Tag: Educational Policies

Is Education The Real Answer?

We keep hearing the BS that the only way to get the jobs back in the good old US of A is with education…..do you believe this snow job?  The bad news, people is that the jobs that have gone overseas are NOT coming back!  It is that simple……

With that said…..the pundits that speak in the media about the necessity for education if the country is to remain in the 21st century is a need that we can meet and in doing so the country will regain its place as a world leading in industry…..

May I please see a show of hands of those out there that believe this?  (pause here for the vote)…..yes….I doubt the validity of such statements…not that the US cannot do it but rather that they, meaning those in governance, do not want it to be so….why?…if education is the absolute key, then why is it not an important part of the so called recovery?

A Public Agenda report, entitled “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them,” notes that only about 20 percent of US students who start a two-year college program finish within three years, and only about forty percent of those who start at a four-year university finish within six years.

To explain its results, the study notes that the price of a college diploma has more than quadrupled in the past 25 years, while the median family income has increased only 150 percent during that time.

Only 10 percent of students who drop out report that boredom or lack of interest in the classes were significant influencing factors. Most students who left their classes would have liked to stay, but could not balance their curriculum and their financial obligations.

Nearly half of students at four-year universities work 20 or more hours a week. For community colleges, the figure jumps to sixty percent, while more than a quarter work 25 hours or more. These numbers point to the large proportion of students trying to earn degrees without significant help from parents, social services, or the government.

The study observes that the “traditional college experience” is nonexistent for most students. Only a quarter of students live on campus and “attend the sort of residential college we often envision.” Twenty-three percent of college students have dependent children.

Seventy percent of dropouts said they had no scholarships or student loan assistance. By contrast, only 40 percent of graduates reported getting no such aid. The odds of graduating are stacked most heavily against students who do not have parental support and, seeking to avoid a lifetime of indebtedness, are unwilling to take on student loans.

If education is truly the answer to our lack of industry and is truly the only way to revive the sector…then why is education in this country so sad?…..then why do Americans NOT get the best education in the world?….Then why has every president and his groups of criminals done NOTHING to make education more accessible to the people….ALL the people?

Sorry, dudes….but it is more profitable to have an uneducated workforce….why?….they will work cheap….and there is the answer to the question……when Americans work cheaper than their counterparts in Indonesia then the jobs will come home to roost…..but NOT before!

To buy into the concept of education will make the jobs return is delusional, at best….

Three Cheers For Gov. Barbour!

I recent wrote a post that praised Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour on his call for an end to the “purity” purgers in the GOP….as I have said….I am not one of Barbour’s biggest fans….I have criticized him on just about every turn….and I knew it would not be long before he did or said something that would make me regret my “atta boy”…..I did not have to wait long…….he has a new plan for the black universities in the state of Mississippi….as reported in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday proposed combining the state’s three public black colleges into one of the institutions, Jackson State University. While Barbour said that campuses would continue to exist at what are now Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University, the proposal marks the most dramatic state challenge in recent years to the continuation of some public black colleges — and the move comes in the state whose higher education system was the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that governs college desegregation.

Chambers noted that mergers of black educational institutions in the South have not historically gone well for black students and educators. “What happens to the faculty at black colleges” when programs are consolidated? he asked. And if the consolidations result in smaller branch campuses where Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley are now full institutions, “how do you ensure that the same number of minority students end up in college? Why aren’t they asking questions about minority enrollments?”

Merger of black colleges has long been a fear of advocates for black students in many Southern states. Periodically, legislators propose such mergers, but in recent years, before this one, these proposals have not had much momentum.

Any merger of black colleges in Mississippi would have particular political significance because of United States v. Fordice, a 1992 Supreme Court decision that found Mississippi had failed to desegregate its higher education system. The decision specifically encouraged the state to consider mergers and to cut down on duplication of academic programs as a means of desegregating — but the decision did not order mergers.

(BTW, Fordice was yet another Repub governor of the state of Mississippi)

The theory behind these suggestions is that duplication of academic programs at historically black and predominantly white institutions encourages white students to enroll at one set of institutions and black students at another — and that the elimination of these choices will lead to a situation where black and white students enroll at the same institutions.

See what I mean?  I keep saying that racism is NOT dead in the South….at least it is NOT dead among the generation of the segregation days……the grumpy old white guys….the heart of the GOP…..

