Education Reform - from Someone Who Knows

Here is an article about Michelle Rhee's ideas for the next president on education reform...which if you take a long-term view of things like I try to (and politicians unfortunately avoid like the plague) makes sense.  I mostly agree with what she says -- particularly the stupidity of local control of schools. 

We have largely had local control of schools in the US - that's why things are in such a mess and why there is such a vast difference between graduating from high school in Mississippi or Alabama or Idaho and say...any other state. 

As a country we are getting killed in our public school system -- Bush's No Child Left Behind was the first significant attempt to bring some national order (and more importantly standards) to the US public school chaos.  Unfortunately it was very badly designed and horribly implemented (DC thought that this would not cost the states anything...silly them) - it was doomed to fail. 

I think there is a slightly different reason to question local control however than Ms. Rhee's -- although hers are more close to the metal in terms of practical matters and resistance from teacher's unions.  I think that one needs only to look at any international ranking of student performance to see the US is down around number 16 in the world (or even lower) and in some pretty shady company.

Looking at those countries with much higher student performance scores one thing stands out -- they almost all have strong, centrally managed national performance standards for schools, administrators, and yes, even teachers...as much as that might bug teacher's unions.

This is one area where the Republican party is 100% wrong -- more local control of schools will only perpetuate the US as a perennial catch-up country that imports everything it can from other countries where innovation and creativity is strong and valued over making a living off of other people's money, which seems to be the major thrust of US education. 

Magellan for Our Times

Not many people...in fact not many generations can say they were alive when something truly, universally unique and never-to-be-duplicated like the first circumnavigation of earth, or the first human to step foot on the moon occurred.
 
Many of us who are alive now were fortunate enough to witness Neil Armstrong (who passed away today at 82) perform the latter. Brian Williams was one of us and his brief commentary in this report is worth hearing.

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This report gives a little flavor of the times of the moon landing.  The landing still remains the most widely watched event in history - an estimated one-fifth of the world's population at that time saw it.

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Space Elevators

If you haven't read about space elevators, this is a fascinating concept, although the theory seems to be ahead of the actual materials and design know-how at this point. 

Where are you, billionaire "job-creator" class?    Time to buck up, invest in some R&D, and do something besides announcing layoffs and wishing for the magical return of American manufacturing dominance. 

Seven Words

Two of my favorite historical Americans are Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln.

Mark Twain is my favorite author of all time in any genre.  His command of the writer's craft was (and is) unparalleled and his ability to use the English language in very unique and surprising ways is guaranteed to make me stop and think (or laugh out loud) every few paragraphs.

There is certainly a lot to admire about Lincoln - absolutely the perfect leader at the right time for the nation's most desperate post-Revolution era.  But actually a lot of my admiration stems from the same roots as Twain.  The man had an uncanny, natural way to state something in a few words that had a meaning and color far beyond his sparse choice of words.  The Gettysburg Address is probably the best known example of that, but I recently came across another. 

Curiosity Lives!

Great news - Curiosity has landed succesfully ..with images of the landing to keep the Internet idiots and conspiracy freaks at bay.

Oh...and just as an aside...this entire mission cost about as much as 2-3 weeks of the meaningless, pointless war in Iraq.  And so far as I know...no one has died or been maimed.

The Real Washington Budget Crisis

The single biggest budget problem the US government faces is the bloated, unaccountable, wasteful Pentagon budget and it has been for at least the last thirty years.  Assessments vary, but it is pretty well agreed that since George got done spraying  middle and lower-class tax dollars all over it in the first decade this century (in the name of the "war on terror" -- which by the way the Pentagon still doesn't have a clue how to fight) we wound up with a total "defense" expenditure level that by some reckonings is greater than all the rest of the world's militaries put together.  Interestingly enough, this gold and platinum-plated military has not won a single major conflict since WW II.  

Republicans like to lump Social Security and Medicare together so they have a combination that is bigger than defense.  But, this is invalid...these two programs have completely separate and independent funding mechanisms, administration, and financial challenges.  However, this is the only possible way to come up with a budget target that outsizes defense (but just barely) -- it is that big...so they will continue to do so.

Now the Republicans are digging in to protect this indefensible level of "defense" spending...even to the point of telling some real whoppers in public, and occasionally getting taken to task by the few thinkers in the audience.

Now this week we find out that Senator John McCain, whom I definitely have mixed feelings about...is taking his duties as the "Senator from Lockheed Martin" much more seriously than his oath of office.  His appointment of a former staff member as Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee....after she stopped by Lockheed Martin for a lucrative little payday of $1,662,856 does not impress me at all as the actions of a real Senator...one who remembers the oath he took:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter...."

But then I fear that as long as their are political parties...there will be no "real" Senators, except perhaps among the Independents and some of the old guard, both of which are rapidly disappearing.

Yard Signs...Really?

The use of yard signs in political campaigns I strongly feel should be banned.  I mean...is this a Third World country or what?  They always have bizarre looking posters plastered all over public spaces hawking various candidates (with no useful information on them other than some empty slogans). 

We in the US of course have advanced to the point of having cardboard signs (and ugly billboards)...with bizarre designs and with no useful information on them other than some empty slogans.  Personally, I wish we had the technology to detect...if an individual is swayed to vote for a particular candidate or cause by the presence of a billboard or yard sign -- they should have their voter registration permanently revoked...they are obviously too stupid to be allowed to participate in something as important as a democracy.