GilfordGrok

Who Could Possibly be Against Affordable Senior Housing?

2008-07-02T13:51:21Z

Absolutely nobody is against affordable senior housing. As I travel around town, meeting the petition signers to slow down or halt the Gilford Village Knolls 3 project, I’m meeting quite a variety of people. I am meeting them personally for two reasons; I want the signers to know that the promoters of this development are going to make a lot of noise to protect their self serving mission and some of those people are actually encouraging people to tear down the petitions.

I thought that I was going to have to explain that the petition is not against seniors but much to surprise everyone of them clearly gets that point. I have received many emails from people eager to stop the growth of “special” tax free communities. They understand the connection between relieving certain people of taxes and placing that burden onto others. Most are seniors themselves and understand that if this sort of thing were to continue, their taxes will force them out of their homes. Ironically, nearly all of them understand the citizens that make up these communities will have no difficulty supporting all spending proposals at the polls because they will have no responsibility to pay for that spending. This will obviously place even more of a burden on those working families that are left with the bill. Once these communities are established there is absolutely nothing to stop their support of spending for all of time!

IB - the connection and why Gilford should say no.

2008-06-29T00:32:48Z

My kids are out of the school system, so why should I care about what goes in it now? Some might say "why bother?", it's over! No worries, right?

Wrong.

I do care because I do see a breakdown of what the educational system, nationwide, is producing as its product - knowledgeable kids ready to compete globally. Studies have shown that US students are not meeting the challenge; I hardly believe that our children are absorbing stupid pills without our knowing about it.

Rather, it is partly a lack of high expections, high standards, "educational mismanagement', an instant gratification society (results without the effort), parents not always demanding more from their kids and not support teachers, and teachers not having the disciplinary tools to "make it stick".

We as a society, wanting only the best for our children, always seems to be looking for that next "magic" bullet. Looking to provide that "next better" environment, we are willing to accept the next message from the educational experts.

We all want better, but I agree with Margo Weeks at the last School Board meeting, that yet another program is not going to be that "next better" thing (Daily Sun).

However, Weeks remained skeptical. She noted that despite a number of initiatives to boost test scores, “they have remained the same” and asked “how will another layer of programs, expectations and requirements improve performance? If you can’t manage what we have,” she continued, “what is another program going to do for us?”

All educational programs have a philosophy, stated or not; IB is no different (in fact, Dr. DiMinico has said as such (paraphrasing) "AP is a set of classes, IB is a philosophy - and not one that is that is friendly to America, our traditions, or our values. After doing some no small amount of research, it is not (as Arthur Pontes of the Sturgis School said over and over and over again) an American philosophy.

Kurt Webber got it wrong during the meeting when a number of the public spoke against the IB - his rant missed the point:

When the discussion returned to the board, Kurt Webber described suspicion of the “I word, international” as “outdated thinking. The ugly American is alive and well.” He said the board should have “no problem with a curriculum that would expose students to the idea that they live in a world where 5.8 billion people live in different countries.” A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he emphasized that West Point has added a signifi cant international dimension to its curriculum and training. “The I of IB doesn’t scare me at all and it doesn’t scare the U.S. Army,” he proclaimed. “And I don’t see why it should scare people in Gilford.”

To set the stage straight, it is NOT that we need to shut our minds towards the world at large - we do need to know and understand other cultures. That does not, however, mean that we subsume our culture to anyone else's, that we take what has made this country great and throw it under the bus for the sake of Multiculturalism. I dare say that what is taught at West Point is not from an international foundation, but from an American one.

And it is that very point that causes concern - the IB program, if followed to the letter and spirit, teaches not from an American perspective but from an other-than-American one. Learn about other nations, cultures, languages - sure! But not by bringing in a philosophy that does not hold up American ideals.

From EdWatch, a good summary (bolded emphasis mine):

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free,"

- Ronald Reagan.

Patriotic Americans view our American system of rights, government and freedom, although imperfect, as the best system. Many scoff at those who believe our citizens will willingly accept global government. If the education establishment continues its agenda of undermining the American system through programs like the International Baccalaureate (IB), our young people will have no objection to global governance.

