Thursday, July 12, 2012
FACT: Republicans are the Borrow and Spend Party
That people think of Republicans as "conservative" or "fiscally responsible" is stark evidence of the abject failure of newspapers and the electronic media to do their jobs.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Schools vs. Education
I'm very interested in alternatives to traditional schooling such as this. The one bright spot on the horizon as our economy continues to contract is that we will, sooner or later, be forced to admit that we cannot maintain anything at all like our current schools system.
Why am I so eager to see the end of schools? It's not because I'm eager to dis-employ teachers, but because the factory school model is such an abysmal failure.
My most profound meta-memory -- as someone who was always at the top of any class taught on the standard regurgitation-of-instructor-presented-content model, which was all my schooling (K-12, plus 4 years undergraduate, 3 year MS degree, 3 year law degree) -- was that this form of school is a criminal waste of time in that it mainly exists to teach a secret curriculum of conformity and obedience in the guise of educating young people about "subjects," which are nothing but arbitrary categories imposed on knowledge for the convenience of pedagogues.
I once struggled to explain this problem to someone on a beautiful spring day in Oregon, which meant that there were at least three different weather systems visible in various parts of the sky, producing a lovely variety of different clouds in view. So I talked about how schools "teach" about clouds.
I said that what I remember of my "education" is that I would have been "taught" the proper scientific names of those clouds, and shown a picture of each one, and at some point been tested on my ability to match those cloud names to photos. And I would have been terrific at it. And completely ignorant.
That is, at no point would we have gone outside to look at clouds. At no point would there have been any discussion of what sorts of clouds one might expect to see during different times of the year, how they form, how they move, or whether they're the same all over, or whether different places have different kinds of clouds. We would never have made observations of clouds, or built histograms of clouds, or been encouraged to come up with better names that we could remember. We would never have been invited to think up some questions about clouds or, heaven forbid, develop ways to investigate our questions. For sure we would never have been asked to wonder how clouds affected us. Or whether they were a daytime thing, or if they were present at night (and how could we find out?)
Nope. The only thing that would matter, the hallmark of learning, was being able to match the damn latin names with the standard textbook photos. In nearly every subject, year after pointless year, my "education" consisted of being taught an empty vocabulary completely devoid of actual content. Because my brain happens to be really good at thinking symbolically and in catching and manipulating words, I'm an educational superstar, always with a great GPA. And knowing just about nothing useful from all that time wasted "getting an education." Meanwhile, people much smarter than I, people whose minds insisted on having tangible content to match with the words, were labeled as "slow" or even "learning disabled" because they hadn't figured out that understanding didn't matter, school is just a word game.
This is why the move towards even greater standardized testing is so profoundly evil. Ramping up the emphasis on standardization and competition (rankings/grading) in schools is only aggravating the worst of what makes our schools so dismal now. ADDENDUM: as so often happens, the cartoonist says in a few frames what I bury in a cloud of words: http://xkcd.com/803/. Most of my teachers oscillated between the lower two responses. And that was well before standardized tests ruled the earth.
Why am I so eager to see the end of schools? It's not because I'm eager to dis-employ teachers, but because the factory school model is such an abysmal failure.
My most profound meta-memory -- as someone who was always at the top of any class taught on the standard regurgitation-of-instructor-presented-content model, which was all my schooling (K-12, plus 4 years undergraduate, 3 year MS degree, 3 year law degree) -- was that this form of school is a criminal waste of time in that it mainly exists to teach a secret curriculum of conformity and obedience in the guise of educating young people about "subjects," which are nothing but arbitrary categories imposed on knowledge for the convenience of pedagogues.
I once struggled to explain this problem to someone on a beautiful spring day in Oregon, which meant that there were at least three different weather systems visible in various parts of the sky, producing a lovely variety of different clouds in view. So I talked about how schools "teach" about clouds.
I said that what I remember of my "education" is that I would have been "taught" the proper scientific names of those clouds, and shown a picture of each one, and at some point been tested on my ability to match those cloud names to photos. And I would have been terrific at it. And completely ignorant.
That is, at no point would we have gone outside to look at clouds. At no point would there have been any discussion of what sorts of clouds one might expect to see during different times of the year, how they form, how they move, or whether they're the same all over, or whether different places have different kinds of clouds. We would never have made observations of clouds, or built histograms of clouds, or been encouraged to come up with better names that we could remember. We would never have been invited to think up some questions about clouds or, heaven forbid, develop ways to investigate our questions. For sure we would never have been asked to wonder how clouds affected us. Or whether they were a daytime thing, or if they were present at night (and how could we find out?)
