Archive for April, 2008
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Tonight when I sat down to check something I noticed an e-mail from a fellow geocacher who asked me if I had seen today’s Star-Ledger. No, I had not. After searching online, I wasn’t able to see what Ken had pointed to so I went out and paid the $.50 for the paper copy. There it was on the Op/Ed page.
It seems New Jersey’s state paper printed part of the piece I wrote the other day about closing the state parks. Mind you, it ignored the under story to why Corzine proposed closing the parks. It would have been nice to have had a heads up that they were going to run the piece.
As I draft this, I finally found the piece online. It’s part of the Ledger’s New Jersey Blogs section.
Posted in New Jersey, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Governor Corzine is quoted today as saying:
I think it is absolutely essential that we get our fiscal house in order
Indeed, New Jersey does need to get its house in order. To that end, while I would have preferred to see deep cuts in the proposed budget, I recognize Corzine has at least proposed a budget no other recent governor has and that is to hold spending nearly flat overall.
Unfortunately, Corzine is itching to spend. His “house in order” quip was the follow up to calling a proposed fast food “a constructive suggestion.”
That’s right, the King of Wall Street thinks the way to put New Jersey’s house in order is to raise taxes.
When will the plan include spending cuts?
Really, we’re going to begin taxing Happy Meals to keep the spending going. Unbelievable! It is time to recognize that this governor is not good for New Jersey.
Posted in New Jersey, Politics | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
New Jersey plays a prominent role in the lives of most students in the United States. Educational Testing Service (ETS) is a Princeton-based testing company. They’re the ones responsible for the SAT.
That isn’t the only test it creates, however. The battery of tests New Jersey administers is also created by ETS. I just administered the NJ ASK (assessment of skill and knowledge). This test is administered to all New Jersey students grades 3-8. High School students take the HSPA (high school proficiency assessment). This too is an ETS test.
Today I received an e-mail that included a memorandum from Jay Doolan, Ed.D., Assistant Commissioner Division of Educational Standards and Programs. Doolan shared the news that ETS is out as New Jersey’s standardized testing program for elementary school:
The assessments for grades 3 and 4 will be administered starting in spring 2009 under a contract awarded last year to Measurement Incorporated of Durham, North Carolina.
New Jersey is in a dire financial crunch. Taxes continue to rise. Businesses lament the poor environment government has in place. Many businesses are leaving the state. Governor Corzine’s close friends in New York are awarded a state contract.
Now we find out our standardized test is being outsourced to North Carolina! The premiere testing service is a New Jersey business. Yet the state sends this multi-million dollar contract out of state. Is it any wonder that taxes rise each year?
Posted in Education, New Jersey | 2 Comments »
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Today Fritz took his first steps. Gert picked him up and while she was getting things ready he took three or four steps toward her.
That’s my boy!
Posted in Family | No Comments »
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
My folks sent me away to a fancy prep school. I think I struggled acclimating to an environment where the guy who lived next door to me flew back to school in the family’s LearJet, others whose parents were big wigs in business and government, and everyone seemed to come from a privileged background.
I learned a lot at that school, despite my adolescent insecurities. I am pretty certain that one of the things I learned was that pronouns are to agree with their antecedents. If not there, then I learned it in the “lesser” schools I attended prior to going to St. Andrew’s. I know I currently teach the skill in a public school fourth grade.
That is why I am surprised to have read the following just now:
PLEASE LIST THE NAME OF YOUR GUEST/SPOUSE WHO WILL BE ATTENDING REUNION SO WE CAN PROVIDE THEM WITH NAMETAGS.
THEM refers to the antecedent GUEST/SPOUSE. GUEST/SPOUSE is singular, THEM is plural. Forget the all caps and forget that English does not have a gender-neutral possessive pronoun to use for words such as guest and spouse. His is the traditional possessive pronoun to use in this case. I know, some folks state that does not work either. Fine. What we do have is a plural possessive pronoun whose antecedent is a singular noun. That is incorrect. At minimum, the sentence needs to be re-worded so not to end in a situation where a plural possessive pronoun can be contemplated to be proper for a singular noun.
So much for that subsidized $38,000 tuition.
Posted in Education, Language | No Comments »