IB's support of global governance and promotion of world citizenship over U.S. citizenship is made clear by the words of its directors. "International Baccalaureate school curriculum remains committed to changing children's values so they think globally, rather than in parochial national terms from their own country's viewpoint", retired IB director-general George Walker said. {The Washington Times, George Archibald, 1-18-04}.

Changing childrens' values? And what if they run counter to that of their parents? "Parochial" - a nice way of callously putting aside the ideals of our Declaration and Constitution. Sorry, but I want our children to be proud of this country, its history, and the ideas that still has legal immigrants coming here from all over the world to live and have a better life.

This fall Monique Siefried, the current director said, "We should not be seen as an organization steeped predominately in Western Culture." {IB website}

]]> I'll be politically incorrect. Other cultures have their own values, but I will state uncategorically that Western values of the elevation of the individual's freedom, the right of private property, the Rule of Law, and self-government and religious liberty, stemming from Judeo-Christian philosophy is the world's leading culture.

This multiculturalism viewpoint is condemned by David Horowitz who notes, "Multiculturalism is the banner of the hate-America Left." {David Horowtiz, "Up From Multiculturalism", January 1998, p.2} Chester Finn, former assistant to Bill Bennett, Reagan's Secretary of Education, said the program is "not going to have any signs of patriotic Americanism." {The Washington Times, George Archibald, 1-18-04}.

The IB program grew in the 1960s with grants from governments and the liberal Ford Foundation. In 1996, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) formed a partnership with IB to create a universal curriculum. Reagan pulled us out of UNESCO, but that was reversed by George W. Bush. In 1999, UNESCO announced the "IB curriculum would promote human rights (thus IB's support of the superiority of the UN Declaration of Human Rights), social justice, the need for "sustainable development" (thus IB's support for the Earth Charter), and address population, health, environmental (thus IB's support of Kyoto) and immigration concerns." {The Washington Times, George Archibald, 1-18-04} Federal and Michigan legislators currently use millions of tax dollars to subsidize the IB program.

IB-approved curriculum, currently taught to 42,000 U.S. high school seniors plus many more in lower grades, boasts that it is a constructivist curriculum. Constructivism means the student constructs his own truth and meaning. The 1999 IB background papers state the curriculum is a multicultural approach that differs from traditional direct instruction of facts and historically learned knowledge. "Most national education systems at the moment encourage students to seek the truth, memorize it, and reproduce it accurately. The real world is not this simple. International education has to reconcile this diversity with the unity of the human condition," the paper said. {Ibid.} The IB promotion of truth as existing only in the mind of the beholder is also revealed on the IBO website, containing a power point curriculum entitled, "A Shared Set of Values: Freedom Fighter or Terrorist?"

Author and Patrick Henry College Provost, Gene Edward Veith evaluates the IB philosophy: "[Theory of Knowledge] employs a 'hermeneutic of suspicion' that undermines the very possibility of accepting any kind of objective truth." {World 1-13-07, p.11}

The IB Mission Statement given to TroyMichigan district parents where the curriculum is mandated concludes, "These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right." Right about what? Simply stated IB-approved curriculum teaches no absolutes exist. Contrast this to the words of our Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self evident." One of the foundational pillars of the United States is recognition of objective truth, real truth for all people. IB undermines this principle by teaching that our creed may not be acceptable to some Americans and certainly not all nations. IBO endorses the UN Declaration of Human Rights, differing from our Declaration with the absence of the right to bear arms, limited government, natural law and most important, God given inalienable rights.

IB philosophy mandates what students should be like to accomplish the stated goal of developing the attitudes, values and worldview of citizens of the world by requiring and monitoring students to perform as the "Learner Profile" dictates. Per numerous IB documents, the Learner Profile mandates characteristics of "Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective". {IBO website} The majority of these attributes are subjective character traits; what students should be like, not academics.

