Nuwaubianism is an esoteric cosmology, a collection of religious teachings, a group of religious, tribal, and fraternal organizations, and a set of cultural practices that is multifaceted and ever-changing.

York developed Nuwaubianism by drawing on a wide range of sources which include Theosophy-derived New Age movements such as Astara as well as the Rosicrucians, Freemasonry, the Shriners, the Moorish Science Temple of America, the revisionist Christianity and Islam of the Ahmadiyya Movement founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the numerology of Rashad Khalifa, the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin, Robert Temple’s ”The Sirius Mystery”, J.J. Hurtak’s ”The Keys of Enoch”, the works of Richard Shaver (a proponent of the Hollow Earth theory), David Icke, the UFO mythology of greys and reptilians, the political and legal theories of patriot mythology, modern scientific and pseudoscientific legends like those of Area 51, the Philadelphia Experiment, Project Blue Book, Montauk Project, and MJ-12, popular conspiracy theories such as those about the Illuminati or the Bilderberg Group, and even a paperback on fortune-telling.

Journalist Adam Heimlich reviewed a number of York’s booklets in 2000 and wrote:

A partial list, from my notes, of places I’d encountered Nuwaubian notions before includes ”Chariots of the Gods” and the Rael’s [sic] embellishments on that book, conspiracy lit, UFO lit, the human potential movement, Buddhism and new-age, astrology, theosophy and Blavatsky, Leonard Jeffries and other Afrocentrics, Cayce, LaRouche, alternative medicine, self-help lit, Satanism, the Atkins diet, numerology and yoga. Many of these York mentions by name. There are also extensive discourses on the Torah, Gospels and Koran, as well as on Rastafarianism, the Nation of Islam and the Five Percent Nation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized the Nuwaubians as a black supremacist hate group.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Nuwaubianism, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Realty firms, such as, Nagarjuna construction, Bhagyanagar Industries, GS Realtors, including a group of overseas investors are in the race to pick up a slice of Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE), as it has kick-started its de-mutualisation process. According to stock exchange sources, big realty majors, such as, DLF and Reliance Retail have also evinced interest in staking a HSE claim.

The reason behind the high –pitched interest shown by realty, retail and infrastructure players is, because HSE has Rs. 340-crore property under its control. The main exchange building, located in Hyderabad’s high-street retail area, itself is valued at Rs. 250-crore.

On course to off-load 51% stake to the public, HSE’s demutualization will segregate trading and ownership of the bourse. According to the process, subject to approval from Sebi, HSE will off-load a maximum of 5% to individuals or a consortium, at a floor price per equity share fixed at Rs. 450/-.

The bourse will follow a combination of divestment and issuance of fresh shares, if unable to off-load the desired level, after, it will corporatise into a limited company, according to Panduranga Reddy, Director – HSE.

With the bidding process scheduled for 21st July, the regional stock exchange has issued expression of interest to potential bidders. As part of the divestment exercise, the exchange will off-load a minimum of 14.89 lakh equity shares, 51% of the total number 29.20 lakh shares to persons, other than members.

The realty assets of the bourse include a semi-constr

HSE has over 292 trading members and around 774 listed, and while Delhi, Bngalore and Chennai have already completed the de-mutualisation process, incidentally, Hyderabad bourse is one of the last major regional exchanges to kick-start the exercise.

For more information on Real Estate Agents, MLS visit Propertiesmls.com

Source: IndiaRealEstateblog

Propertiesmls

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By: michael Webster

By MICHAEL WEBSTER: Syndicated Investigative Reporter. March 16, 2009 1:00 PM PST

The United States Defense Department claims that it is readying itself to issue contracts for the construction of a sophisticated, ultra-high altitude, 450-plus foot long blimps that will hover above the earth’s surface at 65,000 feet and remain airborne for up to 10 years.

 Many are skeptical and believe that this spy airship already exists or one like it and is in operation now. All across the U.S. and around the world the public has reported seeing large airships flying low believed to be taking off or landing. Most are reported seen near military airfields. The strange huge airships have also been reported being seen near the top secret base called Area 51 in Nevada north of Las Vegas.

Hundreds of Phoenix citizens reported seeing a lighted triangular shaped airship appearing to be two or three football-fields in size, flying slow and silently over the city a few years back. Airline pilots have also reported seeing giant similar airships.

The Pentagon says this new proposed spy ship will be powered by solar panel technologies and hydrogen fuel cells, the blimp like airship, unlike contemporary long endurance surveillance platforms such as the Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, drones and other systems will provide constant 24/7 all weather surveillance capabilities.

Reports in some US and UK publications, radio and TV stations suggested the airships reported all over the world is believed to be very much like this alleged new airship. According to officials this new airship will be able to travel to any global destination, can survey targets up to a 375 mile radius and can remain airborne without landing for ten years. They can have a real time live view of what’s happening on the ground say at our borders tracking drug and human smugglers and monitor ground troop movements in other problem area’s like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Mexico.

The Pentagon denies that the spy airship is already in existence and reports that this next generation airship they propose will provide the U.S. with intelligence that they have never had before. Experts who study government secrets say often by the time new technology is shared with the public it often has been around for years.

Reportedly, the new airship will be twenty times the size of the famed Goodyear blimp and will have high resolution cameras and communication capabilities in addition to a football-field sized radar antenna.

The blimp’s main attraction would lie in its ability to provide uninterrupted surveillance and the fact that it would be easily redeployed to any number of trouble spots worldwide, where it would provide real time information. It is absolutely revolutionary. ”When you only have a short-term view – whether it is a few hours or a few days – that is not enough to put the picture together,” Werner Dahm, chief scientist for the US Air Force, is quoted as saying in these reports.

Apart from huge savings in costs, compared to existing satellite based systems, the system would also avoid the risks from space junk, a phenomenon recently highlighted by near misses to the International Space Station and also the mysterious deaths of satellites, which, were damaged or destroyed by space debris or other satellites. The airship is an excellent alternative given the costs to launch satellites, build satellites, and maintain them. You also have to factor in the amount of space junk flying around in space that could potentially destroy a satellite at any given time – especially with the Space Vacuum not yet being ready.

The new proposed airship at such heights experts claim it will remain out of range of hand-held SAM systems as well as most fighter planes, but not satellite defense systems.

The high-flying airships are estimated to cost $400 million a copy. The report said a prototype is expected by 2014.

