Back from Near-Death
Lightening Striking Tree
I think the Devil is trying to kill me!
For almost two years, I’ve been trying to get the message out about the solution to the disasters in our public schools.
First, my computer got hit by lightening. Then my brand-spanking-new, super-deluxe model computer went haywire and had to be totally revamped.
Just got back on track when my kidneys went kaput temporarily. (That was scary, I can tell you.)
Then when I got all recuperated I had a BIG FALL!
Now I’m not talking a simple trip that landed me on my behind. With my MS, I’m used to those.
Nope, this was a real doozy!
The 180-year-old farmhouse we’ve been renovating forever and ever has a lot of built-in booby traps. I thought I was familiar with all of them, but I guess not!
In fact, the ‘booby trap’ that got me was attached to the 15 year old, three car, two-story garage that we had added to the property.
I was climbing the outside stairs to get Christmas decorations from storage in the apartment above the garage. Almost made it to the top too!
BAM! The stairway gave way under me and I managed to fall from the top to the bottom, using my right foot and hip as a battering ram. You know, kinda like those karate experts shatter a whole bunch of boards with their fists.
Trust me, this is not a good idea!
The really hard part was extricating my bruised and mangled body from the wreckage, then crawling on my hands and knees around to the front of the house, so my husband could help me to bed when he got home.
I didn’t realize that I had thousands of splinters and was dripping blood until I was able to get to the driveway. (Grass absorbs blood too fast, but it is sure easier on the knees for crawling.)
Unfortunately, during the last couple of weeks, there have been so many news-worthy items occurring on the education front, but I couldn’t type with my torn-up hands, even if I could have gotten out of bed to the computer.
Well, I’m recuperating! Nothing was broken but lotsa sprains and bruises, scratches, scrapes, etc. made life REAL uncomfortable for a while.
Since the bruises are all at the green and yellow stage, I no longer have an excuse to lie in bed and moan, SOOOO . . .
Starting tomorrow, I’m back to reporting and commenting on all the info I can bring you about the current state of public education in the USA.
BTW, Education is as ‘banged-up’ as I am.
Till tomorrow,
Brennan
Take a Break for Funny Cat Education!
You’ve been reading about some pretty somber topics here recently, so I thought I’d share a video that made me laugh out loud again and again. Hope you enjoy!
Engineers and Cats
NEXT POST: Preventing Teen Suicide”
Brennan
Flying Treadmilla Meets Simpleology
Today I would like to share something with you that’s just a little off-topic!
I entered Mark Joyner’s “Will You Be The World’s Next Best-Selling Author?” contest. One of the requirements was to submit a 2-minute video to YouTube.com about either the most life changing moment of your life or the funniest moment of your life.
I chose funniest. Here is my entry, as posted on YouTube.com for the contest.
Hope you got a good laugh! Tell your friends to go to YouTube and view it, and maybe I’ll win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJYQNGL_Wtk
Thank you for your help,
Brennan
Science Education Myth?
I think I’m gonna become a non-partisan think tank. Sounds like a good job, and you get to publish reports on anything you want. Just gather some statistics, twist ‘em around to back up whatever hypothesis you started with, and get published. Yep! That’s the job for me. (In fact, there are probably people who would say I’m already doing that. I just never thought to call myself a “think tank” before.)
O.K. Stop ranting and get back to reality, Brennan.
I was just reading an article in Business Week about the alleged “Science Education Myth”. The article details a new report by the Urban Institute (they’re already a non-partisan think tank) that supposedly disproves the alleged weaknesses and failures of the U.S. Education system.
Some way, some how, the authors of the report have come to the conclusion
“. . .math, science and reading test scores at the primary and secondary level have increased over the past two decades, and U.S. students are now close to the top of international rankings.”
These conclusions are in direct contrast with the facts found in the national educational report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” by the National Academy of Sciences. And every other report and study I’ve found. Also contrary to what industry leaders such as Bill Gates, thousands of other employers across the USA, and even the President of the United States report, after consulting with all the experts they have available to them.
This report points to the fact that high school graduates earned more math credits and science credits in 1998 than they did in 1982. Also, the percentage of students taking chemistry increased from 45% in 1990 to 60% in 2004. This report goes on to say that we are ranking a consistent 2nd place in science internationally and that EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD IS WRONG because they are not interpreting the data correctly!
What the report fails to mention is that the percentages taking these math and science classes are higher because SO MANY STUDENTS ARE NOT GRADUATING. For example: ten students taking math in a class of 50 would yield 20%, BUT if five of those 50 students drop out, the percentage of math students jumps to 22%. If 25 students drop out (50% dropout rate), the percentages jump to a WHOPPING 40%. And you can do the math to figure out what the percentages would be in schools where the graduation rate is only 25%.
Apparently, it never occurred to these researchers to question whether other countries around the globe earned more math and science credits as well, or whether more of those students are taking chemistry also. What we Americans are going to have to wake up to and realize is that we are LOSING children (half or more in some areas) that NEVER graduate under our current system, AND that the students who are graduating are falling farther and farther behind the rest of the globe.
There are only two things that I can wholeheartedly agree with in this article.
- 1st – With all the emphasis on teaching our students math and science, we are graduating more scientists than there are science jobs for.
(Could this be another indicator of problems in our schools? Or is it just wonderful that some few students are learning the scientific approach and are capable of critical thinking, no matter WHAT career they decide to pursue?) - 2nd – U.S. children are capable of excelling.
I have never said that U.S. children aren’t smart. As a mother of six, a grandmother of 19, and a great-grandmother of six, I have first-hand knowledge of how very bright, inquisitive and brilliant our children can be. Yes, our children are smart! So why do we have dropout rates of 50% to 75% in our country?
We may be graduating more scientists than there are jobs for (really smart, huh?), but we are losing a whole lot more of our young people with the current system we have in place.
Are we next to best? Or are we falling behind everybody else?
As tempting as it would be to be a think tank, I think I’ll have to side with EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD WHO IS WRONG on this one.
It is NOT a myth that our schools are failing our young people. From K-12 through college, we need CHANGE. Only a non-partisan think tank could believe otherwise.
Brennan
1 in 3 Graduates Unprepared for Life!
Education.com has posted an alarming article about a new study released by the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, The Alliance for Excellent Education.
The study, entitled “Paying Double: Inadequate High School and Community College Remediation” found that almost one-third of community college freshman enroll in remedial courses. Also, 20% of freshmen in four-year colleges and universities do the same. The study concludes:
“They come to college without the basic skills required to succeed there. And high school students who go straight into the work force are just as unprepared.”
The study continues with an estimate of the cost of this remediation yearly – $3.7 billion – money spent by colleges for remediation and money spent by industry to compensate for worker deficiencies.
It seems that high school graduates haven’t learned basic writing skills, reading comprehension, communication, work ethic or critical thinking.
And college grads didn’t do so well in the study either.
“Not even a quarter (less than 1 in 4) were deemed “excellent in terms of overall preparation (for life & employment) – most were dubbed ‘adequate’ or less.”
These statistics are shockingly pathetic, but what is even sadder is that they only refer to graduates. What about the 28% to 75% (depending on area) of students who don’t even graduate from high school? Dropout rates are increasing and you know that these former students are not excelling!
It’s time for change! How much longer will we be willing to accept these pathetic results? Our country has no hope if we don’t have strong leaders in our future. Our education crisis has been labelled a “national security issue” by those in a position to know.
Read “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education” by Don Kingsland and learn how you can make a difference for the better. The Kingsland Plan is our best hope for making needed changes in our education system NATIONALLY.
Brennan
