Bill Gates and Education

An interview with Bill Gates appeared in the WSJ a couple of days ago.

What I find surprising is how an innovator like Bill Gates is apparently blinded by his own political convictions. Either that, or he's made a deal to keep Microsoft out of trouble.

You'll see in the interview how he hedges on his answers--how he comes close to admitting how unions interfere with improvements in education, but stops short.

I'd like to ask Gates where he sent his own children to school. I'm willing to bet that he ensured that they got the best possible education, and I'd bet that it wasn't through public schools. In my opinion, Gates could have avoided funding numerous studies simply by looking at what he has done as a parent for his children. What if he tried to help other students get the education his own children got, rather than throwing it away in the public education system? Has he considered starting his own private school system? It would be in his own self-interest to help train his future workforce.

seriously?

Michele Bachmann's candidacy is being grilled over...headaches?

Take a look at the ailments of former presidents at this link.

Incidentally, though I'm a big fan of Bachmann, I don't have a favorite candidate yet. (Well, I do, but she hasn't entered the race yet.) But this "scandal" is ridiculous.

Teen Lit

First, read this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html

Then, read this one: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304314404576411581289319732.html

And then, some comments: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450604576418213590713904.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLEThirdBucket

I was an avid reader growing up, and I think I lived during the transition from no teen lit to the now very-popular YA fiction genre. Judy Blume was popular, and I remember seeing "Outsiders" on the shelves at school, but I wasn't really interested in those kinds of books. Instead, I read Agatha Christie mysteries, the "Anne of Green Gables" series, and a ton of other books that were pretty tame. I do remember one book about a girl who becomes a drug user, which was pretty graphic, and I can't say I was the better for having read it.

In high school, I would collect "Recommended Reading" lists that were made up mostly of classics, and I made it a goal to read as many as I could. I remember being surprised that "Pride and Prejudice" was a comedy, rather than a book about poverty and racism, and I remember discovering that "Frankenstein" was a beautifully written book--to my relief, not quite as scary as I had anticipated. I fell in love with Gilbert Blythe, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester, and strove to emulate Anne Shirley, Elizabeth Bennett, and Jane Eyre.

My life has truly been enriched by wonderful literature, and I feel bad that there are such low expectations of today's youth--that there is this assumption that if it's not edgy, they won't read. One of the comments above talks about a mother-daughter book club, and I want to keep that idea tucked away in my brain until my daughters are older. I'm in a great book group at the moment with some great friends. I hope I can participate in a similar experience with my children, their friends, and my friends.