cannot have a hard limit of 30 students who are the privileged few to be anointed to take the Competition Civics class.
I'm sure that subsequent to the criminal trial, many of the 1,555 defrauded international students will file a civil class action lawsuit against Pleasanton Unified using the rationale that they thought Pleasanton Unified was operating an actual university.
At the same time, the ACLU or others or Urban Habitat can sue Pleasanton Unified for failing to allow equal access to education by having set limits in "application only" exclusive courses that are 'competition clubs.'
Either way, the currently incompetent administration needs to be replaced by those qualified to operate the District and conduct operations and legal agreements that are lawful and constitutional, something that they have proven in the last 12 years they lack the skills to do and continue to lack the skills to do.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 2:33 am
Just because the State settled and passed a law pursuant to that settlement (that is to be followed throughout the *State*), this does not equate to a court holding that the denial of access to AP courses was unconstitutional, as it appears you are trying to do. Obviously, I am talking in the dark here. I can't find any files online that you are apparently referring to, only articles briefly discussing the settlement. What court documents are you looking at that cite the Constitution and that hold that equal access is required?
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 7:12 am
Sorry your kid didn't make the team, but this is ridiculous. Per competition rules each school is allowed to have only one class (up to 36 students) compete, so this is how the program operates at every school, in every state. Although We the People has a classroom component, it is fundamentally an extracurricular activity, with hundreds of hours of teacher-supervised after-school and weekend work. The difference between WTP and Honors English is that Honors English doesn't meet on weekends. Honors English doesn't compete against other schools, requiring travel. Honors English isn't a team. I have no doubt that Amador offers alternative AP Gov courses for students who qualify didn't make the WTP team (or didn't try out). You're mixing up apples and oranges.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 7:17 am
This should settle the debate. Here are the We the People Hearing rules: Web Link
Scroll down to rule #9. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Done? Good.
The rules clearly state that there should be no more than 35 students. Having been involved in the program, 35 would be too many. 30 is the right number.
Go find something else to complain about. Also, go get your shinebox.
a resident of another community
on Feb 27, 2012 at 7:55 am
"And to the poster above, life is fair. In the good ol' US of A, life is fair, or if the government operates in a manner that isn't fair, the courts ultimately make it fair, punishing those that created the unfair policies in the first place."
Again, what fantasy land do you live in? Take a 20 minute drive to Oakland or San Francisco and then lets start talking about "fair." Why do kids in cities like Oakland deserve a joke of an education and second-class treatment in comparison to the kids in Pleasanton? Are you outraged about their "qualifications" and lack of opportunity? Your hypocrisy is stunning. You REALLY NEED TO USE YOUR TIME MORE PRODUCTIVELY.
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 27, 2012 at 8:35 am
I am neither a legal professional nor a PUSD employee. I do however understand that Equal Access under the 14th Amendment does not guarantee that your child (or your friend's child) has unlimited and unfettered access to whatever their little heart desires. If you were truly concerned about Equal Access, your time would be better spent ensuring that the WTP program be made available in all districts,regardless of socio-economic conditions. I don't actually believe that matters to you -- only that your kid never suffer a disappointment.
You have yet to address what the resolution might be given the national competition regulations. Is your point that if your kid can't be in the program, then no one's kid can do this? If so, let's shut down all the programs that have a barrier to entry -- band, choir, leadership, yearbook -- so that your kid will never be disappointed.
One of the beautiful things about the WTP program is that it starts many young adults on successful legal careers. I suspect that if you actually tried to move forward with your baseless claims, there will be no shortage of WTP alum willing to help fight your case.
a resident of Vintage Hills
on Feb 27, 2012 at 9:12 am
Patricia is a registered user.
Wondering, I think you are misunderstanding. We The People/Comp Civics is exactly like a competitive sports team, band or other competitive extra-curricular activities. Those students who qualify for the football team get PE credit for that. But that doesn't mean that every student who wants to be on the football team gets to be on it and get their PE credit by playing football. Those that make it do and they are 'taught' by a PE teacher who has agreed to go above and beyond by coaching the team. Those that don't enroll in a regular PE class and may be taught by the same teacher. There are 30 spots on the competition civics team. Those that make the team are enrolled in that civics section taught by the comp civics coach, who goes above and beyond by working with them after school, before school and traveling with them to competitions. Those that don't are enrolled in another Civics section, possibly taught by the same teacher. They all learn the state mandated civics curriculum -- some at a basic level, some at an AP level. The comp civics kids just work a heck of a lot harder after school (on their own and with the coach), just like a kid playing football gets the state mandated physical education, but works a heck of a lot harder on their own and with the coach. The school is not denying opportunity to try out to anyone and it is not denying the curriculum to anyone. It's just that there are only 30 spots on the team, and the best get to be on the team. And again, the best doesn't always mean the best grades. Great, smart and qualified kids may not have some particular skill that is needed to put together a top-notch, well-rounded, and winning team.
All that being said, I am glad you recognize the value of the We The People experience. I hope you'll take the time to attend one of the local competitions (and that the kids who didn't make the team will turn out to support their friends who did). I also hope you will take the time to write to support funding for this program so more students from less advantaged school can offer this program. There are a lot of schools that can't even offer 30 kids a chance to participate. Pleasanton is lucky to be able to support a team at each high school and to have teachers committed enough to put in all the extra coaching time it takes to repeatedly take teams to the National level.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm
myopinin is a registered user.
I fully agree with Patricia (above).
Wondering - Leave 'we the people' alone. It is exactly like a competitive sports team.
There are classes for AP Government open to all. There is a separate class just dedicated for AP Gov 'we the people'.
Stop wasting our time !! No one is denying anyone anything here.
a resident of Oak Hill
on Mar 6, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Meredith is a registered user.
We the People is a beautiful program that encourages civic participation and understanding our nation's most important document in a way that everyone, to be honest, should. The selection process and the competition is what inspires the students to work harder. If you've been in any high school classroom lately, more access to certain classes does not improve the learning experience. It would be nice to have the opportunity of We the People available to everybody, but by opening it to everyone, it would compromise much of the powerful impact it has. Opening it up beyond the team's size would result in no impact at all.
I fully agree with anyone who is saying that We the People should be left alone. What makes Amador's program so successful is that fact that it can pick and choose the best based on nonacademic standards that will create a studious, functioning, cohesive, and ultimately VICTORIOUS team. I know many people who have made it and many people who have not. In the end, however, teams at both Amador and Foothill had the people that should have been on them.
To answer your question, EVERY school that has a We the People team does it this way. Every. Single. One. Across the entire country. That's the nature of a nationwide, competitive program. Not every school cuts the same amount of people, because the number of hopefuls can vary, and the number of accepted is and should be at the coach's discretion. That's how it works. Don't bother writing to your representative. They're very informed about the program from all the protesting constituents who fought to keep the Center for Civic Education's funding last year, and they'll probably just smirk and delete it.
a resident of Stoneridge
on Mar 6, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Michaela is a registered user.
As a former We the People participant, I am so glad that this class is not available to all students. I cannot even fathom what this course would have been if anyone could be allowed in. Grades and debate abilities are not the only qualities a "comp civic" or We the People teacher is looking for. This is an AP class, and of course this means you must have the grades to join. However, this class is also a commitment, even more-so than an after school sports team.
During the competition season of this class, I put in 3-5 hours every school night at least, spent the weekend with my unit to bond and strengthen arguments, and then spent hours editing speeches and researching current events/anything I could think of that would be valuable. The average student, even the smart debate students mentioned here, does not necessarily have the passion or the dedication to spent close to 20 or 30 hours a week working on one class. It's unheard of. However, there are students who are willing to do this.
Two measly class credits doesn't even cover how much work students are willing to put in this class. There is a reason only 30 students (and sometimes slightly less or more) are accepted. Those students are the so-called "cream of the crop", and just like a sports team, are dedicated to their team, the game, and their coach. About now, you're probably ready to get on your high horse and tell me that sports teams don't receive credit so I can't compare it. That is where you are wrong. Varsity players receive P.E. credit, giving them two extra class periods in their sophomore year. And all they do is run around a field with a ball in their hands. I, myself, was almost a varsity player, but We the People was the varsity team I wanted to be a part of.
During this class, each student came to realize why We the People was so worth the time and effort and the rigorous selection process. I don't know one student in my class, and probably in most We the People classes that doesn't agree that the students rejected probably wouldn't have been able to succeed. These teachers are brilliant, and deserve much more than a simple "stipend" for what they do. Their salaries don't even cover how much work they do in general.
Please, before you start complaining, understand the issue you're dealing with. You may know a few facts about this class and funding issues, but you don't understand the reasons behind the selection process.
The kids who make We the People deserve to. If you had participated in this program, or had a child that had done so, you would see and know the passion involved. Stop trying to make this a class available to every high school student, because not every high school student can be a member of We the People.
Don't miss out
on the discussion!
Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.
Stay up to date on local coronavirus coverage with our daily news digest email.
The takeout math just doesn't work for restaurants
By Tim Hunt | 7 comments | 2,399 views
The Impact of COVID-19 on Our High School Juniors and Seniors
By Elizabeth LaScala | 0 comments | 1,840 views
The first few seconds after awakening; before I remember the virus
By Chandrama Anderson | 0 comments | 686 views


