links for 2009-05-07

Most of what you think you know about the Columbine school shooting is wrong.

"I am sure there are students in my classes who have multitasked during a lecture or discussion. Iâll be honest with you. Iâve done the same on my laptop when Iâve been in the audience during conferences or lectures, usually email. Iâve done that in response to being bored, but Iâve also done it as a kind of thoughtful doodling while feeling quite engaged and interested in what the speaker is saying and taking copious notes. So it doesnât worry or offend me that a student might be doing the same. If itâs because theyâre bored, thatâs an issue with my presentation. (Though Iâm not going to take responsibility for getting universal engagement: you canât get blood from a stone, and some students are stones.) If the audience is still being thoughtful, taking good notes, and retaining information while multitasking, why should I care?"

A helpful animation explaining how labor law is stacked against workers who would like to organize.

"I'm not usually a fan of persnickety statistical critiques, but this strikes me as fundamental. The official public voice of community colleges in America, for reasons I personally can't fathom, is promulgating profoundly misleading data on our behalf. "

"Letâs say you own a big building full of valuable stuff. How do you make sure that the night watchman patrolling your factory floor or museum galleries after closing time actually makes his rounds? How do you know heâs inspecting every hallway, floor, and stairwell in the facility? How do you know he (or she) is not just spending every night sleeping at his desk?"