The discipline fix

August 9, 2016

Two sets of school systems.

A tepid 20% of the students in System One are able to pass their state’s math tests.

A robust 95% of the students in System Two are able to pass the same tests.

Which system works best? It is self-evident: System Two.

Which system does Hillary Clinton support? System One.

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Why you should be frightened

August 9, 2016

Democrats view Trump as Hitler. Republicans view Hillary as Satan.

Nuance is lacking in this crass age. So is an educated citizenry, as you can see in the video above.

Students at Texas Tech University were asked three questions by a roving interviewer:

Who won the Civil War.
Who is the Vice President of the United States.
From whom did we gain our independence from?
Almost none knew the answers to any of these basic questions. It is fair to claim that I cannot imagine any member of the Baby Boom Generation, of which I am a member, not knowing the answers to any of these questions … from sixth grade on.

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Candidate Parade

August 5, 2016

This presidential campaign reminds me of “Easter Parade” in a perverse way.

“East Parade” was the hit 1948 movie starring the great Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. The plot is straight forward: Fred Astaire has a dancing partner who leaves the act to go solo. They also had a romantic relationship, so Fred is feeling doubly rejected. To get back at her, he boasts that he could pull any girl off of the chorus line and turn her into a star with his sheer star power.

The girl he pulls out of the chorus line is none other than Judy Garland. The duo sputters at first because Fred isn’t letting Judy be Judy. He tries to force her to fit the mold of his previous partner.

However, once he lets Judy be Judy, the act gels and they make it big…

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