c|net recently reported the re-emergence of MacPaint on CloudPaint.

Kids, this was cutting-edge when I was in elementary school! You just stuck a disk... that is, an oversized USB key... into the front of a whitish-grayish box with a teeny, built-in monitor and... voila! You were master of all matter graphic and capable of creating wonders like that which is pictured above!

Oh, how the memories flood back! At the time of this new technology, my mother taught part-time at the university and shared an office with Linda Rosenthal. Linda was clearly cutting-edge and had this magical device on the desk. On those random nights when I would accompany my mom to class and wait out the period in the office, is fiddled with these controls and created wonders from the seemingly unending palette of black-and-white offerings.

Someday I'll fill some pages with my love affair with Logo

What technology do you remember wowing you in your childhood?

The local school district's publication arrived today. We don't use these services, but it's interesting to read the highlights they find worth publishing.

The lead story was a "top 10" list. Most involved accomplishments the district had made in innovative programs and teaching methods, including a middle school with all national board-certified teachers, broadening access to achievement programs, and standardizing the math curriculum across all schools in the district.

I know a handful of teachers who've gone through the certification process. It's a rigorous process, including a great deal of self-study. I'm inspired by their dedication to their professional development. I imagine that the middle school programs will be enhanced, but, as always, I wonder about the unintended consequences? When such a rigorous program is mandated in a single institution, how much is lost to the students with the extra strain on time and energy is devoted to the certification? And who is absorbing the $3000 in fees?

Also on the list was free access to the SAT for 12th graders, PSAT for 11th graders, and an 8th grade assessment. I appreciate that the district is choosing the absorb this cost, which can be a barrier to higher education for low-income families. I'm a less comfortable, however, with the absorption of AP and IB programs. I don't question that eliminating the financial barriers can lead to more students accessing and excelling through these programs, but I am critical of the teach-to-the-test approach that is essentially mandated by the licensing of an AP curriculum (and similarly, presumably, in the IB program). Not that I have a great solution, mind you; I truly want young people to have equitable access to education. However, I don't want that access to be suppressed with a teaching of whatto think; I want our children to learn how to think.

Finally, the math curriculum edict certainly caught my eye. The district holds that it must be standardized because children frequently move between different schools and need to be able to pick up where they left off at their old school. What I didn't see was a reference to students who move in and out of district, for whom these standardizations would be rendered useless. I'm also a big believer in success in addressing individual learning styles, and one curriculum for seems diametrically opposite of that belief. With all that's put into specialized schools that emphasize STEM or the fine arts, why cannot the district better tailor an understanding of mathematics in the younger grades?

So, again, I don't necessarily have ready solutions to increase the graduation rate and eventual success of the coming generations. However, when a public institution issues a publication that aims to only produce accolades for its own benefit, I can only assume that we are called to skepticism.

Political season is upon us again. In our state, the most frequent ads I'm seeing involve voting yes or no on I-522*, to require labeling on products containing genetically modified organisms**. Cue the concerned housewives, the financially troubled farmers, and the cries for justice as it pertains to the food that keeps us alive.

Really? This is how we're spending our time? Spending gobs of money and time on campaigning to write more information on food that may or may not be read?

Consumers - do your homework. If you care about what's going into your body, then read up on your food! This doesn't even involve research; companies are already clearly proud to advertise that they are GMO-free. Is it then necessary to mark all the other packages with announcements?

It seems to me that the market can take care of itself.

*Which I think should be referenced in a manner as not to confuse voters as to whether they're voting for the existence or non-existence of an already-existing interstate highway.

**The spelling of this latter word is really, really important to get right if you're going to Google it.

I'm always saying I want to write more. Perhaps not necessarily better, but simply a greater volume. But, putting editorial worries aside, the minute I finally step up to the keyboard to better inform the world... I must hit some kind of writer's block. Gone are my fleeting fancies and quotable daydreams.

This makes me fear for the success of my participation in NaNoWriMo this year.