Atlanta Schools Killed Thousands of Egos

Atlanta Schools Killed Thousands of Egos

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation recently uncovered a systemic, systematic conspiracy by Atlanta teachers and administrators to misrepresent and falsely enhance the achievement of their students and usurp student rights to do their own cheating by changing answers on statewide tests and creating the illusion that both teachers and students were doing well.

The effort gained Atlanta’s Superintendent of Schools Beverly Hall wide national acclaim and accolades as an outstanding educational leader. After the cheating was revealed, she resigned in disgrace while still maintaining her innocence and ignorance of any wrongdoing.

Hall may have been ignorant but she is hardly innocent. Not unexpectedly, Hall pledged her “full cooperation” in the GBI investigation and provided none. (http://bit.ly/p6MPo5)

New details on the massive scandal involving 178 teachers and principals in 44 Atlanta public schools have now emerged.

Teachers not only altered student answers but deviously located slow students near better students during tests in order to facilitate cheating, thereby giving the teachers somewhat of a break from erasing all those incorrect answers. Cheating for their students also saved teachers from the onus of providing extra help for those struggling.

One of the accused teachers–82 have confessed–told investigators that Supt. Hall’s district was “run like the mob.” Another claimed, “Everybody was in fear. It is not that the teachers are bad people and want to do it. It is that they are scared.” Others ”complained to investigators that some students arrived at middle school reading at a first-grade level. But, they said, principals insisted those students had to pass their standardized tests. Teachers were either ordered to cheat or pressured by administrators until they felt they had no choice.” (http://huff.to/oTIjhh)

Not bad, my foot! . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4997)

Pepsi, Anyone?

Pepsi, Anyone?

Personally, I’ve never understood how anyone can classify rap crap “music” as music.

Whether “performed” by Eminem or Ludacris, to my unsophisticated ears, it more closely resembles a cacophony of foul, brutal, misogynistic lyrics amidst gross thumping sounds. Same goes for “rap dancing,” the chief function of which seems to be frenetic exercise through contortions.

Now a whole new–at least to me–form of dancing, step, “a historically black art form of rhythmic stepping and clapping,” has made the entertainment–and competition–scene and Coca-Cola/Sprite recently sponsored the first national “Sprite Step Off” contest.

Based on the controversy that erupted following last Saturday’s event in Atlanta, it may be the last national “Sprite Step Off” contest.

“A YouTube video of the winning performance by a group of white Zeta Tau Alphas from the University of Arkansas generated hundreds of comments, some of them inflammatory” so the people at Coke were in a quandary.

Do they stick to their guns and award the $100,000 in scholarships to the winning white sorority team or bow to the internet uproar protesting their success over black teams, or not?

Easy call, no? . . .

(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1529)