Twitter To The Rescue

I exploded this morning when I heard Joe Scarborough ask Politico’s Mike Allen what was wrong with showing a picture ID before voting. Mike Allen had that scared look on his face because he knew that he was in the middle of a partisan political statement. Joe Scarborough went on a rant saying that liberal columnists have tagged the governors of Texas and North Carolina as racist just for requiring a picture ID. He said that the writers tactically put a white hood over those governors. Mike Allen tried to say that they were other issues, but Joe would have none of it because he wanted someone to tell them what was wrong with a picture ID. His co- host Mika Brzezinski agreed with Joe saying that he had a legitimate complaint.

About 30 minutes passed when the director on the show informed Joe Scarborough that he had received several tweets condemning Joe for misrepresenting the voter ID issue. If Joe Scarborough had read the New York Times article, (and I suspect he did), then he knew he intentionally left out the facts that made this new law controversial. He didn’t mention early voting had been lessened, certain types of picture IDs were no longer accepted, the hardships that came with the new requirements (especially democratic voters) voter fraud is almost non-existent, and most of the fraud comes from mail in ballots(a GOP favorite way of voting) which do not require a voter picture ID. Joe Scarborough sheepishly said perhaps there’s more to this but it doesn’t excuse is the obvious attempt to get away with something that wasn’t true. Some might have called those governors racists; I don’t know, but it’s obvious that they are going after minorities who usually vote for Democrats. I think it’s political because given a chance, the Democrats would gerrymander the districts to their wants but there’s not much else they could do to suppress GOP votes.

Joe Scarborough tried to make the same point about the Texas ban on abortion after 20 weeks not too long ago. He intentionally left out the closing of the Planned Parenthood clinics. That particular morning he was surrounded by Democrats, so he didn’t get away with his tactic of emphasizing what he thought was reasonable and ignoring the real intent of the controversial law.

We are getting closer to the day when using television as a means to instantly spread falsehoods will be difficult because I vision a crawler at the bottom of the screen being used as an instant fact checker.Twitter can serve that purpose but it hasn't been incorporated yet. Then again,the RNC is using Twitter to jam the server with anti-Obamacare articles.


Tomorrow’s blog might be my last for a while because I’m going to have rotator-cuff surgery Wednesday. My left arm will be a sling for six weeks, but we’ll see how it goes. I’ve used voice-recognition software before so not being able to use my left hand for typing shouldn’t be that much of a hindrance. I will probably have to use my iPad, so I won’t have all the tools for desktop publishing, so I’ll limit myself to short blogs. Writing will be therapy because I’m certainly not going to sit around and watch television all day long. If you’ve had rotator-cuff surgery or know someone that has, please share that experience because even though it’s day surgery, I’m not looking forward to the pain and misery afterwards.

I’ve read BigJ’s blog where he agreed with a poster that placed the blame of our education woes entirely on liberals. I’ll probably use that topic as the next subject matter for one of my next blogs. I did a little research into the subject but all I could find was that conservatives don’t like the all- out support liberals give to public education. I did read some blogs at the National Review that blame the liberals for our education downfall, but it all had to do with social issues. I’ll have plenty of time to research this matter.

It’s the third grade stupid

I call myself stupid because the answer I've been seeking was right under my nose. I've been watching programs about education and reading just about everything I can get my hands on, but I think I found the answer I was looking for. It all came to me when I downloaded the latest Time magazine article titled " Why Third Grade Is So Important: the Matthew Effect by Annie Murphy Paul.

Just about Everything I've come across recycles the same-old problems such as parents, unions, government, bureaucracy, students, vouchers, punishment and money, and it's left at that until the subject comes up again. I think education is the key to all our problems.

I agree with the author when she states that the single most important year of an individual's academic career is the third grade. This is the year these students start learning  how to read-and decoding words by learning the alphabet. They go from, in her words, learning to read to reading to learn. It's a pivot point because according to Donald J. Hernandez, a professor of sociology at CUNY-Hunter College, third graders who lack proficiency in reading are four times more likely to become high-school dropouts.

It usually goes this way: struggles in the third-grade lead to a "fourth- grade slump" as reading- to -learn dominates the instructions. The substandard readers will begin to avoid reading out of frustration, and the traits of failure begin to take place. It gets even harder as the inferior reader progresses because classes in science, social studies, history and even math have to come to rely more on textual analysis.

