TFA & Praxis 0014 - Update 6 and 2/3

This is another installment in my TFA series. As I mentioned in a previous post, when I searched for info regarding TFA, the interview day, and subsequent entry into the program, blogs were a prime source of information for positive and negative insight. I weighed the risk of keeping this blog alive when I'm waiting to interview, and I determined that my missives aren't caustic, defamatory, or radical. In the new year, TFA starts in earnest with the first hurdle of passing the Place and Praxis exams, which are remarkably different tests with more on the latter below. The hiring process commenced at the beginning of February and continues until one secures a position before the beginning of the school year. TFA matches corps members with a hiring consultant--a member of TFA--to smooth the process. It is our obligation to find and apply for jobs once they are listed on district HR pages, which was reinforced during a roughly hour and a half conference call last week. The Denver coordinator also sends e-mails with job openings, and I've applied for one position thanks to her efforts. My concerns don't stem from finding a job at this moment, rather the Praxis occupies my time and anxious center.

To teach Early Childhood Education in Colorado, I am required to sit for the Praxis II Elementary Education Content Knowledge, test 0014. ETS divides the exam into four subjects: language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. Educators are required to know the four areas even though they might not cover more than one in their classes. Or, in my case, I must pass despite not teaching the Mayflower Compact, factor trees, plate tectonics, or homonyms/phones/grams. There are 120 questions split evenly between the four disciplines on the paper-based exam. Unlike the Place's abundance of time, the Praxis limits text takers to two hours and poses markedly harder questions. In other words, it's a demanding exam and requires the usual standardized test skills remain sharp. Mine are, admittedly, dull. The last time they were deployed was five and a half years ago for the GRE.

I purchased study guides from Research & Education Association, CliffsNotes, as well as ETS's e-book. Each one features a practice exams, and I will purchase a retired exam from ETS. The REA and CN consist of details and diagrams, whereas the ETS offering is vague at points. For instance, ETS suggests learning sonnets, and the CN book describes the quatrain and rhyming sequences of Petrarchan and Shakespearean. I might return the REA test prep as I am uncertain it is too broad without ample focus on the questions I will face.

I feel comfortable with the language arts and social studies sections, and the remaining two represent my bigger challenge. For instance, when was the last time one memorized the breakdown of a cell and what conducts DNA? If you want to quiz me on the origins of the Cold War or Civil Rights, I'm game. Twenty-eight days remain before the Praxis, so I have ample time to study and devise patterns or jar mnemonics loose from the recesses of my brain. I must complete language arts and social studies this week, thus allowing me to devote a week to science and math with a final week for review and practice tests. After that, hiring and prep for institute.

Labor Revolt on Democrats' Hands

Democrats are awakening to the fact that they've let their labor constituents down, notably with the failure to appoint Craig Becker in the Senate. I've stated my opinions that it seems unlikely that the legislative calendar and the political currents allow much room for the Democrats to engineer any feats on behalf of workers and unions. It begs another question, do the Democrats want to open doors for organized labor? A story from the Politico paints a dismal portrait of how union reps are smarting over failures by the Democrat dominated government. Whether in the disappointing impotence in passing a health care bill or Obama's and Duncan's Race to the Top or merit pay that's not appealing to teachers' unions (ie AFT & NEA), labor heavies are voicing their anger. The Democrats are running down an odd path if they want to sustain a coalition that brought electoral victories in 2006 and 2008. A story in the Financial Times pins the blame on the fearsome foursome (Emanuel, Jarrett, Axelrod,Gibbs) surrounding the President and maintaining a permanent campaign atmosphere in the West Wing. The thing about campaigns is that you have to win...at least some, especially for the people who were active members that propelled you to office.

Alexi Giannoulias on EFCA

The winner of the Illinois Democratic Senate Primary, Alexi Giannoulias, participated in an interview with Adam B from the Daily Kos. Of course, Giannoulias backs EFCA. Now that card check is obviously dead, he points to one of EFCA's stronger provisions to protects workers' rights: binding arbitration.

