Monday, November 16, 2009

“NY education board eyeing big changes for incoming teachers - WRGB” plus 4 more

“NY education board eyeing big changes for incoming teachers - WRGB” plus 4 more

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NY education board eyeing big changes for incoming teachers - WRGB

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 11:07 AM PST

ALBANY -- New York's Board of Regents is considering innovations to improve teaching.

The policy-making board will consider new requirements for incoming teachers to demonstrate knowledge of a subject and classroom skills that can be linked to effective instruction.

In addition to performance-based assessments for new teachers, the board will consider additional assessments for teachers who are two years into the job. Teachers could also take longer to earn a master's degree.

The board is considering a pilot program of alternatives to colleges for training future teachers. The new options could include museums and cultural institutions.

Regents also want to draw more teachers now employed in the sciences.

A noon presentation is planned Monday.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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2009 According to the T-Shirt – A CafePress Cultural Barometer ... - Earthtimes

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 03:46 PM PST

SAN MATEO, Calif. - (Business Wire) Who knew that something as innocent as a T-shirt could unlock the voice of the people and spread their sentiments loud and proud? In 2009, concerned citizens flocked to CafePress, the epicenter for user-designed t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and other gifts, to sound off on the political and pop culture happenings of the moment.

From President Obama to the Twilight Saga, the CafePress community commemorated the news with merchandise designs of their own making. Millions upon millions of clever, creative designs flooded the online marketplace, translating hot headlines into don-able duds.

"When it comes to the news, our community of over 6.5 million users is keyed in and standing by to express themselves on whatever the subject matter, making CafePress the ultimate cultural barometer," comments CafePress Vice President of Marketing Amy Maniatis. "You can be sure if it's in the news, then you'll find it on CafePress."

Obama Drama

  • One man captured the nation's attention in 2009 – Barack Obama. He Ba-rocked it at the polls on Election Day in 2008 and started 2009 with a bang as he headed to the White House. With over 3,630,000 products devoted to Obama – it's clear CafePress users love to show their presidential pride.
  • When you're in the limelight, you're bound to get caught "acting stupidly." Everything from the high-profile prez's approach to healthcare reform, his stimulus package plan and the "beer summit," came under fire with 1,090,000 anti-Obama products available on the site.
  • Obama says: lock it up. The President made moves to shut down notorious Guantanamo prison; as a result, CafePress saw a flurry of activity about Guantanamo with 14,500 products both in support of and against the decision.

Culture – Popped, Not Fried

Scandalously Political

  • When Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, tried to sell Obama's senate seat, CafePress designers got giddy creating over 20,000 designs related to the gubernatorial scandal.
  • Appalachian trekking South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, takes a ribbing in T's with designs on 18,000 products.
  • Just after Joe Wilson shouted the words "You Lie", the catchphrase caught fire, showing up on 41,000 products.

Movers, Shakers and Public Policy Makers

  • Sonia Sotomayor took flak for her celebrated and criticized "Wise Latina" remarks – and the phrase took on a life of its own landing on close to 3,000 products.
  • Al Franken bested Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race, and CafePress saw the SNL funnyman galvanize close to 6,000 products on the site.
  • Proposition 8 caused quite a stir in California as the government chose to uphold the passage that defines marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman. In protest, CafePress saw a surge (46,000 products) in anti-Proposition 8 designs pop up on the site.

About CafePress

CafePress is the world's biggest destination for self-expression through merchandise. Each month over 11 million shoppers visit CafePress to buy or create T-shirts, mugs, posters and other gifts that reflect their interests, passions, beliefs and affiliations. Launched in 1999, CafePress has empowered individuals, Non Profits and businesses to create, buy and sell customized merchandise online using the company's unique print-on-demand and e-commerce services. Today, CafePress is a growing network of over 6.5 million members who have unleashed their creativity to transform their artwork and ideas into an impressive catalog of over 250 million unique gifts.

Learn more about CafePress at http://www.cafepress.com or on their international sites in Australia (http://www.cafepress.com.au), Canada (http://www.cafepress.ca) and the United Kingdom (http://www.cafepress.co.uk).

About CafePress Cultural Barometer™ Report

With over 11 million shoppers monthly coming to CafePress to buy or create merchandise that reflects their interests, passions, beliefs and affiliations, it's a real-time reflection of the things people truly care about. CafePress created the Cultural Barometer™ Report to share some of the more interesting, obscure, newsworthy, overwhelming, and just plain funny trends that come to our attention via the almighty T-shirt.

CafePress
Kimberly Youngstrom, 212-221-1713
kyoungstrom@kaplowpr.com

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Trip to India deepens appreciation of yoga, meditation - Carroll County Times

Posted: 15 Nov 2009 05:20 PM PST

 JAIPUR, India — I needed an escape, a vacation that would shake me out of my routine, and leave me with more than souvenirs and digital photos. So when the yoga center in New York where I'm learning to meditate organized a two-week yoga trip to India, I decided to go.

We flew to New Delhi and the next day traveled several hours by bus to Rajasthan, in northern India. The dilapidated cobblestone roads along the way led to still-narrower streets crowded with stores and one-room houses.

On a hill overlooking the village of Samode, we stayed in a former maharaja's palace that has been turned into a luxury hotel.

Each morning, our group spent four hours practicing yoga, meditating and listening to lectures on philosophy. I was surprised to discover that these practices, unlike those back in many New York City gyms, were not physically difficult, but they were mentally and emotionally intense.

