Propositions 3, 2 &1

Idaho is mentioned in the Wall Street Journal here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204840504578086773381885236.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

I fear that I see a lot more "Vote No" signs than I do "Yes" signs around here, but I am voting "Yes" on all three propositions, with apologies to my brother-in-law who is the computer-guy for one of Idaho's high schools. (On the bright side--talk about job security!)

When Luna introduced these laws before, I was against the part that gave students laptops (Prop. 3). I have since re-considered. While I still agree that students are not likely to treat these laptops well, and I do not think it's government's business to give anyone a computer, the fact is that students treat textbooks just as poorly; and digital textbooks, so to speak, will be a lot cheaper than actual textbooks--not to mention the fact that textbooks become outdated fairly quickly, especially in subjects of Government and History. The other part of the laptop proposal is one that gives students a chance to study on-line, with the potential of early high school graduation. This is a chance for our best and brightest to work at their own speed and get ahead.

Proposition 2 is the most controversial proposition, in my opinion. This is the one that grants bonuses for teachers who do outstanding work, and allows for merit pay. I absolutely believe that teachers with high success rates should be rewarded more than teachers who run the clock from day to day. And while all sorts of teachers will say how hard the job is, and that it's not their fault if their classrooms do not perform well, and I'm not disagreeing with them, we all can look back and remember both our really outstanding teachers, and the horrible experiences we had in other classrooms. What concerns me about Proposition 2 is using standarized tests to evaluate a teacher's performance. I am very much against standardized testing, so this would have been a "No" vote, if it weren't for...

Proposition 1, which allows for more parental input. I believe that everything is best done at a local level, and this proposition puts more of the decision-making into the hands of local school administrators, and less into the hands of the National Teachers Association. As mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article linked above, the NEA has been a true hindrance to education across the nation. It's bad enough that our nation's education system has been essentially taken over by politicians, but it's even worse that these politicians are beholden to teacher's unions, who do not have the children's best interests at heart, contrary to their lofty claims, but their own pocketbooks and ambitions. Local control of schools doesn't even quite get to the heart of the matter--decisions about education are best made at home, and families have too few choices. Idaho's education system is not perfect, and these three propositions are not perfect, but Idaho should be proud to be one of the states proposing bold initiatives for education.

Halloween Humdrum

I clicked on an article entitled, Trick or treat? Trend to ban Halloween is mixed bag for educators, parents, thinking I might be in for a thoughtful discussion from both sides of the aisle. When political discourse can rarely be said to be "thoughtful," I don't know why I expected more from this article. (Is there an emoticon that suggests an eye-roll? Imagine one right here.)

From the article:

... said Skokie, Ill., District 69 Superintendent Quintin Shepherd, in a letter to parents. “Many students cannot afford costumes and there is an economic disparity. We also have students that are unable to participate for religious or cultural reasons.”

...“Why suck the fun out of school?” one student posted online on the school's website. “Halloween isn't a religious or political holiday; it's only about having fun.”

“It’s the best part of the school year,” posted another student. “Everyone dresses up and gives out candy. How can that be bad?”.

...Administrators say school is not the place for Halloween, and at least a few parents in Skokie agree.

“We'll take a personal day with my children away from school expressing ourselves through costume and possible Satan worshipping,” wrote one poster on the District 69 website.

(Did the author of this article NOT see the sarcasm here?!?!)

The article then goes on to blame high-stakes testing, political correctness, and the banning of everything from Christmas to the Pledge of Allegience. However, the fundamental question seems to be, Will we still get candy?

Here are some of my questions and thoughts--which may or may not be any more intelligent than anything I quoted above...

When a school district "bans" Halloween, what exactly does that mean? Is it the same as banning books? When a school bans a book, or a holiday, is it really preventing people from reading said book, or celebrating said holiday?

Do holiday celebrations serve an educational purpose? If so, in what ways? And if so, wouldn't trick-or-treating also serve an educational purpose? (In other words, are we being redundant?) If there is no educational purpose, do I need to finish asking this question?

And finally, is there anyone left in the world who thinks that candy is good for children's brains?

You can probably tell what my bias is here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to start crusading against school parties. I'm just suggesting that this argument is yet another distraction from the real purpose of schooling and education.

Betrayal of American Education

Book review on American Spectator here: http://spectator.org/archives/2012/10/29/hustlers-hucksters-and-the-bet

Speaking of Paul Kengor...

Here's a great interview: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/327870/obama-frankly-interview?pg=1

What I like about Kengor is that he never makes a claim unless he has documentation to back it up.

Books

I recently read a book about the Smothers Brothers that made me wonder if I, like Tom Smothers, am losing my sense of humor because of my politics. But then I read books and articles by authors I respect (as opposed to the author, David Bianculli), and I become too worried to care whether or not I have a sense of humor. Recent books that I have read, and recommend, include:

Mark Levin's Ameritopia, which delves into the two major philosophies in the world that have been at odds with each other since the world began: One that says humans are free to act for themselves, and will be rewarded according to their own choices; and the other that says we can achieve a utopian state of existence, if we will but put our trust in one "wise and benevolent" ruler. I can see why the second option sounds tempting--until you remember the adage that "absolute power corrupts," and that the second plan is akin to Satan's plan.