As early as the turn of the century the U.S. government was proposing similar if not the same spy airships. Early in this deck aid  “According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), 11 high-altitude airships would provide overlapping radar coverage of all maritime and southern border approaches to the continental U.S., and may be a significant asset in homeland defense efforts. The Stratospheric Platform System (SPS) dirigible operates just barely within the outer limits of the earth’s atmosphere and is emerging as part of the military’s 21st century transformational mindset.”

Many large tethered blimps have been sighted on the U.S. Mexican border and it is believed by locals along the border that they have been seen and in use for several years. They are not believed the ultra high altitude spy airships that hover around the 65,000 level they are smaller but are the lower altitude version and does the same type spying and monitoring of the US border areas. Locals say they are being operated by the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. National guard personal.

In a earlier government press release five years ago it reported that the government had already hired defense subcontractor Lockheed Martin to design, develop and build an enormous blimp that will be used to spy on Americans and others around the world, according to the Athens News. Government agencies such as the NSA are anticipating that as early as 2009 the blimp will be operational and begin supporting new ways of monitoring everything that happens on the planet.

In 2004 it was reported that a prototype of the blimp is already being developed at a cost of $40 million (now estimated at $400 Million). The spy ship, called the High Altitude Airship, will be seventeen times larger than the Goodyear Blimp and hover 12 miles above the ground. Although it is very large it will be invisible to both the naked eye and ground radar because of its distance from the earth. Fuel economic and self sufficient, it will be powered by solar energy and will be able to fly for years at a time.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command has already conducted a study to determine some of the uses of the spy ship. It has the capability of monitoring an area 600 miles in diameter at a time with surveillance equipment, such as high-resolution cameras. The government has ordered 11 of them – enough to monitor every parcel of land in the U.S.

Other related information and articles:

Additional FMNN articles on the subject:

EXCLUSIVE – SUPER SPY BLIMPS IN USE?

Saturday, November 04, 2006 -FreeMarketNews.com 

INITIAL POST 11.04.06

According to an FMNN viewer, the new-era, high-tech spy blimps coming to America are already in use in Iraq. In June 2006, FMNN reported that the US government had hired defense subcontractor Lockheed Martin to design and develop what amounted to an enormous “spy blimp” to be used for domestic intelligence purposes.

The report initially from Athens News, claimed that government agencies such as the NSA anticipated that as early as 2009 a huge super-spy blimp will be operational and monitoring US civilian movements, communications, etc. But now an FMNN viewer writes that such blimps are already in use in Iraq, though perhaps they are not as large as those intended to float above America.

The viewer sends FMNN this feedback: “The U.S. Army is already using these blimps over here in Iraq, I can say with confidence, since at least 2004 (I’ve been over here since 2003, DoD Technician, before the invasion). A smaller scale but, large, and used for the same exact purposes. They are floating around over Baghdad, constantly, 24/7. Had I not been such an avid observer of the stars. I probably would have never noticed them. Nevertheless, they are not that hard to view, even with the naked eye.”

According to the previous FMNN article (June, 2006) “Government Orders Spy Blimp,” a “prototype of the blimp is already being developed at a cost of $40 million. The spy ship, called the High Altitude Airship, will be seventeen times larger than the Goodyear Blimp and hover 12 miles above the ground. Although it is very large it will be invisible to both the naked eye and ground radar because of its distance from the earth. Fuel economic and self sufficient, it will be powered by solar energy and will be able to fly for years at a time.”

The article added, “The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command has already conducted a study to determine some of the uses of the spy ship. It has the capability of monitoring an area 600 miles in diameter at a time with surveillance equipment, such as high-resolution cameras. The government has ordered 11 of them – enough to monitor every parcel of land in the U.S.”

michael Webster

Author Bio

U.S. Border Fire Report is an independent news media publication. USBFR provides U.S. Mexican Border news, and news of the war on drugs and terror from across America and around the world. We are proud to serve many Federal Agencies, U.S. Military Organizations, The Intelligence Community, Law Enforcement of All Kinds, Firefighters, EMT’s, Numerous Fortune 500 Companies, several friendly Foreign Governments, and thousands of Americans and other free people who care about staying informed.

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Okay let me tell you loud and clear!  Just because you buy a Samsung printer does NOT mean you have to buy a Samsung toner cartridge!  Yes it is a con, no not the compatibles, the genuine toner cartridges.  They tell you that nothing will indeed work as well as genuine Samsung toner cartridges or indeed work at all!  We at Toners4less believe it all to be a hoax, yes up there with Area 51.  Samsung aren’t the only be people to be good at making toner.  RE-GEN are nothing short of fantastic! And at less than half the price of genuine toner cartridges!

Shop at Toners4less for your Samsung CLP-300 Toner Cartridges today and you will receive a product to feel proud of. Worthy of Chinese whispers we’d say!  It will provide you with sharp definition that will last longer than you will! We have tested time for you and know that this toner will not let you down!  With these toner cartridges you’ll be able to cherish printed photos and pass them to your children, who will then pass them down to their children, and it goes on.  You won’t get black fingers when handling documents and photos using this Samsung CLP-300 Toner Cartridge. 

We challenge you to try our products.  You will not be disappointed.  When working out incomings and outgoings in a budget planner, toner cartridges are probably the last thing on your mind.  However they can be expensive, especially if you like printing large documents or high definition photos.  The printer isn’t the most expensive part of printing….the toner is, and Samsung know it!

For a speedy delivery, a product that sells itself, and a price hard to moan about, purchase your Samsung CLP-300 Toner Cartridges today.  We guarantee that they will work with your printer and will arrive brand new and in their original packaging.  We want your repeat business, so we will do anything to make you happy!

David Gabbitas – UKIM

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I am an alien! Resident in the U.S. at times. I hold my green card which is not actually green. This is not the kind of alien I will write about in this article. I am a petulant adventurer committed to growth with an open mind tempered by skepticism.

While living in Los Angeles for a couple of years before moving to the northwest side of Las Vegas I often heard the radio reports that said Cal Tech seismographs had detected the sonic boom from the Aurora plane returning to base north of Las Vegas. It is located at the non-existent Groom Lake AFB which also has the non-existent S-4 and Area 51. All these non-existences later became well known to me despite the official denials. Even the Aurora that has been reported in detail by Popular Mechanics or Science is non-existent. It flies the same missions the Blackbird flew before it showed up on the pedestal in front of the San Diego Aerospace Museum. That plane was also non-existent and ?black?-budgeted.

I had probably heard about the Hangar on Wright Patterson AFB where President Nixon was refused entry even before I arrived in Dayton but being a skeptic I figured it was too fantastic and I don?t fully believe anything anyway. I still am not sure that the UFO occurrences are as much to do with alien species as they are people who came from earth. That is pretty much the official position, as they explain their technology must be kept secret.

