Disqus - Latest Comments for Layne

Re: Techcrunch Conversation Tracker: Free Online Marketing Idea #1

Layne — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:44:03 -0000

You are asking for something like what is available on www.thredr.com

This was built as a test and can be found on www.thredr.com - follow www.lorenheiny.com and you'll see the development of the product.

Loren is slowly adding other sources to the different conversations he tracks.

Re: Techmeme and the Noise Problem

Layne — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:58:17 -0000

Loren has http://www.thredr.com/ and it sorts through over 1,000 RSS feeds.

Re: Holiday wishes

Layne — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:16:25 -0000

Very nice picture !

Re: Bike Commute: I made it… one way!

Layne — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:51:35 -0000

I have been repairing my bike to make the ride too. Congratulations !

Re: Note to Steve Jobs: unions are only half of school’s problems

Layne — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:09:22 -0000

A few thoughts.

Some posters are getting caught in the premise that the quality of the US public schools. By what comparison backs up this idea - by their own experiences or by a study? A poor comparison is the best student from one country and the worst in the US - thus concluding the public schools are bad. Why determine the quality because of compulsory education? Once more, does everyone agree on how to monitor a teacher's or student's progress?

Next, do people agree on the purpose of schooling? Is it about socialization or education? Most people think of schooling as a place to find friends, compete in sports, while others might argue schooling is to keep the kids out of the job market.

Next, private school teacher turnover rate is higher than public school rates - thus lowering the overall average salary. Plus, research from Dr. Ingersoll, Smith, and others (Teacher Follow Up Survey) suggest salary is not the sole reason for teachers leaving the profession, either. Dr. Chapman used a turnover model in 1984 suggesting three major factors: external factors being only one of the three.

I would argue that teachers are not professionals. There is no mystical quality to their work. Dr. Lortie in 1975 wrote that everyone who has gone through the K-12 system somehow believes they are experts. Good teachers make teaching look easy - and many people remember the good. This lack of mystique is one reason teachers can never be professionals.

Salary of administration is way out of control. This is because the "system" is upside down. Instead of the classroom being the center, people work to get out of the classroom. Flip this around and the structure of schooling changes. In other words, hire people to work outside the classroom first so that they may learn about the schools. As people gain experience then they are eligible for jobs on the campus. Once on the campus, they work toward getting a job in the classroom. After team teaching - then they get a job as a teacher. In this manner, only the best people are teachers - rather than principals hiring anyone who can breathe, we work to hire the best.

FWIW, principals can fire teachers but these same principals who claim they cannot fire poor teachers use salary as a means to hire new teachers. In other words, it is more economical to hire two new teachers over an experienced one.

There is much more to the complexity of the challenges in our school system - but arguments have gone on for centuries. In "reality," key people do not want our schools to help the poor. They only want to keep the poor people out of the way - and if one institution (school) cannot do this then another institution (jail) is used as the weapon to keep the peace.

One last thought, school choice is a political phrase to avoid the issue of compulsory education. Ask voters if they want everyone to have equal access to education and most will say ... what would people say? Should everyone go to school? Why? At what point are we a nation built on capitalism or socialism? After someone turns 18 do they suddenly become a capitalist and compete or does the learning happen while we squeeze them into classrooms and tell them to work in cooperative groups?

Re: Note to Steve Jobs: unions are only half of school’s problems

Layne — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:14:08 -0000

Carla,

I support your efforts to teach but there are funds for teachers to improve themselves.

"Teachers pay for the own education their entire lifetime. That comes out of their yearly wages. Their is no education fund to support continuing education."

There are numerous funding sources for a teacher's education. My teaching certification program was paid, the support program for beginning teachers was paid, as well as many professional development workshops for keeping the certification continues to be paid. New teachers in some states receive tax credits. Plus, some districts will pay signing bonuses for certified teachers. Teachers looking for housing assistance can even get zero down loans. Teachers also receive numerous discounts on products. For example, I received a 150 dollar discount on a cell phone because of my teaching job. Book stores provide discounts because of my job.

BTW: Two years of allowing a teacher in the classroom to teach, who fails to meet standards, is two years too long. The principal is trying to be too cautious about documentation and therefore has weak decision making abilities. Tell the teacher they have 1 week to get it together - quit hugging and pampering. Give the person the time to submit lesson plans with proper standards or face termination. Period. If the teacher fails then the kids will be better off with someone else.

Re: Are we in a recession?

Layne — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:23:42 -0000

The NBER's definition is somewhat different from the 2 quarter decline in GDP, and so we'll see from their numbers in 6 -18 months if we reached the peak and are now headed for the trough.
http://www.nber.org/cycles/jan08bcdc_memo.html

Re: Era of blogger’s control is over

Layne — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:01:34 -0000

A couple thoughts:
- This debate post occurs several times a month
- Blog gossip is a typical post passed on as news
- Press releases are common points of discussions
- Rumors about new product releases are common

From these thoughts I do not see intellectual property. Instead I see these types of posts as extending the water cooler mentality.

The analogy of the water cooler, though, does not extend far into the blogosphere; that is, if the thought started with someone else then politeness suggests a citation is appropriate. This is not true at the cooler - no one would say "according to" but they might say "I heard."

In the end the individual is left to decide the appropriateness of a citation.

Just my 2¢

Re: I’ve redesigned

Layne — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:44:40 -0000

Nice change! Portrait mode on a Tablet PC forces a scroll to the right. Maybe this can be fixed in any patches or changes to the design.

Re: The Scoble Top Tech Blogger/FriendFeed/Social Media List

Layne — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:11:07 -0000

Missed it by just a few letters. There is the last name and the first initial .. twice ... does that count ? Heeheh. I'd rather see my siblings' names on that list than mine any day! Good list Robert.