Worthless Americans–WARNING…Post Maybe Offensive!

Daily Agitator

Remember you may not appreciate what I have to say…but that concerns me not…..for you were warned!

First, I am not talking about ALL Americans!  I am talking to those people that seem to care little about their country!

There is always a bit of good news to be found in the “sources” and then there are those that makes one want to f*cking puke…….I am sick of these feel f*cking good stories…there is way too many people suffering in this country for me to give two shits about the rest of the goddamn world…..

Bill and Melinda Gates will make an unusual personal appeal to Washington officials Tuesday night, asking them to continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025.

“Government funding that’s coming from the United States is making a huge difference on the ground in the developing world,” Melinda Gates said in an interview last week. Particularly over the past four to five years, she said, “it’s really palpable — it’s making a huge difference saving lives.”

The U.S. government’s annual contribution to global health initiatives has increased dramatically in recent years, from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $7.7 billion in 2009.

Above is excerpts from a piece in the Washington Post.

How f*cking nice!  Let me see…they want the US to do more for every f*cking country but this one….about right?  This country?  You mean the one that has a shitty health system…or do you mean the one that has a horrendous educational system…..yeah…makes great sense to use your influence because you have more money than God to help the rest of the world…let see the country in which they made their money…what do they owe us?

Personally, I am Goddamn tired of rich assholes that want to save the world and turn their backs on the country they owe….yes I f*cking said they OWE!  By all means you dick save the world while Americans struggle for their next meal…..Let me ask, how much of a tax incentive is it to save the f*cking world?  I realize pricks like you do very little without some sort of goddamn incentive…..F*CK the world!  America needs help and who better than the assholes that made it here?

NO!   I AM NOT FINISHED!

There is always little pricks out there that want to HELP….but only help those that will appreciate it by allowing them to pay for children….I know…HUH?

U.S. pop star Madonna launched the construction of a multi-million dollar girls’ school she is building in Malawi on Monday and pledged to build similar schools in other countries if the project succeeds.The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls — in Chinkhota village about 15 kilometres outside the capital Lilongwe — is expected to be completed in two years and will admit 500 girls from the small southern African country’s 28 districts.

The construction is expected to cost $15 million.

Gee, sounds like a payment to me……yet another rich asshole that wants to help the world by turning a blind eye to the plight of American kids……the academic scores in the US rank in math and science,  just behind Kazakhstan…..I say again…lag behind f*cking Kazakhstan!  Do you think that some of that pay-off cash could be used in the US?

Why is it that the little assholes like me are seemingly the only people that care what happens to this country?  Suggestion:  Make the rich assholes spend their money in this country FIRST!  These pricks get everything they want with no f*cking care for the country that gave them life….when will Americans DEMAND that these pricks do the right thing by the country and tell the rest of the world to wait their f*cking turn?

These people may have the best intention in mind….but I believe America first and then the rest can have what is left……

Note:  If this post offended you in any way….get in line….and if it did then that is your problem, not mine…….you were warned….

Obama’s Assault On Education

With the Congress debating Cap and Trade and especially the partisan fighting over health care, Obama’s plan for education went a bit unnoticed.

President Barack Obama announced an assault on public education that would go beyond the Bush administration’s “No Child Left Behind” program. He outlined an education “reform” that would link teacher pay to the test performance of students and force state governments to shift funding from established public schools to so-called charter schools.

Tom Eley writing for wsws.org is reporting:

Obama outlined three “strategies” for so-called underperforming schools, all of them reactionary. “One strategy involves replacing the principal, replacing much of the staff, and giving the school a second chance,” he said. “Another strategy involves inviting a great nonprofit to help manage a troubled school. A third strategy involves converting a dropout factory into a successful charter school. These are public schools funded by parents, teachers, and civic or community organizations with broad leeway to innovate.” The second and third strategies—featuring “great nonprofit” groups and “community organizations”—indicate that Obama may see a role for religious groups in public education.

Merit-based pay for teachers will only discourage educators from taking positions at disadvantaged schools and among students who need the most help. Its practical effect, like No Child Left Behind, will be to shift funding out of the schools that need it most. It is a giant step toward the privatization of public education in America and the formalization of a two-tier, class-based education system.

