Wanted: General US Employee

Wanted: General U.S. Employee

WorkWorld is 200-year old U.S. industrial company dedicated to producing standardized widgets and superior scores on high-stakes reviews, regardless of market demand. The company is proud to offer a rigorous, rigid environment that promotes well-rounded employees who are responsible for work in all departments, which are structured as unconnected silos. Due to heavy turnover, WorkWorld is constantly looking for General Employees.

Requirements include:

• Willingness to perform seemingly meaningless tasks without question
• Propensity to work with isolated, fact-based data that is driven by the review process
• Superior rote memorization
• Commitment to performing only those duties outlined in the standardized review, and not more
• Willingness to labor alone (collaboration is cheating) and to show your work (use of calculators is cheating).
• Maniacal focus on the clock. You must be at work from exactly 7:25 AM to exactly 3:30 PM with a 15 minute lunch break
• A low attention threshold with the ability to switch focus to a different department every 50 minutes when a bell is rung.
• Willingness to take work home nightly, including weekends and vacations (two to four hours daily)
• Exceptional bladder control – bathroom passes are limited

Responsibilities Include:
• 50-minute workloads in the following departments: Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Distribution, Customer Service and Software/Hardware Design (note: the Customer Service and Software/Hardware Design Departments are inoperative, though attendance and production in these departments is mandatory nonetheless)
• You will be assigned to a different micro-manager in each department and expected to conform to his or her leadership style
• No talking
• Raise your hand if you have something to say

Equal Employment Opportunity
WorkWorld is committed to employing a diverse, multicultural body of employees in an atmosphere that values compliance, respect for authority, the conventional, and quiet. All employment decisions are made without regard to emotional intelligence, competency, critical thinking, creativity, innovation, or even interest in the job.

To apply, fill out this scantron sheet with a number two pencil, filling all of the bubbles in completely.

Found this ad on: http://abettereducation.blogspot.com

ASCD Homework Book

ASCD Homework Book Rethinks Traditional Policies

Cathy Vatterott, an outspoken critic of traditional homework policies who is known as "The Homework Lady," challenges long-held American views of homework in the new ASCD book Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs. Vatterott describes how conventional homework practices can contribute to student failure and provides several commonsense solutions, including assigning fewer tasks with more targeted goals, differentiating for ability levels, and supplying homework support programs for struggling learners.

To read more, visit this link: http://www.ascd.org/news_media/Press_Room/News_Releases/ASCD_Homework_Book_Rethinks_Traditional_Policies.aspx

An Inspired Assignment from Costa Rica

Terry & Elizabeth
at Nueva Hoja
(with Terry's girl Cayenne)
My friends Terry & Elizabeth started a school in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica a few years ago. It is called Nueva Hoja ("New Leaf")
http://www.nuevahoja.com/ and is a K-6, Spanish/English private school that currently has around 30 students. The school recently got its official accreditation and we were lucky enough to be in town for the inauguration ceremony a couple weeks ago.

Before the ceremony I peeked inside a classroom and found reports posted on the wall written by 6th graders about scarlet macaws (lapas rojas).



The reports focused on learning about and preserving the approximately 700 beautiful macaws that live on the Osa Peninsula. During the ceremony, two Costa Rican 6th grade girls spoke in English about their scarlet macaw project.

The students worked with a biologist to create a series of 8 bilingual coloring books that raise awareness to protect, study, and educate people about scarlet macaws. The 6th graders at Nueva Hoja will present their information and coloring books about the scarlet macaws to 3rd and 4th graders in neighboring schools.

I love this project for many reasons. First, it teaches children how to appreciate and respect nature by focusing on preservation of local wildlife. It also allows older students to teach younger students in a hands-on way. It was a multi-disciplinary project touching on art, science, math, writing and reading in two languages.

Tuition at Nueva Hoja is approximately $3000/year. My husband and I sponsor two students from two different families, Jensy and Saite. If you are interested in sponsoring a student or teaching at the school contact Terry at: Terry@NuevaHoja.com .

Kerry, Jensy & Larry -- Saite and our son Sam

Associated Press story on homework

A couple weeks ago, a photographer came to my home and took photos of me, one of my sons, and my dog for a story on homework. My other son was out of the country that day, or he would have been included, too. I've added the link to this article on the sidebar of this blog, but you can also check it out here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hH6dXxAoig80bQxedmslFch3gT0gD99EC13G0