Researchers have said that what distinguishes a super school from the rest is called the "Matthew Effect," taking from a Biblical verse found in the Gospel of Matthew: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath: It just reinforces what we have know all along," the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

Some states have recognized the importance of reading and are taking a hard line stance: third graders who aren’t reading at-grade level don't get promoted to 4th grade. "Mandatory retention" bills have already been passed in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and Oklahoma and are being considered in Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, and Tennessee. I'll have to keep that information to myself because, if my daughter found out, she would be asking for transfer to one of those states. She's been in and out of her principal's office and often overruled when she recommends a student for retention.

The author recommended some ideal alternatives: teachers and parents could get together and come up with an individualized learning plan for every third grader who needs help with reading-it might take specialized instruction, tutoring or even summer school. As she said the most important thing is taking action, and researchers have told us that we shouldn't assume that reading problems will work themselves out.

Tag Them..Track Them

I always say when money is short; people will find a way around the problem. In this case, the San Antonio North Independent School District is putting technology to use to corral the attendance money from the state. They're implementing a pilot program that tracks students, using transmitters inside identification cards (RFID).

Next year, and John Jay High School and Anson Jones Middle School will track their 6,290 students who use the district buses according to the San Antonio Express-News. If successful, the district wants to use the ID cards at all 111 schools and almost 100,000 students. There must be some big bucks to gain because the district plans to spend $525,065 on the pilot program and about $136,005 to run it.

According to North Side Independent School District Deputy Superintendent, Brian Woods, the ID cards would keep more accurate figures and recoup the dollars lost when a student is reported absent but may be in the nurse's office or elsewhere on campus.

Mr. Woods said if the program is implemented, the district will see an increase in 0.5% in attendance levels along with Medicaid reimbursement for special needs students who ride district buses and would net the district $2 million to 2.5 million each year in funding.

You can't have a system like that without the naysayers worrying about privacy matters but the system already contains pertinent information like social security numbers and grades. All the data is maintained on the school's server and is password protected.

There are legitimate worries about the misuse of the technology but Mr. Woods said the program would have only limited potential use for disciplinary purposes. The program does have the capabilities of tracking special needs students on district buses.

RFID in schools is not new to Texas. The Spring and Santa Fe School District have been using the technology since 2010.

The Northside Independent School District school board unanimously approved the pilot program last week.

I hate to be a wet blanket but the wealthier school districts can afford the equipment and software to recoup lost state funds but there is not a chance the poorer school districts will improve their status.

How about it; is this something you would recommend to our school board?I know, we don't have that many students and the first year year outlay of $761,070 would bring out several anxiety attacks just thinking about that much money.

Free Ivy League Education on-Line?

Education costs are at the forefront and they should be because if you think healthcare costs are out of control try paying for a university degree. Health Care costs have risen 250% in the past 25 years but education costs have skyrocketed by 450% in that same time period, according to the National Center for Public Policy. Everyone should know that we can't sustain that.

Along comes Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng who believe the Internet should allow millions of people to receive first class education at little or no cost. The two professors who teach competitive computer science at Stanford have launched Coursera which will makes courses from top tier universities available online, at no charge, to anyone.

So far they have signed up volunteer professors from Stanford, Princeton, University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. Coursera will offer 35 courses in subjects ranging from computer science to world history and contemporary American poultry. They're not only videotaped courses because they will come complete with homework assignments, examination and grades.

Coursera was just an experiment but over 100,000 students have enrolled and 13,000 completed the course. Coursera does not pay its professors but that might not be a problem because a few venture capital firms have climbed on board and more will join when enrollment hits up into the millions. It's quite possible that Coursera will charge companies for helping them to find qualified job applicants.

Like so many new great ideas, they always start on the West Coast and mainly in California. Many from that state have been taking online courses for quite some time using products from companies like Udacity, Khan Academy and the Minerva Project. Can top universities continue to charge $250,000 for a college degree when online courses are available for free? Something has to give.

Universities will it need to reconsider their business model and figure out what is they're selling? It can't be their coursework because that's available online for free. Could it be a face -to- face with overpaid professors? Is it football programs and frat parties?

