Full day kindergarten
This is an idea that is long past-due. I wish my daughter, now nine, had been able to take part in a full day of kindergarten. Before we moved, my sons had attended catholic school that offered full day, and they thrived beautifully! I realize not every student may be ready for a full day, which is why I would encourage those families to hold their children back a year, especially if they are four years old when school starts. But why halt a program for that reason? Mandating full day does offer choice - either send your kids, hold them back a year, or teach them at home. I suspect many working families will delight in this change, as it affords them the savings of daycare after school. And with today's stepped-up curriculums in secondary education, this kind of move forward is essential in getting our kids prepared. Lets stop babying our children and recognize that the resiliency of children is only held back by hesitant and over-bearing parents.
Full Time Kindergarten
I don't like the idea of full time kindergarten at all. Also, what schools and the state also fail to mention to parents is that kindergarten is NOT mandatory for children to attend. You can opt out of it, teach your child at home--whatever you choose. I'm not implying that this is the best route to take, but if kindergarten becomes mandatory full-day, I will definitely consider keeping my twins at home with me a bit longer and teaching them there. I have the benefit of being a certified teacher on leave--but the experience I have with small children convinces me that all day school is too much for children only 4 or 5 years old.
Don't lower the dring age
There are lies, damn lies, and there are statistics.
For far too long, people have claimed that the increase in drinking age has saved lives. I don't see the evidence. Mortality from 18 to 21 hasn't changed much in 25 years, whether on the roads or as a composite. If a control factor has changed (such as drinking age) but the actual death rate hasn't changed much, then there are two possible thoughts - either the control factor is not significant (not really saving lives), or there are other new root causes for deaths in this age group. Either way unless the overall accidental/overdose/death by misadventure rate decreases, the claim that lives have been saved through this ban is ridiculous.
Personally, I believe the alcohol ban only pushes kids into more house parties, where harder drugs are more available and easier to take.
Remember this issue is separate to Drinking and Driving - and should be treated as such...
Kindergarten_quandary
Kindergarten is VERY different today than it was even 20 years ago. When I was a child, children were home with their mothers until they were sent to kindergarten and therefore, it was a HUGE adjustment going to school with other kids for even half a day. Today, most children have spent a significant amount of time in day care/preschool (many since birth) and are therefore "socialized" to the longer school day and what it encompases already.
With so many working parents, this is a must for most families. Who can leave work in the middle of the day to pick up kindergarterners and take them to daycare? Besides, as a former substitute teacher, I can tell you they are being taught subjects that we weren't taught until much, much later in school! They NEED this extra half-day just to stay current with other children in more advanced school systems.
Make them listen: Organize!
Calloway, and the rest of the Central Office Administrators she has put in place should listen to parents and others who have good ideas...they think because they can quote a regulation that somehow parents are hoodwinked into a stupor!
Parents need to organize and demamd better results: For example, NCLB requires that any school on a failing list for three years must set aside a percentage of their per pupil allocation (8,000 per child) to hire tutors...tutors do not have to have a teaching certificate-but they should be adept in their subjects; honor students, substitute teachers with Masters Degrees, Students who are honor roll students in college...
But what happens as a way to control the new-comers coming in with fresh ideas and energy that could expose a lethargic model---they opt to only give tutoring contracts to people who are friends to the Princpals---in the main!
I will help any parent who wants to help improve any school.
I am running for Detroit City Council in 2009 and pride myself on thinking creatively and being proud of Detroit enough to help come up with solutions to make us more competitive! I have given ideas on how to improve the schools and have never once received any letter of acknowledgement of my ideas-not so much as a ... thank you for your input! So, I know they are not listening to parents!
I can be reached at maketheworldabetterplace@hotmail.com
School meal costs up
OH PLEASE. PEOPLE are complaing about lunch cost. These prices listed are very cheap. What does everyone pay for lunch these days at work. I can spend anywhere from $5 to $8 dollars on lunch when I don't take a lunch. I know my child will be bringing her lunch daily unless we notice a hot lunch or breakfeast she really would like. There are reduced lunch programs out there if needed. YES times are tough but with proper money management everything can work out.
School meals costs up
Here is the "Standing on my left foot" synopsis: Your politicians told you all about how wonderful a "Global Economy" would be. Your politicians hid from you the FACT that a "Global Economy" means "Global WAGES". ------ You, your children, will be working for the same wages, enjoying the same "standard of living", as Chinese laborers. Oh, you/they may be making $1000 an hour, but a loaf of bread will cost $900. Your politicians, on the other hand, will vote themselves wage and benefit packages to match the Chinese Imperial Court's "standard of living".
School meal costs up
You cannot cure the disease by focusing on the symptoms. While this is long, it explains the disease.---------- Dollar Crisis and the Reversal of Globalization, by Shobhit Mathur
The year 2008 has been declared by the United Nations as "International Year of Planet Earth." The official website (http://www.yearofplanetearth.org/) states: "The International Year of Planet Earth aims to capture people's imagination with the exciting knowledge we possess about our planet, and to see that this knowledge is used to make the Earth a safer, healthier, and wealthier place for our children and grandchildren." Having an interest in economics and geo-politics, I felt it is an apt time to summarize the current world situation in regards to economy, the lessons we can learn from the economic policies followed in the past, and what possibly lies in store for us in the near future. The United States of America takes a central focus in this article, because of its current economic and political strength and its influence on world politics.
