Substitutes

One problem at Bogalusa Middle seems to be lack of teachers. There are at least two out long-term, we've been told by a student, info not verified.

Yet I find no vacancies listed at the state civil service employment site, at Teach Louisiana, or at Bogalusa City Schools employment page.

In Bogalusa, a substitute teacher can be noncertified and non-degreed and will get paid $50 per day [page 15, line 66].

Is it acceptable for a high school graduate to teach your kids?

Bogalusa schools

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has taken an interest in the Bogalusa schools - because they've got problems. Low test scores, discipline, etc. Surely some enterprising parent or teacher will bemoan the supposed lack of G*d in the schools, too [sigh].

I missed the meeting and sure hope The Daily News puts the results online.

Some comments on the above-linked meeting article [excerpt]:

District 1 BESE Board member Penny Dastugue called today's public meeting - with staff members of the Louisiana Department of Education (DOE) and not members of the BESE board - an "analysis and summation of data" because "it is hard for public citizens to go through data on-line."

I'll say it's hard. The latest numbers don't exist.

This is the PDF file of the 2005-2006 accountability results at the state ed. site. On page 43, blanks for Bogalusa because "Data are shaded for districts that had all schools identified as severe impact and chose to start over as new schools in accountability in 2006-07." However, I don't recall that the schools were all that great before Katrina - assuming that's the "impact" mentioned.

Here's my previous post with an overview of the spring 2006 GEE scores at Bogalusa High, specifically its comparison to Franklinton's schools.

Online education

There are many universities and colleges with online courses and degree programs, some accredited, some shady and fly-by-night. We all get their spam.

I recently found out that there are a number of elementary-to-high schools online. Thanks, posters!

Good to know about, especially considering the state of Bogalusa City Schools. A non-comprehensive list:

Stanford University Education Program for Gifted Youth.
BYU independent study
U of Oklahoma Independent High School

There is tuition, naturally. But your teacher will probably not try to indoctrinate you into their religion during geography.

This last one might be too difficult for the pre-college students, and there's no credit or instructor access granted, but it's free:

MIT OpenCourseWare

Happy learning!

Mortgage lenders going bust

As part of our Housing Bubble readings, we've found the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter:

I set this page up to keep track of mortgage lenders in the US going bust since approximately December 2006, when it seems the first of them started going under. Many observers (including myself) have been anticipating this for some time, as rising home prices (and other financial assets) have collided with the deteriorating consumer balance sheet and low-as-they-can-possibly-go interest rates (heavily reliant on the dole of China and the oil exporters).

It appears what had to give is now finally giving: the latest subprime loans are going delinquent the quickest, and it seems likely that their prior kin will soon follow (and many of these will likely end up in foreclosure). Further, I expect a large swathe of prime loans to go bad (the prime/subprime distinction is quite fuzzy anyway). Originators cannot handle the buybacks, and so when challenged by them are immediately folding. The phenomenon is just getting started. What will the banking industry — generally all or part owners in these enterprises — do? Stay tuned.

Nine so far. Yes, do stay tuned.

More on the bubble

Over at the Housing Panic blog, Keith has an outstanding and sobering post:

· The upswing usually starts with an opportunity - new markets, new technologies or some dramatic political change - and investors looking for good returns.

(collaterized loans, 1% interest rates, globalization)

· It proceeds through the euphoria of rising prices, particularly of assets, while an expansion of credit inflates the bubble.

(Hey, my house just went up 20%! Masses quit their jobs to get realtor licenses. Neighbors talk about prices at cocktail parties)

· In the manic phase, investors scramble to get out of money and into illiquid things such as stocks, commodities, real estate or tulip bulbs: 'a larger and larger group of people seeks to become rich without a real understanding of the processes involved'.

Read the whole thing.

Grammar police.

I was disappointed to read here:

"You think, 'What did I get into? What do I gotta do to get out of this?' " Shore said.

While I applaud CNN's or APs devotion to capturing local flavor, Shore is Special Agent Shore, FBI, one of America's Finest.

Good grief, he sounds like a thug. "What do I gotta do," indeed.

The formerly flooded city

Speaking of New Orleans, we were down there a few days ago.

Did some "disaster tourism" and drove around this area:








[from Google Maps]









Sad. Very sad. Yeah, lots of homes are being worked on. Some appear finished and are occupied.

Others are empty, collapsing, not gutted or boarded up. 16+ months after Katrina.

It appears that they didn't get enough of an influx of construction workers - legal or otherwise. And I'm sure that some poor souls' rehab efforts are being hampered by the snail's pace of the Road Home program.

ATVs. Oh my goodness.

Driving down Avenue F tonight around 6:00 p.m. - well after sundown - and saw an ATV going in the other direction.

After dark. In the road.

Some people are just suicidal, I guess.

Loose livestock

I was phoned by an impeccably reliable source today that there were horses loose on Spring Valley Road.

He said this has occurred several times recently. Maybe somebody could help the owner horse-proof his fence?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-chaaaaanges

We've become an Amazon Associate, which means you'll be seeing links to books in our posts. Some of 'em slightly humorous, I hope.

In the sidebar we'll have a running text-only list.

Happy reading :-)!