Fifteen years ago, a college freshman girl took a “friend” home for Thanksgiving because he had no where to go.  Three years later they were married.  It’s 2009, and we’re still making the trek to Sulphur Springs, with children of our own.

Playing around.

Lounging (left: Adam & Maigan; right: lazy dog Brownie)

Happy Thanksgiving!  And just for fun, because no day is complete without a tumbling pass:

Tim Wheeler from Ash at the Oh Yeah Centre Belfast yesterday very generously giving them his famous flying V flaming guitar for their Belfast Music Exhibition!

Tim Wheeler from Ash

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) was established in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians. It is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

The US Food and Drug Association released their research on electronic cigarette, mostly negative, based on which they are applying to ban the product in US. ASH, FDA’s namesake in UK, however, issued a facts sheet and supported the positive effect of electronic cigarettes in its ways to supply nicotine in a less harmful way.

“ASH supports a harm reduction approach to tobacco, that is, we recognise that whilst efforts to help people stop smoking should remain a priority, many people either do not wish to stop smoking or find it very hard to do so. For this group, we believe that products should be made available that deliver nicotine in a safe way, without the harmful components found in tobacco.

Most of the diseases associated with smoking are caused by inhaling smoke which contains thousands of toxic chemicals. By contrast, nicotine is relatively safe.

Therefore, e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, e-cigarettes reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do not produce smoke.”

Hey internet.

So because all of my musical goodies are still on my old computer’s defunct hard drive I’ve been watching music videos on YouTube all week. It kind of hurts.

First up is Ash and one of their newer songs “I Started a Fire”. I’ve always liked Ash, but they fell out of my favour with the album Meltdown, which meant I missed what they’ve been doing the last few years and incidentally missed out on their 26 single set they released (and sold out) in October. I’m fuming a little.

Last night in preparation for the Morrissey concert on Sunday, I watched Who Put the M in Manchester? which is a concert from the You Are The Quarry era, and it is amazing.

And a little bit of Television Personalities for the road.

Nothing fancy. I miss my hard drive of music.

Stay Gold.

Alors que les missions des enseignants se complexifient,  le choix ministériel est celui d’une formation universitaire où le « tout disciplinaire » prime très largement sur la formation professionnelle. La question des méthodes pédagogiques, la prise en compte de l’hétérogénéité, de l’individualisation des parcours, de l’accompagnement personnalisé des élèves sont relégués à «l’après concours». Voir vidéo.

space mutants has been with us for some years now, 3 perhaps. it started as an excuse to not go out to dinner one night, but then became a vehicle to make our own sci-fi noises live to accompany awful acting. after a while it then progressed into an excuse for otis to do some 3D animation, and before we new it the House of Strange was experiment with some Vince dicola-esque sound tracks (Vince wrote alot of amazing 80 theme tunes and the rocky soundtracks, he is a king). the original the episodes were filmed on otis’ mini dv camera and edited by him. the sound was recorded by the house o strange and the voices by otis.

we have been planning this episode for a couple of months now. the story will be based around hell bastard and his new apprentice’s travels across the universe. hell bastard is getting an upgrade to his costume, he has a proper helmet now made by will (from the clockwork quartet). lovely. we are also upgrading the cameras for this new episode, which hopefully wont highlight our questionable portrayal of the characters.

EPISODE 2

EPISODE 1

ORIGINAL

August 29^th

I was in Vancouver. There was a layer of ash over everything. There was snow in the background, in the mountains.

September 1^st

I was living next to an odd river. I was upset it was fake. It was somewhere up north. I went into the river, it had no water. They always turned off the water in the Fall. I was standing in it, when suddenly someone turned on the water again. I was stuck in the river. There was a child following me.

September 6^th

I was in a strange mall. I wanted to get a camera. It was a Canon and it folded up to be tiny and could be carried on a key ring, but still had all the available features.

September 7^th

I was stuck in a mall. I couldn’t leave. One of the stores was closing down, so I stole something. There was a priest there. My car fell off a bridge into the water. I saw the word horseman.

