EricHoefler.com

Change We Should Hope For

Monday, November 3, 2008

I don’t know how anyone can listen to Obama’s campaign platform and not agree with the goals and principles he expresses or not feel the swell of pride and hope, despite the cynicism. More than anything, as I’ve said before, he seems to be a man who embraces balance and cooperation, who is studied, thoughtful, and [...]

Obama and Redistribution

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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I got an email the other day that contained the content of this post. In the post, the author creates an analogy that’s supposed to explain the problem with Obama’s "spread the wealth around" statement to the now (in)famous Joe the Plumber. Take a minute to read the analogy before you continue … Here’s my response: The [...]

Porn in the Classroom

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

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Pornography is in the news, and the classroom, again: The Prince George’s County school system is investigating an incident in which a fifth-grade music class at Glenn Dale Elementary School caught a glimpse of a pornographic movie instead of the planned feature, “Star Wars.” Glitch Gives Kids a Peek at Pornography – washingtonpost.com From the little revealed in [...]

No Surprise to Me

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

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TMAO brought my attention to these prepared remarks of California Democratic Congressman George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. TMAO quotes this line: Even with all of these changes, we will not meet our national goal of closing the achievement gap until and unless we close the teacher quality gap. While I strongly [...]

Online, Interactive Student Journalism

Saturday, August 4, 2007

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From Boing Boing: These student presentations are better than anything I’ve seen from “real” news agencies and could serve as a model for the future of interactive/online journalism. Boing Boing: Students produce the future of newsgathering Interesting stuff from students at the college level. Could serve as great models for secondary students (or younger?), and provide some [...]

NCLB Making Progress?

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

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A recent report from the Center on Education Policy suggests that students are improving on state reading and math tests. More than that: the achievement gap between black and white students is shrinking in many states and … the pace of student gains increased after the law was enacted – Scores Up Since ‘No Child’ [...]

Privacy in a Public World?

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

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An article in The Washington Post discusses the current struggles of Allison Stokke with her unwanted internet popularity. The 18-year-old high school athlete has seen her pictures posted and re-posted, often accompanied with lewd commentary. Though nothing illegal has occurred (yet), her case still raises concerns about privacy. She’s apparently stalked online [...]

More on Fairfax’s Anti-NCLB Stance

Thursday, March 22, 2007

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Marc Fisher’s article is appropriately biting, and as far as I’m concerned, he nails it. He’s reporting Jack Dale’s refusal to administer standardized reading tests to recent immigrants. The standoff between Fairfax County and the federal government is creating a stir in the waters of the Potomac, and the stirring gives me hope that we [...]

Virginia Counties in Defiance

Friday, February 23, 2007

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Here in Virginia, Fairfax county has rejected the state’s standardized test (and hence NCLB) for immigrant children. The Fairfax County School Board passed a resolution last month to defy the mandate, saying it is unfair to give such an exam to students just beginning to grasp the nuances of English. Fairfax Schools Could Lose Millions for [...]

Quick Note on Amero

Thursday, February 22, 2007

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Thanks to Jon Robinson for leaving a comment on a former post and pointing to this information: Nancy Willard, a lawyer in the education and computer law fields, has published an analysis (pdf download) today of the Julie Amero case after reviewing all available data, including the police reports. She also discusses the map of [...]

The Bloglines Ban

Monday, February 19, 2007

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Yesterday, Miguel Guhlin wrote a post about Bloglines’ new “Image Wall.” His main contention is that the images aren’t filtered, and so anyone using the service may be exposed to offensive material. (Bloglines does require you to accept a disclaimer before passing you on to the Image Wall.) Because of the Image Wall, Miguel [...]

More on Julie Amero

Sunday, February 18, 2007

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When I first heard about the Julie Amero case, I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t summarily dismissed. When I learned that the jury had convicted Amero, my reactions swung from outrage to depression. That verdict is almost enough, on my bad days, to make me want to throw out every computer in my [...]