Locally IB is taught in over a dozen elementary, middle and high schools. A school district may deny these facts. The real truth is that every school teaching the IB must sign a contract with the Geneva organization. They agree to use IB approved curriculum and, important tests, even reading lists. Student assessments are sent to Geneva for grading. IB trains the district teachers and authorizes and evaluates the schools. Schools must uphold their contractual obligation to teach the IB approved curriculum, philosophy and values, thus federal and state standards are superseded. They must teach courses from the IB point of view.

The foremost organization reporting on IB curriculum is Edwatch, There you can find more information on IB curriculum and the latest on other education movements important to conservatives.

No More Tax-Exempt Living in Gilford!

2008-06-28T13:01:39Z

To all the letter writers that have missed the point on the petition to stop the sale of the Potter Hill Road property:

It's NOT about being against the seniors!

Heck, how many live in my neighborhood?

It's about a town facilitating a group of people that will live property tax free within a system of government funded by those same taxes-- and that's NOT FAIR!!!!!

Don't forget, for every citizen granted this special right, the rest of us have to take up the slack.

And here's the other problem: These people that don't pay property taxes like the rest of us will still get the right to vote on spending matters before the town. As I said here on this blog a while back, this seems to be a way for Gilford's big spenders to do an end-run around SB2. Why would people that don't pay taxes ever feel the need to say NO?

Enough is enough.

Are we to the point now here in Gilford that, if we follow the recent logic put forth by one of our Selectmen, we consider family homes somehow bad, and group-type communal homes GOOD? I don't think so. If I want that, I'll move to Red China or the Former Soviet Union.

Additionally, I don't feel in any way "obligated" to help people create systems by which certain classes of Gilford residents will benefit at the expense of others.

The only way I could ever accept more of these developments here in our town is if those that live in them are NOT allowed to vote on town and school matters. And since that can't happen, then the next best thing is to simply prevent them from creating any more tax havens.

In this case, where the town owns the land, it seems as though it can be stopped. Please join me in signing Terry's petition.

NO TAXPAYER-FUNDED TAX-FREE LIVING IN GILFORD. NO WAY!!!!

About that nice sounding "International Baccalaureate Programme" being promoted here in Gilford...

2008-06-23T21:24:15Z

A story from the St. Helena Star:

On Friday students gathered at Carpy Field with their umbrellas before marching through downtown and arriving back at Carpy Field, where they had a hamburger lunch. On the way students flashed peace signs and some could be heard chanting, “No more war.”

Don't worry, though, because it's all thanks to St. Helena's

adoption of the International Baccalaureate program, which teaches students how to be a part of a global community.

Ugh! You'll cringe when you learn how deeply into local schools UNESCO and the UN have driven. Is this what parents want from their children's schools? If they only knew! More recommended reading here. Community theme pdf here (note freedom fighter reference). Here in Gilford, when promoting the program, the Superintendent mentions, according to meeting minutes that large portions of its education philosophy follow Dewy very closely. Find out about Dewey here. Yikes!

If you are a parent with a child in school-- government or PRIVATE, you need to be on the watch for IB. You need to understand what it really means, and what it seeks to do to your child. The school board is looking at this NOW! You need to understand what is happening!

Click here to read more on an earlier posting at GraniteGrok...

Hearing what they want to hear?