A scientist who had worked at Wright Pat later went public and was plausibly denied in the official manner. Recently I saw a credible woman on TV who had

Everyone has heard about Roswell and the government position about the radiosondes or weather observation balloons. The Congressional panels are still up in the air over what happened and Jimmy Carter (who has publicly said he witnessed a UFO) said he would re-open the files, but once in office, he didn?t succeed in getting them opened. If you were to know what radiosondes really were doing you might think aliens were the better option. In order to fairly treat the subject it requires at least an article of its own but let me briefly state Wilhelm Reich is vital to the matter. His Orgone Energy is like the Newtonian cosmic ether and he was a student of Sigmund Freud just like Silberer who wrote a book on alchemic symbols even before Jung. His technology and person were abused by Federal Agents who later used his work in the radiosondes. They were able to change the weather just like the Druids. Serious manipulations were involved and many innocent lives were lost.

But there is good evidence of more than radiosondes from Roswell and my second wife?s uncle flew for the DEA after Vietnam. He said he knew the pilot who flew the remains of Roswell from Atlanta to Wright Pat. We all lived in Lost Wages (Sin City, etc.) and knew people who worked at the non-existent Groom Lake AFB or had seen Lazar on Showtime?s TV special so nothing would surprise any of us. The symbols of the government inspire awe in those who ?believe? but the mathematical realities of life existent throughout the universe impress me more.

Christ Consciousness and the Desert in Harmony:

Norm Paulsen is one of your crazy Californians who seem most sane to me. He wrote the book Christ Consciousness first published in 1980 under the name Sunburst: Return of the Ancients. His encounters with diverse Biblical entities such as the Biblical Melchizedek as well as Yogananda make interesting reading for Mormons who want to know about the secret society that leads them and is named after the Biblical alchemist Abraham reported to.

Crazy people!…those Californians. What is it that makes them crazy and the rest of the world so level-headed? Why do they do so much good work? Perhaps you like Deepak or Spielberg, I know I do.

??My Lord! There it is, finally. Wake up, everybody!? I yelled. There?s a ship right on the rock!?

I could hear a heavy pulsating hum echo off the rocky cliffs and fill the immediate area with sound. {Harmonics is a vital science seldom taken as seriously as it should be. It can explain much about the inter-relationship of forces in the field of Physics as one might imagine given that String Theory says all energy is formed from one-dimensional harmonic forces.} I yelled again at Boone but received no response. I continued yelling as loud as I could hoping someone would hear me.

That was a mistake! An incredibly bright and piercing light struck me full in the face. It emanated from the side of the brilliantly lit hull which I could now see very clearly. That was it! The next thing I became aware of was the sun shining in my face as it rose in the east across the desert. Looking down, I saw that I was half out of my sleeping bag. Then I began to remember what had happened. The intelligence guiding the vehicle evidently did not want to be seen by everyone. I had been put to sleep right in the middle of trying to get out of my sleeping bag.

I looked over to Daniel. ?Hey, Boone, did you see it? Were you able to see that ship last night??

?No, Brother. I heard you yelling, but when I looked up, nothing was there. I remember hearing a pulsating roar though.?? (This is on pages 234 & 235 of Paulsen?s book.)

Bruce Cathie is a good source for grasping the harmonic of light that is universal and part of the basic fabric of our consciousness as well. That is why the highest illumination and NDEs are often accompanied by white light and how things travel at faster than light speed through what is naively called ESP. Near Minneola Rd. between Baker and Barstow there are some mountains that became my friends as I learned about the ?amber rays? that connect all energy from Castaneda and was involved with an adept who developed a mountain climbing sutra. It is also the site where Louis Leakey found 200,000 year old arrowheads near the shore of the once Salton Sea.

Readers of Scientific American will know there are five separate cosmological constructs currently being refined by the astrophysicists and their colleagues. In 1999 the most important data and scientific discovery resulted from the pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope. The center of the universe as we can visualize the known or non-parallel dimensions aside from the warp and woof of matter to anti-matter (both of which can co-exist) despite the once considered impossibility of this reality. I personally can conceive there have been adepts like Mahiri Lahasi or Vivekananda who did what the earlier Druids did. My above mentioned adept took me to one of the dimensions she went to when she dematerialized. The scientists call it Dark Energy and Dark Matter that form 95% of the universe whereas the Eastern mystics might call it ?shakti? and it is full of ?siddhis? or power.

Minneola Rd. Meeting With a Back Engineer:

To have arrowheads is an advanced human cultural technology that some say didn?t arise until 8,000 years ago. To have 200,000 year old humans in North America is not anomalous despite what you may read. Nonetheless normal academia regards these possibilities as something more ?far out? than alien spacecraft. Despite the high standing of Louis Leakey he was savaged and ridiculed as he went to his grave maintaining the truth. Geologist Virginia Steen-McIntyre can confirm crucifixions still occur as she provided ample and archaeologically sound evidence of 250,000 year old people in Hueyatlaco, Mexico and the mid 1950s treatment of Dr. Lee and his Director from the Canadian National Museum should be considered a criminal cover up. The quartz mine on Manitoulin Island was built over by a tourist camp even though all actual science pointed to up to 120,000 year old evidence. Quartz is very important to focusing energy and the measurement of time as we have seen in the work of solid state physicist Dr. Don Robins. No wonder the Kennewick Man site was covered over and destroyed while 60 Minutes couldn?t find out who authorized the deed that took place the day before a Congressional Bill was to take effect.

There is a good chance that humans colonized space many eons ago. The timeline of technological development that we have been taught since the days of the Flat Earth and Ussher theory is absolutely false. How could the Pyramid at Giza be at the center of the earth?s land mass if world travel wasn?t very accurate? The Hadji Ahmed map confirms what the Ark of the Covenant really was used for. It was an arc transmitter as you can see in the work of university map and navigation teacher Michael Bradley from his book Grail Knights of North America.

In the early evening near sunset I was returning home from Southern California in 1996 in my 1994 Olds Cutlass. Just past Minneola Rd. the engine stopped without warning or reason and the car coasted to the top of a seldom used off-ramp probably built for military purposes. There are many bases in the desert nearby including some near where Mr. Paulsen had his experiences south of Minneola Rd. After failing to get any response from the car I was in the process of putting my foot on the ground when a small car pulled up beside me. He had come out of the desert and was an electronics expert. It took some time to get to the point where he was able to say some things and know I both understood and was conversant with his knowledge.

