Archive for the ‘education’ Category
When Gay = Negro
While watching this hateful little screed, imagine that they’re talking about interracial marriage instead of gay marriage and you’ll get a true taste of the hate and fear spewing forth from the homophobic wingnut brigades. They’ve merely transferred their venom from African-Americans to another minority group they can punish for being different.
I encourage everyone to visit “No on 8″ and contribute what you can to ensure that the hate-mongers on the right don’t win.
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (1) : Sep 19th, 2008
The Fact About Fact
You have to hand it them–the Republicans have been incredibly successful in dismantling the concept of objective evidence or fact. In this campaign (just as in 2004 and 2000), it’s not facts that matter. It’s feelings. It’s emotions. It’s who would make a better drinking buddy or hockey mom.
This article from the Washington Post sums it up nicely:
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They’re Undone - washingtonpost.com via kwout
This is the theme we see over and over and over again. In the unholy alliance between the big two parties and their big media friends, politics have degraded into “he said/he said” juvenile bickering with no adult supervision. No one is being held to any standard of honesty or integrity. Fact has become nothing but a four letter word.
In my mind, this election is as much a referendum on the American electorate’s ability for rational analysis as it is a contest between McCain and Obama. I really hope that fact still have a place in our Democracy. Because once we give up on that, what do we have left?
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (1) : Sep 10th, 2008
Magical Thinking
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t have much patience for magical explanations of anything (in technology or in life). The recent brouhaha surrounding the abduction and later desecration of a Host wafer from a Catholic communion put a smile on my face. Not so much for the act itself (I’m indifferent to the fate of the cracker), but rather to the frothing reaction some people had to the event. For those who didn’t follow the action, a professor of biology at the University of Minnesota participated in this desperate act of cracker desecration and has since received death threats from (presumably) otherwise normal people.
It’s amazing to me that people seem willing to put up with the most atrocious abrogations of liberty (warrantless wiretapping, warrantless searches of their persons and belongings upon entering the country, Guantanamo Bay, elimination of Habeas Corpus, etc.), but break a cracker and they go fucking gnuts! Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (4) : Aug 6th, 2008
The BEAST : 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007
I found this article in the blog-o-sphere and enjoyed their take on #9. It’s a bit more pessimistic (and downright mean) than my usual fair, but I think it makes some good points. After all, we (s)elected the #1 most loathsome person.
9. You
Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism — it’s nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears’ children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you’re going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase “enhanced interrogation techniques.” You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can’t spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don’t want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy’s doing well. You’re an idiot.
Exhibit A: You couldn’t get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.
Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn’t cover. You deserve it, chump.
So there’s [one person's take] on what’s wrong with the masses. So how do we improve? Well, I’m glad you asked.
- Improve education! Yes, it’s a standard response. But we desperately need a stronger education system. The first thing I would change is to eliminate or radically modify the tenure system for teachers. With all due respect to my friends in the profession, I think it’s absurd that you’re virtually untouchable after just three years of teaching. In my job, I need to continually improve or I will be unemployed. Why do we treat teachers differently?
- Build strong communities! This one is a little trickier, because it runs counter to the popular concept of endless suburban sprawl. I fundamentally believe that it is impossible to foster vibrant, strong, diverse communities in low density suburban housing developments. We need to build (and zone) cities to offer mixed income, multi-use, walkable neighborhoods.
- Get the money out of politics! John McCain and Russ Feingold tried to reduce the influence of money in elections, but there is much more work to be done. Until we can fix the inner workings of our democracy to empower people and not lobbyists, we will never have a satisfied electorate. (Or, for that matter, a balanced budget!)
So there’s my take on what we can do to make get YOU off the 2008 list of the most loathsome people. What’s your take?
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (3) : Dec 28th, 2007
OLPC : One Laptop Per Child
Negroponte’s ambitious program aiming to put laptops in the hands of children in developing nations is ready to go prime-time. Due to the harsh market realities, the OLPC group has been unable to hit their target price of $100 per laptop. Instead, they’re getting creative with a new program called give one, get one.
It works something like this: you pay $400, your donation puts one laptop in the hands of a child, and you get one laptop to donate yourself (or keep to play with). These are pretty amazing little machines, designed to be rugged and low on energy use.
I can testify first hand that exposure to computers from a young age really changes the way your mind grows and learns to use the technology. My parents always wondered why computers came so naturally to me. . . could it be that I’ve been using them since I was 3?
So here’s your opportunity to give a child the toolkit to be competitive in the modern economic environment. Chances are the next Google or Apple won’t come from the US!
Filed under education, technology : Comments (4) : Nov 14th, 2007
tadfad quiz!
What is distinctive about this region of the U.S. ?
Submit your answers in the comments. Winner gets a prize!
[Answer will be revealed in one week]
Filed under culture, education : Comments (7) : Jul 27th, 2007
Shift happens
I saw this video today. It’s a little too long and has some weird background music, but it raises some interesting points about the wild times in which we live. Worth a 5 min investment of your time.
Filed under culture, education, technology, work : Comments (0) : Jun 26th, 2007
Time Machine : one year ago
Taking a cue from the network television stations, I thought I’d pull up a gem from the archives and run it around for another go. I didn’t do much writing back in June 2006, but I did find this one that I think is still applicable:
IRA. 401(k). Pension. Mutual Fund. ETF. Health Insurance.