The government stepped in it took away the loan making, interest charging middleman and now free online courses!They are being put on notice.

Don't you love it when American entrepreneurs take the ball and run with it?

This is am article I copied from the current issue of NewsWeek.

Education Reform..NOW!

I finally got around to begin reading a book I got for Christmas called “That Used to be Us" by Michael Mandelbaum and Tom Friedman. The book is about the United States of America, our major challenges, with some possible solutions and emphasizing that education should be our priority.

Yesterday my daughter was telling us about the new STAAR test, saying that her class will never pass that test because they are having trouble with what she’s currently teaching. The questions are confusing and the material is substandard at best. The test was developed by someone’s brother-in-law or it’s the cheapest test out there.

Historically America has educated its people up to and beyond the technology demands of every era. That lasted until the 1970s, but then we stopped keeping up. And when we stopped income inequality begin widening as a job opportunity for the high-school dropout shrunk. I believe everyone knows that we have to educate our young people up to and beyond the new levels of technology but are just spinning our wheels arguing about the same barriers. Local districts evaluate their success on how much better they are than their neighboring districts, but they should be measuring their success against students in China, Finland, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Teachers and principals should be at the forefront of any discussion about improving education. The book describes how a school district in Colorado mimicked the teaching methods of successful countries. They elevated the status of the teachers and promoted the gifted teachers and called them masters. The master's methods were filmed for other inspiring teachers to learn from, and they were  required to sit in on a class of a master instructor. Teacher's tenure would be based on job performance and not years in service. Teachers were evaluated three times a year. The quality of an educational system cannot exceed the quality of the teachers. It's been recommended that we create a few West Point  like universities for would- be teachers and principals.

If you take the lowest performing students and you put them in a classroom of highly effective teachers, we know that in three years, we will close the achievement gap. We also know that the opposite is true and that we'll blow that achievement gap open so wide, that will never be able to close it.

The principal should do the hiring and the firing of teachers rather than the local school board. The principle would also serve as an inspirational leader to bring out the best in teachers and students, and most importantly, they must be part of any evaluation process of any school system. The difference a good principle makes cannot be overstated in retention of good teachers. It would be up to the principle to get all the necessary groups on board and convince them how it's in their interest to get involved. How can the inner cities ever improve if we keep dumping the worst teachers on them? Yes, money may be saved in a short term by voting down tax increases for schools but if that results in higher dropout rates and higher unemployment, the cost to the state and communities will be higher.

When people start to think that we have an impossible task ahead of us, they should be reminded of the Tuskegee airmen, the first African-America aviators in United States Armed forces, who flew many successful missions in World War II.

You have to realize that back then, and it was thought that a black man did not have the courage, or intelligence or stamina to fly one of America's most expensive warplanes. They became the only squadron that never lost a bomber.

Have you noticed with a few notable exceptions, the people who know the global labor market best-the members of the business community- dropped out of national debate? Business leaders used to be known for lobbying for better education, infrastructure, immigration, free trade, and rules to promote constructive risk taking. They are simply taking their jobs overseas and not necessarily for the lower labor costs but for the most skilled.

Instead of lobbying Congress to double federal spending on basic research in physical science and support a national policy to promote high-speed broadband communication networks that Japan and Korea have done, business leaders have taken a line from Carly Fiorina, when she said, " There's no job that is America's God-given right anymore."

The number-one strategy in our economic plan should be education. As President Obama said, " the country that out educates us today, will out compete is tomorrow."

It’simple.... more recess

I just finished reading an interesting article in this week’s Time Magazine, titled the Reason for Recess by Alice Park that states that children who are more physically active may do better in school. I remember Rebecca explaining that to me just a month ago.

Researchers in the Netherlands reported children who get more exercise either on their own or at school, tend to have higher GPAs and better scores on standardized tests. In a review of 14 studies where researchers looked at academic performance and physical activities, the students who moved more in school achieved better grades in basic subjects like math, English and reading

According to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention students need at least 1 hour of physical activity to remain healthy; only 18% of high school students met this requirement and 23% had not exercised at all.

