Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Why should Croydon Stay with the SAU?
Why should Croydon Stay with the SAU, if the SAU won't do their job. At several meetings they have reported how much they do for Croydon. I don't see it.
Stop wasting our tax dollars and do your job.
Cathy
Stop wasting our tax dollars and do your job.
Cathy
Sunday, October 11, 2009
SAU to Raise Budget by 13.4 % are they kidding?
There was an SAU meeting last Thursday. The current SAU budget is 683,297 dollars. The SAU wants to raise the budget to 775,000 dollars or a 13.4% increase. Jim was the only SAU member to object to this increase. A public hearing on the budget will be held in Newport on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. You can try to reach the SAU board members via this site. Also voice your opinion at the next Croydon School Board meeting on October 21st.
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
School Well Update - Gayle Hedrington
Gayle wrote the following piece on Sunacom.com. To also read an interesting story about Croydon's own Bardo Project read the Story on Sunacom.com.
School Well Water Update
Health Officer Steve Cunningham reports that the well used by the school, town hall and Croydon Congregational Church is 45 years old, of unknown depth, and that the water system is maintained by certified water system manger, Pathways Consulting in Lebanon NH.
Steve Cunningham performed his own tests after flushing the system, and sent the water to the NH DES Laboratory, the only federally certified lab in NH. From the test results, Cunningham had the following recommendations:
"In spite of the negative results recently, the issue of a lack of free chlorine should be addressed. The town should be assured that sufficient chlorine went throughout the system. I would suggest a re-treatment of the well with a chlorine concentration of 50ppm or one gallon of sodium hypochlorite 5.25% bleach for 1000 gallons of well reserve, a NH recommendation. If our well is 500' deep, one gallon for the well, the immediately surrounding water bearing substrate, and the water system would be about right. Then testing for both free and total chlorine should be done over the next several days to determine the presence of free chlorine and chlorines compounds.
"If, by some chance, water is still considered to be chronically contaminated two solutions present themselves. First is to install a treatment system (liquid chlorine insertion would probably be simplest). Second is to connect the well at the Morse House (after testing) and disconnecting the school's well.
"I would also suggest allowing the schoolchildren to use the water for hand washing followed by use of an alcohol base hand disinfectant."
Go to Sunacom.com to view the rest of the story.
To my knowledge the problem has not been resolved. We pay a good portion of the SAU budget of over 600,000 dollars to the SAU what is the point of paying all of these tax dollars if the SAU does nothing for Croydon. Last year the cost of the SAU went up dramatically for Croydon yet we are getting less services in return.
Cathy
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
School Well Water Update
Health Officer Steve Cunningham reports that the well used by the school, town hall and Croydon Congregational Church is 45 years old, of unknown depth, and that the water system is maintained by certified water system manger, Pathways Consulting in Lebanon NH.
Steve Cunningham performed his own tests after flushing the system, and sent the water to the NH DES Laboratory, the only federally certified lab in NH. From the test results, Cunningham had the following recommendations:
"In spite of the negative results recently, the issue of a lack of free chlorine should be addressed. The town should be assured that sufficient chlorine went throughout the system. I would suggest a re-treatment of the well with a chlorine concentration of 50ppm or one gallon of sodium hypochlorite 5.25% bleach for 1000 gallons of well reserve, a NH recommendation. If our well is 500' deep, one gallon for the well, the immediately surrounding water bearing substrate, and the water system would be about right. Then testing for both free and total chlorine should be done over the next several days to determine the presence of free chlorine and chlorines compounds.
"If, by some chance, water is still considered to be chronically contaminated two solutions present themselves. First is to install a treatment system (liquid chlorine insertion would probably be simplest). Second is to connect the well at the Morse House (after testing) and disconnecting the school's well.
"I would also suggest allowing the schoolchildren to use the water for hand washing followed by use of an alcohol base hand disinfectant."
Go to Sunacom.com to view the rest of the story.
To my knowledge the problem has not been resolved. We pay a good portion of the SAU budget of over 600,000 dollars to the SAU what is the point of paying all of these tax dollars if the SAU does nothing for Croydon. Last year the cost of the SAU went up dramatically for Croydon yet we are getting less services in return.
Cathy
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Friday, October 9, 2009
A Funny Research Finding - Going Green? You are more likely to steal!
The following story appeared on the Rotman School of Management website.
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Buying green can be license for bad behaviour, study finds
Toronto, October 6, 2009 –Those lyin’, cheatin’ green consumers.
