The increasing role of standardized testing in U.S. classrooms is triggering pockets of rebellion across the country from school officials, teachers and parents who say the system is stifling teaching and learning.  The importance of standardized testing increased markedly in 2002 with the passage of No Child Left Behind, the federal law that requires that schools test students in math and reading in third through eighth grade and once in high school.  Under NCLB, schools could face closure if not enough students pass the exams, which are often one-day, multiple-choice tests.  In recent years, the tests have been used to evaluate teachers, propelled in large part by President Barack Obama's $4.35 billion Race to the Top initiative.  The program offered funds to states that linked teacher evaluations to test scores.  At least 26 states have adopted such policies.  Mr. Obama also offered money to states that overhaul low-performing schools—including ousting teaching staffs—based, in part, on student test scores.  The biggest complaint is that teacher and schools are compelled to orient their curricula and classroom experience around passing the exams—known as "teaching to the test."  Because many of the exams measure basic standards, critics say, that shortchanges students who could be spending time learning more advanced material.  Matthew Goldman, a junior at Wellington High School in the Palm Beach school district, said he took a high-school level algebra course in eighth grade and geometry as a ninth grader.  But the Florida ninth-grade math test focused on algebra, so his geometry class spent weeks reviewing algebra concepts.  Stephanie Banchero  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303505504577406603829668714.html 

Personal note:  I took a standardized test from Princeton to fulfill requirements for a master's degree and, to my amazement, couldn't understand some of the questions with awkward negative phrases.  What were they looking for?  What were they thinking? 

tenable   (TEN-uh-buhl)  adjective:  Capable of being held or defended.  From French tenable, from tenir (to hold), from Latin tenere (to hold).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which also gave us tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, pertinacious, and detente.  Earliest documented use:  1604.

foursquare   (FOHR-skwair)   adjective:  1. Firm; unyielding.   2. Frank; forthright.  3. Square in shape.  adverb:  In a firm or forthright manner.   From four + square, from Latin exquadrare (to square). Earliest documented use:  before 1300.

orthogonal  (or-THOG-uh-nuhl)  adjective:     1.  At right angles.  2.  Unrelated or independent of each other.  From Latin orthogonius (right-angled), from Greek orthogonios, from ortho- (right, correct) + gonia (angle).  Ultimately from the Indo-European root genu- (knee), which also gave us knee, kneel, genuflect, and diagonal.  Earliest documented use:  before 1560. 

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From:  Nancy Brandon  Subject:  Foursquare  adjective:  1. Firm; unyielding;  2. Frank; forthright; 3.  Square in shape; adverb:  In a firm or forthright manner.  Foursquare also refers to a classic American house design, especially popular in the 1920s - 1930s.  It is a classic style that immediately identifies its neighborhood as belonging to the era of the Arts and Crafts/Craftsman architectural period.  For a more in-depth description, along with pictures, see

http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/Foursquare.htm

From:  Winsome Brown  Subject:  foursquare  Foursquare is also a ball game which consists very simply of a large square painted on the playground which is itself divided into four squares.  Four players have a square each, the person in square one bounces a large ball then pats/slams it into another square, then that player lets it bounce once then pats or slams it with the hands into another square and so on.  If you send it out of a square or miss it when it comes to you, you're out and everyone below you moves up a square and the first person in the line joins in at square number four.  The object is to get to square number one and stay there as long as possible or until the bell rings for the end of break time.  It sounds a bit tame, and it's surprisingly hard to describe something so simple, but it's a time-honoured game and can get very competitive!  

In 2005, a group of culinary adventurers  challenged people from the San Francisco area (and all over the world) to eat within a 100 mile radius of their home for the month of August.....

In 2007 they extended that challenge to the month of September.  They encouraged folks to try canning and preserving food for the wintertime.   http://www.locavores.com/ 

Jessica Prentice’s claim to fame comes from coining the term locavore, chosen as the 2007 Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.  The New York City-trained natural chef lives and breathes the locavore lifestyle.  She is a co-founder of Three Stone Hearth, a community supported kitchen cooperative in Berkeley, California, which sells nutrient-dense, prepared foods (think soups and stews in bone broth made from scratch), and co-creator of the Local Foods Wheel, a whimsically illustrated guide to local, seasonal and ecologically-sound eating.  Read interview at:  http://lettuceeatkale.com/2010/qa-with-locavore-jessica-prentice-of-three-stone-hearth/

The Pulitzer Prize  is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition.  It was established by publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1917 and is administered by Columbia University in New York City.  Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories.  For all categories, you submit a $50 entry fee, an entry form, a personal photograph, a personal biography and four copies of the book.  Please note that being an entrant is not the same as being a nominee. 

Quote  People die, but then they don't die.  They leave ideas, impressions, remembrances, art, words, and this is how they live forever.  Music of the Mill, a novel by Luis J. Rodriguez

Luis J. Rodriguez (born 1954) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist.  His work has won several awards, and he is recognized as a major figure of contemporary Chicano literature.  His best-known work, Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., is the recipient of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, among others, and has been the subject of controversy when included on reading lists in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas schools due to its frank depictions of gang life.  Rodriguez has also founded or co-founded numerous organizations, including the Tía Chucha Press, which publishes the work of unknown writers, Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural, a San Fernando Valley cultural center, and the Chicago-based Youth Struggling for Survival, an organization for at-risk youth.  See quotes and bibliography of his poetry, nonfiction and fiction at:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_J._Rodriguez

It seems harder to search efficiently on Internet these days.  Google consistently pads their results with at least one of your terms not appearing.  Bing and Facebook bring gossipy rather than substantive results    "Bing has rolled out their social search features more broadly.  Now more people can see what their friends have liked when searching on Bing.com.  Search is about finding information to help you make decisions."  "When you search for something on Bing or in web results on Facebook (powered by Bing), you'll be able to see your friends' faces next to web pages they've liked. So, you can lean on friends to figure out the best websites for your search."

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=437112312130