Full disclosure: I am a parent of a high school student. I have been both a teacher in the public school system, and of course, at one time, I was a student. I’ve seen education from at least three different perspectives. And let me tell you, education today has gone so far off the rails, I’m convinced that, save for a few dedicated teachers who bravely buck the system, kids learn in spite of their schools…not because of them. [Read more…] about Wanna know what’s wrong with education? Here’s “Exhibit A.”
education
Homeland (In)security.
Living in Texas, I’ve given a lot of thought on the issue of homeland security, especially as it applies to the border. Admittedly, here in the Panhandle, we’re about as far away from the Mexican border as you can be, and still live in the great State of Texas. However, you might be surprised to learn that border security is an issue that has a direct effect on where I live. For instance, while the majority of the population in the Texas Panhandle is Anglo/White/Caucasian (I’m not up on what the P.C. crowd is calling us homies nowadays), the second-largest ethnic group is not Black/Afro-American/Whatever is the P.C. Term, but Hispanic. A surprisingly large percentage of our local population is comprised of those who have entered the company without the benefit of immigration papers. In other words, illegal aliens. (I’m aware the P.C. term is “undocumented workers.” That’s a load of male bovine excrement. If they are from another country and are here without following our immigration laws, they are illegal aliens.
You may have noticed in the news lately, that illegal alien immigration is way down in the past fiscal quarter. I’d love to be able to report that this is due to stepped-up patrols, the long-awaited, controversial border fence, or something we did to directly affect the problem. Nope. It’s because our economy (like the rest of the world’s, mind you) is in the baño right now. (For you gringos, that’s the toilet.) Seems as though all those low-paying jobs that are typically beneath the dignity of us naitive-borns are suddenly looking muy bueno right about now, and the depressed job market has not the siren song call to our Neighbors to the South.
Still, we need border security, to serve both economic security and national security goals. I think I have the answer, and – with appologies to Jonathan Swift – I’d like to share my idea with you.
Annex Mexico. [Read more…] about Homeland (In)security.
Wanna hear something REALLY scary?
News item:
Zogby Poll: Almost No Obama Voters Ace Election Test
Released: November 18, 2008
UTICA, New York — Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
Only 54% of Obama voters were able to answer at least half or more of the questions correctly. [Read more…] about Wanna hear something REALLY scary?
Groupthink.
groupthink (grūp’thĭngk’) n. The act or practice of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially when characterized by uncritical acceptance or conformity to prevailing points of view.
It is a part of human nature to want to belong. Belonging takes many forms – families, clubs, schools, sports teams and their fans, and even politics. In society, many of us classify themselves by labels that indicate to which group we belong. Conservative. Liberal. Republican. Democrat. But where things get weird is when one group takes hold of the idea that their ideas and beliefs are not only superior to the other groups, but that the other groups are stupid, wrong, and even dangerous.
Welcome to politics in 2008. [Read more…] about Groupthink.
School Daze.
Tomorrow is the first day of school for thousands of kids across Amarillo, my daughter included. While the exact day children go back to school may vary from district to district, there is one undeniable fact – the school year is longer than it was when I was a kid.
When I went to school (you know…back in the dark ages, when St. George slew the dragon…a time before cell phones, instant messaging, and satellite TV), school NEVER started before Labor Day, and never lasted beyond Memorial Day. Those two holidays were the bookends to the freedom days of my youth. Today, it is vastly different, with state legislatures regularly extending the required number of days in the school calendar every time they consider the matter. My question is “why”? [Read more…] about School Daze.