Just being around green products can make us behave more altruistically, a new study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found.
But buying those same products can have the opposite effect. Researchers found that buying green can lead people into less altruistic behaviour, and even make them more likely to steal and lie than after buying conventional products. Buying products that claim to be made with low environmental impact can set up “moral credentials” in people’s minds that give license to selfish or questionable behavior.
“This was not done to point the finger at consumers who buy green products. The message is bigger,” says Nina Mazar, a marketing professor at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a self-admitted green consumer. “At the end of the day, if we do one moral thing, IT doesn’t necessarily mean we will be morally better in other things as well.”
Mazar, along with her co-author Chen-Bo Zhong, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School, conducted three experiments. The first found that people perceived green consumers to be more cooperative, altruistic and ethical than those who purchased conventional products. The second experiment showed that participants merely exposed to products from a green store shared more money in a subsequent experimental game, but those who actually made purchases in that store shared less. The final experiment revealed that participants who bought items in the green store showed evidence of lying and stealing money in a subsequent lab game.
But are people conscious of this moral green washing going on when they buy green products and, more importantly, the license they might feel to break ethical standards? Professors Mazar and Zhong don't know – and look forward to exploring that in further research.
The complete study is available at: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/newthinking/greenproducts.pdf .
For the latest thinking on business, management and economics from the Rotman School of Management, visit http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/NewThinking .
The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
-30-
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
Voice: (416) 946-3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Buying green can be license for bad behaviour, study finds
Toronto, October 6, 2009 –Those lyin’, cheatin’ green consumers.
Just being around green products can make us behave more altruistically, a new study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found.
But buying those same products can have the opposite effect. Researchers found that buying green can lead people into less altruistic behaviour, and even make them more likely to steal and lie than after buying conventional products. Buying products that claim to be made with low environmental impact can set up “moral credentials” in people’s minds that give license to selfish or questionable behavior.
“This was not done to point the finger at consumers who buy green products. The message is bigger,” says Nina Mazar, a marketing professor at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a self-admitted green consumer. “At the end of the day, if we do one moral thing, IT doesn’t necessarily mean we will be morally better in other things as well.”
Mazar, along with her co-author Chen-Bo Zhong, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School, conducted three experiments. The first found that people perceived green consumers to be more cooperative, altruistic and ethical than those who purchased conventional products. The second experiment showed that participants merely exposed to products from a green store shared more money in a subsequent experimental game, but those who actually made purchases in that store shared less. The final experiment revealed that participants who bought items in the green store showed evidence of lying and stealing money in a subsequent lab game.
But are people conscious of this moral green washing going on when they buy green products and, more importantly, the license they might feel to break ethical standards? Professors Mazar and Zhong don't know – and look forward to exploring that in further research.
The complete study is available at: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/newthinking/greenproducts.pdf .
For the latest thinking on business, management and economics from the Rotman School of Management, visit http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/NewThinking .
The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
-30-
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
Voice: (416) 946-3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Correction SAU meeting Thursday - Newport
Just a reminder there is a SAU Meeting on Thursday.
When Jim ran for the school board he ran on the platform of being more open with the community about the schools finances. Shortly after Jim was elected to the School Board, Jim asked Jim Vezina Newport School District Business Administrator for an electronic form of the finances so he could post it on the Croydon website. Jim Vezina has failed to give that information to Jim after repeated requests.
Newer posts appear below this post. This post will be at the top for four days to remind the community about the school board meeting.
Quote of the Day - "As for money, the relationship between it and effective schools has been studied to death. The unanimous conclusion is that there is no connection between school funding and school performance." -- Brookings Institution scholars John Chubb and Terry Moe, 1990
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Big Government Understands Big Education is bad for Education
The following piece appeared on one of my new favorite websites Big Government.com. Be sure to visit the Big Government website to see the embedded video. Teachers' unions are only concerned about themselves and an agenda they are not concerned about what is best for our children.
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Teachers’ Unions Block Reform For Their Own Benefit
by Kyle Olson
Earlier this year Robert Chanin, the recently retired general counsel for the National Education Association, discussed the effectiveness of teachers unions at a gathering in San Diego:
Despite what some of us would like to believe, it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child.
NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.
You can see that portion of his 20 minute speech here:
embedded by Embedded Video
Chanin’s honesty was, in a way, refreshing. For too long the NEA, as well as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), have been hiding their intentions behind the guise of student advocacy, using children as human shields to block criticism.