text:
Edgeless Jigsaw Puzzles
The edgeless jigsaw puzzles from Puzzle Warehouse will blow your mind and give a new meaning to the word difficult. If you thought that large puzzles were hard to assemble, you should try doing it without the benefit of straight edges. Made by University Games, these small jigsaw puzzles not only have no edge, but they also feature 5 extra pieces. These extra pieces will give you a really hard time, as they don't fit in anywhere in the picture and you won't know which ones they are until you manage to complete the puzzle. But you might not be able to do so, as the picture from the box is incomplete. So you're left with assembling a puzzle without two fundamental tools: the reference picture and the edges. The picture usually helps you to figure out where the different pieces go, while assembling the edges is usually the best and fastest method to begin a puzzle. Left without those, what could have otherwise been a simple assembling job can turn into an impossible but really fun task. And we don't say fun for nothing. One of the best things about these impossible puzzles that you can get at Puzzle Warehouse is that there are some hidden objects in the images that you can only discover if you complete the puzzle. How's that for fun?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"We continue to compete and are taking those steps necessary to be a successful team," women's assistant coach Jamie Aid said. "We love the way our girls supported each other; they are great ambassadors for the University. We are now looking forward to our next match against Alabama A&M."
UT Martin picked up an early 1-0 lead over the Lady Bisons when they won the doubles point 2-1.
Senior Julianne McMeen and sophomore Carlina Jow came off court first after losing to Winkhelmann and Laing 8-3 at the No. 3 doubles spot.
At No. 1, senior Kara Jackson and freshman Alyssa Bellini were defeated next by Tiley and Herbold 8-2.
The Lady Bisons lone doubles win came at the No. 2 spot when juniors Elizabeth Keevil and Danielle Hansen defeated Simiz and Vanzyl 8-4.
With a 1-0 deficit going into singles play, the Lady Bisons picked up wins at the No. 2, 4 and 6 singles spots.
Keevil played a solid match at No. 1 but came up short against Tiley, falling 6-4, 6-3.
Jackson picked up one of the Lady Bisons' wins at No. 2, defeating Laing 7-6(4), 6-2. Hansen fell at the No. 3 spot after playing a tight first set, losing to Winkhelmann 7-5, 6-1.
At No. 4, Bellini secured a win over Herbold in a decisive 6-0, 6-2 victory. McMeen fell to Simic 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot, while junior Samantha Bowman picked up the Lady Bisons' final win at No. 6, beating McCall 6-1, 6-2.
The Lady Bisons will face Alabama A&M on Saturday, Feb. 5 6:30 p.m. at Whitworth Country Club.
1 Tiley/Herbold (UTM) def. Jackson/Bellini (LU) 8-2
2 Keevil/Hansen (LU) def. Simiz/Vanzyl (UTM) 8-4
3 Winkelmann/Laing (UTM) def. McMeen/Jow (LU) 8-3
1 Tiley (UTM) def. Keevil 6-4;6-3
2 Jackson (LU) def. Laing (UTM) 7-6 (7-4);6-3
3 Winkhelmann (UTM) def. Hansen 7-5;6-1
4 Bellini (LU) def. Herbold (UTM) 6-0;6-2
5 Simic (UTM) def. McMeen (LU) 6-2;6-2
6 Bowman (LU) def. McCall (LU) 6-1;6-2
Written by Ashlan Williams, student assistant in the Lipscomb athletics media relations department.