September 13^th

I was on a boat. There was a swamp we were going through. There were weird animals in the swamp, including a huge snake. I had to meet some strange man named Richard at a coffee shop.

September 15^th

I was at a school reunion. Things were strange, I got lost. Every store was having a huge sale. Staci, a girl from school, had become a missionary. Suddenly, I was at a water park. I had to walk over a huge hole full of water to get to the rides. There was a couple that kept insisting that Ted Kennedy was still alive.

September 16^th

I was with a strange, unknown woman. We were both looking at a map of North America. We were looking at places we thought should have waterfront property, creating floods. We were concentrating on the North. There was a judge living with her son in that area, for some reason we thought it should be flooded.

September 20^th

I was in a mall in Washington DC, with another girl. She was modeling clothes. We were trying to steal tea. Suddenly, I was with Laura Bush. She was talking about her kayak that could fit in the bathtub. We were working on a calendar, I was walking a dog. The dog was trying to eat a poisonous plant, I wouldn’t let him. I tried to eat the plant.

September 23^rd

I was at some sort of auditorium with Laura Bush, GW Bush and Obama. There was something wrong, something sad was happening. I was trying to help Laura Bush. I was showing her my cat.

September 26^th

I was standing on a hill, watching the sea. There were a lot of people on the beach, having fun. A huge wave came out of nowhere. People went into the water and drowned. There was a car in the water. It was like a toy and got swept out to sea.

September 29^th

I was in an airplane with a strange man who had wild brown hair and a wild beard. We were trying to get over the international dateline, but we were having problems.

October 3^rd

There was a man, somewhere in the Middle East, amongst Arabs. He was not Arabic. He was walking through a very poor village. He got in a small plane to pilot it, it crashed in water. He lived, but had too many secrets. He had a pill, took it, and died. He was in very shallow water.

October 9^th

I was riding a bike along the South American coast, something was wrong, the atmosphere was all weird and a hole opened up in the sky.

October 12^th

I was in Africa. There was terrible flooding. I was trying to get to places on a bus. People kept trying to get into my backpack and steal things.

October 26^th

I was looking at a floor, it was ruined by water and age. There was American money all over the place, but it was moldy and in bad shape. People were trying to grab the money, but it fell apart in their hands.

October 27^th

I was in an old house, getting ready to move. Satan was changing bodies, he was in a little boy. My parents old buffet had stuff in it. Things were empty all over the Quad Cities, all the stores were closed. One of the parks had weeds and plant growth all over it, like nobody had taken care of it. People were gone.

Pour le SE UNSA, Mme DUMESGE, Mme ISAAC et Mme MALLET ont rencontré Mme Baccellieri, Inspectrice de l’ASH 2 le vendredi 13 novembre. Nous nous sommes entretenus sur 3 points : le fonctionnement pédagogique, la gestion des personnels et les affectations d’élèves. Bien que nous ayons noté une réelle considération des SEGPA / EREA du côté de l’Inspection, il est indéniable que le manque criant de moyens humains rend la situation difficile et inquiétante.

1)     Le fonctionnement pédagogique :

La refonte de l’ancienne ASH 3 avec l’actuelle ASH 2 marque la disparition d’un conseiller pédagogique propre à la spécialité des SEGPA/EREA. Il en résulte une charge de travail considérable pour un seul poste de conseiller pédagogique sur l’ASH 2. Pour autant, le SE UNSA a souligné l’importance d’offrir une formation continue de qualité aux enseignants de SEGPA/ EREA.

Mme l’Inspectrice s’est engagée à étoffer l’offre de conférences pour l’année prochaine concernant les SEGPA. De la même manière, l’offre de formation dans les Plans Académiques de Formation du 1^er et du 2^nd degré sera elle aussi étoffée et continuera d’être ouverte pour les enseignants de SEGPA. De plus, les directeurs de SEGPA seront informés de ce que proposent les circonscriptions pour les enseignants volontaires.

2)     La gestion des personnels :

Concernant la formation des stagiaires CAPA-SH option F, à l’avenir, Mme l’Inspectrice s’est engagée à suivre les conditions d’enseignement (sur les emplois du temps, la répartition des disciplines,…) afin de réduire les inégalités d’exercice entre les stagiaires.