Paul Kengor's Dupes, which researches communism in the United States, particularly among celebrities. I respect my dad a lot, and he thinks that Senator McCarthy was a nut, but Dupes gives evidence that many of the so-called "brave" celebrities who refused to cooperate with government investigations were, in fact, big "C" Communists (members of the party), and little "c" communists (people who sympathise with Communists). One of those, in fact, was Pete Seeger, who admitted as much in a 2008 interview on The American Experience. One can argue about the effectiveness of the McCarthy hearings, and talk about why or why not black-listing was wrong (or is still wrong today), but so often, we skip those arguments, and go straight to name-calling. History is repeating itself as we condemn anti-Islamic sentiment, without asking pertinent questions, such as, "Is there a real and valid threat against the United States?" Events of this past week tell me that, yes, there is a real threat, whether or not you agree that the United States should have ever intervened in the Middle East to begin with.

Amity Shlaes' The Forgotten Man. This book gives an in-depth look by an economist of the policies of Herbert Hoover and FDR that prolonged the Great Depression. There are stunning paralels to today's political environment. It is because of this book that I have come to realize that no amount of "tinkering" is likely to reverse the course we are set on--the best possible course is to get out of the way, and let the free market work.

Andrew Breitbart's Righteous Indignation. First of all, this books shows how you can think seriously about issues, and still keep a sense of humor. Secondly, I just love Andrew Breitbart.

Anything by Mark Steyn. This man has been compared to Cyrano de Bergerac and Voltaire. The comparison is justified.

I have yet to read one of Thomas Sowell's books (there are so many to choose from), but I read his articles regularly, and the man is a genius, as well as a pretty decent photographer!

Articles that don't defend Roberts, and outline why we cannot miss our one last chance to repeal "Obamataxmare"

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/07/03/obamacares-hideous-history-rec/

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/07/02/supreme-beings

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/07/02/undoing-obamacare

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/304641/roberts-opinion-fred-thompson

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/304619/judicial-betrayal-thomas-sowell

and the ever-brilliant Mark Steyn

On the Supreme Court Decision

http://www.humanevents.com/2012/06/28/erick-erickson-roberts-forces-us-to-deal-with-health-care-politically/

This is an article in defense of Roberts. Erickson makes some good points--and it's possible that Roberts has done us all a favor by identifying the problem with excessive taxation for any program--whether it's Obamacaretax, Medicaretax, Medicaidtax, educationtax, etc., that all of these programs for the "collective good" are really just taxes.

Now, I'm still uncomfortable with Roberts treating this like a "chess game," because the longer it takes to get rid of Obamacaretax, the harder it's going to be, period. I understand the principle of preferring the legislative branch to repeal it, but I am not convinced that an electorate who put Obama in office, who is going to replace him with a Republican who gave him the blueprint for Obamacaretax, is up to the task of selecting a majority of faithful conservatives. If we continue to vote in pansy compromisers, we will not make a significant dent in the giant government bureaucratic mess that hangs over us. This is simply not going to end, and I had hoped that the Supreme Court would have acted in the interests of the people now, rather than trying to teach us a lesson for later.

But the decision has been handed down. Let's hope that the American people will learn that we cannot rely on our leaders to look out for us, and that it is imperative that we understand the issues; support candidates who can be trusted to uphold the Constitution; and withdraw our support from those who abuse that trust.

Free Speech?

I'm too chicken to write the story in my own words, but here are some links.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=51743

http://patterico.com/2012/05/25/convicted-bomber-brett-kimberlin-neal-rauhauser-ron-brynaert-and-their-campaign-of-political-terrorism/

http://michellemalkin.com/2012/05/23/free-speech-show-solidarity-for-targeted-conservative-bloggers/

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2010/10/11/Progressives-Embrace-Convicted-Terrorist

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/25/Kimberlin-2012

Breitbart is Here!

I've never been anyone's groupie, the only celebrity deaths that have ever really saddened me were those of Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills. But last month, on March 1st, I sat down to do my daily reading of the BIGS, and learned that Andrew Breitbart had suddenly passed away the previous night. And then I went through all of the stages of grief as if he had been a close friend. I cried for days. Not just for the loss of such a giant, but for the blow it is to our country's future. No one will be able to fill his shoes.

Breitbart would want us to continue where he left off--to hold journalists accountable for biased reporting, to confront hypocrisy, and to simply stand up for the rights and freedoms that are being eroded. I haven't found the courage to step into the fray in a public way, but I did buy this shirt!

School Levy

No one in their right mind would publicly say, "I don't support our local schools," (the opposite of the bumper sticker and fliers I'm seeing all around town in support of raising property taxes to raise $14 million for schools in Boise), but I am going to say it here on my blog. I do not support a tax increase to raise money for schools.

1. Everyone likes to say, "Think outside the box." But when it comes to schools, very few people can think outside the box of public education. I believe people should be able to keep what they earn. If we had more personal discretionary income, and privatized education, schools would be more competitive, and our children would be more competitive in the real world.

2. Schools operate better when they have less money. I really believe this. When they are forced to budget, they stop buying things our kids don't need. Library books are a popular item we always "need" to buy. I have a huge beef with our school's library. I'll tell you about it sometime. But I wish they would quit forcing my children to borrow books. Also, experimental programs, like sending 9th graders to high school (and this, after spending a ton of money building a new junior high?), get put on hold.

3. I just attended an informative meeting about the potential of F-35's gracing the skies of Boise. If they come here, many schools, including the one my kids attend, will not be able to operate at their current locations. Why do I want to spend money on schools that may have to be deserted anyway? I wish I had a vote regarding the F-35's. All I can do is write letters to representatives who ignore me. But I do have a vote concerning the levy, and I'm voting no.

Good Quote

“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson

Cato article on Education

Here

Interview with author Marybeth Hicks, who has a book out I think I'll put on my reading list, here.