He had worked in black ops at Tonopah AFB north of Area 51 as a back engineer on alien technology. That does not mean extraterrestrials are involved because people from earth may have been to other planets for the last 10,000 years. There is an even more relevant point that explains all these things. Time Travel is real. Today?s attitude as discussed by the likes of Stephen Hawking says particle or simple matter can travel through time but complex systems will never do this. That word ?never? is a joke. Last year the speed of light was blown off the horizon of ignorance when NEC produced 300X light speed and this is key to Time Travel and all paranormal reality. A follow up article will be required to make this point abundantly clear. I had talked at length with the Vice President of Research Engineering at McDonnell Douglas a year or two before this meeting. I have been project manager on alternative ISDN technology development and though a technosimp I am able to extend the envelope of the researchers in most fields of science. The conversation was electrifying.

He even wanted to come with me to Central America by the time we reached Vegas and had left the car to be towed in on AAA or some other program. I never talked with him again because I already had the crew for my yacht/party boat business on line. His knowledge of the Groom Lake AFB confirmed the statements of Bob Lazar about the design and interior of the structures so I knew Lazar had been telling truth while the official statements making him seem a liar were one step away from making him a true non-person. He was impressed with my idea about the use of polarized computer directed ESP bandwidth propulsion and wasn?t sure the McDonnell Douglas guy had told me the truth about their exploration of these possibilities. Tesla and the Unified Force Field made their appearance on a stage that includes a mysterious frontispiece to a treatise on Time Travel that arrived on my last wife?s computer after our first visit to Chichen Itza where I had discovered something that led to my being threatened with a Mexican prison in 1997. The whole ?trip? caused me to lose all I owned and made it clear to me that Mother Nature isn?t the only aspect of reality that we aren?t supposed to fool with.

Loose Ends:

My brother John and I have had some heated arguments about aliens, space travel and the Time aspects since I first read Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain and sent away to the Library of Congress for Russian scientist and mathematician Dr. Kozyrev?s paper on Time. That was in the 70s and since then I have been hot on the trail. You can imagine my satisfaction when NEC delivered its resounding blow on the speed of light. The Italians had used mirrors and optics to make 1.25 times the speed of light in the past decade but this is the clincher. Time warps, affinity points, Stargates, Worm Holes and the cloaking experiments of the Philadelphia Experiment had always cheesed off my brother who worried about my sanity like many others (no doubt). After all who am I? Who can show a sheepskin that proves they know as much as I do, has always been my unstated thought; but people really pick up on my ?know it all? attitudes. What is wrong with trying to learn anyway? It has always been the way with me. Pompous Ass, Geek, or Egghead though I may be; I am filled with a purpose now and I now longer dumb down to the masses.

At this point the uninitiated reader must be reeling and rocking just as many of my friends have done for years when I confront their projections and tell them it is THEY who are acting as know-it-alls. I seldom engage in the proving of scraps of non-earth metallic material that is flexible and strong or any of the UFO stuff. That is all part of the credibility management game employed by Intelink or other psy-ops agencies who would like SDI to manage all Earthians through thought-cloning developed by Jose Delgado at Yale and continued through DIA research and Dr. Michael Persinger. Read Information Warfare by Georgetown professors if you want to get a small glimpse of mainstream ethics. My brother John has found my sanity is not so questionable anymore now that he has been forced to face the facts. Here is a list of questions that I propose we all need to be concerned about before we go off to make babies and conduct our material life games of competition and vanity.

1) If time travel exists with dimensional dematerialization for masters of adept arts ? What ethics and level of control have existed to prevent major alteration of our time line in the past? Was the Dark Ages pursuit of heretics aimed at stopping uncontrolled proliferation of such knowledge? Or was it being used by the inner sanctum Merovingians to make us ?food for their table? as HRH Nicholas de Vere says in his own book though not in his foreword to Gardner?s Genesis of the Grail Kings?

2) What can any of us do? Is it already too late? Certainly if Time Travel is possible we can undo what they have wrought.

3) What alliances have been made with future people such as those who contacted me on the computer that was shut down while Barbi and I were in Chichen Itza in 1993? I still am not sure about that, but how else does something get into personal files of a computer that is shut down? What is their plan and are the aliens hostile to our early earth colonizers of space? Was Kissinger speaking literally or just joking about the Intergalactic Brotherhood?

4) Does Time Travel ever exist without severe dissociation such as various Montauk books and the Philadelphia Experiment illustrated. I know a person who has seen Al Bielek?s Time Machine but am not sure it does more than viewing like a ?Stone?. Tesla?s great grand niece worked for me and she couldn?t say why he quit the Philadelphia Experiment but I think he was able to see how unethical governments would use this technology. Check the provenance of the RCA Corporation radio equipment known as FRR 24 and ask how did it develop from what had been known before?

5) Do we all need tachyon devices to stop remote hypnosis and thought cloning? Would the Church of Scientology or other organizations use these things against us even if the DIA which has 5 times the CIA budget wouldn?t? The independent science councils do not think SDI?s stated purpose against Korea and the like has any validity.

6) What should be obvious to all observers of ethics in government and big business, (Enron, BCCI, S &L, Iran/Contra, Opium Wars ? just to name a few associated with the Bush paladins of the Russell Merovingians) is that no more ?organized? criminals walk the streets than those sitting at Board Room tables or Stock Exchanges. The Economist correctly states in their millennium issue that all bureaucracy coming after Napoleon and the standing armies he necessitated are ?inhumane?.

7) The big lie (!) is an effective tool to ridicule or circumvent naïve, good and trusting people. Watch out for a MATRIX or worse. Give serious thought to shooting all gurus who need you to follow them. As the movie Network said ? ?I?m mad as Hell, and I?m not going to take it anymore!?
Andre Malraux, who was the Propaganda Minister for De Gaulle?s elitist desires in a country ruled by Merovingians, says these interesting words.

?Art is a dialogue we have always carried out with the unknown. We have come to distinguish the contours of the unknown through the unconscious, through religion and magic and we may soon begin to understand such totally modern emotions as the feeling that we belong to the future, that our civilization is the sum of others.?

This is already a truism for the adepts who tap into the akashic archetypal knowledge. Will the human race achieve the necessary critical mass of awareness to ?make it so?, as Jean Luc Picard is wont to say on Star Trek? We must end the program called education or at least throw it out in exchange for one that does something other than put glorified baby-sitters without authority in an untenable situation. The hands of teachers must not be tied and the result should be determined by the attendance and collective interest rather than forced participation. Age should not concern the authorities. Learning should not end at some specified age and the one pie Malthusian ethic must be dumped. The possibilities of the Mysteries are far too vast for any teacher I have known to actually teach. My first wife and significant other for 25 years is a World Congress of Teachers personage in the Who?s Who of Teaching. She was burned out and thinking of quitting when I met her. She will retire after 35 years of teaching next year, I think.

