Tag: Education

Education, What’s It Good For?

Back in the days when I was younger and more energetic I did some lecturing….I was a popular dude to talk about US foreign policy and wars……especially since it was common knowledge that I spent 2 tours in Southeast Asia…..well I was talking with a class of college freshmen and I began by handing out a blank map of Asia and asked the students to label the countries of China, Vietnam Cambodia and Laos……..after looking at the results I was sadly disappointed because of of 17 students , one knew where Vietnam was only because he also was a vet of that war……more recently I was talking with a group on the same subject and asked them to pick Iraq and Afghanistan off of a blank map….of the 9 students, ZERO could point them out on a map.

I found these results just sad……I mean Vietnam was basically a 10 year war and Afghanistan is going on 13 years and yet it is not important enough for Americans to care……

I decided to do a little research to see if it was just geography that we Americans have a problem with or if it was a symptom of a bigger problem………and in my research I found these things…..

To put the brightest possible spin on this story is to say that three-quarters of Americans are fully aware that the Earth revolves around the sun. The downside, of course, is that means 1 in 4 are in the dark about what Discovery calls “probably the most basic question in science.” The National Science Foundation asked that question and nine others of 2,200 Americans, with the average score on the quiz coming in at 6.5, reports Phys.org.

Some other results noted by NPR:

  • 39% answered correctly that “the universe began with a huge explosion”
  • Fewer than half—48%—agreed that “human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals”
  • 51% knew that antibiotics don’t kill viruses

Meanwhile, about 90% of respondents were enthusiastic about science, and 1 in 3 thought it should get more government funding. The poll was conducted in 2012, but the results were released yesterday at a conference. See page 23 on this PDF for the full survey, which includes older results from other countries.

Or click to read about Bill Nye’s recent debate with a leading creationist.

Studying the data….to me it looks like it is the educational system that is failing…….IMO because we are not teaching students…..we are coaching them on the test process…..there seems to be little to NO emphasis on the retention of data…..and for that I blame the DAMN stupid idea of the privatization of education……we are purposefully dumbing down the population…..privatized education is about the profit not the education…….maximize profits with least amount of effort….that is why it is called capitalism and not a day at the beach……

Now is it intentional?  Or is it just an unfortunate side effect of the privatization process?

Please give me your thoughts……..

Side note—–watch the Bill Nye debate….very interesting……..chuq

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Here We Go Again…..And Again

I go through this every year and will continue as long as these people keep playing games with our children’s education………

It is that time of year, it happens about every six months or so, when a major network tackles the subject of education….they call it “education nation” or some sort of nonsense….it is where the network puts together a collection of so-called experts and they talk, debate and lie to the viewers about the importance of education to the nation.

They put together story after story like charter schools, that idea where a good and equitable education can be had by lottery….the only thing missing in that is the scratch and win……your child’s education is in the hands of a bingo machine……..or we talk about the evils of teachers unions and how they have destroyed the whole field of education….another outright lie!  They pull together a bunch of politicians that will talk and try to convince you that education is the only way to save this country from the recession and then they return to Washington and vote to cut education as much as possible or some bullshit governor that talks about all the strides made in education in their state while they work to make it as poor and ineffective as possible……well, you get the idea and probably could talk about some that I may have overlooked……

The worst perpetrators of a sagging educational standard are conservs……some, nay most, want to disband the Department of Education and return it to the states…..now there is an excellent idea ( that is what is called sarcasm)…….in today’s political culture education is a very low priority and that is the way they want it….because an uneducated voter is a voter easily manipulated and tricked……and there would be NO standardized curricula…..and that would no better than a free hand to brainwash the students….when there are over 50,000 schools boards in this country and the members are elected what do you think would be the impact on educational programs?

Thomas Jefferson, the hero of the Right said about education……”To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.”   And if this nation keeps its blind eyes to education then another quote would be more accurate…..”Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.”………….(in case you are interested the last quote was by Stalin)……

No matter what cute little title you give the program….No Child Left Behind…..Race To The Top…..or War on Stupidity…..it is all a game played with words and graphs….means NOTHING!

My long winded point is…..it is a waste of time for networks to keep airing all these so-called educational specials……they are doing nothing to improve education and their worthless guest are doing NOTHING to make the US a more educated country……talk is cheap without action you have said NOTHING!…..if you cannot make this country a more educated place….then  Shut up!  There are enough games being played in Washington….education should NOT be one of them!

Is The Government Doing Its Part?

Excerpts from an article written by staffers of politicalaffairs.net
The US government has failed to live up to the expectations of its citizens regarding the provision of basic needs, a new international poll released this week showed.

According to the results of the survey conducted by World PublicOpinion.org this summer, American respondents to the poll by high margins stated they believe the US government has a large role to play in the provision of basic food needs, education, and health care.

Almost three in four Americans said the US government has a responsibility to help ensure that people are able to meet their food needs. Almost half, however, indicated that the US government failed to meet these needs “at all” or “very well.”

Even more Americans agreed that the US government is responsible to providing access to education. According to the survey, more than 80 percent of Americans believed the government should play a role in providing education. Only six in 10 Americans felt the government adequately accomplished the task.

On the issue of health care, Americans expressed the most concern about the government’s responsibility and its job performance. Almost eight in 10 Americans said the government is responsible for providing this basic need, but only three in 10 gave it good marks for its role in this.

Overall, American opinions on these three areas of concern reflect, more or less, typical opinions on the role of government globally. The poll showed, however, wide variations among people from different countries on how well their governments lived up to that responsibility.

Overall, respondents expressing the highest levels of satisfaction with their government’s performance in meeting such needs are found in China, Great Britain, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories. The lowest levels are found in Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, and Nigeria.

American responses to the survey expressed the third largest amount of dissatisfaction with the government’s role in the provision of health care. While citizens of China, Palestine, and Indonesia expressed greater satisfaction on this issue than Americans by large margins, only Russians, Ukrainians, and Argentinians expressed more disapproval.

Professor Classroom

It is Monday and yet another quiz to tease the mind.  A little stimulation is always good for the soul, if you get the answer it is a mental orgasm.  Today’s quiz is a bit humorous in a way…I cannot see anyone these days actually doing this.

What are the funds paid to the government, to the public treasury, by persons who feel that they may have cheated the government in their tax payments?

Yes, Irene, there is a name for such an action.

This may have been done in the past, but there is NO way it would be done today.

Today In Labor History

27 July
Women shoemakers in Lynn, Mass. create Daughters of St. Crispin, demand pay equal to that of men – 1869

Federal troops burn the shantytown built near the U.S. Capitol by thousands of unemployed WWI veterans, camping there to demand a bonus they had been promised but never received – 1932

Nine miners are rescued in Sommerset, Pa. after being trapped for 77 hours 240 feet underground in the flooded Quecreek Mine – 2002

Today In Labor History

25 July

New York garment workers win closed shop and firing of scabs after 7-month strike – 1890

The Teamsters and Service Employees unions break from the AFL-CIO during the federation’s 50th convention to begin the Change to Win coalition, ultimately comprised of seven unions. They say they want more emphasis on organizing and less on electoral politics – 2005

Today In Labor History

23 July

Anarchist Alexander Berkman shoots and stabs but fails to kill steel magnate Henry Clay Frick in an effort to avenge the Homestead massacre 18 days earlier, in which nine strikers were killed. Berkman also tried to use what was, in effect, a suicide bomb, but it didn’t detonate – 1892

Aluminum Workers Int’l Union merges with The United Brick & Clay Workers of America to form Aluminum, Brick & Clay Workers – 1981