Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Yes, Obama has named a Supremes nominee;

and yes, he doesn't like the 2nd Amendment.  Anyone surprised?


Yes, if Sanders wins he'll raise taxes.  On EVERYBODY, whether he currently wants to admit it or not.  And the people who can afford it least will get screwed the worst, while he and his followers keep insisting "You'll be happier in the end!"


Next time someone insists "All we need is more money in education!" wrap this around a cluebat and beat them with it.  No amount of money will actually improve schools that are totally screwed, and care more about feelings and esteem than actual teaching.
Researchers at Princeton University compared test results of Americans with their peers in more than 20 advanced economies. The results pointed to an alarming trend, as young workers and students between the ages of 16 and 34 lagged far behind their peers in countries like Japan and Sweden in mathematical understanding and literacy. The report says that the results were even more surprising because millennials “have attained the most years of schooling of any cohort in American history.”
Lots of time in schools means NOTHING if they aren't actually worried about kids LEARNING REAL STUFF.

Young Americans are not only losing ground to their peers overseas. Rising educational attainment in the form of record-breaking college attendance and undergraduate degrees has not led to increased knowledge among adults. Researchers found that current American adults fell short of the literacy of previous generations of Americans.
See above: THE SCHOOLS SUCK.

“The findings also offer a clear caution to anyone who believes that our policies around education should focus primarily on years of schooling or trusts that the conferring of credentials and certificates alone is enough,” it says. “Far too many are graduating high school and completing postsecondary educational programs without receiving adequate skills. If we expect to have a better-educated population and a more competitive workforce, policy makers and other stakeholders will need to shift the conversation from one of educational attainment to one that acknowledges the growing importance of skills and examines these more critically.”
Which will be fought tooth and nail by the people currently in charge, because they don't actually WANT well-educated kids who learn to think; they're not dependent enough, don't take orders well enough.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Serious question: What is the purpose of the public school system in the US ~now~?

As far as I can tell, it is not educating the kids, nor is it providing day care services. It isn't even to serve as indoctrination centers.

In my opinion, the major purpose is to provide safe jobs for members of the teachers unions and thus support for the Democratic party. (The other things are just "gravy.")

Since the 1960s, every time there has been a big scare about the schools failing to teach the kids, we've lavished more money on the schools. We've taught the school system that producing "bad product" gets rewarded.

When you consistently reward a behavior, you get more of it.

So, where do we go from here? Hades; via rocket sled is my guess.