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What does the circulation of the Obama Zombie image have to tell us about the role of education at the current moment? Reflections on the power of images when images are everywhere.

If you're interested in working on whether or not images have power in the contemporary moment, following the (non) event of the reception of the poster depicting Obama as a Zombie is instructive. Images can still offend, but can they make anything happen?

President Barack Obama announced a $250 million initiative Wednesday to train math and science teachers and help meet his goal of pushing America's students from the middle to the top of the pack in those subjects in the next decade.

To get students invested in their education, President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have announced a new video contest

The issue is around the speech that United States President Obama plans to make on education on September 8. Advance word is that the speech will contain an encouraging message to the youth of the United States to study hard and stay in school. A read here will indication how a speech became propaganda. The big issue here is that some school districts will allow students to watch the speech in school and some will ban it. As we get closer to September 8, expect the conversation to pick up and get even more brutal than it is now.

Another federal agency with powers of the purse over education. Yeah, that's what we need.

The very next entry in Diigo, (after this one about a new ed-tech agency) was an article about Victoria, Australia providing iPads for every student. Some of the classrooms in my school haven't even a single computer for the 27 students to use. Somebody needs to provide the leadership to help the U.S. keep up with the rest of the world. If it is a fed agency, so be it. Iit's better than what we have now (at least in my state) which is nothing.

"news"? Is there nothing else of significance going on in the world? CNN (live) praised his ability to remain cool and think on his feet. If trying another door is a key presidential skill, we are indeed in trouble.

rhetoric

2nd in an NPR series on School Improvement. Transcript and link to audio. "Long before the Obama administration started talking about turning around failing schools, Annapolis High School in Maryland embarked on a radical transformation. It went to a 12-month school year. Teachers and administrators had to re-apply for their jobs, and those who were rehired vowed to never again let a single student fall through the cracks."

First in a series of NPR reports on School Makeovers. Transcript and link to audio of broadcast. "If a school is consistently failing and kids aren't learning, shut it down. Start over with new teachers and administrators willing to do something dramatically different. Closing failing schools and turning them around has been in vogue since No Child Left Behind, and now the Obama Administration is embracing the idea. It's even offering millions of dollars to school districts to help them do it."

Excellent article on 5 breeds for kids - the Obamas have 2!

PolitiFact.com is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in Washington and the Obama presidency.

See also statement by Labor Dept (http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20101436.htm) and White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/20/new-job-training-and-education-grants-program-launched) and Chronicle article at http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/2-billion-federal-program-could-be-windfall-for-open-online-learning/29167 $2-Billion Federal Program Could Be 'Windfall' for Open Online Learning January 22, 2011, 9:49 am By Marc Parry "The Obama administration is encouraging the development of high-quality immersive online-learning environments. It suggests courses with simulations, with constant feedback, and with interactive software that can tailor instruction and tutoring to individual students. It likes courses that students can use to teach themselves. And it demands open access to everything: "All online and technology-enabled courses must permit free public use and distribution, including the ability to re-use course modules, via an online repository for learning materials to be established by the federal government.... That's because the government is requiring that all work supported by the grants be made available under what's known as a "Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License," which Mr. Green described as 'one of the most open content licenses that exists.'"

Wonderful speech by Matt Damon @ Save Our Schools March in DC

Empowerment! Teachers helping students find their own abilities. Great speech by Matt Damon who really appreciates his education experience that helped him. e was an emerging learner and through the fostering of teachers his life has grown.

Here is the speech that actor Matt Damon gave today to thousands of teachers, parents and others who attended the Save Our Schools march on the Ellipse near the White House to protest the Obama administration's education policies that are centered on standardized tests.