Nope. The only thing that would matter, the hallmark of learning, was being able to match the damn latin names with the standard textbook photos. In nearly every subject, year after pointless year, my "education" consisted of being taught an empty vocabulary completely devoid of actual content. Because my brain happens to be really good at thinking symbolically and in catching and manipulating words, I'm an educational superstar, always with a great GPA. And knowing just about nothing useful from all that time wasted "getting an education." Meanwhile, people much smarter than I, people whose minds insisted on having tangible content to match with the words, were labeled as "slow" or even "learning disabled" because they hadn't figured out that understanding didn't matter, school is just a word game.
This is why the move towards even greater standardized testing is so profoundly evil. Ramping up the emphasis on standardization and competition (rankings/grading) in schools is only aggravating the worst of what makes our schools so dismal now. ADDENDUM: as so often happens, the cartoonist says in a few frames what I bury in a cloud of words: http://xkcd.com/803/. Most of my teachers oscillated between the lower two responses. And that was well before standardized tests ruled the earth.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Study Says Induced Traffic Effect Too Often Ignored | Planetizen
Ever wonder why Salem plans to "solve" traffic problems by creating more inducements for more traffic? How about because we always have.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
How a school district blows $172,000 over Wi-Fi “hazards”
Fear is the mind-killer. With so many very real threats to our well-being today, it's sad and scary that people obsess over phony threats like this -- and force others to respond to their delusions.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
More great stuff at Marion-Polk Food Share: Food Preservation and Community Cooking Classes
Upcoming Food Preservation Classes from OSU Extension Services
2012 FOOD PRESERVATION CLASSES
in the Mid-Willamette Valley
All classes begin at 6:00 PM. Pre-registration is required; space is limited.
Cost: $10.00 per session. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Contact debra.driscoll@oregonstate.edu or tonya.johnson@oregonstate.edu
Kids in the Kitchen – Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue,
Waste Not, Want Not
2012 FOOD PRESERVATION CLASSES
in the Mid-Willamette Valley
All classes begin at 6:00 PM. Pre-registration is required; space is limited.
Cost: $10.00 per session. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Contact debra.driscoll@oregonstate.edu or tonya.johnson@oregonstate.edu
- Tuesday, August 14 - Preserving Tomatoes and Salsa
- Tuesday, September 18 - Pressure Canning
Community Kitchen Classes
Magic Marinara – Tuesday, July 10, 5:30-7:00 p.m., $10
Instructor Dawn Manke has a magnificent recipe that she describes as “so simple and versatile it’s genius!” Roasting seasonal vegetables right out of the garden, she will teach you to create some frugal and healthy variations on a basic marinara that is equally at home as a sauce for pasta or as a basis for chili or a yummy salsa verde. Class will include a light supper.
Register through Friday, July 6 by calling Kat Daniel at Marion-Polk Food Share, 503-581-3855 extension 322. Class limit: 10.
Kids in the Kitchen – Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue,
Tuesday, July 17, 4:30-5:30 p.m., FREE
Join OSU Extension Summer Intern Amy Comer to learn to make some red, white, and blue food that is both fun and good for you! Bring your mom or dad to the Community Kitchen to help you create a fruit flag, Patriotic Parfait, and Cranberry/Blueberry muffins. Class size is limited to 10 children plus their parent helpers.
Register by calling Kat Daniel at Marion-Polk Food Share, 503-581-3855 extension 322, no later than Friday, July 13.
Waste Not, Want Not
Wednesday, July 25, 5:30-7:00 p.m., $10
Tim Branaman presents a healthy way to stretch vegetable “scraps” into a delicious Portuguese vegetable (vegan) soup that you can stretch even further with the addition of staples from your kitchen. Join Tim for a step-by-step demo and then a light supper of soup and quinoa salad: a nice boost of protein after your busy day.
Register by calling Kat Daniel at Marion-Polk Food Share, 503-581-3855 extension 322, no later than Friday, July 20. Class limit: 10
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A Sustainable Idea: Create State-owned Banks | Energy Bulletin
Enough hot air, Ted & the Lege! Let's do it.
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