To err is human, but to really frak things up takes a computer

So after all that computer squee of a month or so ago, I now bring you a post of computer woe. Starting a couple of weeks ago, every time I tried to turn on my computer, this hideous beeping sound would start coming from inside the CPU, and it wouldn't turn on at all (i.e., nothing showing on the monitor at all). And I would finally have to turn it off with the switch on the back of the CPU. I talked to my computer guru in RL, kchoseng, and he suggested that I unhook everything that wasn't absolutely essential (speakers, zip drive, etc) from the back of the CPU, and see if the problem was still happening. So, I tried that recently, and yes, the problem is still happening, and I really don't want to bother kchoseng about it since he is in the middle of a work project that is pwning his soul. So, I was telling likeadeuce about the whole situation on Gmail chat, and she suggested that I appeal to the collective wisdom of my flist. So, since I have historically gotten good answers with this method, I'm trying it. Oh flist of mine, what do you think could be causing this, and what should I do about it? Bearing in mind that I am not a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination.

Women Rock!

I didn't even realize it was International Women's Day, until I saw it on LJ! What would I do without my flist? I ask you. Anyhow, I gakked this from inlovewithnight--a favorite women characters meme!

So, some of erinpoetchica's favorite women characters, in no particular order:

1.) All the women of Firefly rock! But if absolutely pressed, I'd have to pick Zoe and River--and yet, Inara and Kaylee are almost as awesome!
2.) Vesper Holly, from Lloyd Alexander's The Illyria Adventure, etc. One of the kick-ass girl heroines of my childhood, whom I still adore.
3.) C.J. Cregg. Because she's tall and glamorous (but not too pretty) and funny and thoughtful and passionate and sad.
4.) Kay Howard. Because she's sensible without being dull, and compassionate without being soft, and more competitive than she usually admits. The hair doesn't hurt either.
5.) Vicky Austin, from Madeleine L'Engle's books. Because she's one of the female characters I identify with most deeply, along with
6.) Julia Redfern, from Eleanor Cameron book A Room Made of Windows and sequels. She has a journal called The Book of Strangenesses--how cool is that? Yes, it's a sensitive-yet-rebellious-young-girl-wants-to-be-a-writer book, but it's a really good one.
7.) Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, from Lois McMaster Bujold's books. Because I want to be her when she grows up. She kicks all kinds of ass.
8.) Death from the Sandman comics. Because she is perky, and wise, and uniquely fabulous.
8.) Laura Roslin. Because she cares deeply for the welfare of humanity, and is willing to make hard choices to that end--she's not always right, but I almost always understand why she does what she does. Because she starts out uncertain, but she's resolute, a quick learner, and doesn't allow herself to be intimidated by anyone. Because she seemed to genuinely love teaching.
9.) Jenna Boller from Joan Bauer's novels, Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward for her wry and funny voice, for her responsibility and courage in following an unusual passion.
10.) Katharine, Duchess of Tremontaine from Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint series. I can't explain this one in a coherent way--just go read The Privilege of the Sword.

Of course there are plenty of other female characters that I adore--these are just the ones that popped into my head right at the moment. :)

The Education Post, Part One

I know I'm being very posty tonight, but the computer lab in my building is pretty empty (a rare event) and I'm taking advantage of it while I can. Anyway, I've had thoughts brewing on the topic of education that I've wanted to post for awhile, but I just haven't found the right moment.

Anyway, the state of our education system is a perennial topic in all sorts of circles, and although there are people, notably Gerald Bracey, who writes for the very good education magazine Phi Delta Kappan who have pointed out that a lot of the constant claims of "crisis" are overblown (for instance, part of the reason that SAT scores have declined is that a much larger number of students take the test than used to, but do you ever hear about that?). But nobody can deny that there are some major problems--I get up close and personal with some of them every day. I mean--I work in a building that's not that much younger than my grandfather, and my grandfather is 89. But I don't think that the problems are limited to relatively poor, urban schools--they're just more visible there.

And I believe that at least some of the problems are built into our system of education at a level deeper than most people seem to consider: the level of our assumptions about what "education" means. For a long time, it seems like we've been working with what somebody dubbed "the factory model of education". That is, the idea that schools should be large, organized by an efficient system of periods and bells dividing everything into little bits of knowledge. Teaching is telling, learning is listening and memorizing. Kids should be in a largish group of only students their own age, learning pretty much the same thing at the same time in the same way. If they don't learn well that way, something is wrong with them and they need remediation. If they learn much more quickly, all they need for stimulation is to do more homework and move through the courses faster. I was talking with a friend who teaches first grade, and she pointed out that education isn't all like that today, that there is a greater emphasis on tailoring lessons to a variety of student learning styles and skill levels (this is called "differentiated instruction" in educationese). I said that that was true, but that the factory model is so often the background assumption, the water that we swim in.

I don't think that every feature of the factory model is always terrible, but at it's worse, it does violence to teachers and to students, and I do think that alternatives need to be available. Lots of alternatives. And some are, but on a very limited scale within the public system. And charter schools, which could really be a viable alternative, are too often "more of the same, but different".