Alfred North Whitehead or Kaoru Yamamoto of recent times, the educational researchers know what is not being done ? but do they know why? There is a reason why we are encouraged to follow rather than think. The Family Compact ruled Canada not long ago and they are on record for saying the truth. Why educate the masses? It will only present further difficulty for those who manage us? They are not Beneficently Paternalistic as they would have you believe. They are what any compassionate observer of Dr. Mengele would witness. We must not teach against Noam Chomsky who was an educational psychological guru of the top rank before he began his dirges on the CIA and Policy Makers. We must not accept the insidious nature of social engineers like Francis Fukayama who wrote The End of History and The Last Man. If we continue in this vein we will experience what the title of his book conveys. De Tocqueville was a keen observer of the future as was George Orwell and if there is no Time Travel we may only have false and faint hope that the Matrix is enjoyable.

They are aliens! Alien to the concept of Brotherhood and Love that was once rampant upon the earth. Egalitarian ethics and the nurturing force of women are required. Not women who imitate men but women like Virginia Woolf who I quoted in another article as she railed against sovereign states and male sex instincts as if they are derived from the same ethic or value system. But who is afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Robert Baird

Author Bio

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest ‘exxpert’ at World-Mysteries.com

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In the summer of 1982, before nuclear testing was banned for everyone (except N. Korea) my company sent me to a bleak, desolate portion of Nevada barely known to the world. I had heard of the fabled Mercury, Nevada for years, having grown up in the birthplace of the Atomic bomb, Los Alamos, NM. Co-workers and myself were assigned to a project on a dry lakebed within the perimeter of the Mercury installation known as Yucca Flats. We were given a perimeter map of the whole installation that was subdivided into different areas marked with two digit designations. One area within the map perimeter wasn’t marked. We instantly surmised that this was the ‘secret’ area that doesn’t officially exist, the one that everyone now refers to as 51.

For reasons not entirely clear to me, the contract my company had with Department of Energy (DOE), required one of us remain in a board and bat shack at Yucca Flats overnight. Understand that Yucca Flats is nothing more than a desert nuclear wasteland, surrounded by low hills so that no one can see in, and to this day the air space overhead is restricted. So far as I have been able to tell, there is nothing at Yucca Flats, save some nuclear cracks in the ground and possibly a mutant jack rabbit or two. The board and bat shack was a tumble down affair where you could see through the cracks in the walls. There was a layer of sand on the board floor, a bare metal Army bedframe and springs, with a couple old olive-drab wool blankets and no electricity or water. I was greatly relieved when my buddy Tommy drew

The next morning, we returned to find Tommy humorously stumbling around amongst empty beer cans. Tommy explained that he awoke at roughly 2 AM to relieve himself, which seemed logical given that there were 12 empties involved. He went on to explain that while taking care of matters, a craft appeared from the direction of Area 51, flying low over the flats, below the level of the surrounding hills. Tommy continued, saying that this craft had some unique features. He described it as being a round silver saucer, with several blue glowing portholes underneath. The craft slowly circulated the flats while escorted by marked US Air Force helicopters and after a time returned in the direction of Area 51. Having observed the dozen empties, we smiled and said “sure Tommy”, and dropped the subject.

Though I haven’t seen Tommy W in the ensuing years, I believe he is still alive. I need to look him up and apologise to him. A lot has happened since Yucca Flats that has impacted my belief as to what Tommy observed. Most recently, I made a new aquaintance over dinner in Searchlight, Nevada. His expertise had been Radar. He had been around the world installing Radar in various locations for the Air Force. For the sake of conversation, I related the Tommy story to this weathered gentleman who now resides in Kingman, Arizona. Upon completion of the story, the gentleman advised me that Tommy, in spite of his obviously impaired condition, was in all likelyhood telling the absolute truth! He went on to matter of factly explain that Tommy’s description of the craft involved matched what he knew to have been undergoing testing at that time! He went on to explain that the anti-gravity craft that the government was developing 25 years ago, didn’t handle well, and were pretty useless at that time. He said the anti-gravity engine was poorly developed, only worked in close proximity to the earth, and that the vehicles handled somewhat like an air cushion vehicle.

Needless to say, I was absolutely flabbergasted at the un-elicited response given. I told the story simply to provide some humorous dinner conversation!

Lemming

Author Bio

More fastinating articles on secret technology located at: www.matrix-freedom.com

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The Jade Beach Sunny Isles has the reputation of a “smart building” and it is definitely a sight worth thinking about.  This new building stands 51 stories high, and offers accommodations to 248 different guests.  The location of the Jade Beach property is ideal, since it is located in the heart of the Sunny Isles Beach area.  It is just a short distance away from the state’s international airports and also the Bal Harbor Shoppes and Aventura Mall.  The building has been designed by some of the world’s most influential architects and interior decorators and it shows in the detail.  One of the most attractive features of the Jade Beach condominium is the panoramic ocean views it offers visitors.

However, these standard amenities are not what earned Jade Beach its “smart” reputation.   This is because more than all other condos and hotels in the area, this lodging property combines sophisticated technology with luxury accommodations.  Some of the more advanced features include a wireless touch screen monitor and multi media computer that is used for interactive communication with management.

Residents are given entry by finger-print access and there is a private elevator for resident use.  There is also state-of-the-art gym equipment, private TVs and radios for working out and high-tech machines for keeping track of the burn.  The most amazing feature however is the Smart technology used to service each and every guest.  This touch-screen technology has been compared to a virtual butler since it gives the guest access to con

However, don’t conclude that it’s all brain and no fun at Jade Beach. Guests can also look forward to more down-to-earth charms, such as granite countertops, Snaidero wood and glass kitchen cabinets.  Sinks and faucets are European designer quality, and guests can look forward to whirlpool baths and separate showers with body sprays.  There is also an Infinity-edge boat shaped Sunrise Pool that overlooks the nearby ocean.  With all of these luxurious amenities and then some, Jade Beach certainly earns a reputation not only for its “smarts” but also its comforts.

If you would be excited to stay at such a place, then imagine what it would feel like to own a condo room.  Now is the best time to buy Jade Beach real estate, since prices are lower than ever before because of economic changes.  Some units have sold for as little as $700,000!  Contact a Florida real estate agency to learn more.