A l’aune des départs en retraite à venir, de la réelle nécessité d’augmenter largement les moyens de remplacement et du nombre de postes vacants, nous avons souligné la nécessité d’un large recrutement de départ en stage CAPA-SH option F.

Mme l’Inspectrice en a pris note en en tiendra compte dans les besoins à établir pour l’année prochaine.

A propos de la brigade de remplacement, (7 personnes environ pour toutes les UPI, les SEGPA/EREA, l’établissement de Coye-la-forêt et une partie des CLIS), le SE UNSA a réaffirmé l’urgente nécessité de l’augmenter. Il est donc acté que nous serons peu voire pas remplacé à l’aune de ces moyens de remplacement.

Mme l’Inspectrice partage notre constat et relayera cette demande à sa hiérarchie.

3)     Les affectations des élèves :

Nous avons rappelé à Mme Baccellieri qu’en audience, le Directeur d’Académie s’est engagé à lancer une étude statistique sur le nombre d’élèves relevant de la MDPH affectés en SEGPA.

De plus, nous lui avons réaffirmé notre position sur ces affectations et le problème que représentait la confusion entre handicap mental ou troubles du comportement et la difficulté scolaire grave et durable, tant pour les élèves que pour les conditions de travail des enseignants.

Enfin, nous lui avons présenté les difficultés que représentent ces affectations en champs professionnels et en stages, tant d’un point de vue du suivi de la formation dispensée que dans la recherche de stage en milieu professionnel.

Mme Baccellieri a entendu nos considérations tout en nous renvoyant à la loi de 2005.

Sur les affectations, nous avons soulevé le problème du manque voire de l’absence d’informations sur les élèves que nous accueillons. En outre, nous lui avons fait remarquer les incohérences de certaines affectations d’élèves exclus d’établissement.

Sur ces différents points, Mme l’Inspectrice s’est engagé à améliorer le fonctionnement de la CDOEA dès cette année.

Security at gigs is a necessary thing. Some consider it a necessary evil, but I’ve never really been of that school of thought. I’ve never had any trouble with security guards, perhaps because I’ve never really been the troublesome sort (story of my life, that.) A couple of recent incidents, though, have set me thinking about how different various artists’ attitudes towards venue security are.

We’ve all been at one of those gigs where the security are ridiculously over-zealous. Ash’s  gig (oh no, not them again!) at Exmouth Pavilion on Saturday night was one of those.

Despite being allegedly sold out, it was by no means rammed – perhaps a reflection on the fact that it’s not a venue which normally plays host to much more than tribute bands designed to appeal to the over-40s. There was a lot of security, however – and they tried to kick some people out just for jumping about a bit. Seriously.

The band’s reaction was simple and immediate:

“What’s going on down here? They’re just dancing! It’s a rock show; people are here to have some fun, so just chill the fuck out.”

Effective, too – the number of security instantly reduced to just two slightly suspicious and edgy-looking staff. A good way of dealing with things, I’d say.

Morrissey (oh no, not him again!), in contrast, seems to view security almost as his own personal bodyguards. Someone shouted “fuck you!” as he was making some slightly bizarre – possibly vegetarian-related? – point in Hamburg about renaming the city’s residents “hamburgists” rather than “hamburgers”.

His response?

What a charming man, eh?

Les: monday, monday

Linds: yep.  here it comes again

Les: dude, you’re supposed to sing along

Linds: but i don’t wanna

Les: sigh

Linds: plus, you gave me all the la la las

Les: well, that’s what you get for always making me start

Linds: well…well…hmph

Les: well argued, goofball

Linds: thx

Les: welcome

Linds: anyway.  aren’t we supposed to talk about books or something?

Les: technically.  party-pooper

Linds: clearly, i am never any fun

Les: not at all

Linds: because it’s not like you like books or anything

Les: i like other things too, though.  like the mamas and the papas.  they sing that song, right?

Linds: yep

la la, la la la la

Les: see? was that so hard?

