One of the weirdest reports I've ever read as a reason for preschool education: so that we'll have good soldiers in 20 years to fight wars?! A military study shows that 75% of recruits are NOT READY for service, and the main problem is early childhood education. The ex Secretary of the Army was on CSPAN citing the report. He said that a dollar of early education saved eighteen dollars later. (Link) -snip- Major General Comstock said that he believes the early education of young children...

His web site is pretty jammed up, but I sent an email already. DC Office: 212 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-4002 Phone: 202-225-2452 Fax: 202-225-2455 Email: Joe.Wilson AT mail.house.gov District Office - Beaufort: 903 Port Republic Street Beaufort, SC 29901 Phone: 843-521-2530 Fax: 843-521-2535 District Office - Columbia: 1700 Sunset Boulevard (United States 378), Suite 1 Post Office Box 7381 West Columbia, SC 29202 Phone: 803-939-0041 Fax: 803-939-0078

Be truthful! No one is looking!

I'll use examples from Florida and today's St. Pete Times, because that is familiar to me, but you likely have exactly the same issues in your home town. Newspapers and TV are full of stories that complain about bad teachers and often tie the badness to myths like union membership, continuing contracts (tenure), or blaming teacher preparation: --------------Creating the Myths------------ (Link) It's Hard to Fire a Teacher, Even if They are Bad "In Florida, most teachers have tenure, a status...

Most DU'ers had teachers born in the baby boom and educated with dollars that expanded higher education. That included the GI Bill, the Great Society, the "Sputnik" excitement, followed by expansion of community colleges and land grant universities. The United States now has to decide if the high quality education system that provided a free high school education to an entire country for 50 years is going to continue. There's no guarantee that we'll have teachers. Examine some of the facts: ...

After a public announcement from the President that there will be no pay raises, she secretly gives bonuses to administration and gets outed! (Link) A Times Editorial Cringing at USF bonuses In Print: Monday, March 16, 2009 University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft must know that appearances can be as important as reality. Surely, she knew this when she handed out hefty bonuses to four top staff members - after the university had slashed millions from the budget, frozen salaries and...

We know that more education means higher salaries: (Link) and some want a "business-driven" merit alternative for a pay scale so you could do a commission system (like insurance). How about everyone providing one percent of their salary every year to go back to their teachers as a fee for success! This would be payroll collected starting whenever you begin working and go in a check from the state or school that you attended and divided up to all your teachers. Teachers who stayed in the pro...

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Awful loud for cardboard cutouts!

No according to the courts! A very useful article was published in Chance Magazine from the American Statistical Association in 2008: "Florida 2006: Can Statistics Tell Us Who Won Congressional District-13?" Some quotes lifted from the article: "...the conclusion that Jennings was the real winner in CD-13 becomes even surer." "...it is clear that those missing votes switched the outcome of the congressional race from Jennings to Buchanan." "The statistical evidence shows, beyond any reasonab...

(Link) Apr 10, 2008 Med student lacked MCAT, committee members say By JACK STRIPLING Sun staff writer A student admitted to the University of Florida's College of Medicine by its dean, over the objections of the college's selection committee, had not taken a required admissions examination, according to committee members. When the committee considered the 2008 application of Benjamin Mendelsohn, the son of a prominent Republican fundraiser and contributor, Mendelsohn had not taken the Medic...