... at least in Dallas ISD. Everyone wants to make the grade in 2011 since a new school reporting system begins. Whatever ranking a school makes in 2011 will continue for 2 years, so the heat is on. I am drowing in paper since I have over 150 students ... Then Time magazine publishes a study on American public schools that says that the average pupil to teacher ratio is 16:1. That's not in any inner city school where I've taught ... Of course, lower class sizes in certain nameless magnet schools might skew the figures; however, I'm still not sure ... unless we count those tiny classes in rural public schools. But it's a numbers game, and I will have to read the article in small bits, or I shall write a nasty letter ... especially since they're touting this charter school/ "choice" movie as a viable alternative for kids & their families. The big pictures that grab your eyes say one thing; the article implies something else ... and they leave out the fact that some charter schools take public money -- and the kids' money -- then close up shop and disappear, leaving the kids worse off than if they had remained in public school all along. Besides, charter schools don't have to take everyone in their attendance zone -- nor do magnet schools -- places like Roosevelt & Sunset must make graduates out of the street kids who walk through the doors.
Enough about school. Last night, I had a one-woman Doctor Who festival. I went onto the BBC web site, but most of the videos of the "Doctor Who Proms" are not available through the official feed ... Not to fear -- that's what YouTube is for. The theater was packed with fans of all ages to listen to the classical music and scores of the show ... there were video screens to show the scenes that accompanied the music -- and an appearance by the Doctor himself. The fans in the theater were much more welcoming than the adults I know ... this was a "panto" moment for the Doctor -- I don't think that the Star Trek actors would've played along in quite the same way. Ah, well, the Doctor IS an institution in the UK, no matter which incarnation he may be. To give him his props, Matt Smith realized that the moment Stephen Moffat selected him to play the Gallefreyan renegade ... check out his early interviews where he admits that the worst past was listening to his flatmate speculate on who would replace David Tennant after he had been cast.
Yes, I jammed to the 8 minute mix of Who's opening theme from 1963-2010, as well as checked out the logo identification chart. The diamond logo is still the best, in my opinion. Simple yet complex, it says it all ... but each producer must put his mark on the show, especially the fan boys who get a shot at producing their favorite show -- Russell T. Davies and Stephen Moffat. Fantastic fun for them to open the Pandora's box of monsters and take them in a whole new direction -- the whirling Christmas trees of death!!
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