Tag Archives: education

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Parents decontaminate Japanese school contaminated with radiation

In an obvious sign of government incompetence, parents and teachers decontaminated a local elementary school, on their own.

In Date City, about 80 people worked together to wash down a school contaminated with radiation.  The national government said the radiation levels at the school were below the official safe limits, so they felt no reason to do anything.

Parents are concerned because the radiation levels remained constant, and were found in the soil as well as on the buildings.  Tired of a government that didn’t want to respond they took matters into their own hands.  I wonder how they feel about continuing to pay their taxes?

Idaho, Opinion

Idaho Education Spending Scandalous

Property taxes/fees, where I live in Bannock county, have gone up year after year, and there’s been no improvement in services, especially grade school education.

The last time I complained to the county assessor’s office (when my three kids were attending Pocatello High School) the employee told me to blame school district 25.  The employee showed me a chart that proved that the largest chunk of property taxes/fees was going to the school district 25.  The county employee also said that every time a levy is passed it increases the school district fee portion of the overall property tax bill.

That fee has gone up year after year, and is one of the reasons Bannock county has one of the highest property taxes/fees in all of Idaho.  All of Bannock county has a population of more than 82,ooo, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2010 numbers.  Compare that to Ada county, where the state capitol Boise is located, where the population is more than 390,000.

Then comes the U.S. Census Bureau report on how much each state spends on education, and surprisingly Idaho is second to last in spending (Utah is dead last).

Another surprise is that most of Idaho’s education funding comes from the state, not the counties.  66% of education spending in Idaho comes from state taxes (that’s higher than the national average of 46%).  So where’s all our county school tax/fees going to?

I am now the guardian of my children’s half sister.  She is attending Pocatello High School, and I’m amazed at how much the quality of education has gone down since my kids graduated (by the way, you also have to pay huge fees directly to the high school that your child attends, which is another reason to question the school district’s taxes/fees).  Not only that, but I finished high school in the early 1980s, and I can tell you that nothing has improved since then, as far as the quality of education.

Only since the No Child Left Behind act (aka Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP) went into effect, has school district 25 made real efforts to improve test scores, but they’re still not doing well enough: For 2009-10, one elementary school failed AYP,  all four middle schools failed and all three high schools failed.  It’s interesting that school district 25 officials are blaming the failures on “economically disadvantaged students“, as well as disabled and Hispanic students.  What is this a new kind of class/race warfare?

Decade after decade U.S. taxpayers have paid more and more money for crappy education that never improves!  What do we get for our money?  There’s been lots of paranoid new rules created: One year a high scoring student at Pocatello High School was not allowed to graduate because she dyed her hair pink (her parents sued and won)!  Also, huge school administrative bodies were created through the 1980s-90s, which suck up more money than the actual education of our children!  Do the kids get new books?  No: When my children attended Junior High they showed me their science book, which had an intro that said “One day man will walk on the moon.”!

As a parent and local taxpayer I’ve seen the funding for schools going up year after year (that might finally be over with this bad economy), and the quality of education going down year after year.  That is what makes education funding scandalous!

 

Idaho, Kit Bashing, U.S.

Kit Bashing & Education Reform: Idaho Students Building Model Kits

Buhl Middle School, in Buhl, Idaho, is using model car kits to help students with reading and researching.

6th graders are not just putting together models, they’re spending time doing historical research about the cars they’re building.  They’re also learning about different styles of customizing cars.

The building of model kits has made some huge progress in the past 4 decades.  Many builders don’t just slap the kits together; they spend lots of time researching their subjects to create the most accurate representations they can.  If you want to compete in the big time model contests it’s a necessity that you’re historically literate.

When it comes to the history of cars, it’s not just the technical history that kids can learn, it’s also the cultural history, especially when it comes the “fads” of car customizing trends.  So don’t think of model kits as “toys” (especially when you realize how expensive they’ve gotten over the decades), think of them as “educational tools”.

Idaho

Albertson’s tries to make up for Idaho education budget cuts

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation is donating $21 million to help fund the Idaho SchoolNet program.

The Albertson Foundation is a supporter of current Idaho education reforms.  They felt the donation was necessary after state legislators cut taxpayer funding for the SchoolNet program.