Linds: not the point

Les: you = impossible

Linds: that was the point!  yay!

Les: i just totally rolled my eyes at you.  and i bet i’m not alone

Linds: tee hee

Les: i just did it again.  we should probably talk about books now

Linds: ok!  how’s the reading going, one book at a time girl?

Les: it would be going considerably better had i not left my book at the office

Linds: oh dear.  i believe that’s a reason to read more than one at a time.  what are you working on right now?

Les: chains, by laurie halse anderson.  didn’t you read friday’s favorite lines?

Linds: oh yeah.  i did, but i forgot.  i should just always assume that you’re reading one of her books.  because it’s true at least half the time

Les: it is. she rocks.

Linds: is this one SAD?

Les: it’s written from the POV of a slave girl during the american revolution. so yes. at least i anticipate SAD.

Linds: geez. what’s with the SAD?

Les: it’s compelling?

Linds: k.  i’m still not totally convinced.  but i guess so

Les: what are you reading?

Linds: i finally finished ash by malinda lo, so now i’m reading run

Les: oooooh, run! ann patchett ftw!

Linds: i’m really liking it so far.  the way she writes is as though she’s shining a bright light on just one person or scene at a time.  she illuminates them each in turn

Les: that’s exactly it

Linds: i really like that simple intimacy with each of the characters

Les: yep.  that’s not my favorite of hers – i found it too predictable for my liking – but it is beautifully written

Linds: i’m only about halfway, but i like how straightforward it is so far

Les: i really liked how she ended that one

Linds: well i’ll tell you what i think when i get there. i doubt it’ll take me long.

Les: probably not. it was a quick read for me.

Linds: which means it should take me about five minutes.

Les: probably

Linds: i was actually a little surprised at how easily it reads.  i wasn’t expecting that

Les: it isn’t as heavy as some of her others

Linds: it was the only one they had in print at the creepy place the day i got it.  they had bel canto on cd, but i figured you’d never forgive me if i listened to that one

Les: no cheating with bel canto

Linds: you and the “cheating”

Les: you and the “reading”

Linds: i wouldn’t have even known about truth and beauty to make you read it had i not listened to it

Les: well, then i’m glad you’re a cheater.  because i loved truth and beauty

Linds: see?  sometimes it’s a good thing

Les: i suppose so

Linds: but i promise to read bel canto properly

Les: k good.  it’s really something

Linds: maybe i’ll kick off my new year of reading with it

Les: it would make a good start

Linds: in ‘10, i swear i’m going to manage 52 books

Les: i’m gonna actually keep track this year, but i’m not holding myself to 52.  too much pressure

Linds: that works.  and that way we’ll be able to compare at the end of the year.  it’s fun

Les: we should see about adding book lists to the blog.  so everyone can keep track

Linds: that would be fun.  and way fancier than my word doc

Les: just a smidge

Linds: we could even do weekly updates, to see how far people have gotten and what they’re reading

Les: oh, you mean other people should play along?  i just meant they could track what we’re reading.  like for recommendations and stuff

Linds: well, yeah, but it’s more fun when people share what they’re up to in the comments. (hear that, readers?)

Les: oh. (you’re being bossy again.)

Linds: (duh)

Les: (right)

Linds: so anyway, we’ll get that set up for next year.  but in the meantime, we should probably go about our mondays

Les: you’re probably right

Linds: la la, la la la la

Les:

Linds: until next time, everyone!

Les: have a great week!

The last time I encountered Jason Schwartzman, I was serving him brunch at a breakfast diner in Chicago. He wasn’t just chowing down on french toast, he was also giving an interview for his his 2004 film “I [Heart] Huckabee” with director David O. Russell. Can you imagine how terrified I was that I would be described by Rolling Stone as the fumbling waiter who spilled coffee all over Mr. Schwartzman? Well, I didn’t actually spill coffee on anybody, but I did humiliate myself by accidentally dropping the wrong check at the end of Jason’s meal/interview. Oops.