I would like to highlight one measure in the bill that I don’t think gets discussed enough: binding arbitration. Under current law, if a newly formed union does not come to a contractual agreement with an employer within the first year of the union’s existence, employees must hold a second election to keep the union. In that second election, a majority of employees must vote in favor of keeping the union in order for the employees to remain unionized. Binding arbitration would ensure that workers who wish to form a union are able to obtain a contract and that their first vote is honored.

EFCA opponents recognize that as a stalling technique, resisting a contract opens the door for crushing a union with anti-union education seminars, intimidation, bribery, and dismissal or reassignment. I don't know if Giannoulias has a shot in this political climate, especially if Massachusetts elected Scott Brown. Regardless, I'm pleased with his stance on labor and if he can marshal or energize Democratic voters...somehow.

Groundhog Day

2, 4, 10! Heritage Dr. Pepper With Real Sugar

There are few treats in life I enjoy more than a cool Dr. Pepper. Coke or Pepsi don't thrill me at all, but nothing lifts my spirits like Dr. Pepper. So when I stumbled upon a case of Heritage Dr. Pepper made with real sugar, I couldn't resist. Normally, I shun all pops, including my beloved Dr. Pepper, since I'm uneasy with all of the sugar and, curiously, regular soda pop triggers an acne reaction. (And I completely disagree with the talk of "there's no way that pop causes acne" since I know from experience that it's a direct factor for me.) After drinking Coke with real sugar in Morocco, the prospect of real sugar mixed with Dr. Pepper's twenty-three flavors weakened my resolve and I found myself trudging home with a fridge pack. And, folks, I'm here to tell you, it was like a sneak peak at the rapture.

If you look at the cans, you'll notice the numbers 2, 4, 10. According to the Dublin Dr. Pepper website (see below), the numbers "represent the times of day when the human body needs a little “pick-me-up” to avoid an energy slump." I have no idea why it's heritage rather than throwback, which is the marketing term Pepsi is using. I presume, therefore, that the name difference is a marketing gimmick. What you might not know is that you can find Dr. Pepper with Imperial Cane Sugar bottled out of the oldest Dr. Pepper bottler located in Dublin, Texas. Although invented in Waco, Dublin produces and retails original formula Dr. Pepper. I might take the plunge and by a couple of extra fridge packs and pray that self-restraint carries the day so that I don't find myself paying for Dublin Dr. Pepper at ten dollars a case and five dollars shipping.

Neil MacFarquhar, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You A Happy Birthday

Neil MacFarquhar's 2008 The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You A Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East is a fun jaunt through the contemporary Middle East. MacFarquhar grew up in Libya on an Esso oil company compound before Qaddafi and his eccentricities seized power and booted the Americans. After a fairly elite upbringing--attending Deerfield and Stanford--he was an AP and NYT correspondent in the Middle East mastering Arabic and sloshing around the region encountering Islamists, the Ikhwan, mukhabarat, and men and women yearning for reform and openness. The 359 pages of text delve into a host of topics, even though Israel-Palestine, Algeria, and a few other countries are absent from his narrative. Even though it's a mouthful, the title is one of my favorites besides Brad Simpson's Economists with Guns detailing a sordid relationship between Indonesia and US development machinations and experts.

This isn't a conventional scholarly book and, as such, it's difficult to review its chapters apart from their journalistic bent. I'm impressed with MacFarquhar's ability to marry anecdotes and interviews with trenchant criticism. He relegates the bulk of his pique to the repressive regimes in the Middle East and the young leaders whose initial burst of promise faded rapidly and was replaced with the iron fist of the state, even if it was wrapped in a new, softer velvet glove. With contacts across the region, he stocked the book with revelatory chapters that portray a vibrant amalgam of people who seek the chance to provide opportunity to women, poor, and the working-class.