It's so funny because conventional thought is that P.E.may be taking away time from study time. Administrators thought that since standardized test grades have been falling, it was time to take the kids off the playground and devote that time to the classroom. Physical activity can improve blood flow to the brain, fueling memory, attention and creativity which is very essential to learning. Exercise releases hormones that can improve mood and suppress stress. I would tell my daughter about these findings but it would depress her because she doesn't have any control over the school curriculum. The kids are not just exercising their bodies; they are exercising their minds.

I don't see any State Board of Education taking these findings and putting them to use but our adversaries will. We just need to go back to the basics, insert a little technology instead of throwing up our hands and saying “It can't be done."

We live in a BS world

After watching a movie called “Margin Call" with Kevin Spacey, reading some comments at the VA and watching political shows and reading today's wonderful article titled "Why we need better nonsensical talk “by Tom Purcell, I’m convinced that we live in a BS world. I don't see us improving our situation until we go back to calling “a spade a spade."

We are still at a stage where we have decided that “parenting" and ridding the teachers union are the answers to our education problem. That's BS, they may be the major components but real problem solving has to be a work around the perceived problems and not just continue to throw up our arms and quit. I think the answer is revising the outdated system we are using but this is just a small example; I won't dwell into the details at this time.

The movie “Margin Call" wasn't what I expected because the theme was more like the movie " 12 angry men" because it was about a Wall Street firm, its managers and employees, and it all took place at the firm's location. It was about Wall Street recruiting the brightest people and turning them into used car salesmen, selling worthless securities with a passion and using money to ease their conscience. Those of us who are in the market cheered them on but when we found out that their actions caused a financial meltdown, we wanted to crucify them. It went onto show that a Wall Street firm or a corporation does not have the soul or a conscience. After one of their analysts showed them a computer model analysis where their junk assets had run its course; they decided to pass the junk off to their competitors, creating a free fall liquidation of many firms. The firms paid their top employee's lucrative bonuses before liquidation. Then came the taxpayer lending them funds at 1% interest; they in turn charged 3% interest pocketing a 2 percent gain; yet, we applauded them for paying back their taxpayer loans. That's the BS society we live in; as long as they paid us back, we forgave them for the financial meltdown causing millions to be unemployed, mortgages going under water and a further mistrust of our Financial System. We still don't have regulations in place to prevent another financial crisis and not one CEO went to jail because in our BS society, what they did was legal.

I agree with Tom Purcell's assessment" We want to be lied to in America. Whereas the truth can be painful, costly and time -consuming, we're suckers for a skillfully told yarn, and it puts us at ease and helps us sleep better at night.” Do we honestly care what a policeman does to arrest a suspect at 3:00AM? Have we explored the difference between preventing voter fraud and voter suppression? Do we seriously expect to solve our racial problems without exploring the past? This past weekend, the words of my unrealistic niece could have been an example of the point Tom Purcell was trying to make. We were having a discussion about the unemployment rate and how difficult it was for those that became accustomed to making over $80,000 a year and then having to face a layoff. She said that they could work three jobs instead of staying at home collecting unemployment and being picky about their job offers. First, the laid-off people would have to face mortgage and vehicle payments larger than the wages they would get from those three jobs; that's if they were available. And that's just a start. The county city and local businesses would have to deal with $800,000 of revenue if a mere 10 people were laid off. The people making $80,000 bought products that people working at Burger King could never afford. That's the type of BS country we live in; simple answers for complex problems. You could make a full circle and we would get back to reason parents may not have time to help their children with their home work.

Are we getting smarter or dumber?

Every year around the holidays we sit around the kitchen table and compare yesteryear to today. My daughter, who's an elementary schoolteacher, doesn't think the children of today are as smart as those of her era. I think that she's basing her opinion on what she sees and not on a scientific study. She might just be seeing something where the fault lies with the curriculum and not the students themselves. Several years ago, I showed my daughter an article that showed the lesson plans of a one-room school where all grades were taught at the same time. The year was in the late 1800s where the students were routinely taught algebra and calculus. We both looked that the problems and admitted that we probably couldn't pass the tests they did.

College dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, and Bob Gates will continue to amaze me, and I will always wonder how much further they might have gone if they completed their education. There is a legitimate argument that it a decree does not always equate to intelligence. I do believe good study habits, intelligence, and work ethics are in a way inherited. The four people I mentioned did not grow up in poverty or to a family that didn't believe in education.