Though I will probably never forget dropping the wrong check, I will also not forget Jason Schwartzman’s good attitude and sense of play. He was very “Benny & June” with his food – putting dinner roles on his nose and being quirky, just like you’d want from a favorite indie film star.

It’s fun to be at a point in my life, five years later, that I actually have the opportunity to participate in interviews with people like Jason Schwartzman, instead of taking his omelet order. Life has a way of circling back in on itself sometimes. Jason still has a really enthusiastic attitude; for all I know, he still sticks bread rolls on his nose during interviews. This was more of a group interview with other parenting bloggers on a conference call with him. He was so enthusiastic answering the questions that I was starting to question his sincerity, but then he told us that he would be going on his honeymoon after the interview. Yeah, that would excite me too!

My fellow bloggers and I joined Jason to ask him questions about his role in the new live-animated feature Fantastic Mr. Fox, in which he plays Ash, the son of Mr. Fox (George Clooney). The indie-crowd have been buzzing with excitement to see how Wes Anderson would adapt Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book. You remember Wes Anderson, don’t you? He’s been dividing audiences since Schwartzman debuted in Rushmore, a quirky comedy with an awesome soundtrack. After Rushmore, Anderson directed the meticulous character-driven homage to Salinger “The Royal Tennenbaums”.  Then, he drove a wedge into the crack dividing his fans and his haters with “The Life Aquatic With Steve Sizzou”, which some say went past quirky into self-parody.

You either “get” Anderson’s films… or you shrug and say “That was weird”. Jason promises that this movie is more accessible to kids and doesn’t have the typical Wes Anderson inside jokes, which may be true, but we do see many favorite actors returning to the  Anderson ensemble such as Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Schwartzman himself.  We also get hints that the film will be intricately detailed down to the miniature costumes worn by the puppets. For some, the Wes Anderson sub-genre will possibly seem laborious and impenitrable, but as a fan of his peculiar style of storytelling, I’m hoping that Anderson won’t sacrifice too much of what makes him unique.

Half the reason Jason Schwartzman is so cool, other than his rock star status with Phantom Planet, is that he has now been in multiple films with Bill Murray. Holy crap. I would be a total mess if I even met Bill Murray. He’s been my hero since Quick Change. He’s the reason I started doing comedy (in my other life as an improv instructor).  I’ve watched Groundhog day 5000 times, and the whole point of the movie is it’s redundancy – it just never gets old.

The voice-overs for Fox were recorded live, with all the actors immersing themselves in the environments of their animated counterparts. Jason Schwartzman, the luckiest dude alive, scurried around on a farm pretending to be a fox while Bill Murray pretended to be a badger. Jason told an anecdote about Bill Murray standing in as a wolf frolicking in the distance, which instantly made me want to see the movie, if only so that I could see that scene and imagine the wolf as Bill Murray.

I’m not familiar with this particular Roald Dahl story, but I’m a huge Roald Dahl fan. James and the Giant Peach captivated me as a child, and it’s symbolism of returning to the womb stimulated my mind as an adult. I also have this theory that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an allegory for Dante’s inferno, but that’s for another time. If I had a chance to ask Jason a question, I would have liked to ask him about his favorite book by Roald Dahl. He claimed that his mother read him Fantastic Mr. Fox, but Dahl wrote several spellbinding tales, including the Big Friendly Giant, which has a whimsical stage adaptation that I hope to direct some day.

I haven’t seen Fantastic Mr. Fox because it has yet to be released in my area. It’s in select theaters now, but opens nation-wide on Thanksgiving. If it’s anything like Jason Schwartzman’s description, the film is a ”beautiful art form” that is “good for the brain” and filled with “detail and love”. Sounds good to me. Anybody plan to see the film? Let me know what you think about it.

La période d’inscription pour passer le CAPA-SH toutes options ou le 2CA-SH toutes options est du 10 novembre 2009 au 10 décembre 2009. Le dossier est à retirer, de préférence par courrier, auprès du SIEC et à retourner dernier délai le 10 décembre. Aucun retard ne sera accordé.