The Rise of the U.S. Dollar
During the early years of the 20th century, the United States underwent rapid industrialization. The discovery of a cheap domestic oil supply and the commercial production of the newly invented automobile hastened this process. The industrialization of the U.S. naturally translated into the strength of the U.S. dollar. The "gunboat diplomacy" of the late 19th century transformed into "dollar diplomacy" in the early 20th century. Dollars replaced bullets as the means of warfare.
The dollar's influence got a further boost after World War II. The two world wars had economically exhausted the European countries, while the United States was spared the destruction. The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement solidified the dollar as the preeminent world reserve currency, replacing the British pound. Each dollar was backed by 1/35th an ounce of gold. However, the prolonged Vietnam war, the Great Society program of President Johnson, and the Cold war were emptying the U.S. coffers of gold. To save the country's gold, President Nixon removed the gold backing of the U.S. dollar in 1971. This was a setback to the dollar. However, U.S. authorities were quick to react and struck an agreement with OPEC to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions. In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. In essence, the dollar was now backed by oil instead of gold. The dollars earned by the oil exporting countries were named Petrodollars. This arrangement gave the dollar a fresh breath of life and resulted in tremendous financial benefits for the United States. Oil is the world's life blood. Demand for oil translates into demand for dollars. Being the issuer of the world's reserve currency has since put the U.S. in a position of tremendous economic and political strength.
The late 20th century saw the rise of "globalization." From an economic standpoint, globalization refers to the emergence of a single "world market." However, in this global marketplace, the U.S. has enjoyed a special status because it issues the only instrument of transaction, i.e. the U.S. dollar. While the rest of the world produced goods and services, the U.S. had the privilege of consuming them by merely printing more dollars.
Where we stand today?
In the short run, the issuer of a fiat reserve currency can accrue great economic benefits. As long as foreign countries take U.S. dollars in return for real goods, the U.S. comes out ahead. But following this policy for too long has lead to a loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to overseas markets. Hence, the U.S. has now become more dependent on others and less self-sufficient. It is an unbelievable benefit to import valuable goods and export depreciating dollars. The exporting countries have become addicted to U.S. consumption for their economic growth. This dependency makes them allies in continuing the fraud, and their participation keeps the dollar's value artificially high. If this system were workable long term, American citizens would never have to work again. They too could enjoy "bread and circuses" just as the Romans did, but the Roman gold finally ran out and the inability of Rome to continue to plunder conquered nations brought an end to the empire.
What lies ahead?
One of the most significant effects of globalization in the U.S. was the rise of the consumerist culture. This scary culture is catching up in other parts of the world. However, this is unsustainable. For instance, the U.S. consumes 25% of the world's oil while it houses only 5% of the world's population. If the appetite for resources of the rest of the world were to match that of the U.S., Mother Nature would not have enough to offer. Clearly, there would be a gap between supply and demand, leading to price inflation. With the rise in consumption of the developing world, we are already seeing the preliminary effects. Prices of commodities, especially food and energy, have skyrocketed in the past few years.
Moreover, as the U.S. dollar loses value, the goods in the international market become more expensive for U.S. citizens. The enviable strength of the U.S. dollar has allowed U.S. citizens to live beyond their means for the past 30 years. With its value eroding, they will now have to adapt to live beneath their means. They need to revive their savings and retire their debt. In essence, the process of globalization is reversing. Earlier it was very cheap to design a computer in the U.S., get the parts from Korea, assemble them in China, ship them to Long Beach, CA, and then transport them by road to rest of America. With rising fuel costs and depreciating dollars, foreign goods and services have become more expensive. To enjoy these goods in the future, American citizens would have no option, other than to go back to their factories and farms and be willing to work for wages that are competitive in the world market.
Rise of Asia
Economics teaches us that for every credit there is an equivalent amount of debit. During the past 40 years, while the U.S. has run up huge deficits, the developing world has accumulated huge savings. The developing world has also built a strong manufacturing base in the process. Today acronyms such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), which refer to the emerging markets, have become common. The rise of Asia as the next economic superpower is gaining acceptance each day. However, not everything is rosy on the side of the developing markets either. The majority of the population continues to live under the poverty level and has been negatively affected by the economic boom of the West. While the cash-strapped U.S. consumer consumes less each day, the emerging economies are now tapping their local markets. The grand experiment of globalization was unsustainable and was bound to fail. As this process reverses, the largest consumer base lies at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP). This population is the largest (4 billion) but also the poorest (lives on less than $2 per day). It was left behind in the process of globalization. Several journals and books have written on how this market can be tapped. These include The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid - Eradicating Poverty through Profits by C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan and Capitalism at the Crossroads - Aligning business, Earth and Humanity by Stuart Hart of Cornell University and Al Gore. The Nobel Peace Prize of 2006 was awarded to Mohammed Yunus, for his successful implementation of microcredit--extending small loans to entrepreneurs who are not considered bankable. There are several other successful initiatives which the readers are encouraged to explore.