2008-06-23T13:54:57Z

It seems the news papers are full of articles about the so called outside agencies and their constant need for money. To be perfectly clear, the issue was not about the worthiness of the cause but rather the use of tax dollars under penalty of the loss of your home. It is also very clear that these agencies receive money from the County and State in some cases. As we all recall, the voters of Gilford spoke on this issue last year and voted down the spending of Gilford tax dollars for several of these agencies. Wouldn’t you think that’s the end of the story? No it’s obviously not, in the era of the constant assault on the hapless tax payer. There are several things worth noting about all these stories. For starters we haven’t seen citizens in need of services roaming the streets at large and causing my taxes to go up, as these outside agencies suggest. The only people pining on about the loss of tax dollars for these agencies are the administrators whose salaries are supported by those dollars. Recently, I received a survey on the social needs of the community. What was glowingly absent from this survey was the ability to check an answer stating that I feel the current service level is adequate or in surplus. The survey is rigged to provide the service providers with a result that obviously supports the need for more services. Additionally, I find it odd that politicians hear only what they want to hear from the tax payer. For example; The Gilford Selectmen claim the lack of residents voicing opposition to allowing a tax exempt “affordable senior housing” community is an endorsement by the people to approve of such communities. The people have spoken, or in this case not spoken! Now we have the administrators of the outside agencies pleading to reinstate the money after voters clearly rejected the use of tax dollars to support them. Obviously, the voters were uninformed about the importance of these services. So voters are informed when they don’t oppose a tax exempt community but are uniformed when they vote against funding outside agencies?

Selectman Grant states that she has “always supported Youth Services and will continue to do so.” I hope that she is referring to the kind of support where individuals can voluntarily contribute to the cause and not the kind of support that sends Gilford tax dollars to these agencies against the will of the voters.

And Now ... The Rest of the Story

2008-06-20T17:32:38Z

Okay, I've been reminded that the Selectmen knew the legal process required to sell the Potter Hill land. Actually, a Selectman explained the process to me prior to the first public hearing. My comments come from the obvious lack of accurate reporting on the subject. During my travels to China I was able to view the Laconia Daily Sun and other news papers to keep up with the events. The media, who just can't help stumbling all over Selectman Hayes, reported that the selectmen voted to sell the Potter Hill property to Birch Knolls for the purpose of tax exempt senoir housing. The incompetence that I refer to is three fold; 1) Allowing the creation of housing communities that are exempt from contributing to our children's education. 2) Claiming to vote on selling the property when they actually voted to begin the process to sell the property. 3) Mr. Hayes suggesting that Tim Long might not carry out his claim to purchase the lot and build affordable senior housing.

This gives the residents of Gilford until July 14th to produce a petition to require a straight forward bidding process for our land or send it to the voters as a warrant article.

Anyone interseted in signing this petition should contact me at tstewart@Lr.net

One Last Chance

2008-06-18T16:48:55Z

In a moment of total incompetence, led by Kevein Hayes, the selectmen voted to approve the sale of the public's Potter Hill land without following the correct procedure. Apparently someone reminded them that the law requires the Conservation Commision and Planning Committees approve the sale of land prior to the vote. Ooops! Now they are quickly moving to do it right and tlhe people have one last chance to object to this move on June 25th at 7:00 PM.

Keep in mind that this will exempt a growing community from investing in our children's future. I'm also wondering how many of the residents of this future community were ever Gilford residents?

If the Selectmen do not hear any opposition, as is the case right now, then they will really have no choice but to approve this sale. This is the last chance to speak out. It is simple math; when your school costs rise and there are less people to help to pay the investment, your taxes will increase!!!!

