Like many other twentysomethings, I was watching the Daily Show the other night to see what news Jon Stewart and his crew were mocking/making sense of, and the middle segment hit a little close to home. Obviously, this is meant to be a goof. Education is a wonderful thing, and encouraging people not to go […]
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American business: powered by Stupid®
Part one of a series. Phil Rizzuto: “Hey Yogi I think we’re lost.” Yogi Berra: “Yeah, but we’re making great time!” You know how certain segments of society think that governments and universities and public school systems ought to be “run like businesses”? And how those same people bitch at length about how messed up […]
Why bad school rankings hurt our children (or, are you listening, US News Best High Schools Rankings?)
by J. Stephen O’Brien The annual US News rankings of US high schools is out today. Here are the assessments of two high schools in two states. High School #1 Reading proficiency score: 3.4 Math proficiency score: 3.1 Students proficient in reading: 92% Students proficient in math: 92% High School #2 Reading proficiency score: 2.9 […]
If Chip Kelly was a student-athlete, he’d be out of a job
Sigh, if there’s a greater hypocrisy in America than the college sports megapoly, it’s hard to know what it is. Whether it’s the fiction that great athletic ability means you have the ability to succeed in college or that tuition is fair payment for starring in a multi-billion dollar enterprise and risking a career ending […]
Teaching underclass kids which fork to use
I recently came across a useful article over at Ragan’s PR Daily entitled “What to wear to work in the PR and marketing industry.” After reading through it, my first reaction was that it was mistitled – what it offers is good advice for what to wear to work in just about any industry. From where […]
Guns, knives, pit bulls and the new Gallup poll
This morning I walked past a man about my age, sixty, who was wearing camouflage and a fatigue-style cap. He had two Bowie knives on his belt and was walking a ferocious-looking pit bull that had to weigh eighty pounds. My immediate thought was, “Who’s this guy and what’s he afraid of?” Who knows? Maybe […]
ArtSunday: a poet says goodbye to poetry
I wrote my first poem when I was a senior at Ledford High School in Wallburg, NC. It was called “Octoberfaust,” and while it wasn’t a terribly good poem, it wasn’t bad for a 17 year-old having his first crack at something brand new. My English teacher, a guy named Jim Booth, whom S&R readers […]
Generation Poor: Gen X and Millennials losing ground…
This month, the Urban Institute put out a study called “Lost Generations? Wealth Building Among Young Americans.” In the report, the Institute confirmed what most of Gen X and Gen Y already knew: we’re poor. “Today, those in Gen X and Gen Y have accumulated less wealth than their parents did at that age 25 […]
Pew study: Newspapers’ hard times continue
Shocked! Shocked we should be! But the latest report on the State of the Media by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism comes as no surprise. The bottom line: Fewer resources equals compromised journalism. From a PEJ press release summarizing the 2013 report‘s overview: The report pinpoints multiple signs of shrinking reporting […]
Education: we’re here, we’re online, get used to it…
A recent article at Raw Story (RS) contained the alarmist headline, “Research shows everyone does worse with online learning.” The article goes on to cite a new study by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University that states uncategorically, at least according to RS, “students tended to perform worse academically in online classes — […]
Paterno empire strikes back
Now this: Sue Paterno, the widow of late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, has emailed a letter to hundreds of former Nittany Lions players informing them that a report, commissioned by the family in response to the Freeh report that followed the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, will be released Sunday. The Freeh […]
Messiahs and scapegoats and taboos, oh my…
I am behind on reporting on my reading list for 2013 - for that, I apologize, but what that does mean is that you’ll see at least two andprobably three new blog posts this week as I catch you up on my experience with the books on my list. First up is the anthropologist Marvin Harris‘s classic explanation of our […]
The new transparency: Newspapers mine public data, and not everyone’s happy about it
Better get used to it, people. As governments increasingly place public information online, news organizations are going to demand access to it and print it — but not always with appropriate context. That must change. Among the leaders of the data-mining charge appears to be media conglomerate Gannett Co. Inc., owner of 82 U.S. daily […]
Uganda Journal: The Bethlehem School
Our van stops a few yards outside the gate, and our driver, Herman, tells us it’s okay to get out. In front of us, a hundred schoolchildren have gathered to greet us. They sing and jump and clap in rhythm. At the lead are two teenage girls with shaved heads and with lions’ manes tied […]
A teacher’s video resignation letter
I saw this on Facebook today and thought it might be something that others would want to consider. If all the teachers enduring these problems quit, how much trouble will we be in?
An open letter to former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney: STFU
On Sunday, the University of Colorado fired head football coach Jon Embree after two seasons. Reaction has been mixed and at times heated. Some point to the results, noting not only the 4-21 record but also suggesting that the program was actually regressing. Others argued that Embree inherited a dumpster fire from previous coach Dan […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- Profiling the Tea Party: In defense of the IRS. Sorta. Or not.
- Saturday Video Roundup: “Imagine the Band,” by John Lennon and Wings
- The Rest is Noise (6)—Descent into the Maelstrom
- I hate handguns, but I have still considered owning one
- Redneck jokes are racist
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Samuel Smith: One more thing. Re: Organizing for Action and othe…
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wufnik: I tend to agree. There are a couple of other thing…
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Jim Booth: May be much to what you say, here, Wuf. Think abou…
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Frank Dilatush: Interesting Sam, I thought I spoke _directly_ to t…