text:
While his brother celebrated a Super Bowl title with 100,000 crab lovers, Jim Harbaugh spoke in a far less exciting setting at San Francisco 49ers headquarters on Tuesday.
Harbaugh looked and sounded like a tired man. He said the next step for the team will be some "R&R." This appears to be a very good idea.
Some takeaways from Harbaugh's 20-minute availability:
» Harbaugh acknowledged he wished the 49ers had a chance to make a different play-call on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, but he didn't sound like a coach racked with regret. "The would've-could've-should've is undefeated. That's never failed."
» Harbaugh called the situation with Alex Smith unique and added he has a "great personal friendship" with the benched quarterback. But Harbaugh stopped short of saying Smith should be allowed to dictate his future. "I don't think any player has those wishes granted. They're under contract."
» Harbaugh dismissed talk that Randy Moss gave a poor effort on Colin Kaepernick's second-quarter interception on Sunday. "I felt the ball wasn't catchable. I think that's one Colin would like to have back."
» A reporter asked Harbaugh if he planned to tone down his sideline behavior after a highly animated showing on Sunday. "We fight to win. If you're asking me my personal etiquette needs to be changed? More catatonic on the sideline? I don't anticipate that happening."
» Harbaugh said signing safety Dashon Goldson to a new deal was a priority for the team. "I feel like you reward those type of people. Who do you reward if you don't reward those type of people?" Goldson said Tuesday he does not want to be hit with the franchise tag again in 2013.
» Defensive end Justin Smith will have surgery on his torn triceps this week. Harbaugh said his two to three month recovery timetable was a "guess." Smith didn't play well against the Baltimore Ravens, but Harbaugh wouldn't say the injury explained it.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.


text:
Dr. Richard Guerrant is an internationally-recognized expert on enteric infections. He is the founder and Director of the Center for Global Health at the University of Virginia. He is also the Thomas H. Hunter Professor of International Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health.
Richard L. Guerrant, MD
Dr. Guerrant graduated from Davidson College and the UVa School of Medicine. He was trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Harvard Medical Service of the Boston City Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins, and UVa.
Research Interests
Dr. Guerrant's research is focused on the recognition, diagnosis, pathogenesis, impact, and control of enteric infections and their consequences. He is also working to develop a network of Centers for Global Health at top institutions across the United States and abroad.
Dr. Guerrant is the author of more than 620 scientific and clinical articles, reviews, and major textbook chapters, and editor of six books, including a two-volume textbook, Tropical Infectious Diseases: Principles, Pathogens, and Practices,and a book about lessons learned from his collaborations in Northeast Brazil, entitled At the Edge of Development: Health Crises in a Transitional Society. See PubMed Listings for Dr. Guerrant


text: Trucks are becoming a more popular choice than ever when people are purchasing vehicles. There is a big selection on offer nowadays and people are taking full advantage. A lot of trucks come originally with the front end lower than the back end. This is where it may be important to some customers to have their truck "leveled out". This is mainly to do with aesthetics on how attractive the truck looks and with the truck leveled out, you are bale to put on bigger, more aggressive tires. Here is our master tech, Mike Reynolds to explain more; YOU TUBE VIDEO. For the F150 we worked on, the process was pretty straightforward but it can vary depending on different truck makes and models. This process was easier because for the Ford F150 pictured, there was only one part needed to complete the service. We needed a spacer to be placed above the strut to give the front end a slight lift and level it all out. For other trucks such as Dodge Ram and Chevvy's the process is a different one. Step 1 here was to remove the strut so we can bolt the spacer above it. Here are the before and after picture of the strut outside of the vehicle before it was to be reinstalled. Strut without Spacer (left)  Strut with spacer bolted on. (Right) Because the F150 was so simple, it requires just 2 hours labor and a lot of that is to do with the realignment needed at the end. After the service, the tires need to be aligned again correctly before the whole service is finished, Here is the after photo of the truck during the alignment and the end photo you can see a difference in how the front end is raised. For more details on this process, or anything else you see on our blog, just call in any of our seven stores and they will be happy to help you out.


text:
Paul Sandoval's memory lives on as Democrats rally at northside tamale shop
The late Paul Sandoval loved politics and could be counted on to host a variety of events at his restaurant, whether for his close friend Ken Salazar or Sen. Barack Obama's Colorado team in 2008.
Rowdy Democrats, many wearing Broncos jerseys, jammed the north Denver restaurant to listen a slew of speakers tout the re-election bid of Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and his lieutenant governor, Joe Garcia, who recounted being tapped as the running mate.
"I wondered why he wanted me. I had no political experience. I didn't have a lot of rich friends," he said. "It finally occurred to me that if you want to run statewide and you had a foreign-sounding name like Hickenlooper he needed an all-American name like Garcia."
That got a huge laugh.