The new Economy for Anytown, USA

2008-06-09T19:30:52Z

Have you noticed the increasing number of advertisements, mail surveys, articles and events that are instigated by non profit groups? This trend seems to be the new model for growing an economy in nearly every town or city I travel to. I have the pleasure or displeasure, depending on how you look at it, of traveling to a different destination on a weekly basis. I’ve seen the long term outcome for these communities and it isn’t necessarily good for middle class families. Here is how the system works; first you need a few non profit (501c) groups to barrage the community with news that services are desperately needed to help the “cause of the day”. Typically, these 501c groups have a large number of hefty administrative salaries to support, so it’s pretty important to keep a steady flow of cash coming in. That’s where you the tax payer come in because they’ve found a way to tap directly into your State, county and local taxes. To sustain their growth they continue to barrage the community with panic and fear that a problem truly exists. It doesn’t take long for the people that want “free” services to find out that those services now exist in your home town. Presto! Now your community has a problem and more services will be needed to deal with the new influx of recipients that just seem to keep materializing from nowhere. Your community is now flooded with new citizens looking for “free” services and somehow the crime rate just sky rocketed. You have no choice but to increase your police and fire departments to protect the safety of the citizens. Of course we sprinkle a few “affordable” senior housing communities here and there so that we can get more services, give the criminals someone to prey on and give the police and fire department a steady flow of work. Our community isn’t quite complete yet. We have too many citizens with too much time on their hands because they can’t work and they’re just hanging around waiting for their services. We’ve provided them housing, exempted them from taxes, give them “free” services and food but we’re simply not entertaining them enough. That’s why you need a new community center and full service library. You also need a new police and fire department because they are dealing with too many problems and interacting with the “new” community members to the point where they need a larger “full service” facility, complete with weight room and trappings to meet all their needs without over exposing themselves to the community. We’re nearly complete now, with all the elected officials on board with the 501c economy and the citizens rallying to provide more help and relief to the community. With parents working multiple jobs our schools eventually adopt a Baccalaureate program so that the children are feeling so good about themselves that they don’t bog down their parents with home work or other such silly problems. We even employ our children and parents to volunteer to do the work that the 501c groups get paid to do but they can’t do because they are too busy administrating each other and giving themselves awards. What day wouldn’t be complete without reading about all the 501c activity in the eagerly supportive local news papers?

You’d think we’d be all set now. We have plenty of 501c groups, plenty of service recipients and enough working families to support the entire program but we still have a problem. It seems our more savory citizens, that have multiplied like ants to a picnic, have got themselves a little drug problem. It appears we just haven’t given them enough services so they had to resort to drugs and now they’re preying on the community to support their habit. What else is a community to do but bring a methadone clinic to town? What a perfect solution! Everyone’s happy now. The criminals are all in one spot, serviced, fed, and entertained. The middleclass families are too busy working two and three jobs trying to pay for it all and the 501c groups have secured their salaries for years to come. There’s just one problem that hasn’t been solved. How do we get the methadone patients, that are never late and never miss their methadone treatment, to show up for a job on time?

Selectmen Make Stunning Decision

2008-05-30T13:17:53Z

In a stunning moment of complete incompetence, Gilford’s Selectmen decided to sell town property to the Gilford Village Knolls without any formal bidding process. How can this be with a known bidder in the waiting? Apparently no one else in Gilford cares about adding more non tax paying residents to the town. These citizens will obviously have no problem riding in the teacher driven van to the polls and voting for every spending program going. I can’t imagine that the founding fathers ever imagined the concept of a 501c organization that can create a community of citizens that bear absolutely no consequences for their votes on town spending.

I asked one of our Selectman if I should start collecting signatures for the petition to stop them from doing something this stupid. I was told that it would be extremely difficult for the Selectmen to allow Gilford Village Knolls to purchase the property without a formal bidding process. What happened? Please keep in mind that I have nothing against affordable senior housing, which is exactly what the other bidder wants to do. I simply have a problem with any citizens that do not want to invest in our children’s education. If they can not afford the taxes, they can get relieve under State law.

Then there’s the simple fact that the Selectmen are supposed to be working for the best interest of the tax payers. With a known bidder in the wind how can they possibly not require a bidding process?

Are there 50 concerned residents that would sign a petition to stop this madness?

Breaking News: Acting Town Administrator Tenders Resignation

2008-05-28T20:50:22Z

As of this posting, sources reveal that the acting Town Administrator Debra Shackett has given the Selectmen a four week notice that she will be leaving Gilford.

But wait, there's even more breaking news...

She has apparently been offered, and has accepted, the position of Administrator/ Finance Director for Belknap County, replacing the fired Nancy Cook.

Wow!

As a member of the Budget Committee, and a follower of the county's business, it is my opinion that this is good news for Belknap County. Unlike her predecessor, my experience with Shackett when it comes to the budget is all good. Never have I seen her unfamiliar with any aspect of the budget, or unable to quickly get an answer to a question, in the event one is not immediately available.

Congratulations, Deb! In the meantime, the Selectmen have their work cut out for them...

