A house amendment to change the NSA's collection of phone records was not passed, but does the narrow voting reveal hidden alliances? Next, two California schools rank high in Forbes' annual list of top schools, do you think rankings are useful? Then, we're talking with author Reza Aslan about his new book about the life of Jesus. Next, do you think disabled children should be in mainstream classrooms? Then, veteran teacher Rafe Esquith discusses his new book about the ongoing battle for education reform.
Does the House’s narrow vote-down of privacy amendment reveal hidden political alliances?
A House amendment to curb the NSA’s collection of phone records came just 12 votes shy of being passed yesterday despite a strong lobbying effort from the White House against the bill. To many NSA critics this narrow vote signaled a major tide in Congress that favors protecting privacy, and the way the votes came down indicates that, at least on this issue, the political spectrum is all out of whack.
Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi voted against the amendment along with rivals like Tea Party Republican Michelle Bachman and House Speaker John Boehner. Meanwhile the amendment was pushed through by a Republican Congressman, Justin Amash, and found supporters on both the extreme right and the extreme left.
Just about the most consistent thing we seem to get from Congress these days is partisanship and gridlock, so a convergence of the left and right is refreshing, and perhaps begs the question: are left-right alliances really so unusual? Extreme voices on both the political right and left have seen eye to eye on issues like military spending, Wall Street reform, and trade relations.
Why do we so often latch on to a binary political narrative when it’s not always the case? Is there a new political paradigm brewing underneath traditional party lines? Or is this false optimism, a blip on the screen?
Guests:
Jake Sherman, Congressional Reporter at POLITICO
Sam Husseini, communications director for the Institute for Public Accuracy and founder of VotePact.org, an organization focused on bringing progressives and conservatives together on important issues
Pomona College and Stanford get top rankings by Forbes
Forbes.com released their college ranking and two California schools have topped the list.
Stanford was first on the list and our own Pomona College ranked second. This is the first time in the six years Forbes has produced the list that two West Coast colleges topped the list. Pomona came in ahead of well-known institutions like Yale (#4) and Harvard (#8).
RELATED: Pomona College comes in 2nd in Forbes' list of best colleges
In 2012, the ranking order was: Princeton University, Williams College, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Harvard University, U.S. Military Academy, Columbia University, Pomona College and Swarthmore College.
It's not going to dramatically change us...I certainly anticipate that there will be some buzz that will spread and word will get out and the name will get better known," said Pomona College President David Oxtoby. "It's not as well known as we'd like it to be."
Pomona College is a small, private liberal arts school with fewer than 1,600 students and an 8-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.
Built in 1887, Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges group, including Harvey Mudd College, which came in at #52 on the list. Students are free to take classes at any of the affiliated colleges.
Forbes took into account the following criteria to reach the 2013 rankings:
- Post-graduate success: What salaries students are making five and 10 years out of school.
- Student satisfaction: What are students getting on campus as far as teach and general campus experience.
- Debt: How much debt are students graduating with.
- Graduation rate: High priority put on number of people who graduate in four years rather than five or six years.
- Nationally competitive awards: How many former students have won awards like Rhodes, National Science Foundation and Fulbright.
"We don't rank on reputation, and we don't rank on peer review, we rank very specifically on government data that the schools give to the US Dept. of Education," said Caroline Howard, Forbes Senior Online Editor. "When we're talking about success, we're not only talking about pay we're talking about who's a leader. Who's a success in their field."
How did Pomona College climb the list? Why do East Coast school traditionally dominate rankings lists? What methodologies are used to create these rankings?
Guests:
David Oxtoby, President of Pomona College
Caroline Howard, Forbes Senior Online Editor
Author Reza Aslan on his new biography of Jesus of Nazareth
Christian-turned-Muslim Reza Aslan’s new book on Jesus of Nazareth presents the life of Jesus within his historical context. Aslan chose to study the life of Jesus from a historical perspective because Aslan has always had a “fervent” interest in Jesus. At the age of 15, Aslan heard the Christian gospel for the first time and became a Christian. After reading the Bible and studying historical accounts, he concluded that the Bible’s record of Jesus was biased and could not be considered a pure biographical text. While still considering himself a follower of Jesus, Aslan converted back to Islam.
