The Carnival of Things in My Email Box 2

Because you just can't get enough carnival.

A faculty advisor wonders if it's OK that she gets free tickets to sporting events, worrying about the appearance of impropriety. I say go and enjoy the games.

It's a tale of two merit pay programs: down in Florida the program is floundering because of lack of district interest and a state budget crisis, while in Houston it's going quite well. I'd put a Rod Paige joke here, but that's so 2003.

Depending on your politics, this proposal to track kids with GPS is either one more step towards the mark of the beast or a great way to use modern technology to keep kids safe.

Advice on how to dress if you're looking for a job. It's one of those areas where you'd suppose that common sense would apply, but common sense isn't that common any more.

What price would you put on a faculty meeting?

Here's a situation that looks like it could have come right out of The Wire, only it's real life.

(Aside: I've been watching Season 4 of The Wire lately. That's incredible television, right there. When the cop-turned-teacher had his breakthrough moment with the kids, I stood up and cheered.)

When I was working with the gifted math kids last year I bought a homeschool math curriculum to use, figuring that if we worked out of a different book the material would still be fresh if they saw it again, as opposed to doing the same workbook sheet twice. It's a very easy way to differentiate for your high math students, and I'll vouch for the high quality of the one I linked to above.

Happy surfing!