grading policy

As I sleepily stumbled through my morning routine today, I picked up on an interesting story reported in the local news. Apparently there is a fight underway in my beloved Fairfax County Public Schools regarding the grading system; some parents would like to see the grading system shifted from a so-called six-point rubric (94-100% is an A, etc) to a ten-point system (90-100% as an A) that would supposedly make grading more fair. Some of the more outrageous claims come from Mr. Todd Gaziano, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner, who makes the argument that:

Fairfax County's six-point grading scale discriminates against minority students. He has completed his own analysis of the Fairfax County Public Schools Investigation of the Grading Policy and has determined that it shows all Fairfax County students are disadvantaged by the tougher grading policy, but that lower-grade students are hurt the most. Gaziano says because Black and Hispanic students often make up a large section of that group, the grading scale discriminates against them.

[paraphrasing from this article]

According to this outstanding logic, because black and hispanic students get lower grades, and the grading scale as it is hurts everyone (supposedly), the grading issue is actually a civil rights issue. Surely MLK is turning in his grave. A civil rights issue? Calling this a civil rights issue is insulting to people who have legit civil rights claims, say people who can't marry the person they love or those who marched in the south when they couldn't eat where they pleased or sit where they wanted. No, no this is not a civil rights issue, Mr. Gaziano, this is an issue of whiny parents and underperforming minority students.

The whiny parents are those who can't stand to see their child fail at anything and look for outside reasons for their children's shortcomings. I'm sorry your son didn't get an A in Biology class, Mrs. So-and-so, maybe he should have studied better. Oh, he didn't get that scholarship? Well thats what makes scholarships so valuable - they are not easy to get! Suck it up.

As for making excuses for the minorities? I'm sorry, but thats the most insulting thing I have ever heard. Fairfax County Public Schools are some of the best in the COUNTRY, with resources and a budget that most counties DREAM of. There is opportunity to succeed abound. I know, I went to FCPS schools from 7th to 12th grade. And yes, despite Jeff's claims, I am an hispanic student. I did well enough to get into Thomas Jefferson, and then did well enough there to get into UVa. My parents never graduated from college and worked constantly while I was going through the school system, so its not like I was getting homework help or any outside encouragement besides what responsible parents provide. These kids don't need excuses, they need the kick in the ass and the harsh dose of reality that the six-point system provides.

The whiny parents and the excuse-makers need to calm down and shut up. Their points are ridiculous and wasteful, as the FCPS board and superintendent have much more to worry about in light of the budget shortfalls. Six-points, touchdown, ftw.

presidential portrait

CNN has a good look at President-Elect Obama's official portrait (the picture that will go up in most federal government buildings and such), check it out here.

My first thought: did they have to photoshop the American flag lapel pin in?
Second thought: check out some of the comments that follow the picture... I especially like the cotton fields one (don't worry, it's a reverse-racist joke, one aimed at white racists).

And final reaction: man... isn't it great to have a president who doesn't look like a buffoon?

ponzi scheme

A lunchtime article I thought was very worth reading, probably one of the best opinion pieces I have come across since I started reading the NYTimes and WaPo with any regularity.

Just a taste:

But think: Was there a better Ponzi scheme than the one that ensnarled countless underfinanced homeowners? Who has gone to jail? Nobody. Who has paid back the huge amounts of money made in financial services? Nobody. Where's the former financial genius who has vowed to return his bonus -- or donate it to charity -- because he was overseeing a huge dream factory that produced nothing more than a stack of three-dollar bills as high as the sky? "Here, sorry, I didn't earn it." Words you will never hear.

Very well done, Mr. Cohen

post-game reaction

Well...

I am not sure what to say right now. Disappointed isn't quite the word to describe the way I feel. I think there is more anger than anything else right now. I am angry because the offense utterly shat the bed. Eli was less Super Bowl MVP and more Eli ver. 2006. That is, the Eli that was godawful in the playoffs and not quite the quarterback we all thought he could be. I think there is also a good deal of blame to be assigned to some Jim Zorn-esque playcalling from Tom Coughlin down the stretch there. 4th down is not a down you need to go for that agressively when your defense is playing well and keeping the other team to mostly field goals. The fact that the running game wasn't very effective was confusing to me, as they had been effective for most of the year to this point.

Ultimately... this loss was not entirely unpredictable. The Giants ended the season very weakly and only impressed against the also-eliminated Panthers. Going 1-3 down the stretch is no way to get to the playoffs. Now I know the Cardinals are looking good right now, but they have actually changed strategies in the playoffs, which has sort of made them into a new-team. Adding the run game has been a sort of offensive stimulus package for them that has helped balance out the loss of Anquan Boldin. The Giants came into the game with a very predictable gameplan that has been their mother's milk for the whole season. Pound the ball with Jacobs+Ward and let Eli get some throws in where he can. That worked when they were 11-1. Then they went 1-3... what happened then and now?

The loss of Plaxico Burress ultimately doomed this team. Many thought that after the Redskins win that his absence wouldn't be as important as once thought. "The impressive defending Super Bowl champs aren't even letting the Plaxico situation get to them... they are a team to be reckoned with," the sports pundits claimed. I was guilty of a similar line of thought. This loss an the other 3 highlight the fallacy of this logic, though. Without the big play threat of Burress, the Giants were a neutered team. Without Plaxico, Eli was without his go-to receiver. No matter how valuable his catches can be, Amani Toomer is no Burress. You can put Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon together and they don't add up to a Plaxico. Plainly put, the Giants were not a Super Bowl caliber team without him.