Leon Belenky

Author Bio

Sunny Realty of South Florida features technologically advanced and Internet savvy realtors. They specialize in Sunny Isles real estate, Miami Beach luxury real estate and luxury condominiums. SunnyIslesMiamiRealEstate.com provides instant access to the best in Miami Beach real estate.

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I’ve often wondered whether the Alien Abduction Phenomenon was really as well known in groups that are not particularly inclined to learn anything about this subject. You know the type I mean. There are scores of folks, some whom I know personally, who not only have never heard of, or have scarcely had a reason to hear about, Alien Abductees. They don’t read science fiction, they’ve heard of but never watched a Star Trek or Star Wars movie, and would generally regard sci-fi fans (they believe only sci-fi fans have alien abduction experiences) as having a screw or two loose.

They just are not into a genre even remotely related to this phenomenon.

I was recently at a friend’s birthday party when my wife spilled the beans that I was writing a book called, “I was Once Abducted by Aliens, but They Threw Me Back.” The room suddenly went silent and all eyes were on me. So, I took advantage of that unpleasant pause in the conversation to begin my diatribe, based mostly on the evidence I was finding for the book, on alien abduction. When I conveyed my personal experience with UFO’s and Aliens, that’s when their stories began flowing faster than the beer and margaritas.

I was surprised that the subject, and mind you these were not sci-fi folks, was so readily accepted and that some of them had stories of their own or those of relatives who had been experiencers. Though you do read in the literature that some of those claiming to have had an alien abduction experience do have the basis of being versed in the paranormal and sci-fi literature, there are a lot of experiencers who have never in their lives picked up a book or watched a Discovery Channel program on UFO’s or Aliens. Many alien abductees were just going along in the humdrum of their lives trying to eke out a living, watching reruns of All in the Family and I Love Lucy, when they suddenly and quite unsolicited have a really bizarre experience which might be the result of something out of this world!

I have to admit my bias at this point. I do have a huge background in science fiction literature, science fiction television and movies, and any cable program that has this phenomenon as its theme. I not only watched them all but I am afraid I could give stage directions and quote dialogue for almost all of the Star Trek TV shows. That’s just how “into” this I am. So, that is definitely something a reader should keep in mind when reading my articles and my book, which I have finished and am currently editing.

However, my interest came a long time after I had become an Experiencer, quite against my will, at a very early age.

Though the first Star Trek series, of the Kirk-Spock era, began in 1966, I was unaware of this program until much, much later when I was in my teenage years. That was mainly because we had one television during that time and my parents would never in a million years have allowed something so vapid (their view of sci-fi) into the living room when there was Lawrence Welk and Bonanza to watch (I think Hoss Cartwright and Lawrence Welk were aliens). But, what sparked my interest in this UFO-Alien question, what would set me off on decades of continued interest, would be my sightings of some very strange events which included, but is not limited to, UFO’s, an alien entity or two, and at least two missing time events, one that took place in the sixth grade and the other during my sophomore year of college.

It would turn out that all these years of watching cable TV programs on this phenomenon would begin a slow process for me in connecting the dots, so to speak, that I had actually grown up in one of the hottest of the UFO-Alien Hotspots of the world-Area 51. And, the reason I grew up there is because my father worked in the Area 51 general area. He took the very same airplane, from the very same airfield, that all those working on back engineering of alien spacecraft and interviewing those pesky little grey aliens went to work.

We lived in Las Vegas but did spend a year in an even spookier placed called, Tonopah, Nevada, where my Dad worked on an even more secure, top secret area that was farther north of the main Area 51 site.

Long before Area 51 had become a household word in the vocabularies of Ufologists and Abductologists, I lived there. Long before there were cable TV programs on The History Channel or Discovery Channel dealing with this issue, I lived there. Long before the term, “Alien Abduction” became a worldwide phenomenon; I lived at Area 51 and had, while there, at least one encounter with some sort of entity as well as multiple UFO events.

There’s more to come…stay tuned!



Author Bio

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author and is living in Central Mexico. My New Book: I WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS But They Threw Me Back

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Area 51. It’s the most famous military institution in the world that doesn’t officially exist. If it did, it would be found about 100 miles outside Las Vegas in Nevada’s high desert, tucked between an Air Force base and an abandoned nuclear testing ground. Then again, maybe not— the U.S. government refuses to say. You can’t drive anywhere close to it, and until recently, the airspace overhead was restricted—all the way to outer space. Any mention of Area 51 gets redacted from official documents, even those that have been declassified for decades.

It has become the holy grail for conspiracy theorists, with UFOlogists positing that the Pentagon reverse engineers flying saucers and keeps extraterrestrial beings stored in freezers. Urban legend has it that Area 51 is connected by underground tunnels and trains to other secret facilities around the country. In 2001, Katie Couric told Today Show audiences that 7 percent of Americans doubt the moon landing happened—that it was staged in the Nevada desert. Millions of X-Files fans believe the truth may be “out there,” but more likely it’s concealed inside Area 51′s Strangelove-esque hangars—buildings that, though confirmed by Google Earth, the government refuses to acknowledge.

The problem is the myths of Area 51 are hard to dispute if no one can speak on the record about what actually happened there. Well, now, for the first time, someone is ready to talk—in fact, five men are, and their stories rival the most outrageous of rumor

Adam Khan Buy Quality Exercise Bikes and Treadmills at Argos Sports & Fitness Equipment

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RUNNING HEAD:  DIFFERENTIATION AND THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Differentiation and the Achievement Gap

Debra Isenberger

Argosy University

Abstract

Teachers are faced with ever-increasing pressures of closing the achievement gap across the nation. While schools struggle to meet AYP and teachers get creative, some question the fairness of targeting low-achieving students while higher-achieving students remain stagnant. The primary focus of this paper is on one school district that is achieving success and providing incentives for merit students as well as lower levels.

Differentiation and the Achievement Gap

Differentiation” is the new terminology that is flooding the market in the education arena. In spite of its challenges, it is not going to go away anytime in the near future. Research abounds and data supports it. It holds many advocates and like any new strategy or change, it will be faced with opposition. Administrations promote it and professional development opportunities are made available for development of staff.

            Traditionally, teachers “taught to the middle.” Faced with growing numbers of students with more diverse backgrounds and abilities, the attitude was that if teachers focused on the majority of the population, most of the students would “get it.” With a new view that required teachers to focus on a wider range of students, teachers became frustrated at the impossibility of assuring success to all concerned wh

            Tomlinson says it is “unfair to assume there is only one way to differentiate….there is no recipe for teaching. Teaching requires ‘broader brushstrokes as opposed to paint by number’ methods” (Tomlinson, 2000). She believes that it is not fair to create standardized tests under these circumstances. We need to adjust the content, process, and the product of teaching and learning. There are many ways of doing this through creating small groups of various abilities, preteaching, reteaching, scaffolding activities, previewing, and varying our expectations for various students.

