Marc Whitman's Blog

Look at the section heading and keep in mind, what is impossible with men is possible with God.

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Stephen Campbell, a protester in Boston, said the troublemakers are the minority.

“We have a policy here: no drugs, no alcohol,” he said. “Us occupiers really try to stick true to that. Other people who move in, who maybe have an alcohol problem or a drug problem, you know, we’re not fully equipped to handle things like that.”

No. Really?

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“Gov. Perry’s plan will reduce taxes for everybody and grow the economy and not pit Americans against each other like President Obama is doing,” Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner told Fox News. [emphasis added]

via Perry To Pitch Scrapping Tax Code, Offering Optional 20 Percent Flat Tax | Fox News.

Just thinking “out loud” here…

If you made $175/day to teach 20 students, how much of that money would you be willing to pay someone to take them off of your hands for 40 minutes to an hour so you could get a break?

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Thursday marked the second day on the picket lines for 270 teachers and the third day of marathon negotiating sessions in a nearly two-year-old labor dispute.

“We’ve been working hard all day to reach an agreement that enables students to return to school, but we’re not there yet,” said school board negotiator Timothy Holbrooke at around 10 p.m. Thursday.

That the two sides still hadn’t hammered out a new deal means 3,000 students will miss another day of school on Friday.

via WNYT.com – Bennington teachers strike continues; face-to-face talks Friday.

I just want to point out some math here. Assuming the numbers are accurate, 3,000 students  divided by 270 teachers equals 11.1 students per teacher.

Jobs also criticized Americas education system, saying it was “crippled by union work rules,” noted Isaacson. “Until the teachers unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform.” Jobs proposed allowing principals to hire and fire teachers based on merit, that schools stay open until 6 p.m. and that they be open 11 months a year.

via Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, Youre Headed For A One-Term Presidency.

I am no disciple of Steve Jobs and I don’t necessarily weigh his words more than my neighbor’s words, but because he is so revered for his products I thought I would share his thoughts on education.

Darren Allen, spokesman for the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association, said the union does not expect teachers in the union to cross picket lines.”If teachers do that, that is their choice. It’s the wrong choice. We have not heard that, and we would be incredibly disappointment [sic],” he said. “If they’re willing to sacrifice their own good and the good of hundreds of their brothers and sisters that’s something they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives.”

Did he really say that?

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Highlighting different examples, the authors of the report argue that marriage and family play key roles “in sustaining long-term economic growth, the viability of the welfare state, the size and quality of the workforce, and the profitability of large sectors of the modern economy.”

via Marriage, Family and Economic Growth.

 

…an NBA season this year?

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I believe very strongly that if the country gave each parent a voucher for forty-four hundred dollars that they could only spend at any accredited school several things would happen. Number one schools would start marketing themselves like crazy to get students. Secondly, I think youd see a lot of new schools starting.

via Smithsonian Oral and Video Histories: Steve Jobs.