ANGELA DAVIS

Memories.  UCLA glorifies the memory of Angela Davis, an American communist from the 1960s and 1970s!  It brought back memories of her being hosted in Prague by Communist Czechoslovakia in the early seventies.  A friend told me how astounded a Czech limo driver was at her naivete about how wonderful things were in Communist Czechoslovakia when the average person was struggling to make it under Communism. Most Czechs living under Communism preferred what America had under Capitalism.  She never experienced their lives, but only saw what the elite wanted her to see and experience.

For those who can’t identify her, the photo depicts Angela Davis, the notorious former Communist Party USA leader who, beginning in the ’60s, molded together black nationalism with Marxism-Leninism. She created a heady brew for recruiting new cadre into the CP and the original Black Panther Party of Huey Newton.

Some optimist! Davis believed in the triumph of Communism.

For her loyalty to the Soviet Union and its foreign policies, in 1972 she was awarded a Lenin Centenary Medal in the Soviet Union, after which she spoke to thousands at an outdoor rally in Moscow. Next, speaking at a factory in Kirov, Davis praised the workers for not using “products of labor [to fuel] the irrational drive for capitalist profits as it is used in our country.”

INFORMATION VOTERS

According to Pew Research, Republican voters are more informed than Democrat voters.

Out of 12 questions asked, Republicans outperformed both Democrats and Independents on 10. The differences were most pronounced on the questions regarding Common Core, fracking and where Shiites outnumber Sunnis, where the percentage of Republicans answering correctly outpaced Democrats by double digits. But Republicans also outperformed Democrats on questions centering on the federal minimum wage and the Fed Chairwoman, even though she's a Democrat appointed by Obama, while the minimum wage is Democrats' favorite wedge issue this election year to try to keep Harry Reid (D - Nevada) as the Senate Majority Leader.

Democrats only outscored Republicans in naming the primary Ebola outbreak location and the federal poverty rate, but only by 2 and 5 percentage points, respectively.

LIBERAL BIAS IN ACADEMIA

Peer review can be manipulated to show a study proving something or an author has done great research.

How reliable is academic research? Not very, it seems, after noting that the Journal of Vibration and Control, a reputable academic publication, had to retract 60 different papers over the summer.

But it’s not just the clubbiness of academia that is to blame. There is such ideological uniformity in the ivory tower that no one ever questions the important assumptions behind anyone else’s research.

AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION

From the CATO Institute.  Terrible, but taxpayers and the educational establishment seem to be aware or care.

CHANGES IN COLLEGE BOARD AMERICAN HISTORY AP TEST

From National Review:  "How the College Board Politicized U.S. History."

The College Board, the private company that produces the SAT test and the various Advanced Placement (AP) exams, has kicked off a national controversy by issuing a new and unprecedentedly detailed “Framework” for its AP U.S. History exam. This Framework will effectively force American high schools to teach U.S. history from a leftist perspective. The College Board disclaims political intent, insisting that the new Framework provides a “balanced” guide that merely helps to streamline the AP U.S. History course while enhancing teacher flexibility. Not only the Framework itself, but the history of its development suggests that a balanced presentation of the American story was not the College Board’s goal.

The origins of the new AP U.S. History framework are closely tied to a movement of left-leaning historians that aims to “internationalize” the teaching of American history. The goal is to “end American history as we have known it” by substituting a more “transnational” narrative for the traditional account.

This movement’s goals are clearly political, and include the promotion of an American foreign policy that eschews the unilateral use of force. The movement to “internationalize” the U.S. History curriculum also seeks to produce a generation of Americans more amendable to working through the United Nations and various left-leaning “non-governmental organizations” (NGOs) on issues like the environment and nuclear proliferation. A willingness to use foreign law to interpret the U.S. Constitution is likewise encouraged.

The College Board formed a close alliance with this movement to internationalize the teaching of American history just prior to initiating its redesign of the AP U.S. History exam. Key figures in that alliance are now in charge of the AP U.S. History redesign process, including the committee charged with writing the new AP U.S. History exam. The new AP U.S. History Framework clearly shows the imprint of the movement to de-nationalize American history. Before I trace the rise of this movement and its ties to the College Board, let’s have a closer look at its goals.

The article goes on to discuss the political views of the writers of the curriculum who are clearly leftists.  

US EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM MEDIOCRE

The 2012 OECD student assessment results. Considering all of the money the US spends on education, public education is failing miserably.  In some cases Third World countries are doing as well as the United States is.  Slovakia spends almost 3 times less than the United States on each student and does as well on the assessments.

From The Atlantic.  Nevertheless, this year’s report—and the United States’ poor math results—may be worth paying attention to for at least one reason. A2011 study found that PISA scores are an economic indicator: rising scores are a good sign that a country’s economy will grow as well.

AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT LOOKS AT AMERICA

A student from India describes his observations of life in America.  He discusses how university life is different but also notes how "equal" everyone appears to be in society. . .except that poor people seem to be fat while rich people seem to be slim!

FAILURE OF US HIGH SCHOOLS

From CNBC. The big headline of the week everyone is missing.  I am afraid the American public continues to live in la-la land with regard to the quality of public education.  But I think some of this blame also rests on our culture which affirms irresponsibility and prolonged immaturity.