Now what? Well for the immediate future I will root with all of my soul against the Eagles. I hate them so. I am officially endorsing the Cards as Super Bowl champs. I know its a long shot, but that will only add to the spice.

In the long term, its clear that the Giants need to replace Burress. I am not sure how they are going to do this, as it took a few years for Eli and Plaxico to build their valuable repoire. What I do know, though, is that the road back to the Super Bowl will be long and arduous for the Burress-less Giants.

Immediate post-loss prediction for next year: Giants finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs next year.

Sigh.

big game

Short but sweet:

If the Eagles win today, it will be a loss for civilization as we know it. The universe nearly collapsed on itself when a Philadelphia team won a championship, and to have another take one step closer is simply a risk we can't afford.

Go G-Men.

rain day

Nothing too long today, except to share my thoughts on this Rain Day that the superintendent (supernintendo?) of WCPS has blessed upon me:

- Rain Day? Really? Although I can't complain with the lack of school today, I must say that I am disappointed in what mother nature has attempted to throw in our direction. There were calls for significant weather maladies and as of yet, all I can tell is that there was a sight glazing of ice on the trees early this morning. Maybe next time it will be a real snow day.

- Watching the Congressional Inauguration was a blast. CSPAN is a truly underrated channel. While the other news networks had the usual talking heads blabbering over a live feed from the House and Senate chambers, the CSPANs had unadulterated broadcasts from the chambers, which I appreciated immensely. It was especially fun watching the Senate proceedings, where the newly sworn-in senators had to sign the Oath Book. Now that might not sound funny prima facie, but it actually was entertaining becasue you could easily route out the veterans from the n00bs. The vets knew that the clerk who was helping them sign the book was offering them their own sentate pen to keep as a memento, but the rofln00bz0rs kept trying to give the pen back, as if they hadn't been observing everyone else keeping the pen! Our nation's finest leaders!

- Washing comforters is a pain in the ass and wasteful of my valuable quarters.

- Being sick, also not so good.

- I could go for another one of these inclement weather days tomorrow.

playoff disappointment

Like most other red-meat-eating, beer drinking American males of my age cohort, I sat down and watched the opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs (playoffs?) this Saturday and Sunday. I was very excited about the prospect of four knock-down, drag-out barnburners that would remind me why I love football and the NFL so much.

What did I get instead? Let me recount Wild Card Weekend:

Atlanta at Arizona: Is the Colts game on yet? I napped through most of this one, as my headache and fatigue of the announcer's adulation of Matt Ryan eventually brought me to zzz's.

Indianapolis at San Diego: Boy do I hate Philip Rivers. Firstly, the man throws like a clown. His release is god-awful and makes me wonder how this man has managed to have the highest QB rating in all of football this year. Secondly, his personality is so distasteful that I wish for bodily harm to come of him at every play, something I can't even say about hated Donovan McNabb (more on him later). I thought my homeboy Peyton was going to pull this one out, but apparently someone forgot to tell Indy's D that its not ok to a) grab a fistful of mask during a tackle, b) interfere with a receiving-man on a ball that is probably uncatchable anyway, and c) one cannot hold even if you are playing defense. Fuck the Chargers.

Baltimore at Miami: I really had no clear favorite in this one, I just wanted an entertaining game and would have been slightly more pleased by a Miami win, but it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. Instead, what I got was a Baltimore romp in which Chad Pennington reverted to his "Hanging" Chad days of floater-ball interceptions and general lackluster plays. The wildcat was thoroughly tamed by Special Ed and the rest of the Baltimorons. Perhaps the most annoying thing about this game, though, was the fact that the Dolphins kept it close enough throught the second half that I kept watching, holding out hope for an exciting game that would never materialize. Ugh.

Philadelphia at Minnesota: I promised I would get to McNabb, et al. and I have. Due to my general hatred of the Eagles and becasue I knew a Vikings win would send the Cardinals to play my beloved NYFBG, I had the most hope going into this game. After the heartbreak of seeing the Colts lose to one of my most hated teams, I thought that fate would smile upon me and the oft-blighted Vikings and bestow a victory upon the purple people eaters. Alas, it was not meant to be. Instead I was treated to an overall defensive stalemate punctuated by Tavaris Jackson's woeful incompetence at the quarterback position. Minnesota had a viable chance at taking the game from the Eagles several times, but they proved that they wanted the loss more. AP was put on the shelf in the later parts of the game, thrusting the entirety of the effort on the feeble shoulders of Mr. Jackson. What a mistake. Realizing that the Vikings O-Line is but a mere fleshy seive, the Jim Johnson - the Eagles D-Coordinator - let loose his dogs of war. It was an ugly sight and a sad loss.

Here's to hoping for a better weekend during the Divisional Round. Here are my preferred outcomes (preferred winners in BOLD):

Baltimore at Tennessee: Enough of the reign of Reed.
San Diego at Pittsburgh: Rivers must be dried up.
Arizona at Carolina: Don't want to see Smash 'n' Dash again.
Philadelphia at New York: NYFBG FTW!