Archive for the ‘education’ Category
The Harlem Miracle
Education is the cornerstone of a stable Democratic Republic. Without an informed electorate, there is no hope for wise choices in the voting booth.
I’ve long been concerned with what seems to be an intractable flaw in our national education system. The ambitious “No Child Left Behind” policies of the last decade have failed spectacularly. Where to we go from here?
Harlem may hold the answer. Read David Brooks’ column here.
Filed under education : Comments (2) : May 14th, 2009
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