Guest Blog Post: About that math NECAP: "It really was not a hard test, it just tested basic concepts which should be learned at a young age..."

2008-05-22T03:36:17Z

We had Ann Marie Banfield on Meet The New Press this past weekend as we talked about the International Baccalaurate program (promo here and podcast here). Her specialty seems to be the types of math instruction going on in our schools systems. We have invited her to submit guest posts over at Granite - her first post at GraniteGrok is here. And reproduced below.

The question it raises is "what's the standard"? What should our children be learning by the end of Grade 1, Grade 2,....Senior in High School?

It is our understanding that the District is starting the process of defining those standards as they are starting to get ready for "Follow The Child" initiatives that Dr. DiMinico wishes to implement in the Gilford School system.

Wouldn't it be great to see what those standards are on their website, not only the final ones but the "draft" ones as well? Our tax monies pay for it - our kids live it. Why not make it easier for the community to see them too?

Remember the Gilford NECAP scores...and here.

Ann Marie's post:

by Ann Marie Banfield

The state Superintendent of the Georgia schools contacted parents to give them the news that the math scores from the state proficiency exam proved to be dismal. The Superintendent decided to release the news to help prepare parents for this grim news.

What I find interesting is that Georgia has pretty good math standards. According to the prestigious Fordham Foundation, GA received a "B" after the experts analyzed GA math standards. Compare this to the "F" assigned to the NH math standards.

Now what if the NH students were required to meet higher math standards as GA, or Massachusetts which was given an "A"? How well would our students perform?

The GA news is reporting that 40% of the eighth graders would have to be held back based on their failing grades. Would our students be able to pass the same test? This is a dilemma for parents in NH. NH has set the bar so low, that parents cannot rely on state exams to give them a clear idea of whether or not their child is proficient in mathematics.

With the bar set so low in NH, and with students in NH are having difficulty passing the state exam, just think if that bar was raised to the level of other states who've decided that math proficiency is important. Why is it, parents must rely upon outside tutoring services, private schools or choose to home-school in order to get a decent education in this state?

While reading comments at the Union Leader web site where the headline reads: NECAP Math Scores Fall Short, I found the following comment revealing:

"I am a Junior and I took the NECAP this year. I was home schooled until high school, so I come from a different background than other students. I was the only student at my school to get all 4s on the test. It really was not a hard test, it just tested basic concepts which should be learned at a young age, and apparently were not taught in public schools. I think this test shows the holes in early education, because it is not just testing information we should have recently acquired like most high school tests do."

This comment was posted by a home-schooled student who avoided the pitfalls of the NH public school system.

With all the resources and the well educated parents living in this state, it still surprises me that there is no organized effort to raise the bar.

Ann Marie lives in Bedford and is a well-informed parent concerned about the kind of math being taught in many of today's schools-- what she calls "fuzzy math"... She recently appeared on MTNP radio to discuss the subject. Click here to listen.

A note for a fellow Gilford blogger

2008-05-18T01:12:53Z

Our good friend, Chan (aka "DCE") Eddy, is feeling kinda down....his blogsite / hoster is feeling worse and refusing to come out and play. His backup site can be seen here

International Baccalaureate to be discussed Saturday on MTNP radio.

2008-05-17T03:28:43Z

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Starting Saturday morning at 9 am!

As usual, this week's broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration-- ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here for instructions on how to connect and listen on the Internet via livestream. (Podcasts here)

The Republicans are once again painted in a bad light due to the removal of a Democratic operative from a meeting. Democrat chair Ray Buckley, never one to miss a chance, uses the opportunity to take yet another swipe at NHGOP chair Fergus Cullen. This time, it involves our local county Republicans, and a GraniteGrok video we made over a year ago. Is there a better way to handle this stuff? Can the local Republicans do anything right? What about at the National level?

