Good news on the educational front?
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I don't regard David Brooks as an infallible authority, but this at least sounds very good. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&em[^]
John Carson
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I don't regard David Brooks as an infallible authority, but this at least sounds very good. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&em[^]
John Carson
Charter schools are a success in Indianapolis as well. Charter schools and voucher programs, the latter a huge success in Washington DC a system with a significant black majority. On the down side, the teacher's unions fight both approaches at every turn.
Mike - typical white guy. The USA does have universal healthcare, but you have to pay for it. D'oh. Thomas Mann - "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." The NYT - my leftist brochure. Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist”. God doesn't believe in atheists, therefore they don't exist.
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Charter schools are a success in Indianapolis as well. Charter schools and voucher programs, the latter a huge success in Washington DC a system with a significant black majority. On the down side, the teacher's unions fight both approaches at every turn.
Mike - typical white guy. The USA does have universal healthcare, but you have to pay for it. D'oh. Thomas Mann - "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." The NYT - my leftist brochure. Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist”. God doesn't believe in atheists, therefore they don't exist.
At the same time, Congress has just cut the funding for a very successful Charter school program in D.C. I lived in Massachusetts when the Republicans pushed through a charter school program. Some Democrats supported it as well, but the program was carefully limited to 50 schools, statewide (later upped to 65 , iirc). Schools received state funding for every student they had - said funding subtracted from the amount given to the local school boards to spend on busing, classroom security, principal's conventions in Atlantic City and other such educational necessities. The schools were required to accept anyone who applied, and if there were more applicants than open slots, then a lottery was held to determine which students were chosen. In spite of this, they were universally accused of cherry-picking and leaving the public schools with the rejects. Since students were required to pass the same profeiciency tests as the public school students and the charter school kids almost always did better, this was cited by local education-industry spokespeople as proof of the cherry-picking, not of better teaching methods or better ways of motivating the students. Obama-Junior, Governor Patrick has long opposed lifting the cap on the number of charter schools in Massachusetts, but since the prez and new education secretary are now behind the idea, he has proposed allowing new ones be chartered in school districts deemed to be "underperforming." If the people's republic of Mass is getting behind the idea, maybe, finally, at least some kids stand a chance of getting a decent education in this country.
Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin
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Charter schools are a success in Indianapolis as well. Charter schools and voucher programs, the latter a huge success in Washington DC a system with a significant black majority. On the down side, the teacher's unions fight both approaches at every turn.
Mike - typical white guy. The USA does have universal healthcare, but you have to pay for it. D'oh. Thomas Mann - "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." The NYT - my leftist brochure. Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist”. God doesn't believe in atheists, therefore they don't exist.
Mike Gaskey wrote:
Charter schools are a success in Indianapolis as well. Charter schools and voucher programs, the latter a huge success in Washington DC a system with a significant black majority.
I think the point of the story is that the level of success in this case was extraordinary, not that these things happen routinely with charter schools. But the more general point in favour of charter schools is that, when you allow for local initiatives, more approaches get tried and hence there is more chance that someone will hit on a successful formula.
John Carson
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Mike Gaskey wrote:
Charter schools are a success in Indianapolis as well. Charter schools and voucher programs, the latter a huge success in Washington DC a system with a significant black majority.
I think the point of the story is that the level of success in this case was extraordinary, not that these things happen routinely with charter schools. But the more general point in favour of charter schools is that, when you allow for local initiatives, more approaches get tried and hence there is more chance that someone will hit on a successful formula.
John Carson
John Carson wrote:
But the more general point in favour of charter schools is that, when you allow for local initiatives, more approaches get tried and hence there is more chance that someone will hit on a successful formula.
Yeah? And? You act like you just discovered the concept. The same thing is true of everything. It is what made this country great. It used to be applied everywhere in every sector of our society. Its now called conservatism, traditional American liberalism, Jeffersonianism. And it is absolutely wonderful as long as it stays local and does not become some kind of excuse to further empower the central collective.
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
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John Carson wrote:
But the more general point in favour of charter schools is that, when you allow for local initiatives, more approaches get tried and hence there is more chance that someone will hit on a successful formula.
Yeah? And? You act like you just discovered the concept. The same thing is true of everything. It is what made this country great. It used to be applied everywhere in every sector of our society. Its now called conservatism, traditional American liberalism, Jeffersonianism. And it is absolutely wonderful as long as it stays local and does not become some kind of excuse to further empower the central collective.
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
Stan Shannon wrote:
Yeah? And? You act like you just discovered the concept.
No, I was just graciously conceding a point to the other side. I am aware that it is a part of the standard defence of free markets. Conservatives aren't wrong about everything. There are some other things they are right about described in the article I linked to.
John Carson
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Stan Shannon wrote:
Yeah? And? You act like you just discovered the concept.
No, I was just graciously conceding a point to the other side. I am aware that it is a part of the standard defence of free markets. Conservatives aren't wrong about everything. There are some other things they are right about described in the article I linked to.
John Carson
John Carson wrote:
I was just graciously conceding a point to the other side.
Well, alrighty then... :~
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
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Stan Shannon wrote:
Yeah? And? You act like you just discovered the concept.
No, I was just graciously conceding a point to the other side. I am aware that it is a part of the standard defence of free markets. Conservatives aren't wrong about everything. There are some other things they are right about described in the article I linked to.
John Carson
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John Carson wrote:
No, I was just graciously conceding a point to the other side.
Is there an icon for that?
Ilíon wrote:
Is there an icon for that?
Now that was funny. :-D
John Carson
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Ilíon wrote:
Is there an icon for that?
Now that was funny. :-D
John Carson