All of this serves another purpose in his epilogue, where he offers policy prescriptions to improve America's poor standing in most Arab speaking countries. Among several meaningful suggestions, one of the most salient is his encouragement for Americans to listen to the people he depicts, for they offer keys to grasping the intricacies of each country's unique challenges and hope for the future. In fact, he rejects the idea that technology's rosy potential isn't the US' greatest trait to share. On the last page he states "I would argue that there is an even more powerful export that has been uniquely American for decades. It is an export that no other country has been able to duplicate, and cheap knock-offs just don't exist. That export is hope" (359). If there was a contest, "hope" could win in spades as the single over-used word in 2008.

As I read the book, my mind drifted to an annoyance I've had with speaking on the contemporary Middle East among scholars, graduate students, or those who shun facile stereotypes. They are gun shy when the question shifts to criticizing Islam, Muslims, or regimes in the Middle East. I'm guilty of hemming and hawing when this topic arises, more often than not in reply to someone who proposes an essentialist vision of Islam as repressive, backwards, totalizing, and ancient. It's difficult to strike a balance when discussions meander toward Islam, terrorism, or foreign policy. Most people can't appreciate nuance, won't commit to understanding the faith, and are willing to generalize when it comes to Muslims from Morocco to Malaysia. The fact of the matter, as MacFarquhar points out, is that some people use Islam to preach a message of intolerance that enables or is manipulated to justify repression. One could easily retort with questions of normative behavior, Western cultural mores, Horky and Adorno, etc. One of MacFarquhar's strengths lies in his even-handed resolution to this dilemma by distancing Islam as the thorn in the side of development or freedom while still pointing out that it can be and is fashioned to oppress. Yet the faith also instills confidence in its adherents that an alternate, equitable vision of the future and society is feasible.

All in all, it's a fun book to read that opens a door to a Middle East that I don't know. Unlike hacks writing on the state of the region and directions for US foreign policy, he speaks Arabic fluently and has a insightful awareness of social and cultural currents across a wide spectrum of countries. There are a couple of chapters that an editor could have eviscerated. Despite its length and few a throw-away chapters, it's an impressive account and worth reading if you're inspired by human rights or desire to grasp the modern Middle East outside of the media drum beat of war, intolerance, and terrorism.

Ford's Resurgence

Detroit's standard bearer, Ford Motor Company, is uniquely poised to return to its prosperous days of yore. When its US competitors pulled their empty pockets out and accepted TARP funds, Ford plugged ahead without resorting to bankruptcy court thanks to smart business decisions before the economy went pear shaped. Motor Trend bestowed the Car of the Year award to Ford for the 2010 Fusion, and Ford reported its first annual profit in four years of 2.7 billion and predicted sales of 12.5 million for 2010. In the wake of Toyota's sticky gas pedal problem, the once leader is looking a bit tarnished at a time when Ford is shooting to regain its position as the leader in the automotive industry. In fairness, Ford halted production from the same Chinese plant that delivered the faulty gas pedals to Toyota. While Chinese products appear cheap, their durability and safety are still in question.

Ford is slated to commence production of the Ford Explorer in a Chicago plant on Torrence Avenue. With the Explorer comes 1,200 new jobs and increased orders for the Chicago Heights stamping plant. Thanks to tax cuts in Illinois and sacrifices by UAW members, the Explorer was lured away from Louisville, KY, which will shift to manufacturing cars. The new workers's wages will be cut in half from regular wages--a move the UAW did not oppose. It doesn't appear that Ford workers objected. According to NBC Chicago, Debra Green, a Ford employee for ten years, greeted the news by exclaiming "my heart is racing...I’m really happy to have a job. I can't believe we're going to two shifts." Her sentiments were echoed by John Orlando, who interpreted the announcement as evidence that a position with Ford is more than a simple job: it's a legacy and long-term relationship. "I'd be happy for my kids to work here now and do like I did....Everyone wants to come back to Ford." During this period of economic uncertainty, as I noted in my Labor in 2010 post, workers and unions are eschewing a course that might threaten their employment and the future of production and recovery. It's awfully difficult for me to advocate for romanticized labor radicalism from my chair. Still, EFCA is an important step forward for the rights of unions to compete with companies on an equal stage.