THIS FROM SLASHDOT - [ http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/01/14/233203/dhs-monitors-social-media-for-... ]

Recently, TSA's 'Blogger Bob' Burns posted a rant against a cupcake on the TSA blog. Perhaps it made you wonder if TSA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, really understand what we're saying about them, especially online. Well, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, we now know a lot more about how they monitor online comments aside from 'Blogger Bob.' EPIC has received hundreds of pages of documents regarding DHS's online surveillance program. These documents reveal that DHS has contracts with General Dynamics for '24/7 media and social network monitoring.' Perhaps it will warm your heart to know that DHS is particularly interested in tracking media stories that 'reflect adversely' on the U.S. government generally and DHS specifically. The documents include a report summary that might be representative of General Dynamics' work. The example includes summaries of comments on blogs and social networking sites, including quotes. Then again, you might remember J. Edgar Hoover's monitoring of antiwar activists during the Vietnam War, which certainly wasn't for the protesters' benefit.

PLUS THIS FROM ALLGOV.COM - http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Obama_Signs_into_Law_Indefinite_De...

He waited until New Year’s Eve to do it…but he did it. While expressing “serious reservations” about the bill, President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve signed legislation that cements into law two highly controversial tenets of the war on terror: indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without charge, and the jailing of American citizens without trial. It also takes terrorism-related cases out of the hands of the FBI and the civilian court system and hands them over to the military.

EQUALS SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT CONCEPT OF FREEDOM AMERICANS BELIEVE THEY HAVE.

I just commented on a great post from Chris Lehmann.

That test scores help you get more education, and that more education has an earnings effect — that makes sense to a lot of people,” said Robert H. Meyer

More questionable math ("proofiness") to determine the value of a teacher.

The issue is that we have deluded ourselves into believing that test scores reflect the value of our children, and therefore the opportunities they are allowed to pursue in the years that follow.

We have been deluded by people (economists usually, because they appear to be impartial) who manipulate numbers to tell an incomplete story, or a false story that the populace believes to be true about education in general, and teacher specifically. Why does the general public believe the reports? Because we made everyone believe that math was too hard to understand, and now we are manipulated by numbers and percentages.

High test scores do not equal good education.
Low test scores do not equal good education.
Test scores do not equal good education.

Teachers with experience of more than five years can tell you that, but when 40% - 50% of all new teachers leave within 5 years, room is left for "studies" like this one to gain a foothold.

With all that, I still want my students to do well, and we work to do well, on their tests. Not because that determines their value, but because I want them to have choices in their world. Oddly, I want my students to achieve high test scores as a way of rebelling against our current testing system, so in their future they can change the insanity we are going through today.