It was this one: "Three-quarters of high school grads are failing".

That's right. According to ACT, one of the big college testing companies, only a quarter of this year's high school grads have the combined reading, math, English and science skills necessary to succeed in college or a career.

CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF GEOGRAPHY

Using President Obama's geographic references, Victor Davis Hanson, points out the ignorance Americans have of basic geography.

Even our best and brightest — or rather our elites especially — are not too familiar with history or geography.

Both disciplines are the building blocks of learning. Without awareness of natural and human geography, we are reduced to a self-contained void without accurate awareness of the space around us. An ignorance of history creates the same sort of self-imposed exile, leaving us ignorant of both what came before us and what is likely to follow.

AP WORLD HISTORY TEXTBOOK

A world history textbook used by the Advanced Placement Program contains one chapter on Islam and barely mentions Christianity and Judaism.  And I presume it does not deal with Hinduism or Buddhism to the extent they deserve either.

“If you don’t see it from the eyes of a parent, kids are going to take this book as gospel and believe that Christians and Jews were murderous barbarians and thank God the Muslims came along and the world is great,” he said.

For example, Workman said a reference to Mohammed and his armies taking over Medina states, “people happily accepted Islam as their way of life.”

COLLEGE DEGREES vs. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Students in China and India are finding the jobs are not in fields with requiring university degrees, but in positions that would be considered more vocational.  And college degrees don't always qualify a person for work.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE

From the Daily Beast.  A discussion of student debt and how it has a bigger impact at third and fourth tier institutions.  Online will not be the savior of weakening institutions. 

The colleges with the most to conceal tend to be expensive 2nd- and 3rd-tier private institutions. For instance, 85 percent of students from Ohio Northern graduated with debt averaging almost $49,000, while the median starting salary for graduates is just $44,800. Compare these figures with the statistics for Princeton, where the average debt is $5,225 for the 23 percent of graduates with any debt, while the median starting salary is $56,900.

Adjuncts anxious about job security have realized that giving higher grades improves their student evaluations, which often determine whether they remain employed. The “resortification” of colleges also encourages students to view themselves as customers, and instructors as retail workers employed to serve them. The A is now the most common grade on college campuses nationwide; it accounts for roughly 43 percents of all grades given. Meanwhile, results of the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a test used by more than 500 colleges to measure academic progress, reveal that 36 percent of students make absolutely no improvement in writing, complex reasoning, or critical thinking during four years of college.

NEW YORK SCHOOL BOARD & HOMOSEXUALITY

Girls asked to give lesbian kiss at school lesson.

VIOLENCE OF CHICAGO TEACHER'S UNION

Footage.  It is interesting to see the role played by socialists in the march. 

BANNING THE "EASTER" BUNNY

Diversity is great for everyone except if you are a Christian.

Heritage Elementary School in Madison, Alabama is taking the word “Easter” out of Easter, according to WHNT19 News.

What does that mean?  Well, they’ll still tolerate someone dressed as a giant bunny, but it will no longer be called the “Easter bunny.”  Similarly, “Easter eggs” are just “eggs,” and it might be better just to use “different shapes.”

STOMPING ON JESUS

Students were expected to stomp on a picture of Jesus as part of an in-class assignment at Florida Atlantic University.  One student who refused to do it is being "punished" for refusing to do the assignment.

Florida Atlantic University as secular seminary. Dennis Praeger:

Question: What is the difference between Christian seminaries and American universities?
 
Answer: Christian seminaries announce that their purpose is to produce committed Christians. American universities do not admit that their primary purpose is to produce committed leftists. They claim that their purpose is to open students’ minds.

4/10/2013 A group of students and faculty are demonstrating to support the professor's right to have this kind of activity.

FIX THE FAMILY OR FIX EDUCATION?

Obama recently gave a speech wanting to extend pre-kindergarten programs, but USA Today asks, "Why not fix the family instead?"  It is strong, stable families that motivate kids, not programs.

MORALE OF TEACHERS

It hits a 25 year low.

Only 39 percent of teachers described themselves as very satisfied with their jobs on the latest survey. That's a 23-percentage point plummet since 2008, and a drop of five percentage points just over the past year. Factors contributing to lower job satisfaction included working in schools where the budgets, opportunities for professional development, and time for collaboration with colleagues have all been sent to the chopping block.

Stress levels are also up, with half of all teachers describing themselves as under great stress several days per week, compared with a third of teachers in 1985.

GRADE INFLATION & HIGHER EDUCATION

The impact of grade inflation in higher education is a sore point at many universities.

It was my second recommendation that sparked doubts. I argued that, “to increase transparency and accountability further, the Legislature should require all universities to include on transcripts not only the grade the student received for each class, but also the overall average grade for the class. This would tell prospective employers whether or not a given student’s high grade-point average was the product of exceptional work or of enrolling in what today’s students call ‘Mick’ (for ‘Mickey Mouse’) courses.

Another article from the NYT : The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma: the new minimum requirement, albeit an expensive one, for getting even the lowest-level job.

PRAYER BREAKFAST, 2013

I thought this was a quite impressive talk.

Dr. Carson's comments on his speech.  He made some pointed comments about American African-Americans not thinking for themselves.