In my post on putting students first again alluded to the failure of top-down test-driven K12 education to create workers for the modern digital age. A new distraction has entered the fray, and it started as an experiment to see if you can boil down a person’s performance to a single number (hint: you can’t). The Department of Education just released the results of former education chancellor Joel Klein’s teacher rating experiment. The UFT went on the defensive for a few reasons, not the least of which is that the results of this experiment were always intended to be private because they are, obviously, experimental. Unfortunately for...

Remember the days when doing something such as smoking, engaging in unprotected sex or drinking and driving were the number one reasons why Americans died? Seems obscured to say, but nowadays doing nothing is the leading cause of death for Americans. Hypokinetic disease (living a sedentary lifestyle) subjects many to cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, insomnia and chronic lower back pain. The average American is overweight and inactive. Gym memberships are at an all time high, however the obesity rates are still climbing at extreme rates. The Center of Disease Control is concerned with epidemic. The CDC...

Instead of choosing one of the thousands of questions from more intelligent viewers, CNN’s John King chose the most simple-minded, doltish question I’ve ever heard asked of an American presidential candidate: “Define yourself using one word, and one word only. – Andra H.” Just as it’s absurdly ridiculous to summarize a presidential candidate’s platform, personality, and expertise in a single word, it’s absurd to think that our technology can capture who we are as people. And most of us already know it does not. I do work for a company that uses interaction and collaboration expertise to make corporate meetings and events...

NYACK, NY – It’s no news that the Nyack parking situation is far from ideal. Readers of local Nyack publications have consistently complained in letters to editors about Nyack’s lack of parking which in turn effects the businesses and overall community health. It seems former Mayor John Shields’ attempt to debunk this issue by installing muni-meters to “create more spots” has had a failed adverse reaction. I agree with Mayor Jen Laird-White’s opposition to a mammoth parking structure, espousing a need to find “creative” ways to deal with the issue, including a new technologically advanced...