I happen to think I'm smarter today than I was years ago because I'm more inquisitive. I'm not a genius, but I’m more willing to self educate myself than I was several years ago. I used to study for the test, and then I would forget about the subject until a needed it again. I took that same mindset to the workplace and became complacent. It wasn't until we started to computerize everything when I decided I needed to change if I was going keep my job. My fellow old timers were fighting the new system tooth and nail, but I saw the younger workers taking to it and loving it. I saw where computers could make things easier for me and my work mates. I decided to study the system and got to where I could work with the programmers to make the computers work for our specific needs since they were  originally set up to monitor basic operations. Was that a form of intelligence or a lazy person wanting to make things easier?

I have seen teenagers’ text message at 100 miles an hour and believe me that takes brainpower. I'm guessing you could put that same person at McDonald's, and they would have trouble giving you correct change. I've seen people my age who knew practically everything about their job, but the outside world was a puzzle to them. I've also seen where prisoners have created an elaborate scheme to code their messages and have created a business model that rival our Fortune 500. It that a quest for survival or a form of intelligence?I've always thought that intelligence was based on how quickly a person could grasp what was taught to them. I changed my mind when I started learning how some intelligent tests were based on familiarity with a subject rather than the ability to grasp. I remember reading about some employment and advancement  tests that were unfair to some minorities because they were unfamiliar with the environment that the questions were based on.

I've read stories where the military had to rewrite their manuals (dumb it down) because the new recruits were having a hard time learning how to use the sophisticated weaponry. Is that the fault of the recruits or our education system?

This morning I heard that the reason for our lack of intelligence today is that our children are being analyzed as being hyperactive rather than being diagnosed as being a normal boy who occasionally goes overboard The boy is then given Ritalin, which is then replaced with another drug as he progresses through his teen-age years. The author also said that the strong male role model is not like it once was. I don't agree or disagree with that synopsis because I can't relate to it. Fortunately, my children were not under medication, but we would not have looked for subnormal behavior patterns because we didn't know what to look for. In my day the norm was, "if was good enough for me then you'll get the same type of parenting." It's funny how being grandparents change our mind when it comes to our grandchildren.

I won't watch "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" because I don't want to know.

Our education system stinks

As I was watching, Freed Zakaria's CNN’s special on education, I couldn't believe that all the things we emphasize are not necessarily true. We’ve always talked about increasing the number of hours our school-age children needed but we are decreasing hours because of the cost. The special showed where South Korean parents take education very seriously and they pass that onto their offspring. The South Korean child attends school from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and they take their lunch at a study cubicle. After school lets out, the students attend a night class that specializes in advancement studies, they then go, home and study even more. This has led to a high suicide rate among the teens. South Korea has cracked down on the night schools because there was one on every corner. South Korea has now tried to inject more fun time for the students. On the other side of the pond, Finnish students did not adapt the Asian model, yet they always score near the top on the international tests. They start their school a year later than most countries, emphasize creative work, and shun tests. It didn't take long in the program, to see what was common between the two models of achievement. They both had great teachers, for instance, every teacher in Finland has a master's degree, and the turnover rate is very low. The teachers have a quarterly competency test not only on subject material but also on presentation. A child yawning in the back row is not learning.

We all know that American's education is on the decline, yet we just throw money at it, and never do anything about the causes. We don't have any answers for the high 25% dropout rate. Our college graduation rate has been flat lined and while other countries focus on math and science, our interests are in sports exercise and leisure studies.

We no longer have a kick- the- can down a road option, because our labor force is too expensive and educated for today's marketplace. Bill Gross, the head of Pimco, the world's largest bond fund said,” Either we will raise our educational level are the markets will lower our wages."

What's the solution? It's like a diet. We have to work hard at it, because as Thomas Edison said," genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Malcolm Gladwell found that behind a natural-born talent lay lots of practice- and by his calculations, about 10,000 hours of practice. Our schoolchildren spend less time in school than their peers abroad. They have a shorter school day and a shorter school year. South Korean children spent almost two years more in school than Americans at the end of high school. We just dropped to 26% in the world ranking and falling away behind Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Singapore. I don't think it takes a genius to know that we are in catch up mode, so less education is not the answer. We know that the common denominator is good teachers; we must pay them accordingly. We should also evaluate them on a periodic basis and weed out the bad teachers. That’s pretty fundamental but almost impossible, unless we come to some type of agreement with the teachers unions.