text:
Photo: USGS Landsat 7 team, at the EROS Data centre
When astronauts describe the feeling of sailing around space, looking at our planet from hundreds of miles above, they often invoke the phrase "orbital perspective," a shorthand for the emotional, psychological, and intellectual effects of seeing "the Earth hanging in the blackness of space." This experience is characterised by not merely awe, but, as astronaut Ron Garan puts it, "a sobering contradiction. On the one hand, I saw this incredibly beautiful, fragile oasis — the Earth. On the other, I was faced with the unfortunate realities of life on our planet for many of its inhabitants."This tension was particularly poignant on 9/11, when the effects of violence on Earth were actually visible from space, as captured in the photograph above. At the time, three people were not on Earth: Russian astronauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov, and American Frank Culbertson, making Culbertson the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks.
Over the course of that night and into the following few days, Culbertson wrote a letter to those at home, and his words echo that orbital perspective Garan describes. "It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point," he wrote. "The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche."
Culbertson described the events as they unfolded on the Space Station:
I had just finished a number of tasks this morning, the most time-consuming being the physical exams of all crew members. In a private conversation following that, the flight surgeon told me they were having a very bad day on the ground. I had no idea…
He described the situation to me as best he knew it at ~0900 CDT. I was flabbergasted, then horrified. My first thought was that this wasn't a real conversation, that I was still listening to one of my Tom Clancy tapes. It just didn't seem possible on this scale in our country. I couldn't even imagine the particulars, even before the news of further destruction began coming in.
Vladimir came over pretty quickly, sensing that something very serious was being discussed. I waved Michael into the module as well. They were also amazed and stunned. After we signed off, I tried to explain to Vladimir and Michael as best I could the potential magnitude of this act of terror in downtown Manhattan and at the Pentagon. They clearly understood and were very sympathetic.
I glanced at the World Map on the computer to see where over the world we were and noticed that we were coming southeast out of Canada and would be passing over New England in a few minutes. I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera. It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of Michael's cabin.
The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower.
As he signed off, Culbertson reflected, "I miss all of you very much."
See the picture he took: A Photo Of New York City On September 11 From Outer Space >
From TheAtlantic – shaping the national debate on the most critical issues of our times, from politics, business, and the economy, to technology, arts, and culture.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


text:
In cooperation with a specialist advisory body, the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre was designed to be barrier-free for people with physical disabilities.
Barrier-free routing
For barrier-free routing around the trade fair site and the location of the toilets and car-parks for the disabled, please refer to the PDF below: barrier-free routing Messe Stuttgart.
In addition, there is an information desk and a cashier for the disabled at the Entrances West and East.
For a deposit of 50 EUR, people with a walking disability can borrow wheelchairs at the East and West entrances. Please call in advance for a reservation at +49 711/2200990. Visiting the new Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre with electric wheelchairs is authorised.
Toilets for the disabled are situated at the East and West entrances, in the ICS and at the head of each hall. The toilets are accessible with the European Universal key.
Barrier-free elevators
Barrier free elevators are situated at the entrances, in the ICS and in the round course walkway connecting the hall. There are also seven elevators in the Bosch Parking Garage.
Parking spaces for the disabled are situated at the lower end of the Bosch Parking Garage and in the underground parking near the entrance East.


text:
With the Asian Championship Tour season at an end and the first of the summer monsoons rains kicking in across the region the first of our KTA of our off-season open competitions are just around the corner. So kick back with us over the summer months and enjoy something a little different.
In our continuing partnership with the Cook Islands Kitesurfing Association the KTA will be returning to the islands to join the Manureva International Aquafest from the 10 – 14 June 2013. Although this is primarily a kiteboard competition the event will as the title suggests throw in a few other water challenges during the week. Such as outrigger canoe racing, SUP and even a chance to sail on Marumaruatua the traditional double hulled ocean voyaging canoe.
The KTA first linked up with the Cook Islands Kitesurfing Association to develop new competition opportunities for both local and international riders alike. Having established the competition last year we are building on this for 2013 with the inclusion of the KTA Kite Kids which has been a great success across the KTA Asia Tour events this season. Our Kite Kids coach and four times KTA race champion Kathrin Borgwardt will be leading four days of power kite and kiteboard training in both Roratonga and Aitutaki with local school children before the competition begins. Our thanks to the continued KTA Kite Kids sponsorship support from Maelstorm and Ozone. Also to Cabrinha who are supporting the Kite Kids for the first time to provide the boards and water kites to take the classes further.
The kiteboard competition itself has been put together to encourage riders to take part in each of the two disciples that will be run, which is freestyle and TT racing. You can of course just take part in only one or the other the choice is yours, but there is an overall winner's prize also that will be based on the combination of the points from each event, A double chance then to go home well rewarded for your efforts.
For freestyle we will be doing overall impression judging, so not a trick count like on the Asian tour. This gives us a more chilled approach and the opportunity for Old Skool tricks as well as Wake style to all be in there. The TT racing will be based on what the conditions give us, so reaching style course racing, slalom or even distance who knows you will just have to join us to find out
Those prizes then –
Race Men Race Women
1st $600 $400
2nd $400 $200
3rd $300 $100
Freestyle Men Freestyle Women
1st $600 $400
2nd $400 $200
3rd $300 $100
Overall Men Overall Women
1st $1200 $800
2nd $800 $400
3rd $600 $200
All being sponsored by Cook Islands Tourism, Air Roratonga, the Cook Islands Kitesurfing Association and Telecom Cook Islands. In addition there will also be very nice extra equipment prizes from LiP Sunglasses, Maelstorm and Sprockett Boards.
So cancel whatever else you had planned for the middle of June and come and join us for the ultimate paradise island kiteboard competition, you might not get another chance.
For all the information you need go to – http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/event/2nd-manureva-kta-cook-islands-2013/ and http://www.cookislandskitesurfing.com/
The post KTA Cook Islands – Manureva Aquafest appeared first on KTA - Kiteboard Tour Asia.
Read original article: KTA News:KTA Cook Islands – Manureva Aquafest


text:
Pacific Wild is a nonprofit organization that has worked in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest and with First Nations groups in the region for over 20 years. Working together to preserve the habitat and wildlife of the region, they protect 30% of one of the world's last and largest remaining intact temperate rainforests.
We chatted with Sarah Stoner, Pacific Wild's Director of Strategy and Development to learn how Hootsuite has helped them:
- Engage with audiences using powerful visual media
- Educate a wider audience about their cause
- Tighten up team collaboration to amplify their messaging from within
- Track the effectiveness of their campaigns
Download the Pacific Wild Success Story and learn more about how Hootsuite helps nonprofit organizations promote awareness.
Hootsuite has allowed us to be more organized and collaborate together to spread awareness. Our team on the ground is now armed with the tools to live share videos or images to all of our followers while still respecting our follower's social feeds by scheduling.


