Gifted programs in NYC public schools are a ploy to keep white, middle class families in the city.

Dan and Henry are talking about bloggers as public intellectuals. They reference an interesting article by Russell Jacoby in The Chronicle. Jacoby writes:

Of course personal sharing is not all he and others do in their
postings, but what is the net result? The Internet provides instant
communication and quick access to vast resources, but has it altered
the quality or content of intellectual discussions? Too many voices may
cancel each other out. Bérubé himself has given up regular blogging to
write books instead. Ortega y Gasset’s fear almost a century ago of the
"revolt of the masses" needs an update. We face a revolt of the
writers. Today everyone is a blogger, but where are the readers? A New
Yorker cartoon reverses the usual picture of a literary festival with
book lovers lined up to get the author’s autograph. The cartoon shows a
table and a queue, but authors line up to see "The Reader," who sits
behind the table. On the Internet, articles, blog posts, and comments
on blog posts pour forth, but who can keep up with them? And while
everything is preserved (or "archived"), has anyone ever looked at last
year’s blogs? Rapidly produced, they are just as rapidly forgotten.

Sigh. Slightly discouraged, but still blogging…

Ms. Kopp and Mr. Barth are a power couple in the world of education,
emblematic of a new class of young social entrepreneurs seeking to
reshape the United States’ educational landscape by creating new
schools, training better principals and getting more smart young
teachers into needy classrooms.

I love Weegee, and A.O. Scott hated The Love Guru.

Tim Burke responds to the Deresiewicz article. While he thinks that Deresiewicz is romanticizing elite schools in the past, he does think that college could do a better job challenging students.

I’m watching Michelle Obama on the View.