My latest concern about the current status of education..
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Critical thinking skills have been declining for some time.  I've noticed this from my experience with college students and recent college graduates and from reports such as this and and this on page 81.

Those sources discuss possible reasons, but I'd also like to include my own:

I believe the biggest reason is that the instructors/teachers/professors themselves lack critical thinking skills (or avoid using them) and, therefore, can't pass them on to students.  One of the articles above mentions that the professors think they are improving these skills (even when they are not).  My belief is that such professors don't use the skills in their own work/thoughts, so that even if they think they are passing along these skills, they aren't, because the teacher lacks these skills or is poor in using them in the areas in which the teacher is teaching.

This seems to stem from the intellectual biases in the schools (and schools of education) which frown on and chastise those who actually do critical thinking (those who don't accept the standard dogma).  More can be read about this here. 

There are certain issues that can't be discussed without being fired, asked to resign, disciplined.  I suppose we still have it better than many European countries where one can be imprisoned for critical thoughts.

Certain issues can be discussed, but only if one is on the "correct" side of those positions.  This demonstrates a significant lapse in critical thinking skills as just believing that there is a "correct" side/belief on certain issues is a lack of critical thinking skills.

10:01 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Safety? or Money?

They are doing some kind of crackdown/no tolerance/no child left behind/dare to keep kids off of drugs on speeding this weekend along Interstate 80 .  They will give out tickets for even just one mile PER HOUR over the speed limit (or an extra 88 feet per minute or an extra 1.5 feet per second).

Here's an article about it.

I wrote to the author to determine whether this was about safety or money.

I think it's about money.

If they wanted to do something about speed limits (that have changed from NO speed limit to 12mph to 65 to 75 to 55 --55 saves lives :)--to 65 to 70 to NO speed limits to 75 again) then they would always be enforcing them this way (but that would probably be about the money, too) instead of letting everyone know that they are doing this for the weekend.

If it were really about safety, then why not drop it back down to 12mph?  I bet that would cut down about 99.9% of traffic fatalities.

Nah, after some experience with the traffic courts, I have discovered it's about the money.  I believe the real reason is that when the state starts scraping the bottom of the barrel it has a "no mercy" weekend.

2:09 AM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

FEMA fund!?! LOL, they are my funds!

I read this article and what really struck me wasn't how the money was wasted, but how it's talked about as FEMA funds.  I believe FEMA gets its money from me (and you).

It's the same as when I hear $2.8 million against the State of California.  Or a  $12 million dollar judgment against the state.  The state doesn't have money that I or you don't give them.  It's not like they have a business making money on the side and are paying it out in these judgments.

Basically, this is just a redistribution of wealth.  How about just everyone in California send someone a dollar, then it would make more sense.  This doesn't punish the state, nor teach the state a lesson.  The state will pay the money, then charge us more in taxes to recover it.

12:41 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Dumbing Down America (or at least California), Yay!
Category: Life

After reading that a judge has rejected the High School exit exam and another person's complaints about the exam, I thought I would pick apart some of the arguments made against it.

This is from latimes.com: Here's the article:

First argument:  "It creates an all-or-nothing" diploma.  Well, actually, it creates a 55-60% right diploma.  Nowhere near all or nothing.  I've seen the test, it's hard to make an easier test.  There is no guessing penalty, there are four answer choices.  Random chance will get you 25% right.  From what I've read (and seen) it tests at a 10th grade level or lower. 

It's true that a single missed question can cause one to fail, but only if that person also missed 40-45% the other questions.  So I guess it's not really just one question that determines if someone graduates.

And if exit exam diplomas confuse employers, well, maybe the employers need to take exit exams.

Second argument:  The exam ignores noncognitive skills.  Well, taking away the exam would also ignore noncognitive skills so that has no bearing on whether we should have the exam.  There still needs to be a way to test noncognitive skills (if we want to test that) whether we have the exit exam or not.

This article makes a similar argument to mine.

This article makes me scared.  It points to the lead plaintiff in the case who had a 3.84 gpa and 12th in her class of 413, but can't pass the English portion of the exit exam.  Makes me wonder how one gets a 3.84 gpa.  And what about the 401 students who were ranked below her?  I remember I had a 3.1 or 3.3 gpa and passed the California High School proficiency exam (which is harder to pass than the exit exam).  Maybe my gpa should be elevated to remain at the modern level of competence. 

I guess, to sum up, we can just give out diplomas to everyone who goes to high school for four years.  What does a diploma stand for?  Do we really need them any more?

6:18 PM - 8 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Why I got kicked out of High School

In response to requests, here it is:

I went to a private, christian high school.  I was dressing in all black with jewelry.  There was a certain teacher who seemed disturbed by this.  I was told not to return the following year because someone (or more than one) accused me of being a "satan-worshiper."  I wasn't a satan worshiper.  In fact, I was a very good student with NO discipline problems.

7:29 PM - 6 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment

I SCRAPED THE PEG FEELERS!
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Last trip through Turnbull Canyon, I scraped the peg feelers on both sides.  That's about as low as you can go on a turn.

So far had only scraped once on the right side.  This time scraped once on the right and once on the left (on the same turn, but going different direction).

Have gotten to the edge of the rear tire's tread several times.  Rear tire's about gone, so picking up a new one next wednesday. 

3:34 PM - 5 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment

The [extremely broad reading of the] commerce clause pisses me off

Here's someone complaining about John Robert's "activism" regarding the commerce clause.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20050801.html

Here's what the commerce clause says:

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec8

Here's the more realistic view:

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20050829-112003-6949r.htm

If we read into the commerce clause that congress can regulate anything having a substantial affect on interstate commerce, then congress could pass a law prohibiting me from wiping my butt too much with toilet paper.  My toilet paper is distributed by an Ohio company.  If I wipe too much it will affect interstate commerce.  If everyone wipes too much it will have a substantial affect on interstate commerce.

Apparently the original intention of the clause was to have congress regulate commerce among the states (how about that, just what it says).  That's state to state commerce, state to state dealings, not whether I can wipe my butt.

2:26 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

7 kudos, but where are they
Current mood: thoughtful

ok, so far i see 7 kudos on my blog, but where do i pick them up? do they send them to me? are they individually wrapped? or like a box of kudos?

1:08 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

My Olympic Plans
Current mood: excited

Thinking I may still have a chance of being in the olympics. Deciding on either curling
http://groups.msn.com/curlingrocks/

or

badminton

12:35 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

i zapped the bee 5 times and i never got a free playstation
Current mood: disappointed

and i'm not playing (music), but there are so few choices and who's reading a book when they're typing up here anyway????????

12:16 AM - 2 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment