More from the Funny Farm

So those of us who always get to school early so we can get ready are learning that we shouldn't bother, because in most cases there is no paper in the copy machines (or one of them is out of service). Now wonderful John, who had top secret clearance in the Air Force in the missile silos, volunteered to take care of the machines and make sure they are filled every morning, since he is one of our true early birds. The admin will not trust him with a key.

One of the teachers standing with us while John is telling us this had, at her last school, a retired captain in the Navy who used to command a submarine. The admin wouldn't let him near the copy machines to fix them if there was a problem.

And we wonder why education seems not to be working....

Then I read my email to find the weekly memo, with a note from Tom Horne, our illustrious (sarcasm intended) Superintendent for education for the state. And I quote...

1)The US Department of Education has completed their review of the Department of Education’s request to change the use of calculators by special education students to a standard accommodation. They have denied our request. They will not permit the use of calculators as a standard accommodation. Therefore, the use of a calculator will not be allowed as an accommodation on AIMS Mathematics.

2)(District) has received a letter from ADE indicating that there will be no tutoring funds available to students in need of passing AIMS at the high school level due to state budget constraints and short falls. We are very concerned about this lack of tutoring funds for our schools.

Now Arizona does not allow calculators on major tests, like so many other states - and the College Board - do. Because...drum roll, please...it would cost money. That's the reason - to allow calculators and consequently more meaningful problems, would mean the state would need to be sure every student in the state had access to a calculator, and they would need to front the money. Just another example of short-sighted thinking in this state.

As for the tutoring - NCLB evaluates us every year and assigns failing labels to schools based on the AIMS test. So let's just forget about tutoring, and put more money into prisons.

I sure went into the wrong growth industry years ago.....