Tomconroy
Tomconroy's JournalAlexander's Ragtime Band - Al Jolson and Bing Crosby
How it feels to be an Asian at an elite NYC public school.
Tausifa looks at the multihued sea of students pouring through the doors of Brooklyn Tech. She expressed puzzlement that a school where three-quarters of the students are nonwhite could be described as segregated. “I have classes with students of all demographics and skin colors, and friends who speak different languages,” she said. “To call this segregation does not make sense.”
The debate over an entrance exam
Critics of specialized high schools argue these institutions are out of step with the zeitgeist and educational practice. Better to cast aside standardized tests and seek heterogenous classes in neighborhood high schools, they argue, than to cloister top students. Some studies, they say, show struggling students gain from the presence of talented outliers. And the entrance exam has fueled the growth of a private and inequitable tutoring industry.
Those who champion specialized high schools point to alumni who became top scientists. With few exceptions, these were the children of working-class and immigrant families. The best students, they argue, should press as far ahead as brains and curiosity might take them.
The mayor and school officials preside over a system of 1.1 million schoolchildren, they add, in which only half are proficient in math and 24% of Black students fail to graduate. As Americans struggle to stay competitive with other nations in science, technology and mathematics, why obsess about the anti-egalitarian sins of a handful of high-performing schools that hold 6% of high school students?
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/how-it-feels-to-be-an-asian-student-in-an-elite-public-school/
Interesting read about the entrance exam to a few eite NYC high schools that have been a traditional way for minorities to prosper. These days asian students are in the majority of those who attend these schools.
The Michael Avenatti Trial
There are so many of them it's hard to keep track. This one is in NYC where he's on trial for stealing Stormy Daniel's book money. I'm following it a bit on twitter. It began Monday. Yesterday afternoon he made the always interesting move to fire his three (How did he get three?) public defenders and represent himself. Unfortunately, he's run into one of those judges who run their courtrooms with a firm hand. Here's a sample;
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1486435016246796301
Sounds like Stormy testifies tomorrow.
Paris Hilton has invested in Crypto since 2016!
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/26/paris-hilton-has-invested-in-crypto-since-2016-heres-why-shes-betting-big-on-nfts-and-the-metaverse.htmlWhat more reason do you need?
How to Reduce Your Chances of Dying From Covid by 99 percent!
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1485695982117425153Just get vaccinated and a booster.
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1485981638148296713
Omicron BA.2 shows up in CT and MA
https://twitter.com/NathanGrubaugh/status/1486083856860123137Dr. Grubaugh does the Covid sequencing at Yale. The entire thread is worth a read, although I only understand a little of it. He thinks it'll overwhelm the present Omicron strain BA.1 pretty quickly. Doesn't seem to think it will result in many new cases but he admits he could be wrong.
So if things go downhill I guess it will happen in New England first and soon.
State says NYC restaurant can't offer 25 cent drinks!
https://nypost.com/2022/01/24/state-says-nyc-restaurant-cant-offer-25-cent-drinks-to-fight-january-blues/But it can charge 12 bucks for a martini and throw in a dozen oysters for free!
Ten Infamous Mob Hangouts in New York City.
https://untappedcities.com/2022/01/21/mob-hangouts-nyc/2/?displayall=trueAnd who wouldn't want to visit a spot where Louis 'Lump Lump' Barone knocked off Albert Circelli, a made man in the Lucchese Crime Family?
Omicron Hampers Broadway!
After a shaky December, when as many as half of Broadway's shows were shut down because of breakthrough COVID cases, things are on a more even keel; there were no canceled performances on Broadway last week. But the winter doldrums have hit – with temperatures and tourism plummeting, fewer people are seeing shows. The most recent box office figures show roughly two-thirds of seats filled, many at a heavy discount. Several musicals and plays closed for good, because of COVID — presumably the omicron variant — including Jagged Little Pill, Waitress and Ain't Too Proud. And, in a new trend, three shows have closed for now, in the hopes of returning in the spring.
There were very few people at the half-price TKTS booth in Times Square last Tuesday night, and many of the 21 shows still playing on Broadway were offering discounts. Roger Wilson from Sweden was looking for bargains. "I understand the industry is really struggling," he said. "On the other hand, it's easier for someone like me to get last-minute tickets."
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/23/1074817122/pandemic-broadway-closed-shows-actors-producers-tickets
We'll be there ere long.
Where Omicron Began: Gauteng Province SA
https://twitter.com/rid1tweets/status/1484222326392688643https://twitter.com/rid1tweets/status/1484464675182071808
The rise is similar in UK and US. Hoping for a similar decline.