Last year, Los Altos, California decided to use the Khan Academy videos and software in their classrooms. This is a revolutionary model that might change the way or children are taught. In the old way, a teacher would lecture and the student would take notes, but this method wastes a lot of time. Under this new system, the student watches the videos at home and solves the problems in class. I saw where the gifted students would go around the classroom helping other students. The teacher, using her iPad, could see if the student was having problems in real time, allowing her to do one- on- one teaching. The software will not allow the student to go onto the next subject without answering each question correctly. This might be a new concept of great placement. Instead of passing each student by an age limit, we could pass them by their specialized achievements.

I wish that I had the expertise to understand what's wrong with our failing schools. Then, I wouldn't have to take someone's ideas and say, “let’s try that." This issue will be solved by those who know the pros and cons of any proposal. I'm not that person that can say that proposal was tried in 1985 and failed and give the reasons why. I do know what we've been doing for three decades is wrong, and we have the stats to prove it.

Student Loans

President Obama recently unveiled a program to help out students pay back their student loans with lower interest rate and forgiveness after 20 years. During the 2008 campaign, then candidate Obama saw education for all, as the key to future prosperity and competitiveness. The president proposed paying off student's loans if they agreed to teach school in the inner cities. It was part of a one hand washes another, but some saw it as another welfare program. The attitude being "if I had to work three jobs, and it took me six years to graduate, then by god, that’s the way should be for everyone." I understand the financial responsibility and sacrifice part, but all things are not always equal. Today, we have 9.1 unemployment and last year's graduate is competing with the 2008 graduate. Last year the administration saw the riots in Europe over tuition increases, and they also saw all the potential student-loan defaults to be a trillion dollars and rising, so they thought it was prudent to try to get a handle on the situation before it got out a hand.

Some have suggested that those that do not have the funds to go to college should just wait until that time becomes available. I don't think too many of us could have used that same logic when we applied for our first mortgage. Yes, we had a good job, excellent credit, and the funds available to make the mortgage payments, but our job wasn't guaranteed. There's a risk in just about everything we do but we all strive for a manageable risk. I'm not saying that every student should get in debt that they won't be able to afford, but they are exceptions. I believe a brilliant student can make a wise choice by getting $45,000 in student loans for their medical school, especially since it will produce $165,000 a year for the graduating student. The thing I'm hearing is “if you can't afford to pay cash, then forget about earning higher wages and being more productive because it's not the cards." If President Obama and Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor had not sought out student loans,they wouldn’t have the jobs they have today.

We already have 11 separate tax incentives for higher education in our tax code but only those in the upper-middle class and above can take advantage of them. I worked for a company that took pride in its educated work force by paying the tuition cost for all those that wanted to attend college on their own time. The company lost a few employees because one became a CPA and another completed his masters in nursing, but they were productive and happy employees while we're had them. I guess that's the difference between liberal and conservative thinking. The conservative just looks at the bottom line.

I guess people look at the words “20 year forgiveness" part and think it's just another giveaway to the minority and poor by the government, but the numbers don't bear that out. The 1.6 million who might benefit by this might be that former business person who was recently laid off.

Business loans are restructured everyday but conservatives want all failing businesses to go into bankruptcy rather than being propped with taxpayer funds. Bankruptcy it just another form of debt forgiveness where the debt holder settles for a very low percentage of the debt. In this current program, the taxpayer will not be on the hook for the student loans because it will be paid for with the savings from past practices of subsidizing those loans, but some don't like to see the working poor get any kind of break.