            Teachers need to increase levels of motivation, and students need to be excited about learning. Instructors are faced with the challenge of creating a desire within the students to enter the classroom and then keep them engaged once they arrive. This can be done by providing more hands-on, relevant activities and open-ended questions to make them think. The days of memorization and recalling facts are gone. With the advent of technology, students need more stimulation. Their experiences demand it. Surrounded by technology at home through the use of television, electronic games, computers, and the Internet, students are accustomed to having access to information at their fingertips. Competition-driven companies encourage students to seek newer and better products that propel the educational arena into the future. Pressures from the NCLB legislation and the threat of ever-decreasing funding adds tension to otherwise struggling administrations.  More demands are placed on teachers who are struggling to keep up with the students as they try to meet AYP in their classrooms.

            Two teachers from urban, poverty schools developed a plan of action that meets the criteria for differentiation. They developed an acronym of REACH to outline the plan. REACH stands for “reflection on will and skill, evaluation of the curriculum, analyze the learners, craft research-based lessons, and hone in on the data” (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable, 2008). They identify benchmarks with five quality indicators to describe their efforts. The five benchmarks are the teacher, learner, content, instruction, and assessment.

            In regards to the teacher, he or she should be appreciative and recognize the plethora of abilities in the classroom. He or she needs to be committed to the process and dedicated to the students and to the willingness to change his or her methodology. The first question that should be considered is “What about me?” The teacher needs to assess current content knowledge and skills before moving forward. “What are my current practices?” and “What are my available resources?” The teacher needs to reflect often and collaborate with colleagues. He or she needs to be flexible enough to change plans or change direction.

In Washington County, Maryland, benchmark assessments are given three times per year. These benchmarks follow the same guidelines as the Maryland State assessment (MSA). At the beginning of the year, the first benchmark test is a diagnostic assessment. At this point, teachers are able to determine the levels of performance of each of his or her students. It is crucial for the teacher to examine his or her own practices at this time to match teaching with learning. It is advantageous at this juncture to assess multiple intelligences and learning styles so that students can demonstrate mastery in their most comfortable format and learn in their most natural style, whether it be auditory, tactile/kinesthetic, or visual. It is up to the teacher to vary his or her methodologies to meet theses individual styles. The second benchmark is formative. The results are used to adjust lessons and to make arrangements for individual or small-group intervention strategies. Teacher use a district-wide Classroom-Focused Intervention Plan (CFIP) at this time to incorporate reteaching and objective-centered lessons to increase performance on the upcoming MSA. The third assessment is the evaluative assessment. This assessment is often given after the MSA and is used as part of the students’ final marking period grade, giving it purpose and relevance to the students at a point in time when they know the all-important state assessment is over. It is important to note that all assessments are formative; they can be used to adjust instruction throughout the year and beyond.

            Rock, et al identifies the second avenue, which is the content variable. “What content is there? Why should they care?” Although the curriculum may be guided by the state, it is important that the teacher and the students have some choices so that they can feel like they have ownership in the lessons and in their own teaching and learning. Students need time to internalize the content before rushing on to the next objective to meet the demands of a calendar. Schumm et al (1994) provides a triangle that REACH utilized. The triangle demonstrates that the base contains the information that all students know, the middle contains the information that most students know, and the top contains the information that some students know. By preassessing students, a teacher can determine where to start teaching in the content area. Informal and formal assessments throughout a unit will help to place students in the triangle.    

Another step of REACH is to analyze the learner. “Who are they?” Gather specific information about each child. Spend time talking to the kids and getting to know them personally but more importantly, learn “how they think.” What are their Individual Education Plans (IEP’s)? What cultures are represented in the classroom? How should they be grouped? Who are the highest-level performing students and the lowest-level? Would it be beneficial to pair up higher level with lower level students for an activity? Some cultures have differences of which we are not aware.  

            Lessons should be research-based. “What methods are best suited to the students?” A variety of teaching strategies and tools should be utilized—direct instruction, graphic organizers, whiteboards, choral responses, Think-Pair-Share opportunities, and immediate feedback are very useful.  

Lastly, there is a need to examine the data. “How did it go? How do I know?” Through reflection, teachers can discover which methods worked, which ones need to be tossed or modified, and which students were more engaged and successful. One fifth grade teacher used a “windshield” analogy. The first level was “clear as glass; the second level had bugs; the third level was covered with mud.” Stations were set up in the classroom where students could refer to each station for help.

            Differentiation is a goal-directed approach to learning. It relies on a positive environment with choices, and requires change. With economic constraints in schools and a dynamic population of technologically dependent students, administrators and teachers are faced with an ever increasing challenge of meeting the needs of today’s students. It is truly an educational revolution. By examining goals and reflecting on practices, teachers can change with the demands of this society.

Data Supports NCLB and Research-Based Instruction

            In support of NCLB’s efforts to reform the education arena, The U.S. Department of Education released a Strategic Plan For Fiscal Years 2007-12 to outline their “high expectations for America’s schools and students, and for ourselves. “We [Dept. of Ed.] are committed to giving our students the skills they need to succeed in a highly competitive global economy” (US Department of Education, 2007).

            The plan focuses on three areas: (1) student achievement and rewards for qualified teachers, (2) more rigorous coursework, and (3) improvement of “access, affordability, and accountability of universities” (US Department of Education, 2007). Lastly, the goals include raising the expectations within the Department, as well. In the introductory letter of the plan, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings writes,

“No Child Left Behind (NCLB) provides a strong foundation on which to build these positive results. Data show that the law is working to improve student achievement and close the nation’s achievement gap. We must now work together to reauthorize and strengthen the law. Children who were in grade three when the law was passed will soon be entering high school. They deserve to be taught to high standards by qualified teachers in schools that are held accountable for results” (US Dept. of Education, 2007).

As a result of the NCLB Act, schools across the nation outlined standards, collected data, and created a more rigorous curriculum. As each year the bar is raised for percentages of students to meet “proficiency” ratings for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), the data is used to make improvements in specific areas and compare schools to each other, to their respective counties, and to the state as a whole. For example, in Mapping Maryland’s Educational Progress 2008, the results are charted in the following core principles:

o       High Standards

o       Annual Assessments

o       Accountability for Results

o       Highly Qualified Teachers in Every Classroom

o       Information and Options for Parents

o       All Children on Grade level by 2014 (US Department of Education, 2007).