His new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” attempts to portray Jesus as a man, living as a Jew in a Roman government. In “Zealot,” Aslan’s Jesus was a revolutionary.
Aslan writes, “The Jesus that is uncovered in the process may not be the Jesus we expect; he certainly will not be the Jesus that most modern Christians would recognize.”
Who was Jesus? How does Aslan’s perspective differ from the traditional Christian view? How does Aslan’s faith affect his interpretation? Will this book impact the Christian community? How is Jesus’s life and story relevant today?
Guest:
Reza Aslan, author of “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” and international bestseller “No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam” (Random House, 2005)
LAUSD parents fight against integrating their disabled children into mainstream classrooms
Four special-education centers are scheduled to merge with nearby mainstream schools. According to Daily News Los Angeles, this affects about 300 disabled students who have to be integrated in August 2013 into traditional schools.
Parents of these students yesterday protested against LAUSD's move. The parents say many of their children are not ready to be transferred and that the decision to place them in a traditional school is a parental decision, not the district's.
“It’s not a one size fits all,” says Dr. Frances Stetson, director of the Inclusive Schools Network. "Way back in Brown v. Board of Education, we ruled that there is no such thing as separate but equal. I believe that same principle applies to children with disabilities.”
Stetson went on to add that those students are missing peer-to-peer relationship opportunities, like communication and interpersonal skills. On the other hand, Rhonda Berrios, parent of an autistic child attending Leichman Special Education Center, says that merging the schools would be a disservice to special needs students.
“These are kids who have seizures all day long. They’re on very heavy medication. They’re all in wheelchairs … These are kids where 911 is called on a regular basis," she said. Berrios was among other parents at the protest yesterday, calling for parental involvement regarding the merge.
“What parents want is the right to choose,” Berrios said.
Special needs students will continue to have classroom lessons tailored to their level of learning, and those who need it will be accompanied by aides and nurses as they have in the past. However, physical education, arts classes and library time will be spent with the general school population.
Guests:
Dr. Frances Stetson, President of Stetson and Associates, an education consulting firm in Houston, Texas. She is also the Director of the Inclusive Schools Network
Rhonda Berrios, parent of autistic child attending Leichman Special Education Center
Nuran Alteir contributed to this web article
The classroom battle: teachers versus the administration
AirTalk has recently had LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and education activist Michelle Rhee on the show to discuss their reform agendas. But, what do teachers have to say about all these new proposals in education reform? Rafe Esquith, a veteran teacher at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles with a résumé full of accolades, joins AirTalk to discuss what it’s like working on the ground level for more than 25 years.
In his new book, “Real Talk for Real Teachers: Advice for Teachers from Rookies to Veterans: “No Retreat, No Surrender!” Esquith charges teachers new and experienced to not give up. He sympathizes with teachers who feel like they’re just ready to quit. For new teachers, Esquith warns against falling into the trap of trying to save every child, failing, and then quitting from disappointment.
Also, it seems like teachers today are not battling difficult students, they’re battling the administration. Although Esquith believes reform does need to happen, he thinks tests cannot be truly standardized. And when test scores are low, students should not feel like their worth is their test score and the teachers should not be thrown under the bus.
What are the secrets to Esquith’s classroom success? What makes a good teacher? Is the role of teachers changing? What should teachers be accountable for in the classroom? How do teachers feel about the Common Core? What is the best way to assess students and teachers?
Guest:
Rafe Esquith, a teacher at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles for more than 25 years; he has been awarded the National Medal of the Arts, the American Teacher Award, Parents magazine’s As You Grow Award, the Compassion in Action Award from the Dalai Lama, the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award, and was made a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth; author of “Real Talk for Real Teachers: Advice for Teachers from Rookies to Veterans: “No Retreat, No Surrender!”
Rafe Esquith will be at a book signing at 7 P.M. tonight in Vroman’s in Pasadena. Click here for more information.
Also, Rafe Esquith will also be at KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum on Tuesday, August 27th, at 7 P.M. Esquith will share more of the ideas behind his battle cry for teachers – “No Retreat, No Surrender!” Click here for more details and to RSVP.