These and others are part of the vocabulary that is thrown at new hires as they try to plan for their future. The problem is for many young people, it’s all greek.
. . .
Hope you enjoy a little walk down memory lane. If it’s popular with you, dear reader, then maybe I’ll make it a regular event. If instead you are thinking to yourself “I know how to use the archives too, you dolt!” then I’ll ease off. As always, comments make me happy.
Filed under Uncategorized, culture, education, work : Comments (1) : Jun 11th, 2007
Life after college
The first post-college year is a weird. Such has been my experience since graduating and entering the workforce. I now understand why so many of my peers chose to pursue additional education opportunities following undergrad. That said, I am confident in my decision to leave academia (at least for now) and strike a path out there in Corporate America.
With increasing lifespans and changing social norms, I am currently part of a demographic that didn’t really exist just a few decades ago: young, professional, unmarried adults. In some ways, I love this phase in my life: I am independent, I live comfortably, and I have the freedom to focus on personal development. In some ways, I am terrified: my life is full of unknowns. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this over the last year and I’ve come up with a few theories on how to optimize this phase of life.
Surround yourself with people you love. This one seems obvious, but it deserves mention. As a child, and even to some degree during school years, you have external forces influencing your circle of friends. If you’re extremely lucky, everyone in your friendship cloud will bring you happiness and lift your spirits. For the rest of us, there are always those hangers-on who travel in a cloud of pessimism and contempt, and serve as black holes of energy. At some point, you have to cut the ropes and let these people drift on. Surround yourself with the people you love and you will be happier and much more content with life.
Minimize low-value activities. My shining example of this theory is a simple one: ditch the TV. I’ve been living sans-television for about 6 months now and I love it. I still watch a few TV-shows throughiTunes , but I’ve entirely eliminated the classic time-waster of channel surfing. (Advertisements are also removed, saving about 10 minutes per show.) We each get the same 24 hours per day, so why not optimize your time by reducing low-value activities. This is not to say you have to be working or doing high-intensity stuff all day–to the contrary, rest and relaxation time is very important. The key is to be conscious about how you spend your time, and seek out those activities that add richness and depth to the shared experience we call life.
Be passionate about your work. If you’re lucky, you are extremely passionate about your 9-to-5 job. If you’re like the rest of us, you find your work interesting and enjoyable, but you need to look outside the normal work day to fuel your passions. The important thing in feeling fulfilled in life is identifying what you are passionate about and incorporating that into your work. Hopefully you can incorporate your passion with your 9-to-5, or at least find a happy balance. Don’t know what you’re passionate about? Here’s a quick and easy test: if you read about a subject matter in your leisure time, chances are you’re passionate about it.
[. . . ]
So there you have it. Three nuggets of wisdom from someone with scarcely 23 years under his belt. Take them or leave them. I’d love to hear what your experience has been–add a comment!
Filed under culture, education, work : Comments (3) : Mar 6th, 2007
Why your fifth grade teacher was right
[In writing this post, I'm taking a risk in being viewed as arrogant or elitist or something (I promise I'm not). I'm willing to take this risk because I believe strongly about the subject.]
When you were in grade school, I bet you didn’t enjoy spelling or grammar lessons very much. I know I didn’t. (In fact, I regularly failed my spelling quizzes during 5th grade.) Then came high school, when you started writing papers and essays and (hopefully) learned about thesis statements and topic sentences and how to transition between paragraphs. You probably didn’t enjoy that too much either. Then in college you had to put all this together and produce strong, compelling essays and research papers. Then you graduated from college and said “boy, am I glad I won’t have to use those skills anymore!”
Only one problem: you do need to use those skills!
I’ve been working in corporate America for about six months now and I’m shocked by many people are sloppy with their communications. Just because email is (more or less) instant doesn’t mean you can leave the rules of good writing at the door. I can understand the occasional typo or misspelling of a tricky word (I do it myself with some regularity). It’s the habitual spelling errors, violations of basic grammar, and lack of a coherent, logical structure that get me down.
Things like your vs. you’re; their, there, and they’re; the over-use of apostrophes (plural nouns do not need to demonstrate ownership!); absent or inappropriate punctuation (one ! will suffice, thank you); CAPITALIZING FOR NO REASON (how I wish the caps lock key would disappear). The list goes on, but I think you get the idea.
The whole purpose of written language is to clearly convey an idea. In the corporate world, just as in school, this is a critical skill. Yet for some reason it doesn’t seem to be a very popular skill to enhance or improve. We all love taking classes on time management, leadership, coaching, etc. yet we leave writing skills by the wayside. Obviously the assumption is that once you’ve graduated from college your writing skills are sufficient. From what I’ve seen (both in college and at work) many graduates could benefit from a refresher course.
Maybe it’s all a matter of time and priorities–no one wants to proof read their emails before sending. Or they rely too heavily on spell checkers and sacrifice contextual accuracy for the sake of spelling correctness. I may be old fashioned, but I believe that good writing skills are important and it’s worth the extra time to write well.
Filed under education, work : Comments (5) : Mar 1st, 2007