Already, the quality of eduction for American children depends largely on the affluence of the area in which any given school is located. Much of US school funding is based on property taxes and other forms of local revenue, and certain states make available far more money per student than others. In this set-up, the public schools in the wealthy neighborhoods and suburbs are vastly superior to those in the inner cities, small towns, reservations, and other financially starved areas. Rich and upper-middle class families may also bypass public education altogether by sending their children to expensive private or parochial schools. Obama’s policies will serve to deepen, and make official, these disparities.

Make no mistake, Obama has proposed a class-based system of education. For the children of workers and the poor—who will not perform as well on standardized tests as the children of the rich—there will be financially starved schools and overworked and underpaid teachers. This will, of course, only worsen the education of the students, which will be reflected once again in worsening test scores. They and their teachers will pay the price through the reallocation of resources to the better-performing “charter” schools, which, like private schools, have no obligation to accept all students who might wish to enroll, and which routinely dispense with old union work rules and dismissal practices for teachers.

As usual with the ruling powers when it comes to education, it is always the teachers fault when things go wrong and the governments expertise when all goes right.  It appears that Obama’s educational policy is yet another policy that leaves the working class out in the cold…yet again.  Wall Street screwed Main Street…Auto Industry screwed the workers…..and now the teachers will be the brunt of the government assault on education.

New GI Bill Becomes Law

Pres. Obama has signed into law the new GI Bill that would benefit veterans with their educational pursuits.  As reported in the WSJ:

Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, people with at least 90 days of military service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, can receive up to 100% of their tuition paid for. They also will receive a monthly housing allowance and a stipend for books and school supplies.

The Department of Veterans Affairs began distributing tuition payments to participating schools on Aug. 1. The benefit will be available to the children of military men and women, based on their length of service.

Mr. Obama said he hopes the new benefit can be as successful as the original GI Bill, under which nearly 8 million people — including the president’s grandfather — were educated. The new beneficiaries, he said, can help rebuild the economy and become the “the backbone of a growing American middle class.”

President Bush actually signed the new GI Bill last year, but it did not take effect until Saturday. It basically gives college financial assistance to veterans of the war on terrorism, post 9/11, including those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families. The bill also covers reservists and National Guard members.

The GI Bill is designed to give Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans enough of a financial boost to finance four-years at a public college. The plan would cost $51 billion over a 10 year period. The Democrats say the bill “runs afoul of a rule” that is designed to prevent new benefit programs from causing the deficit to spiral, many veterans are shocked that after approving so much war funding under Bush, these same Democrats would turn their backs on education.

Who were these Dems?  You have only to think about the question to get the answer.

The Blue Dogs have created the pay-as-you-go rule. It requires the costs of new mandatory spending or tax cuts to be fully offset. The Blue Digs argue that attaching the veterans’ educational benefits to an emergency spending bill violates that pay-as-you-go principle of responsible spending that Democrats have heralded as proof that they are fiscally responsible.

According to CQpolitics.com, the Blue Dogs are troubled that the spending package includes enhanced education benefits for veterans not offset by other spending reductions. They warned mid last week that they may vote against the rule for debate over the measure, something that no Republicans were expected to support. If the rule isn’t adopted, a carefully designed plan from the Democratic leadership for adopting the overall package would ultimately collapse.

That is right…my fav bunch of Repubs in Dem clothing…the Blue Dogs.  Someone needs to bring this type of antic up wherever these people are running for re-election….they need to held responsible for their lack of concern for the returning vets…the country asked them to give so much and we OWE them more than we could ever repay.

Where is all the right wing clap trap about the deficit?  I mean if  there is gonna be money added to the deficit should not it be brought up by those whining puppies on conservative talk radio?  Do not fret…they will be silent on this one……audience and all that.

Budget Crisis And Social Impact

In these tough economic times states are struggling with their budgets and how to find the revenue to pay for the propgrams they already have in the works.

This observation is made by Joe Kishore for wsws.org:

The crisis extends across the country. Seven states still have not passed budgets: California (budget deficit—$24 billion), Illinois ($9.2 billion), Pennsylvania ($4.8 billion), North Carolina ($4.6 billion), Connecticut ($4.1 billion), Ohio ($3.3 billion) and Mississippi ($480 million).