The goal of such practice, if there is a goal, is to become centered, to experience a level of consciousness called Samadhi or stillness, and to know yourself.

I got to love these meditation mornings in the palace, when I could go deep into a heavenly state of inner quiet.

In the afternoons, Gagu, a local artist in Samode, volunteered to be our tour guide. He set me on the back of his scooter, while another guide took someone else from our group, and we sped by children, pigs and goats. Gagu took me to a school and we handed out the supplies, enough for every child there.

As a foreigner, I was followed in the streets and hassled until the moment I got back on our bus. I felt helpless as I tried to get away from women begging with their babies, from the never-ending crush of people that included the old, the sick, and innumerable children.

Extreme contrasts of wealth and poverty have existed for centuries here, but they are still startling — even mind-boggling — to visitors.

Hornets and Vikings made it a fall season to remember - Gloucester Daily Times

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 08:04 PM PST

In November on Cape Ann, there are a few things you can count on: Thanksgiving football games (Gloucester-Danvers and Manchester Essex-Georgetown), colder weather and Manchester Essex field hockey making a deep tournament run.

With any luck, the Rockport boys' soccer team have set the wheels in motion for adding themselves to that list of certainties with their impressive postseason trip that just ended on Sunday afternoon. Head coach Dave Curley's team advanced further in the Division 3 North tournament then they ever had before in program history.

Eight seniors played their last soccer game for Rockport: midfielder Tom Catena, defender Brendan Douglass, striker Scott Noble, midfielder/striker Andreas Contreras, midfielder Ben Clarkson, fullback Ethan Clarkson, midfielder Mike Emerson and midfielder Kevin Corrigan. Douglass and Emerson were tri-captains along with junior goalkeeper Keady Segel but each of the seniors had a profound effect on the team since they helped change the culture in Rockport soccer.

After missing the tournament last season, they almost won the CAL Small this year, losing out to Lynnfield by one point but they got the ultimate revenge by beating the Pioneers in the tournament when it really mattered. Even for the smallest school in the CAL, Rockport's talent pool is not getting any shallower.

Besides Segel, the CAL Small Player of the Year that had 13 shutouts, twins AJ (a sweeper) and CJ Burnham (midfielder/striker), midfielder Shaffy Roell, midfielder/striker Cam Tibert, midfielder Andrew Visnick, defender Alex Hauck and striker Nick Laverde are just some of the experienced players that will return next season. From now on, the Vikings should expect to make the tournament after they showed that they can compete with anyone in Division 3.

Just because the Manchester Essex field hockey team is a state title contender seemingly every season doesn't mean you should take the Hornets for granted. For the third straight season, Manchester Essex made it to the Division 2 North final before losing by one goal. Even though the first two losses were in overtime, Sunday's loss to Watertown might have been the hardest to take since they led 1-0 with seven minutes left before the Red Raiders tied it up then scored the winning goal with 17 seconds remaining.

The Hornets (20-1-1) won the CAL Small for the third straight year and in the process, head coach Pam Grant won the 100th game of her career. Senior stars Amelia Cohen (the CAL Small Player of the Year) and Amelia Burke, the CAL's leading scorer were both on the All-League team and they will be missed next season. Seniors Caroline Moore, Hilary Doucette and Katie Gavin were all part of a class that has to go down as the winningest in school history.

However, Patty Wright (All-League) along with Olivia Dumont (All-Star) and Kyle Marsh (All-Star) will be the returning leaders next year with goalie Vicki Grimes. Hannah Daley, Lizzy Ball, Hannah Beardsley, Molly Frideman and Piper Browne are some other players that saw plenty of playing time and will also be back.

With strong middle school and JV programs, nobody reloads in the CAL Small like the Hornets in field hockey, meaning they'll have another formidable team next season and for the near future.

They will win a North final at some point, its just a question of when not if. They are too dominant to keep losing heartbreaking games year after year. Sooner or later a bounce will go their way.

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Oxford dictionary's word of the year: unfriend - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

Oxford dictionary's word of the year: unfriend

The folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary have picked "unfriend" as their annual Word of the Year for 2009, a testament to how much social media is affecting the lexicon.

Here's how the Oxford University Press USA blog defines the word:

Unfriend - verb - To remove someone as a "friend" on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Or as used in a sentence, "I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight."

Of course, Facebook would not like its 325 million users to start applying "unfriend" en masse because the whole point of the Palo Alto social network is to do the opposite.

"In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year," the blog post quotes senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg.

As the social media site Mashable.com points out, "Facebook" became the 2007 Collins English Dictionary word of the year and "Twitter'' was selected this year.

Here are the tech words Oxford also considered:

Hashtag - a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets (postings on the Twitter site) that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets.

Intexticated - distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle.

Netbook - a small, very portable laptop computer with limited memory.

Paywall - a way of blocking access to a part of a website which is only available to paying subscribers.

Sexting - the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone.

The dictionary staff also considered a long list of words from political, economic or pop culture circles, including "funemployed," "birther," "death panel," "teabagger" and "tramp stamp."

Whether "unfriend" proves its longevity remains to be seen. Oxford's pick for Word of the Year in 2008 was "hypermilling,'' a verb meaning "to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one's car and one's driving techniques."

Posted By: Benny Evangelista (Email) | November 16 2009 at 04:45 PM

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