text:
How to better communicate your partner program by understanding your partner's business objectives.
About the AuthorMore Content by Perks WW Channel Experts
How to better communicate your partner program by understanding your partner's business objectives.
About the Author
Perks WW Channel provides services and software to help you engage your B2B and indirect channel partners to improve sales effectiveness. With a listing on the Salesforce AppExchange and a global user base exceeding 9.25 million users, Perks WW Channel takes the guesswork out of channel incentives and loyalty programs. Our solutions empower leading global enterprises with the sales and marketing programs they need to produce a competitive advantage through their indirect sales channels. The available solution set encompasses the three most critical areas to optimize indirect channel performance: marketing enablement, incentive management and global managed services. We provide these services to some of the most influential companies in the world, all backed and supported by years of expertise.More Content by Perks WW Channel Experts
This Incentive Insight uses current business and channel marketing trends to improve your channel partner p...


text: Offered is a salad plate in the Alma pattern. The plate measures 7 7/8 inches wide. The plate is signed on the base, Alma Royal Semi Porcelain Wood & Sons England. The plate is in near mint condition, having no chips, cracks, or stains. The plate does have a few untensil marks. The gold trim is 98% complete.


text:
Improve loss mitigation across all channels.
DXC's EarlyResolution®, the industry's most advanced multichannel lending default management solution, helps keep homeowners in their homes while ensuring consistent workouts for borrowers and improved compliance for lenders. With 45 percent market penetration including users at the top three mortgage lenders, EarlyResolution streamlines the loan workout process for borrowers across all channels and helps servicers manage all aspects of loss mitigation.
EarlyResolution can help servicers keep their portfolios in compliance on many fronts: regulatory, credit risk and investors. The software automates the entire loan default process from initial contact through underwriting and settlement. It also enables core collection scripting, customer service, short sale, loss mitigation and foreclosure activities. The EarlyResolution underwriting feature lets you define investor rules that meet management and regulatory guidance on retention and liquidation workouts.
A Software as a Service (SaaS) default management solution designed by the industry and refined through more than 10 years of DXC's investment in the technology, EarlyResolution brings one version of the truth to all your default management channels. This enables consistent service to borrowers and a single point of contact (SPOC) whether through call centers, self-service access, or through credit counseling agencies or attorneys. EarlyResolution even supports users on smartphones and tablet computers.
This centralization of event, timeline and transaction comment data also offers tremendous support for CFPB compliance. By marrying timelines and events from across your systems, you can not only stay compliant, but also prove compliance with accurate, easy-to-understand reports.
EarlyResolution Collections/Loss Mitigation
The EarlyResolution Collections and Loss Mitigation solution offers the most advanced, flexible, and scalable default management system for the treatment and resolution of mortgage, second lien, credit card and auto loans. Core collections scripting provides Collections with payment estimators, current workout status, etc. DXC has also partnered with Quandis to deliver a streamlined short-sale processing solution that speeds cycle times.
EarlyResolution Compliance
EarlyResolution Compliance includes powerful business rules, a data transformation engine, easy-to-use dashboards and reporting that deliver visibility, speed and accuracy in responding to CFPB mortgage lending rules. The system can be fully deployed in a matter of weeks.
EarlyResolution Borrower Portal
Extend the industry-proven EarlyResolution Collections and Loss Mitigation application directly to the borrower's Web browser allowing for greater homeowner participation in the process. Provide borrowers with self-service capabilities including the ability to upload documents. Enable borrowers to initiate the workout process while following your guidelines, and integrate with the servicer's system of record.
EarlyResolution Counseling Portal
Integrate with servicers' systems of record and align with servicer and investor rules as you extend EarlyResolution Collections and Loss Mitigation software directly to credit counseling agencies. DXC's EarlyResolution Counseling Portal helps counselors work directly with homeowners on loan workouts. It also supports lawyers and other default servicing specialists.
EarlyResolution Borrower Inquiry
DXC's EarlyResolution Borrower Inquiry is accessed by servicers, homeowners and credit counseling agencies to track the status of requests for assistance. This facilitates compliance with SPOC guidance and enables borrowers to track current status of their workouts 24x7.


text:
Puzzle Levels
Puzzle Categories
Download a FREE Solution for your puzzles!
Click Image to Enlarge
Write your own review! Request the FREE solution for this item!
Pig Kumiki
Currency Converter: * Exchange rates shown above are estimates only, and may vary slightly from the rates charged by PayPal or your Credit Card Company.
Product Information
|Disassemble and reassemble
|Level 9 - Gruelling
|Winshare Puzzles & Games
|Tsunetaro Yamanaka, Other Wood Puzzles
|4.45in x 2.64in x 2.52in / 11.3cm x 6.7cm x 6.4cm
Product Description
This Kumiki shape brain teaser wooden puzzle designed to resemble a Pig. In Japanese the word kumiki means "joining wood together" and refers to varieties of wood craft. In the puzzling world it refers to 3D interlocking wood puzzle that resembled a familiar shape like buildings, vehicles and animals, not just abstract shapes like spheres and cubes. Tsunetaro Yamanaka (1874-1954) from Japan was the first craftsman to develop the figural wooden interlocking puzzles known as kumiki.
Customer Reviews |Write your own review!
This item has yet to be rated