Of the states that still remain without a budget, several have threatened to shut down government services altogether if agreements are not reached soon. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (a Democrat) vetoed a budget passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature that includes major attacks on social programs. Quinn favors somewhat fewer cuts, combined with an increase in the state’s regressive flat income tax. Providers of services for the mentally ill and disabled have already laid off staff in response to the budget crisis.

The crisis in the states is having a particularly dramatic impact on education, as the vast bulk of funding for public education comes from the states and from local property taxes. States across the country are already cutting or eliminating summer school programs. These programs are critical for students and for parents who have nowhere else to send their children during work hours. Summer school programs in Florida and California, among other states, have been virtually wiped out.

Of all the programs that are needed most…education is at the top of my list…our rankings in math and science are already sliding down the list…we do not need to imperil our children any further.

Once again, I see that banks and massive corporations are more important than our children….money can be found to bail out the wealthy but little to none is available to the future of our people.  Sad…no matter how you look at it.

Democrats Not Wanted

By now everyone has probably heard about Liberty University’s ploy of kicking the Democratic Culb off of campus, because it did not conform to the rules and such of the school.  I have found a copy of the e-mail:

From: Hine, Mark (VP Student Affairs)
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 1:37 PM
Subject: LU College Democrats

I must inform you that the College democrats’ club is no longer going to be recognized as a Liberty University club. We are unable to lend support to a club whose parent organization stands against the moral principles held by Liberty University. I expressed these concerns when we met, earlier in the spring semester.

The Liberty Way states, “It is the duty of every student to respect Liberty’s Statement of Doctrine and Purpose. They may not engage in any activity on or off campus that would compromise the testimony or reputation of the University or cause disruption to Liberty’s Christian learning environment.”

The Liberty University School of Law had been working on a policy to govern their clubs and organizations for quite some time. They have now completed that policy and we have adopted it for Liberty University as well. Now that it has been adopted and will apply to all clubs and organizations, it is clear that this club does not comply.

Below is a copy of the policy which governs clubs and organizations at Liberty University. This policy is posted on the website.

STUDENT CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS POLICIES

Student clubs or organizations must request and receive permission from the Liberty University administration before they may meet on campus, advertise, distribute or post materials, or use any University facilities for their activities or events. All such clubs or organizations and their activities or events must be consistent with the University’s mission, and must be and remain in compliance with the Liberty Way, the Honor Code, and any policies or procedures promulgated by the University. The University reserves the right to refuse the use of its facilities for any reason to any student club, organization, activity or event.

Consistent with the Honor Code, all students, student clubs and organizations, faculty and staff of Liberty University, have a responsibility to uphold the moral and ethical standards of this institution and personally confront those who do not.

No student club or organization shall be approved, recognized or permitted to meet on campus, advertise, distribute or post materials, or use University facilities if the statements, positions, doctrines, policies, constitutions, bylaws, platforms, activities or events of such club or organization, its parent, affiliate, chapter or similarly named group (even if the similarly named group is not the actual parent, affiliate or chapter) are inconsistent or in conflict with the distinctly Christian mission of the University, the Liberty Way, the Honor Code, or the policies and procedures promulgated by the University.

Maybe the name “Liberty” needs to be changed, since no one is free to associate and there is a clear violation of the term “Liberty”.  Just a thought.

Tracking Truant Students

May I say that this is an excellent idea, but it will cut back on the number of Republican voters, it they must stay in school.

Court authorities here will be able to track students with a history of skipping school under a new program requiring them to wear ankle bracelets with Global Positioning System monitoring.

But at least one group is worried the ankle bracelets will infringe on students’ privacy.

Linda Penn, a Bexar County justice of the peace, said she anticipates that about 50 students from four San Antonio-area school districts — likely to be mostly high schoolers — will wear the anklets during the six-month pilot program announced Friday. She said the time the students wear the anklets will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“We are at a critical point in our time where we can either educate or incarcerate,” Penn said, linking truancy with juvenile delinquency and later criminal activity. “We can teach them now or run the risk of possible incarceration later on in life. I don’t want to see the latter.”

Penn said students in the program will wear the ankle bracelets full-time and will not be able to remove them. They’ll be selected as they come through her court, and Penn will target truant students with gang affiliations, those with a history of running away and skipping school and those who have been through her court multiple times.

Penn said the electronic monitoring is part of a comprehensive program she started four years ago to reduce truancy. She cited programs in Midland and Dallas as having success with similar electronic monitoring measures.