#51704: — 12/02  at  11:57 AM
Here are some bad Giant Squid jokes for you, from the bad joke generator.

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/joke?subject=a+giant+squid&words=architeuthis+dux,cephalopod,kraken

#51740: — 12/02  at  02:23 PM
It it just me, or are most of the educational policy links in the Carnivals of Education really conservative? Seems like most of them are talking about how teacher's unions are evil, teachers are incompetent or left-wing PC nutcases, etc.

I am most interested in the day-to-day problems of teachers, but I like reading about educational policy. It just seems like all of those are written from a libertarian or right-wing perspective.

#51785: Chris Clarke — 12/02  at  07:21 PM
*cough*

#51787: — 12/02  at  07:42 PM
I guess I'm just an idiot. I don't get it.

#51791: EdWonk — 12/02  at  08:36 PM
MBC777 expresses valid concerns. In the last few weeks many of the posts have been from rightwing perspectives. This is because that's where the submissions have been coming from.

The Carnival Midway itself is non-partisan, as can be seen from the way that all submissions are treated. This is true whether the midway is hosted by us or any of the Carnival's several guest hosts. (See the editions hosted by Progressive bloggers Science and Politics here and Ms. Frizzle, over there.)

At the Carnival, we welcome (and feature) submissions from all political and educational viewpoints, but as lately there have been more from the Right, I make an extra effort to place those from the Left onto prominent page locations in order to encourage balance. (When submissions are about equal, they are well-mixed.)

My own distaste for the Bush Administration's education policies, (and The House of Spellings The House of Spellings in particular) is well known in the EduSphere. Please see a sample listing of our site's "Spellings-related" posts here. But it must be noted that when writing-up the Midway, I'm careful to subordinate my own biases in order to give an impartial presentation of those items that are submitted, either from Progressive sites or those that are more Conservative in their political/educational outlook.

The long-term viability of any Carnival is dependent upon the contributers. If folks do not think that their work is treated equitably, they will not support the Carnival.

We will work to continue our efforts to promote the Carnival of Education as a place where ideas may be exchanged from all viewpoints and dialogues encouraged among readers and contributers.

I hope that Dr. Myers will forgive my use of his site in order to display the links above. But I felt that they were germane to the points that I was trying to make.

#51814: — 12/03  at  03:10 AM
EdWonk, thank you for your cogent explanation. I truly appreciate your efforts. I am, in early middle age, just embarking on a teaching career, and I find the Carnival very interesting. I hope I will be able to contribute something in the near future.

At any rate, I am happy to see I am not just seeing things. I like to read conservative perspectives as well as liberal (although I am definitely on the left end of the spectrum). I hope we can get more progressives to contribute to the Carnival of Education.

Still, I always look forward to reading the CoE. If there is anything i can do to help you, please let me know at my username + @gmail.com.