Valiant, Etc.

No National Standards!

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:53:52 +0000

The governors and CSSO’s of 46 states have joined Arne Duncan and formed a compact to develop national standards for the K-12 schools. All of this was done in secret and announced recently at a national conference. There are many reasons to be concerned about this development. A new website has been created to help [...]

HIGHER-LEVEL THINKING SKILLS: AN OUTLINE OF SOME OF THE COMPONENTS

Dr. Bob Valiant — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:31:59 +0000

Our purpose in writing this article is to set the stage for a series of activities that you can use personally or with your students to practice the strategies of the skilled thinker. There are many ways to conceptualize the organization of these skills. We have chosen to group them into the categories of gathering, [...]

Carbon Sequestration in the Mid-Columbia

Dr. Bob Valiant — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:44:01 +0000

Pete McGrail, PNNL scientist, sent us a copy of his Powerpoint for a Pasco-Kennewick Rotary presentation and some references to other links on the Internet. The following article is based on these resources. One of the great energy sources of the US is coal. We have vast supplies of the stuff, but there is [...]

Tri-Cities STEM School, Delta High

Dr. Bob Valiant — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:33:39 +0000

Delta High School, a school with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math, is big news in Washington State’s Tri-Cities area. To be jointly operated by the three school districts in the region and with support from Battelle and Washington State University, Delta High plans to open with 100 freshmen in September, 2009. [...]

Terry Bergeson Has Left the Building

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:32:48 +0000

BREAKING NEWS! ALERT, JANUARY 21, 2009! Terry Bergeson has left the building. It has been a long, hard road, but Randy Dorn is now in charge. Here is a link: CLICK HERE , to where he describes how he plans to complete his campaign promise and begin the effort to replace the WASL with more [...]

Back to the Real Basics

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:30:39 +0000

Marion Brady has allowed us to post a recent article we feel is of great importance. He asks us to examine problems we are facing with our current curriculum and to consider our purposes in the face of a changing world. If you want to stretch your brain a bit, read “Back to the Real [...]

A Song by Tom Chapin

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:00:12 +0000

Here is a song by Tom Chapin that fits my beliefs pretty well.

Learning Essentials Assessment Program

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:54:05 +0000

10-Points in the Development of a Quality Assessment Program I support the use of content standards as one component of an accountability system for the students and schools of the State of Washington. I further believe that state required accountability tests, based on these standards, must be practical and useful to parents and educators. [...]

Write to your newspaper

Dr. Bob Valiant — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:11:38 +0000

This would be a great time to write a letter to the Editor of your local paper to register your concerns about the WASL as a graduation requirement. For letter writing tips CLICK HERE.

Back to the Real Basics by Marion Brady

Dr. Bob Valiant — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:12:22 +0000

“Standards!” “Accountability!” “Raise the bar!” “Rigor!” “No excuses!” The slogans and catchwords of would-be school reformers are exploited by politicians, broadcast by radio talk-show hosts, plastered on car bumpers, underlined by newspaper editorialists, elaborated in the popular press, and taken seriously by much of the general public. They’re also favorite themes of those leaders of business and [...]