text:
BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
- FeatureAsk the Experts: RTOs and RPOs
- FeatureCDP in depth
- FeatureThe lure of open-source backup programs
- FeatureDisk-to-disk backup enticing in many forms: Survey Says
- FeatureDedupe myths and methods
- FeatureDAS revs up for a resurgence
- FeatureAsk the Expert: NFS vs. CIFS
- FeatureCentralize virtualization at the switch
- FeaturePrice of SAS drives dips
- FeatureWhy are you using a VTL or why have you decided not to use one?
- FeatureVirtual server backup tips
- FeatureNew life for NAS
- FeatureQuality Awards IV: On top again: CommVault Galaxy, EMC Retrospect
- FeatureBreak those backup bottlenecks: Best Practices
- FeatureMigration projects need automation boost: Hot Spots
- FeatureDon't get stuck with old backup ideas: Best Practices
- FeatureKeep it simple, stupid: Part deux: Storage Bin 2.0
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Break those backup bottlenecks: Best Practices
Backup performance tuning is an art, but identifying infrastructure bottlenecks is more of a strict mathematical exercise once you know the important numbers. And understanding the source of existing and potential bottlenecks makes it easier to find and resolve them.
Continue Reading This Article
Enjoy this article as well as all of our content, including E-Guides, news, tips and more.
| Identify and destroy bottlenecks with the right speeds and feeds.
Before you start throwing hardware or software at a problem, a crucial first step is identifying the potential bottlenecks. Doesn't that sound simple? Maybe, but identifying and removing bottlenecks requires a deep understanding of how data flows through a backup environment, and there exist numerous opportunities for the backup process to slow to a crawl. Your mission is to identify and eliminate bottlenecks from your environment.
Consider the following company struggling with slow backup performance. Despite having a virtual tape library (a dual-headed VTL unit with aggregate performance up to 800MB/sec), multiple tape drives (25 drives with a native throughput of 30MB/sec) and several media servers, its aggregate backup performance was less than 200MB/sec. That may be acceptable for many environments, but this firm had nearly 75TB of data it wanted to back up in a 24-hour window. To do that, it needed to quadruple its throughput. Its million-dollar infrastructure was performing slower than a single LTO-4 drive. Not good.
The customer was told that it was time to investigate four key areas to find the bottlenecks. They are, in order of importance:
It's unlikely a backup administrator will have the ability to modify the client hardware, but it's critical to understand what you're dealing with from the client side. Specifically, it's important to know how many clients exist, and to have a clear picture of their network connections to the backup servers. While most environments today run gigabit networks, some individual servers still use 100Mb/sec NICs. Depending on the amount of data these slower hosts protect, these outdated connections may not be adequate. For example, this customer discovered that several of the clients were still running 100Mb/sec NICs. Most of the hosts were small enough that this didn't matter, but one problematic client had more than 700GB of data.
While it's possible to back up this host in less than 24 hours, a general rule of thumb when examining clients is that any system with more than 500GB of data is a potential SAN client. Rather than backing up over the IP network, a SAN client is configured to back up across the SAN fabric directly to the backup media. Leveraging SAN-based backups for large clients eliminates the IP network and media servers as potential bottlenecks. While it may increase the CPU load on the client servers, most users are willing to sacrifice that additional CPU overhead for faster backups and, more importantly, faster restores. In this particular case, the firm installed an additional host bus adapter (HBA) in this problem client, and shortened the backup time from 20 hours to two. This meant restore times for this host were dramatically reduced.
Once you've identified and eliminated bottlenecks at the client level, it's time to focus on the actual backup infrastructure, starting with the backup servers (including master and media servers). I'm often asked how much memory and how many CPUs these servers need. While CPU and memory are critical components of the servers, they're rarely the source of bottlenecks (that said, if you measure RAM in megabytes or CPUs in MHz, it's time for a change). More often, the bottlenecks can be traced to the number and speed of the network connections.
At the front end of the server we have the IP connections. Insufficient IP connectivity is the most common bottleneck in the backup infrastructure. Many customers look at media servers as just another piece of hardware. Most often, they'll purchase a standard build that may include a dual-ported gigabit NIC. While this may be sufficient for most production servers, it can create serious throughput issues in a backup environment.
For example, if you've remediated your biggest client-side bottlenecks by implementing a dedicated backup VLAN with gigabit connections, it's possible that just two backup clients could consume all the network bandwidth into the media server. Admittedly, these would have to be heavy-duty client machines to max out the incoming data pipe, but it's easy to imagine a scenario where 10 clients, all with gigabit connections, back up to a single media server with two gigabit connections. In that scenario, the clients will be competing for bandwidth at the media server level. In environments with hundreds or even thousands of backup clients, you might need several dozen media servers with multiple trunked network cards just to provide enough network bandwidth to meet the backup window. Alternatively, as 10Gb/sec networks become more common, one of the first systems to upgrade would be the media servers. Upgrading the front-end connectivity for these systems shifts the bottleneck away from the IP network.
After resolving the end-to-end IP network bottlenecks, it's time to examine the backup targets and connections. Everyone's talking about backup-to-disk technology, but tape still plays a critical part in most backup environments. While many environments hope to go tapeless in the near future, many struggle to meet this goal due to extended retention times or tremendous amounts of backup data.
Most backup architectures still contain a sizable tape infrastructure, but hitting the performance benchmarks for these drives becomes a challenge. Consider this: LTO-4 drives, at 120MB/sec native (up to 240MB/sec at 2:1 compression) are faster than a single gigabit Fibre Channel (FC) connection. While most SAN environments are moving toward 4Gb/sec or 8Gb/sec FC, many are still running 2Gb/sec, especially on older backup servers. In those environments, deploying LTO-4 drives will hurt performance unless special attention is paid to the fan-in ratio (the number of drives per HBA). To determine the appropriate fan-in ratio for your environment, it's critical to understand the speeds and feeds of the components. For instance, a 2Gb/sec HBA has a maximum throughput of 256MB/sec, which is equal to a single LTO-4 drive with compression. Based on that statistic, you would need a 2Gb/sec HBA for each LTO-4 drive you deploy. Even with 4Gb/sec HBAs, the fan-in ratio should not exceed 3:1 (drives:HBAs).
Many purchasing departments cringe when they see a server order that contains numerous 4Gb/sec HBAs just for tape plus another set of cards for disk connectivity. But if you want your new tape drives to function at their intended speeds, you must provide sufficient connectivity. The customer discussed earlier was planning to purchase 20 LTO-4 drives for its media servers, but hadn't planned to upgrade the server or the HBAs. As a result, the media servers would have had a fan-in ratio of 10:1 on 2Gb/sec ports. When data was written to tape, the media servers would be unable to keep the drives streaming, resulting in what's known as the shoeshine effect. By upgrading to 4Gb/sec and reducing the number of drives on each HBA, that customer was able to maximize the performance of the new drives.
Performance tuning is an art, but identifying infrastructure bottlenecks is more of a strict mathematical exercise once you know the important numbers. Understanding the source of existing and potential bottlenecks makes it easier to find and remove them. Sure, it may require an investment in hardware to remediate them, but improving the speed of backups in an IT environment that's growing and changing is critical to meet the needs of the business. Do the math, and start hitting your backup windows. Then you won't have to worry so much when your phone rings.