Dossier à retirer à l’adresse suivante : Service DEC 2 (préciser l’intitulé de la formation demandée) 7, rue Ernest Renan 94749 ARCUEIL Cedex

Pour plus de renseignements, contacter Nathalie DUMESGE

Native Plant Species are species which have arrived in Ireland naturally without the assistance of people. These species were present in Ireland before the last Ice Age. They adapted to the environmental conditions in Ireland and therefore thrive here. Native Plant Species are very beneficial to wildlife providing both food and shelter. The fauna and insects of Ireland have adapted to live with native species over time.

Native Species of plants and trees sustain the greatest biodiversity. When landscaping around your home use native species where possible. Local nurseries and garden centres will have a range of native species in stock.

Non native or invasive species should be avoided. Suitable plants may include native and indigenous plants which may include;

Ash

Ivy

Blackthorn

Dog Rose

Holly

Crab Apple

Guelder Rose

Erfolgreicher Start in den Heißen Herbst – über 85.000 demonstrierten für bessere Bildung (15.000 in Berlin)

17.11.2009 Heute protestierten im Rahmen des Bundesweiten Bildungsstreiks erneut über 85.000 SchülerInnen, Studierende und Auszubildende in Deutschland dezentral in über 60 Städten für ein besseres Bildungssystem. Diese Forderung wurde europa- und weltweit in mehreren Ländern geteilt. Neben Demonstrationen fanden Kundgebungen, Hörsaal-Besetzungen und weitere Aktionen statt.

Auftakt des heißen Herbstes – Gemeinsam an einem Strang
Am heutigen Aktionstag, der gleichzeitig der “International Student’s Day” und Auftakt des aktions- und protestreichen “heißen Herbstes” des Bildungsstreiks ist, demonstrierten Studierende und Schüler_innen unter anderem in Berlin (15.000), München (10.000), Wiesbaden (10.000), Freiburg (6.000), Köln (5.000) und Jena (1.500). Unter anderem in Braunschweig, Nürnberg-Erlangen, Bonn, Passau, Augsburg, Bochum, Trier und Freiburg besetzten Studierende Hochschulhörsäle. Mit zahlreichen kreativen Aktionen machten Schüler_innen und Studierende in den Innenstädten Passanten auf die Missstände im Bildungswesen aufmerksam.

“Was mit Besetzungen in Österreich und Deutschland begann, ist heute eine internationale Bewegung. Der Protest hat eine neue europäische Qualität erreicht und beweist: Wir ziehen für bessere Bildung gemeinsam an einem Strang”, erklärt Julia Dück, Studentin aus Berlin.

Forderungen auf die Straße getragen
Schüler_innen, Studierende, Auszubildende und zahlreiche weitere Unterstützer_innen aus großen Teilen der Gesellschaft demonstrierten für selbstbestimmtes Lernen und Leben. Statt starrem Zeitrahmen und Leistungs- sowie Konkurrenzdruck zu unterliegen forderten sie den freien Bildungszugang für jede_n und die Abschaffung von sämtlichen Bildungsgebühren wie Studien-, Ausbildungs- und Kita-Gebühren. Insbesondere setzten sich die Demonstrant_innen für die Demokratisierung des Bildungssystems, die Stärkung der Mit- und Selbstverwaltung der Lernenden in allen Bildungseinrichtungen und die öffentliche Ausfinanzierung des Bildungssystems ein.

Reaktionen der Politik vollkommen unzureichend
Gemeinsam streben die Demonstrant_innen die sofortige Umsetzung folgender Verbesserungen an: Die Abschaffung von Kopfnoten und des sozial selektiven mehrgliedrigen Schulsystems, kleinere Klassen und Seminare sowie mehr Lehrpersonal an Schulen und Hochschulen. Sie halten sowohl an der Forderung nach einem Ausbau von Studienplätzen als auch ihrer Ablehnung des Turbo-Abiturs (Abitur nach 12 Jahren) fest. Großkonzerne bzw. das Militär sollen auf Schulen und Hochschulen keinen Einfluss mehr haben. Bildung muss selbstbestimmt, demokratisch, kostenlos und für jede_n verfügbar werden. Die bisherigen Reaktionen der Politiker_innen bezeichnen aktive Schüler_innen und Studierende in den Bildungsstreikbündnissen als vollkommen unzureichend.