But the truth is that the NEA and AFT are huge national labor unions with political agendas and have a great deal of influence with state and national lawmakers. NEAexposed.com and AFTexposed.com are designed to bring attention to those facts.
It’s important for the American people to understand how they use that power to obstruct desperately needed educational reforms, particularly those involving school choice and increased teacher accountability. They fear reform will threaten their guaranteed clientele of students and job security.
The unions’ militant strategy is putting them at odds with leaders of both political parties. Many Democrats, including President Barack Obama, have joined Republicans in calling for fundamental changes in education.
Last year NEA members stood in silence at their national convention when Obama called for merit pay. This year they booed Education Secretary Arne Duncan when he called for more teacher accountability.
But political isolation only increases their determination.
Consider their position on charter schools, the independent public schools. The unions tried to kill charters in their infancy, but now that it’s clear they’re here to stay, the NEA and AFT have a new strategy.
They’re recruiting charter school teachers as members, so charter schools will be plagued with the same labor upheaval that has damaged so many traditional schools. The goal is death by infiltration.
There are many other examples of union anti-reform efforts. The NEA recently contacted every U.S. senator, suggesting political retribution if they voted to reauthorize the District of Columbia’s successful Opportunity Scholarship Program, a voucher initiative that helps inner-city children escape failing schools.
In Detroit Public Schools, the Detroit Federation of Teachers threatened to strike when the emergency financial manager called for teacher merit pay and an end to the seniority system. The manager and union currently have another month to go in a two-month extension of bargaining talks.
In Wisconsin, the NEA is using its clout to block legislation that would allow teacher evaluations to be linked to student performance. Obama won’t provide education stimulus dollars to states that refuse to link the two, but that doesn’t bother the union.
Reasonable leaders from both parties are calling for changes in education, while the unions are using their political muscle to defend an outdated system. It’s time for the American people to demand education policies that benefit students, not the self-serving teachers unions.
Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for my readers.
Teachers’ Unions Block Reform For Their Own Benefit
by Kyle Olson
Earlier this year Robert Chanin, the recently retired general counsel for the National Education Association, discussed the effectiveness of teachers unions at a gathering in San Diego:
Despite what some of us would like to believe, it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child.
NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.
You can see that portion of his 20 minute speech here:
embedded by Embedded Video
Chanin’s honesty was, in a way, refreshing. For too long the NEA, as well as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), have been hiding their intentions behind the guise of student advocacy, using children as human shields to block criticism.
But the truth is that the NEA and AFT are huge national labor unions with political agendas and have a great deal of influence with state and national lawmakers. NEAexposed.com and AFTexposed.com are designed to bring attention to those facts.
It’s important for the American people to understand how they use that power to obstruct desperately needed educational reforms, particularly those involving school choice and increased teacher accountability. They fear reform will threaten their guaranteed clientele of students and job security.
The unions’ militant strategy is putting them at odds with leaders of both political parties. Many Democrats, including President Barack Obama, have joined Republicans in calling for fundamental changes in education.
Last year NEA members stood in silence at their national convention when Obama called for merit pay. This year they booed Education Secretary Arne Duncan when he called for more teacher accountability.
But political isolation only increases their determination.
Consider their position on charter schools, the independent public schools. The unions tried to kill charters in their infancy, but now that it’s clear they’re here to stay, the NEA and AFT have a new strategy.
They’re recruiting charter school teachers as members, so charter schools will be plagued with the same labor upheaval that has damaged so many traditional schools. The goal is death by infiltration.
There are many other examples of union anti-reform efforts. The NEA recently contacted every U.S. senator, suggesting political retribution if they voted to reauthorize the District of Columbia’s successful Opportunity Scholarship Program, a voucher initiative that helps inner-city children escape failing schools.
In Detroit Public Schools, the Detroit Federation of Teachers threatened to strike when the emergency financial manager called for teacher merit pay and an end to the seniority system. The manager and union currently have another month to go in a two-month extension of bargaining talks.
In Wisconsin, the NEA is using its clout to block legislation that would allow teacher evaluations to be linked to student performance. Obama won’t provide education stimulus dollars to states that refuse to link the two, but that doesn’t bother the union.
Reasonable leaders from both parties are calling for changes in education, while the unions are using their political muscle to defend an outdated system. It’s time for the American people to demand education policies that benefit students, not the self-serving teachers unions.
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