Michigan Congressman Thadeus McCotter is the Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee (HRPC). In his third appearance here on MTNP, he'll fill us in on what has been going on in Washington with the war funding bill. Normally, I don't like to see representatives vote "present" (Obama's other middle name...), but in the case of Thursday's vote, I can see the value. We'll also talk government spending, and find out why he voted in favor of the farm bill that has everybody in a tizzy...
So I'm reading Michell Malkin, and whose name do I see? Yep-- our very own Pat Hynes! Seems Michelle's in a snit over the fact that she wasn't invited to the (almost) weekly blogger conference calls with his client, John McCain.

There are many questions I know you’d like asked, but I’ve never been able to ask them because I haven’t been one of the privileged few conservative bloggers allowed into the McCain sanctum to ask those questions for you.
Wow! We're "privileged" to have been allowed into the "inner sanctum! We'll talk about the concept of blogger calls and what was discussed Thursday. Michelle says Pat emailed her and said she would be invited to the next ones. What are the logistics of a president committed to continuing the concept? Seems you can't invite everybody.

McCain's 2013

Is Hillary toast? Glad? Sad?
Among other things, CNHT's Jane Aitken is a computer consultant, retired educator, and conservative activist who lives in New Hampshire. For concerned parents and other interested persons, Jane is fast becoming the "go-to" gal for the lovely-sounding International Baccalaureate Program. Jane has learned even more that folks need to be aware of when considering "IB" for their local schools since the last time she checked in with the MTNP gang. Joining us in the studio is Anne Marie, a Bedford parent who has done what every parent should do when the specter of IB is raised for their child: her homework. She's an "expert" at "fuzzy math." We'll learn what that is, and how it sets the stage for "the agenda." Recall a few weeks back we discussed a story from the St. Helena Star:
On Friday students gathered at Carpy Field with their umbrellas before marching through downtown and arriving back at Carpy Field, where they had a hamburger lunch. On the way students flashed peace signs and some could be heard chanting, “No more war.”
Don't worry, though, because it's all thanks to St. Helena's
adoption of the International Baccalaureate program, which teaches students how to be a part of a global community.

Ugh! You'll cringe when you learn how deeply into local schools UNESCO and the UN have driven. Is this what parents want from their children's schools? If they only knew! More recommended reading here. Community theme pdf here (note freedom fighter reference). Here in Gilford, when promoting the program, the Superintendent mentions, according to meeting minutes that large portions of its education philosophy follow Dewy very closely. Find out about Dewey here. Yikes!
If you are a parent with a child in school-- government or PRIVATE, you need to be on the watch for IB. You need to understand what it really means, and what it seeks to do to your child. Please plan on calling during the discussion at 603-527-1490 with any questions or comments.

Think we'll get it all in? Tune in and find out! It all starts at 9AM EST Saturday. Tune in if you're in Central NH at NewsTalk 1490AM WEMJ or live on the 'Net here... The best radio (in our humble opinions) anywhere...

Opennes and Transparency - Web Style!

2008-05-16T02:15:30Z

Last night I had the privilege to address the Gilford Selectmen on how Gilford's website could be used to enhance the Town's image of being Open and Transparent by putting more information on its website. I thank them very much!

The emphasis was on making more information available online. The actual presentation can be seen here (a PowerPoint file). If you take the time to read it, feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Be sure to go to the Links page and look at the Check Register examples!

I also want to add:

Thanks to Gus for his willingness to look into this further.
My apologies (again!) to Sandy for missing her postings of the Agendas - that has been adjusted at the Sunshine Review site for Gilford!

So, how are the schools doing this round?

2008-05-16T01:58:59Z

The Laconia Citizen (pg 1, 6-8) reported on results of the No Child Left Behind for schools here in the Lakes Region:

Gilford School District: No schools in the “need of improvement” category but students at the elementary, middle and high schools levels failed to achieve AYP in math this year. The middle school was also cited for failing to reach reading goals.

A trifecta!

I saw an analogy the other day - it goes something like this:

In order to pass a swimming test, the kids had to swim the length of the pool. Whose fault would it be if half the kids drowned in the attempt - the kids, or the teacher?

Again, I know kids can skew the results - but all the time? And across the whole span of grades? At what time do we stop blaming the kids?