Maryland schools enrolled 860,000 students in 2007. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2005-06 School Year, 31.6% were low-income (FARMS), 3.7% were Limited English Proficient (ELL), and 12.8 % were students with disabilities (SWD).  Out of 1,430 students across the state, 1050 (77.2%) made AYP. Ninety-six schools were in “needs improvement” status, while 53 are in the process of being “restructured,” according to the Consolidated State Performance Report, 2006-07 and NCES CCD, 2005-06.

            In Maryland schools, highly qualified teachers taught in 94.8% of classrooms in low poverty elementary schools and 66% of the classrooms in high poverty elementary schools. In low-poverty high schools, 89.1% of the classrooms were taught by highly qualified teachers, with 63.4% in high poverty high schools. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, achievement trends in grades four through eight have increased from 2002-2007. Maryland’s high school graduation rate was 85.4% in 2006; the freshman graduation rate was 85.4%. Across the nation, the rate was 75%, demonstrating a higher graduation rate in Maryland compared to the rest of the nation.

            Washington County, Maryland reports high ratings. Very active in its attempts to meet the requirements of the NCLB, the county provides ample opportunities and incentives for professional development, including a competitive salary scale and salary ladder for salary increases. The county meets to share best practices and scores and to celebrate school and individual successes. The Maryland Report Card, Boonsboro Middle, Washington County 2007 Performance Report demonstrates that all students of Boonsboro Middle School met AYP in reading, math, and attendance. In 2007, 96.5% met AYP compared to 95.1% in the county, and 94.4% in the state. For 2006, the school’s attendance rates were 96.7% in the school, 96% in the county, and 93.9% in the state, showing improvement for the county and the school.

            The county’s graduation rate for 2007 was 90.09%, while for the state, it was 85.24%. The graduation statistics for 2006 were 90.48% for the county compared to 85.43% for the state, again an improvement for the county. The attendance and graduation rates prove AYP for 2007.

            As for teachers, Washington County takes pride in meeting another goal of the NCLB. In 2006, 33.1% of the teachers held Standard Professional Certificates at the state level, with 34.2% at the county level and 28.9 % at Boonsboro Middle School (BMS). In 2007, the numbers increased. 32.6% held Standard Professional Certificates at the state level, 33.5% at the county level, and 34.2% at BMS, demonstrating a marked increase. In 2006, the certificates are described as follows: state (45%), county (51.1%), BMS (55.3%). In 2007, state (46.8%), county (49.1%), and BMS (50%), demonstrating another achievement of the goals outlined in the US Department of Education’s Strategic Plan for the Fiscal Years 2007-12.

            Washington County is stressing the importance of increasing student achievement and closing the achievement gap between the various subgroups within its boundaries. With focus on Students with Disabilities (SWD), Economically Disadvantaged students (ED) English Language Learners (ELL), and minority groups’ scores, efforts are made throughout the district to create and implement plans to reach these students. Departments collaborate within schools and schools meet across the county to discuss the results. At Boonsboro Middle School, teachers are set up in teams. These teams meet on a daily basis to discuss individual students and strategies to increase the chances of being successful. Student Achievement Specialists meet with their respective departments monthly to share strategies and devise plans to help students meet proficiency on benchmarks and state tests. Plans of action are developed through Classroom-Focused Intervention Plans (CFIP). These plans target specific students who are noted as “safe harbor”—students who are at a crux between scoring “basic” and scoring “proficient.” They are the most likely students to pass the next Maryland State Assessment (MSA) if interventions are put in place. This focus moves students from “basic” (low-performing) lists. They are removed from intervention classes according to these meetings. It will be interesting to note their progress from that point forward.

How the Political Process has Changed Schools

            Is it possible that the nation is doing a disservice to the students who maintain the highest scores? With focus on individual schools reaching AYP, it seems they are neglecting the “students at the top.” Interventions are in place; teachers are staying after school working with students and placing more one-on-one attention on struggling students to make sure they pass the state tests.

            Meanwhile, the students at the top of the nations’ scores are not making as much progress. They are still maintaining the highest scores but they are not making the achievement gains in the same growing percentages. “Tom Loveless, from the Brookings Institute, analyzes results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and concludes that the nation’s top pupils have ‘languished’ academically while the lowest performing youngsters have gained dramatically”….The question is, “Can we be equal and excellent too?” (Fordham Institute, 2007).

            When teachers were interviewed, most reported that they spend more time with under-achieving students than higher-achieving ones in an effort to meet whatever accountability factors affect them. Unfortunately, this is one of the pitfalls of the No Child Left Behind legislation. Teachers do believe that “all students deserve equal attention.” However, upon analysis of the data (Fordham Institute, 2007), it demonstrates growth of 3% in high achieving students and 16% in targeted students for 2007. The idea of offering incentives to high achieving students is one that will always be met with approval. Washington County, Maryland is once again meeting the demands of this area of importance by instituting “magnet schools” in their district. Boonsboro is a school district that attracts students with language abilities and interests while E. Russell Hicks Middle School and Emma K. Doub Elementary School maintain a technology focus. These are merit level programs for which parents only need to apply. North Hagerstown High School and its feeder schools are International Baccalaureate Schools, where students will have better chances of entering colleges of their choosing. Several students from the area have won the 2009 National Merit Scholarship (Washington County Public Schools, 2008).

While some may consider it a disservice to spend so much time and attention on low-performing students throughout the school year, the rewards of offering incentives to a motivated segment of the population will benefit them. It is up to the teachers to make these opportunities known. They should be posted and opportunities for growth in the required areas should be offered. More challenging activities should be implemented to encourage participation in all areas and to all groups.

References

Fordham Institute (2007). “In a Nutshell: High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB.” Retrieved November 13, 2008 from http://www.edexcellence.net/detail/news.cfm?news_id=732&id=92 

Mapping maryland’s educational progress, 2008.

Maryland state department of education. “Maryland report card.”

Rock, M. L., M. Gregg, E. Ellis, and R. Gable. “Reach: a framework for differentiating classroom instruction” (Report). Preventing school failure. 52.2 (Wntr 2008) p. 31 (17).

US Department of Education. “Strategic plan for fiscal years 2007-12.” Released May 24, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2008.

Debra Isenberger is an English Language Arts/ Reading teacher who is currently teaching Media Literacy at Boonsboro Middle School in Washington County, Maryland. A resident of Chambersburg, PA, she is a grandmother and a graduate of Shippensburg University in PA and Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. She holds a BA in English, a Master of Education in Quality Schools and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum Design.

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