Edith Ann accomplished more than I ever could at the VA thread, by emphasizing the cost of college back then and what it costs today. Of course that brought in a right winger blaming the administration for the rising cost of education. I have yet to see an answer for the cost of the deregulation. There will be those that will side with the predator lenders after university turned their loans over to them for a substantial fee.I give credit to born2Bme for being her own person and thinking outside the box. I also give her credit for her analysis of  why college cost are rising. She said "Get rid of all of the "help" that students get to go to college and not as many kids go to college. The colleges will have to do something to attract students, and that will have to be lower costs." That might bring down the costs of college but in the meantime those that can afford it will get the upper hand and the "rich get richer" cycle remains and our country will suffer for it as our competition passes us by.  We will then need to extend more visas to special skills students in order to remain competitive in our global economy. The thread will continue with the normal pats on the backs for those who paid their student loans ages ago and the “holier than thou” preaching will grow because chest thumping beats looking at the new program with an open mind.You won’t see “ perhaps we can change the parameters to make this program more feasible or something of that nature.”

In the words of Herman Cain “if you're not rich and are unemployed; doesn’t blame Wall Street blame yourself…. Oh I could use that $12,000, I lost after the Wall Street crash of 2008, and I probably would send it to the protesters on Wall Street because they are the only ones dealing with reality. The 1% saw their income rise 275% from 1980-2010 while the middle class saw theirs rise by~ 18% during that same period.

I Don’t See A Sense Of Urgency

It's times like these, when I wish, I was back in the workplace having some interesting discussions, instead of just watching the depressing news, as it unfolds. I need someone to talk me out of thinking that this world is just stagnated with no sense of urgency.Perhaps I just need a vacation or I need to get another hobby besides blogging.

I think education, health care solutions, jobs, innovation, and fiscal responsibility should be at the forefront in all our path-forward discussions.

We used to be the leaders in graduating college students, but we have seen 16 countries pass us by. I don't sense any urgency at the local, state, or federal level. I always see the Department of Education and teachers unions being attacked on a partisan basis, but I don't see enough emphasis on the 54% of dropouts across the nation. The United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is doing a great job with his "Race to the Top" initiative and is now allowing states to opt out “No Child Left Behind" because those goals were impossible to meet. Surprisingly, Mr. Duncan is not carrying water for the Democrats, because he doesn't believe the federal government can micro manage 95,000 schools and 15,000 school districts. He's right, but the local districts need to come up with their own credible plan, which can be adapted to get our children to learn the subject rather than the test. Mr. Duncan believes in rewarding progress not necessarily test scores. For example, a rich school with superior labs, students, and equipment should do better than a crumbling public school. If that public school shows progress, it should be rewarded. One man, one committee, one legislator, one governor, or one president can only set the wheels in motion; the rest of it is up to parents, teachers, and administrators, but they have to have funding and support. If we are going to favor school vouchers, perhaps we should find a way to keep public schools going at the same time. If we don't do that, we will be heading back to the days before the landmark “Brown vs. The Board of Education."I don't know a lot about the problems we are having with education, but that does not mean I'm not interested.I've seen and heard some excellent ideas,so if we know the solutions,what's the hold up?

Health care solutions, jobs, and innovation are intertwined because I think healthcare is a right, not a privilege. As legions357 stated, we have tried all the gimmicks but we're still in the same place or retreating to a double- dip recession. I also agree with BigJ that both parties are playing politics. Somewhere, somehow there has to be a way to find a viable reason for the Fortune 500 companies to invest their $2 trillion surplus in America. Our European trade partners are just diddling, so the innovations should be geared to American consumers. Barriers will first have to be trampled, because we need to get over the idea that a partnership with government is socialism. Capitalism in America is suffering because of a lack of an educated work force, expensive health care plans, greed, and a huge trade imbalance. I'm not for protectionism, but we need to get back to the days where it was feasible for the middle class to consume. The innovator for the next alternative energy solution will lose his enthusiasm, if we get into that “drill baby drill" mindset. I know that we will be on fossil fuels for a long while, but oil is not infinite and its effect on our health and environment should be considered.

The most disturbing thing to me is a lack of accountability. I'm reading yet another book where everyone knew about the financial crisis but no one from Wall Street stood up and told the world and worse, they don't want rules to protect them from themselves. Europe is going through the same thing, but they haven't had their Lehman Brothers, "come to Jesus" moment yet. Our former vice president admitted he ordered torture, a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, yet he never paid the price. It's not one or two incidents, but a series of them were no one is held to account for their misdeeds. I hope I'm wrong but I just read a story (Wiki Leaks cable) where our troops went into the wrong house looking for a terrorist, severely roughed up the women and children, but when they found out, and they were at the wrong house; they called in an air strike, destroying the home, children, and evidence. Atrocities happen during a war, but we must punish our own and send a signal of accountability.

