前天下班了去接儿子，儿子一看到我，就跟我说他上了电视了。我听了很奇怪，就问什么电视。他就说了一个名字，言下之意是他昨天看到他了。我也没在意，实际上是对那个名字不敏感。儿子就又重复了一遍，最后看我还是糊涂的样子，就把他的抬头讲出来了---田纳西州长。我这才反过来意识到那个名字还是蛮耳熟的么。路上，湘湘就开始讲如何跟田纳西州长Phil Bredesen碰头的故事。大意是说，昨天州长到他所在的小学去了。是因为本州从联邦搞到了一大笔钱，是跟教育有关的。州长很高兴，就在小学里做一个新闻发布会，需要小朋友做听众。那这些听众是如何产生的么。还是跟民主有关的东东---抽签。儿子就被抽到了。全校500多个学生，去掉学前班和一年级，从剩下的300多学生里抽了23个学生参加新闻发布会。我跟儿子说，这个你也够狠的，如此的中奖率也能被你搞到。儿子听了也不以为然，继续说，现场还有很多记者，拍照的拍照，摄像的摄像，一有小朋友提问，就会有记者对着猛拍一气。我就很着急地问他提问了没有。他摇摇头，然后说，很boring的。我说为什么，他说你看，州长说要1点来，我本来是12点40吃饭跟自己班上吃饭的，结果，不得不提前跟别的班吃饭，就是为了提早20分钟去图书馆等他，结果，搞了一下午，还错过了recess的时间。我听了后很是同情，说，是呀，不知这个州长有没有给你们每人发了礼物呀。儿子说，就是一些铅笔之类的。我说，那确实没劲，要是每个小朋友发一套lego该多好。儿子听了，只是叹气，看着窗外，一副神往的样子。
我还跟儿子说，这个州长是他目前见到的最大的官。爸爸本人还没这福气呢。
有照片为证。
http://www.mnps.org/Page67940.aspx文中也说这些小朋友很幸运。可惜儿子不这么看。
这的确是一大笔钱，共有5亿美元。全美只有两个州拿到。结果州长却如此小气地把新闻发布会就放在当地一个小学的图书馆。搁在俺崛起的祖国，那排场，只怕吓着这帮老外。
再看看
另外一个新闻网站的一个跟贴评论，很是有趣，说田纳西州是发了笔横财，纳税人的钱就是如此被这罪恶的政府给浪费掉的。
The Tennessean reported that Tennessee received a "windfall" for schools. Now where do they think the money originated? How about the taxpayers, or better yet, future taxpayers who will be paying for all "windfalls" from this evil administration。
Race to the Top Press Conference at Eakin Elementary
To officially announce Tennessee's win in the Race to the Top competition, Governor Phil Bredesen joined several state and local officials at Eakin Elementary School, where he addressed the state and the lucky students who were able to attend.
Tennessee's Race to the Top Proposal
The State of Tennessee submitted a proposal in the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top competition, seeking a total of $501.8 million in federal resources to spur education innovation across the Volunteer State.
Tennessee’s request exceeded recent estimates by about $17 million, mainly due to additional resources that are being sought for turnaround schools. Tennessee’s complete Race to the Top proposal, totaling 1,111 pages with supporting documents, can be found on the state Department of Education Web site at www.tn.gov/education.
Under federal guidelines, half of any Race to the Top funds received by Tennessee — which, as requested, would total $250.9 million — would be distributed directly to local school districts under the federal government’s existing Title I formula. The other half would be used to seed a “State Innovation Fund” underwriting a series of new investments over a four-year period. Major categories include: turnaround schools, great teachers and leaders, technology and data, oversight and implementation.
About the Federal Race to the Top Program
Created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Race to the Top provides $4.35 billion in competitive grants designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
- Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.
In addition, the President and Secretary Duncan announced plans to seek an additional $1.35 billion in funding for Race to the Top in anticipation of an “overwhelming response” from states seeking awards this week, in the first round of the competition. Winning states in the first round are expected to be announced in April, to be followed by a second round of competition later in the year.