text:
ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total Assay
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics offers a fully equimolar, automated total 25(OH)vitamin D (~100% D2 and D3) assay employing a proprietary monoclonal with minimal 1.1% 3-epi-25(OH)vitamin D3 cross-reactivity aligned to the ID-LC/MS/MS 25(OH)vitamin D Reference Measurement Procedure (RMP)2-3, the reference procedure for the Vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP). Laboratories can meet increased testing demands by consolidating vitamin D testing on a fully automated, high-throughput immunoassay system.
- Confidence in results through alignment to the 25(OH)vitamin D RMP2-3
- Certified procedure of the CDC Vitamin D Standardization-Certification Program (VDSCP)1
- Consistent and clinically accurate patient results with the equimolar total measurement of 25(OH)vitamin D2 and D3
- Vitamin D can be combined with routine, stat, and specialty assays without compromising time – results are provided in 18 minutes with a throughput of 240 tests per hour
- Proprietary monoclonal antibody provides lot-to-lot consistency
- Reduced risk of confounding assessment with minimal cross-reactivity with 3-epi-25(OH)vitamin D3(1.1%)
- A broad dynamic assay range (4.2–150 ng/mL) and on-board dilution – accommodates variety of patient results with minimal intervention.
- Total measurement of 25(OH)vitamin D2 and D3
- Good precision – 4.2% - 11.9% CV
- Traceable to the ID-LC/MS/MS 25(OH)vitamin D RMP
- Results in as little as 18 minutes (ADVIA Centaur® XP)
Partagez cette page:
Assay availability may vary from country to country and is subject to local regulatory requirements.
1CDC Vitamin D Standardization-Certification Program (VDSCP)—Total 25hydroxy Vitamin D Certified Procedures; 2017 Mar [cited 2017 Jun]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/labstandards/pdf/hs/CDC_Certified_Vitamin_D_Procedures.pdf
2Sempos CT, Vesper HW, Phinney KW, Thienpont LM, Coates PM, Vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP.) Vitamin D status as an international issue: National surveys and the problem of standardization. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation, 2012; 72(Suppl 243): 32 -40
3Thienpont L, Stepman HCM, Vesper HW. Standardization of measurements of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 and D2. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Investigation, 2012; 72(Suppl 243): 41 -49
The products/features (mentioned herein) are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.


text:
2015 Colima, Mexico Streets
- Description:
- This line shapefile represents Ejes de vialidad (Streets) for the Mexican state of Colima. This file was released by the Instituto Nacional de EstadÌstica y GeografÌa (INEGI) as part of the 2015 Population Survey, Encuesta Intercensal. This layer does not include socio-demographic data and was downloaded, cleaned, and released by Diego Valle-Jones (firstname.lastname@example.com). Refer to the documentation for methodologies and variable names (in Spanish). Original information on this survey is available at http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/encuestas/hogares/especiales/ei2015/default.aspx
- Publisher:
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Mexico)
- Collection:
- Encuesta Intercensal 2015
- Place(s):
- Colima, Mexico and Mexico
- Subject(s):
- Streets, Roads, and Transportation
- Year:
- 2015
- Held by:
- More details at
- http://hdl.handle.net/2451/36841


text:
May 21, 2013 | ISBN 9780345530530
"Engaging . . . Begley gets as close to Schmidt as a diarist, inhabiting this man who has been seasoned by a long life."—The New York Times Book Review
"Tragic and redemptive . . . Updike had Rabbit, Roth has Zuckerman, Richard Ford has Bascombe and Begley has Schmidt. . . . [Schmidt Steps Back] is the most ambitious novel [yet] in the Schmidt cycle."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Begley gets inside Schmidt's fertile WASP brain . . . with subtlety, intelligence, and wit."—The Philadelphia Inquirer
"The novel grows in Begley's excellent intricacy . . . to the level of art rather than manners. . . . One cannot read one of the Schmidt novels without laughing."—San Francisco Chronicle
"Thoroughly absorbing . . . [a] cause for celebration."—Salon
"[A] superb tragicomedy . . . seductive, subversive, and commanding."—Booklist (starred review)


text:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the company's first tablet device with an unique 8.9 inch display. This device was originally shipped with the forgotten Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Operating System. It packs a 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 3.2 megapixel camera, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, 3G Connectivity and much more.
The mid-range Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 has already got the Android 4.1 update, however the Galaxy Tab 8.9 owners were still waiting to taste the Ice Cream Sandwich. Today, Samsung finally rolled out the Android 4.0.4 ICS update for the Galaxy Tab 8.9. This update is currently available in Austria and it will be rolled out to other countries in the coming days.
This update brings the usual ICS goodies including the redesigned UI, new keyboard with next word prediction, improved performance and stability, improved multi-tasking, enhanced notification bar and much more. The latest update can be easily downloaded via OTA (Over-The-Air). If OTA update fails, you can even connect your device to your computer and update it using the Samsung Kies software.
You will be automatically notified when the update is available for your device. It is always advised to backup all your data before updating the device. If you have not yet received the update, then just go to Settings > About Device > System updates and check for the update.