Conclusion
From 1970 to today, the population of the world has more than doubled from 3 billion to 6.5 billion. In 1970, China and India had no global footprint, today they house 40% of the world's population and are growing their economies by 10% each year. The world is adding 250,000 new people each day. Each of these people would have to learn from the mistakes of the past and develop a sustainable society. Plundering the world's resources in consumerist frenzy is not sustainable anymore. Nation building begins with sacrifice. Sacrifice in economic terms means saving for future consumption. The coming years will teach us exactly that, the hard way.
Shobhit Mathur is a software engineer at Amazon.com, Seattle. He can be reached at shobhit.mathur@gmail.com. Shobhit keenly follows economics and geo-politics. He maintains a blog of interesting articles at http://shobhitmathur.wordpress.com.
School lunch prices
I can't believe the woman quoted in this article complaining about the high cost of a bag lunch for her kids.
The article says the average school lunch provided by the school costs $3 a day.
I absolutely guarantee I can make a healthy lunch for my kid every day for $1 or less.
It boggles my mind that people today think the only way to buy food is if it is in a box or bag with colorful packaging.
A healthy sandwich on whole wheat bread, a handful of snacking veggies (carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, etc) and something sweet like a piece of fruit or even a fruit rollup is going to cost a $1 or less. $2 max. If it doesn't, someone doesn't know how to shop. You can get it even lower if you grow your own veggies which can be done just about anywhere, even an apartment balcony.
If all you do is go to Kroger and buy whatever red/yellow/blue/green box or bag is in front of your face then yes, bagged lunches can be expensive. But if you show a little ingenuity and take your kids' health (and your own) seriously you can easily give a kid a bagged lunch for under $2.
Anyone who can't is just lazy, plain and simple, as in too lazy to google "bag lunches under $1" or something similar.
drinkingage0823
The 21 year old drinking age is wrong. Any statistics used in its justification are flawed. The truth is that people under 21 drink. The law does not stop them. What the law provides is an opportunity for revenue collection by law enforcement. Kids have been breaking the law and drinking under age since a legal drinking age was enacted. The fascists are enraged despite their best efforts people do what they want. People lets wise up here making criminals of people under 21 who drink is just spiteful . The law is wrong repeal it
drinkingage0823
There are states and countries for example Canada in Europe where the drinking age is ,has been 18 all along,so the ones who want to keep it at 18 should see to it raising the legal,voting,driving and military enlisting age to 21.It is asinine
that one can become a combat casualty but was unable to enjoy a beer in his home state.
Self Fullfilling Prophesy: Expect and Inspect
To Dr. Arthur Carter, Care of, J.J. McCorvey,
I was a teacher at Highland Park High School just two years ago and I was able to reach students that others had given up on in society-rather family members or educators! I had students come up to me on the bus and say Mr. Foster, we were learning when you were our teacher!
But some administrators liked to play games! They took a person with a 3.5 in his major of History with a minor in Government or Political Science and replaced me with a man who had a BA degree in Criminal Justice!
Now, for those who are not up on the State curriculum-Criminal Justice is not a Teachable Subject!
I was giving my students quizzes every Friday (assessments)...I had my students doing seat work and reading....I even issued text books (Instructional Planning)....
I do not have a license, but I was in a Licensure program..I just decided not to student teach--and because of regulatory trammels, if you do not student teach you cannot get a license-even if your GPA is higher than most teachers in your subject with a license???
I would be willing to go back to Highland Park, as a Building Substitute with my own class if I got a call from the Superintendent personally by email or by phone: I would have HP H.S. competing in Social Studies competition with the suburbs and winning! See, would expect us to and to ensure we did I would inspect the progress continually!
As Dr. David Barry taught me at the Universit of Micghian-Dearborn who is currently the Principal at Walled Lake Central High School, one of Americas top 1000 high schools out of about 10,000 high schools in the country or top ten school--nationally: You have to inspect what you expect!
Dr. Carter I can be reached at:
313.629.3923
MakeTheWorldABetterPlace@hotmail.com
Utica Schools Teachers Contract
They are trying to completly take away teachers healthcare. They are giving them everything now and are going to take them all away at once? That is not right or fair. Teachers get sick from students, they need good health care. I am completly behind you teachers.
-Graduate of the Class of 2007
drinkingage0823
Very simply.
An emotional part of me says that an 18 year old might not know how to handle it and we should protect them.
However,
The logical side of things is simple.
At 18 you can vote, you can go to war, get married, enter contracts, the list goes on. In other words, you are an adult in the eyes of the state. I see no reason that this choice should be any different. There are laws on the books to deal with drunk driving and drunken behavior in public. Enforce them in the same way you would others.
So, either raise the voting age and contract age, etc to 21 and make them children or reduce the drinking age to 18 and give them one of the last rights and responsibilities afforded adults.
Don't shove your beliefs down logical thinking people's throats.
sp ed +
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