rudis dot net

Courtesy of FP, feel free to check on your blog's reading level.

For the record, RUDIS DOT NET is:

Learned a (sad) new word today - "exurb". I think that describes many places around (like, say, Renton).

Since it seems to be a well-travelled term coined in the 1950's (according to Wikipedia), I'm trying to figure out what rock I was hiding under to have missed it for so long.

It will now be more difficult to take a test at Penn State than it will to take an international flight. I've taught in higher ed and can vouch for the uninspiring work ethic of today's college youth.

Definitely an example of good physical and logical controls and it will be interesting to see how/if the "students" manage to circumvent some or part of them.

PSU test center goes high-tech, high-security - USATODAY.com: "STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Swipe your ID card through the reader, take your ticket to your assigned cubicle, and don't forget to smile for the video cameras.
Pennsylvania State University's new testing center will be a lot like those on other campuses, with 160 private cubicles, each equipped with a computer. But the process of qualifying to enter it may be worthy of the CIA."

<!--extended-->Lancaster Online has an article about serious attempts in the PA legislature to curtail spending on virtual charter schools.

The rhetoric is so thick you can slice it.

Lehigh County residents, vote Beyer out, please! She's the uneducated person responsible for the most popular of the bills [pdf].

You can comment to her directly via links from the state house site.

<!--extended-->eSchoolNews reports that an Indiana state budget battle will leave two new virtual charter schools unfunded, forcing about 2,200 students to seek other alternatives. The debate in that state over virtual charter schools is quite heated, with both sides voicing strong arguments. Democratic Representative Joe Micon said that:

"We have a responsibility to fund and maintain public schools...[w]e don't have a constitutional requirement to publicly fund those who choose to home-school their children."

Ron Brumbarger, CEO of the Indiana Virtual Charter School chastised the lawmakers saying:

"Shame on our legislature for being shortsighted and disappointing these 2,000 students around Indiana...Shame on our legislature for not being forward-thinking for how to create a competitive Indiana, instead of slamming the brakes on innovation. They should be embarrassed."

Over 24 states have virtual charter school programs, including Pennsylvania. Jarrod is in the PAVCS program and Tori will be joining him in the fall. The teachers & support staff are great and the curriculum & activities are well crafted and managed. It would be a shame to lose any virtual charter school program in this state, and Indiana is guaranteed to scare away an entire class of potential residents with this stance on next-gen education alternatives. Time for the voters in Indiana to remember the lack of forward-thinking when poll-time comes around.