text:
Use a graphic tool to help students centralize and organize evidence as they prepare to respond to a writing prompt.
Use a graphic tool to help students centralize and organize evidence as they prepare to respond to a writing prompt.
Assess students' understanding, monitor their questions, or gather feedback on your teaching by having them turn in exit cards.
Use this discussion strategy to help students practice being contributors and listeners in a group conversation.
Students compose poems using only words, phrases, or quotations from a text that they find meaningful.
Get all students involved by asking them to show their stance on a statement through their positioning around the room.
Have students move around the classroom to explore a range of documents, images, or student work.
Students seek out and share ideas and information with classmates through this cooperative learning strategy.
Help students process their thoughts and emotions on a topic by engaging them in a written conversation with their classmates.
Use this interactive timeline activity to help students understand and remember the chronology of events.
Encourage students to recognize the multiple causal factors behind an event from history, the present, or literature, using the visual of an iceberg.
Use this graphic tool to help students consider the many factors that shape their own identity and that of groups, nations, and historical and literary figures.
Spark students' interest in a book before reading it by having them make predictions and ask questions about its contents.


text:
I read the commentaries here, so I try not to add double issues.
Tip for the Bible Atlas issue: have a look at the Atlas files on your computer to avoid unnecessary downloads.
What I miss in my Downloads: the bibles from the Mac Bibel Bibliothek. I bought this cd-rom especially for the Buber translation.
Anyhow, it is exciting to read the modules on my iPad. It is much more inviting to read the modules now. That is the most important thing for me Thanks!
Edited by jana, 01 January 2011 - 04:08 AM.


text:
Jlwalzer necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 39 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
We have built a web site that acts like a safe deposit vault similar to your local bank. You can scan and send important documents to this vault for safe keeping in case of any emergency such as a fire, flood, hurricanes, tornado, etc. It is also a great place to organize all of your important documents such as birth certificate, marriage license, wills, passports, medical records, tax returns, insurance policies, passwords, business and personal documents, etc.
We are targeting both the business and home user. Both should have this service. It cost $29.00 per year and you can store up to 250,000,000 characters of information. More storage is available for a small additional cost.
Our exisiting web design http://www.lockyourdocs.com is to negative and it shows a disaster with fire. We are open to any new ideas. It has to describe our basic service which is keeping your documents safe. The world is going eco-friendly and this will help people store their information. Your home insurance policy will be delivered to you paperless in an email attachment. You will need a safe place to store it.
Our present home page has all of the information on it that we require. It just the look and pictures need to be changed. You can change any colors or designs that you think would help our web page
http://www.lockyourdocs.com. Read above to see what we are looking for


text:
Middletown Ohio satellite TV installation
What is good about ordering Middletown OH cheap satellite TV online, is
the fast and free installation. Find better deals online than most local dealers.
PappaMart Online Shopping Mall PappaHost cheap web hosting 700HP discount ISP & DSL services
Low cost Middletown OH satellite TV system, Direct TV & Dish Network - Home


text:
You can't escape the young, smiling faces on the magazine covers while you wait in the checkout line at the grocery store.
Not the Kardashians, Britney or even Lindsay Lohan -- the hot, new "it" girls of Hollywood are the stars of MTV's docu-drama "Teen Mom."
The show follows Amber, Maci, Farrah and Catelynn: four teenagers who got knocked-up at age 16 and then agreed to let cameras chronicle their daily struggles and stresses of being a new parent.
The drama quotient on the show is high, after all the subject matter is children raising children. And perhaps, that is what makes the show so popular.
With more than 3 million people tuning in each week, viewers can't get enough of these unlikely TV stars.
Major gossip magazines like US Weekly, OK!, and People magazine have realized "Teen Mom" baby drama sells and have turned the teens into cover girls.
It begs the question: is the "Hollywood Machine" glamorizing teenage pregnancy?
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
"Most of the magazine editors are trying to be cautious with this issue. I know that MTV is very concerned on how the teens are portrayed," said Dr. Drew Pinsky, a well-known addiction specialist who also hosts "Teen Mom" reunion shows on MTV.
Drew also told NBCLA that the show breaks down the misconceptions about teen pregnancy. He points to a new study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy that shows the series is having a positive impact on prevention.
"Teens are not unsophisticated media consumers," adds Drew. "They understand what they are watching. Yes, it creates great interest and therefore it ends up on the cover of magazines, but they do not think they are watching something glamorous."
That message is hitting home to 16-year-old Ana Paea, a high school student in Riverside: "I feel bad for the girls on the show. They don't get the same opportunities as I do to do fun things in school."
Laura Macnamara, a teacher and mother of two in Encino, believes the show doesn't tell the whole story.
"As I watch the show, there is no way the screen can communicate the emotional financial, physical strain parenting is at times so the 'reality' is whitewashed no matter what the intentions of the producers are," Macnamara said.
On or off TV, teenagers sporting baby bumps aren't hard to find. According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control, three of every 10 American girls will become pregnant by the time they are 20.
Media watchdog group, Parents Television Council, believes "Teen Mom" and other shows like it send the wrong message.
"They may not be glamorizing it, but they are normalizing teen pregnancy, creating an acceptance of it," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council. "The show sexualizes teenage girls and celebrates the 'act' without the consequence."