This is bad news for our schools. :(

See the discussion on Slashdot: (link...)

Here's a quote: "Last week, the RIAA celebrated the signing of a ridiculous new law in Tennessee that says:

Well, they've got into a legal pissing match, it would appear.
(link...)

Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale is a complex person. And, as with most all folks, he's not all good or bad.

Report of the State of Roane County Schools - June 2008. Article can also be found in July 2, copy of Roane County News and on my website earlnall.com

(link...) (.pdf)

Some reading that might apply to us here in Roane County: (link...)

Tyler wrote, "I'd like your thoughts on a compromise of small community-based grade P-K to 8th grade schools coupled with two larger (1500 students) centrally located high schools."

Your question is a serious one and deserves a full treatment.

Newsweek has its list of the best US public high schools, as noted by Whitescreek. It also has an article about the trend to smaller schools that relates to a recurring Roane County debate over school size: Small Schools Rising.

The Shutterbugs are a photography club at Roane County High. Their sponsor is Cindy Holmes, a teacher there. Recently, Keep Roane Beautiful sponsored a photo contest where we challenged the students at RCHS to take pictures of beauty in Roane County.

There's a paper just out about how carbon footprints of schools could be reduced by switching schedules more to the summer months away from the winter and by using fewer buildings in the cold months.

I went to see a local production at a local theatre. "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is now showing in the theatre at Roane State.

It's a nice theatre, with plenty of capacity, a good stage and technical outfitting. Above all, it's a good show with a good cast, well done, and it's good fun.

RB asked ((link...)) about my views on how to bring up performance in math-related school subjects. Here you go, RB, and thanks for asking! :)

The things one must do to bring up "math" performance in middle and high school are dictated by the nature of the "math" tasks themselves.

Did you know...

We have a Literacy Council in Roane County? Did you know they actually meet? Did you know they need us to make an impact on Adult Education in this county?

Well, the Founding Fathers all had strong backgrounds in the classics. They KNEW what had made governments rise and fall throughout history. They knew WHY republics are as fragile as they are glorious. They knew that the art of politics involved getting one's hands dirty - in the sense of digging in, not in the sense of corruption.

I just re-noticed a recent New York Times article, "States Found to Vary Widely on Education," on how states rate the results of their standardized tests and how they vary. Tennessee was specifically mentioned. See: (link...)

After the experience with the brutal heat of early August, the Knox County School Board has moved the start of school to one week later.

What's wrong with the way it was when I was a kid? We got out of school on Memorial Day weekend and went back after labor day. I know things have changed but would it be that difficult to start Roane County Schools a bit later?

Here's a link for the Bush administration's own "Literacy in Everyday Life - Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy" publication released this past April. See:
(link...)

The portrait of U.S. education painted by the study is sobering.

Rockwood 35 Midway 14

Kingston 27 Harriman 3

And in other Constitutionally related news, Pat Robertson and the ACLU have joined forces to protect the free speech rights of high school football players.

Rumor has it that the County Executive's Office is wanting to set up a Roane County Educational Foundation...This seems like a good idea for going after pockets of money and grants...Anyone know more details about how this would work? I know they have done this in other county's.

I recently had a friend of mine tell me the story of not being able to get a straight answer from the School System about the situations regarding the Air Conditioning at Kingston Elementary School. He was extremely upset that he could'nt find out if his child was in a situation that was healthy and acceptable for a youngster to be subjected. I dont blame him. I read articles in the paper about how bad the School system was not to have enough air conditioners, or not to have a plan to fix this problem. I read letters to the editor about kids burning up and how we should let them out early...All of this sounded extremely incompetent until I began to analyze the true problem...

I'm not sure whether RoaneViews is a Sister, Brother, or Cousin Blog of KnowViews.com but we sure owe the proprietor for making this one happen.

And while RoaneViews is all about Roane County, some things are universal, like sending the kids off to college...Some of them for the first time.

So here's what folks think is important to tell an incoming Freshman:

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