I think that we need to see more stories of success because we're going down the road of negativity. I know that we react to what we see, but I'm not one that thinks that we will become a country without accountability, adaptability, or a sense of urgency.

Public Education Is An Entitlement?

State Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) thinks that public education is an "entitlement." I shouldn't be too surprised because he doesn't think a pre-abortion sonogram is a government intrusion. I always thought that Article 7, Section of the Texas Constitution requires legislation to make a suitable provision for an" efficient system of public free schools." The $4 billion slash includes  $1.4 billion for full day pre-kindergarten. Maybe that he's talking about.

It doesn't matter what you call it because it's the worst public education budget in 27 years. This is just another plan to shrink government, even if it takes down public education with it. It doesn't matter that most Texans value public schools and don't support the budget cuts being inflicted upon them. Governor Rick Perry will take advantage of the fact that Texans despite tax increases; even if it's to support public education. I wonder how many legislators sit on the boards of private, charter and religious schools. It's a simple "follow the money."

A few Texans are quick to raise a white flag of surrender blaming illegal aliens or school lunches as the problem. Without facts to support their claim, they go onto say that we are building brand new schools and hiring more Spanish teachers because of illegal aliens, as the main reasons our school budgets need cutting. I wonder if they ever look that the salaries of the administrators vs. the teachers? Nah, that would take some research. Those people are just a little above those that think if we would just go back to disciplining our children and feeding them peanut butter sandwiches;it would go a long way in solving our problem. The superintendents and the school board are no better, because they just asked for “flexibility" to see them through this latest crisis. They didn't even convene a hearing. We continue to be our own worst enemy.

The majority republican legislators were eager to accommodate, even if it meant repealing the 22-1 class size for kindergarten through fourth grade. The legislation still has billions of dollars in the "Rainy Day Fund" but those who want those funds will have to fight tooth and nail for every nickel. The property owners and businesses will keep their low taxes, and those that cut the education budget will be reelected. We will see the outcome of being near the bottom in education and Health Care, but by then it will take too much money and generations ; just for us to keep up. We are enjoying prosperity now, but how long will it last?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7605493.html

Are we satisfied with status quo?

Every Saturday night at midnight my Tivo is set up to record PBS’s “Need to Know” because the show keeps me abreast of what Americans are coping with and the methods they are using to deal with their problems. This past week’s show was about an academic transformation in Brockton Massachusetts.  The show featured an urban minority school district in Brockton that was known for its sports teams but ranked among the lowest in academic achievement.

In the United States we don't seem to  want to face our problems as Finland did.  Finland recognized that in order to achieve  academic progress, you have to concentrate on the underachievers.  Brockton realized that giving the students of this poor urban school the required standard tests would always be met with failure.  The Brocton school had to start with the basics of speaking , pronunciation, reading, writing and listening skills and every teacher in every class had to include English as part of the curriculum, including the gym and music teachers.  The project worked and Brockton is still an athletic powerhouse but they have  also won several academic awards. In fact,a transfer student from Africa, who couldn't speak any English, recently graduated with honors and won a scholarship to Harvard.

A study said most of our universities are taught with a series of lectures but this one university decided to reverse the trend. The university believed that students worked better in groups, than  as individuals.  At the start of the semester the instructor  handed out a project to the group and let them work as groups to research, discuss, and come up with a group answer.  The individuals learned real quickly how important they were to the team, they weren’t many absences.  I wonder if this would help with our excessive dropout rate?

I believe we can let children opt out of PE  and physical education has not been a big part of the curriculum since John Kennedy convinced us that we needed to be strong to keep up with the Soviets.  There are some new  studies that state that those  who vigorously exercise before taking a major test, usually do better. This one school made sure that the kids exercised hard enough to get their heart rate to a certain level,so it would release some hormones that increase their learning ability.

In July of 2009 the president challenged us with these words “I am issuing a challenge to our nation’s governors and school boards, principals and teachers, businesses and non-profits, parents and students: if you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools – your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential.” but several states did not want to compete because of political reasons… ..  The status quo is alive and well in America.