“Bund, Länder und Bildungseinrichtungen sind gefordert. Statt sich gegenseitig die Verantwortung für die Bildungsmisere zuzuschieben, sollten alle gemeinsam die längst offenbaren Probleme umfassend anpacken und beheben statt die anhaltenden Proteste auszusitzen”, sagt der studentische Bildungsstreik-Aktivist Michael Kolain.

Protest ist schon längst international
Auch auf europäischer — und vereinzelt auch auf globaler Ebene – markierte der 17. November 2009 einen wichtigen Tag. Als Teil der “Global Week of Action” fanden u.a. in Italien (150.000 Menschen über 50 Städten), in Österreich, in Frankreich (in über 20 Städte), in der Schweiz und in Polen Kundgebungen, Demonstrationen und Schulblockaden statt. Außerdem gab es Proteste in Städten in Ungarn, den USA und einigen asiatischen Ländern. Unter dem internationalen Motto “Education is NOT for $A£€!” wurde in den vergangenen Tagen zudem weltweit vielfältig und entschlossen gegen die Kommerzialisierung und Privatisierung von öffentlicher Bildung protestiert. In Österreich und Deutschland besetzen seit Wochen Studierende Hörsäle in ihren Hochschulen, um auf die miserablen Bildungsbedingungen und einen fehlenden freien Zugang zu Bildung aufmerksam zu machen.

Bildungsstreik geht weiter — “Kultusminister_innen Nachsitzen!”
Trotz erster Erfolge des Protestes, wie beispielsweise die Abschaffung der Studiengebühren in Hessen, — laut Koalitionsvertrag — im Saarland und der Einsicht der Kultusminister_innen, dass die Studiengänge des Bachelor/Master-System in der bisherigen Form nicht aufrecht erhalten werden können, gibt es gute Gründe den Streik fortzusetzen.

“Solange die Politiker_innen nur hohle Absichtserklärungen für Proteste übrig haben und die Schüler_innen ignoriert werden, wird der Bundesweite Bildungsstreik weitergehen”, so Timm Opitz, Schüleraktivist aus Bonn.

Anfang Dezember wird eine weitere bundesweite Bildungsstreikwoche stattfinden. Verschiedene Aktionen sind bereits geplant und gründen sich auf die inhaltliche Auseinandersetzung mit den Missständen des Bildungssystems.

Am 10. Dezember 2009 findet im Wissenschaftszentrum in Bonn die Kultusminister_innenkonferenz statt, bei der alle 16 Minister_innen zusammenkommen.
Es ist nicht absehbar, dass diese sich dabei wirklich ernsthaft auf die Forderungen der Schüler_innen und Studierenden zu bewegen werden. Dies nimmt die Bundesweite Projektgruppe Bildungsstreik zum Anlass, um erneut zu einer Demonstration und friedlichen Blockade der KMK aufzurufen. Das Motto lautet: “Kultusminister_innen nachsitzen!”.

Rückschau
Bereits im November 2008 begann der Protest mit dem “Schulstreik”, der bundesweit 125.000 Schüler_innen umfasste. Im Juni 2009 gingen bereits über 270.000 Schüler_innen, Studierende, Auszubildende und viele weitere Unterstützer_innen auf die Straße.

Für weitere Fragen wenden Sie sich bitte an das Presseteam des Bundesweiten Bildungsstreiks:
Jenny Morín 0177 – 306 16 27
Jörg Rostek 0172 – 586 83 64
Philip Tassev 0174-333 65 61

It’s become an annual tradition.  School gives kids free tickets to the State Fair of Texas.  Mommy has inservice.  Daddy withdraws obscene amounts of cash and takes girls with their “free” tickets.

Facepainting is always a hit.  Libs was up for the activity but removed it in the car!  Ash enjoyed closing her eyelids to reveal the snake eyes.

This were hasty snapshots that were inspired by better photos.  Having fun with depth of field.