The Foundation says the $21 million donation is part of a total $25 million grant for the next school year.

Idaho

Idaho teachers use public property to promote their personal politics

“Those whose certificates are suspended or revoked can no longer be employed by an Idaho public school.”-Tom Luna, Superintendent of Public Instruction

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, is warning educators they could lose their jobs if they continue to use public property to promote their personal politics.

Luna claims his office has received reports that teachers are using school district emails to campaign against the state’s new education policy.  He also claims (and I have a daughter in school who can testify to this) that teachers are “proselytizing” in the classroom concerning political activities, and using students as political couriers.

A teacher who does so is in violation of state policies, and could result in losing their job, or teaching certificate.

State Legislator Brian Cronin thinks Luna is threatening the teachers: “I think the superintendent is using fear and intimidation to stifle the opposition.”

Other education officials say Luna’s statement came after his office got flooded with complaints from parents: “We’ve received phone calls and emails with complaints from parents and legislators and others about this happening in their schools and we wanted to send a reminder to school districts about this provision in the code of ethics. It really honestly was a reminder because we’ve received so many phone calls.”-Melissa McGrath, Department of Education

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Tens of thousands of U.S. teachers laid off

Around the country, tens of thousands of teachers in the United States have been laid off.

New York City needs to lay off 6,000 teachers, to balance their education budget.

California has notified at least 20,000 teachers that they will be unemployed.

Dozens of teachers were fired in Ohio this week.

Broward County Florida School District will lay off 1,400 teachers.

And many layoffs took place in the past year.

In some cities pro-teacher groups are pointing out that their school districts actually have budget surpluses, yet teachers are being laid off in large numbers.

Teachers unions are on board with the layoffs, saying it’s time for the bad teachers to go.  I’m all for getting rid of the bad teachers, there are plenty (from my own experience as a student, and as a parent putting four kids through school), but when you realize the number of teachers being laid off across the country it makes you wonder: Are there that many bad teachers?

 

 

International, Opinion, U.S.

Obama increasing College funding…in China!!!

So you voted for Barack Obama because you’re hoping to go to college, but can’t afford the skyrocketing costs.  You thought Obama was going to help you pay for college?  You’re right, if your going to college in China!

Last week Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced that the U.S. State Department will spend U.S.$3 million on scholarships for study in China.  On top of that First Lady Michelle Obama announced that they have convinced U.S. corporations to help fund U.S.$3.25 million for the “100,000 Strong Initiative”.   Those corporations include Caterpillar, Citigroup and Coca-Cola.

The program is in addition to the usual Fulbright scholarship program.

So now even college students are being shipped off to China!   I guess it makes sense, you know, follow the jobs.

Fukushima

JET program officials worry that Japan disasters will drive away foreign teachers

‘‘I want more JETs to come and interact with the locals in the future but due to the current situation, I cannot welcome them open-handedly. I hope life gets back to normal as soon as possible.”-Hoshi Kazuyuki, assistant director at the international affairs section at the Miyagi prefectural government.

Organizers of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program worry that foreign teachers will think twice about teaching in Japan, after the 9.0 quake and tsunami, as well as radiation leaks from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

So far, many teachers from the United States, and Canada, have opted to stay and help with recovery efforts, even after one teacher from the U.S., Taylor Anderson, was killed in the disasters.

 

Fukushima

In one Japanese town evidence that Tsunami was 30 meters high (almost 100 feet)

A joint research team from Yokohama National University, and University of Tokyo, surveyed the city of Ofunato, in Iwate Prefecture.

Things like fishing gear and remains of boats were found on a cliff.  The only way the stuff could have gotten to the top of the cliff was if the Tsunami was at least 29.6 meters high (97 feet).

The height of the March 11 tsunami varies along the Japanese coast line, because of the shape of the land. The bay at Ofunato is very narrow and would force the wave higher.

International

Libya agrees to ceasefire, U.K. & France preping for military action

Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa announced that Libya will accept a ceasefire with rebels.

Libyan officials believe the UN Security Council resolution allows the Libyan government to use force in order to protect civilians.

France and United Kingdom say they are preparing for military action. Spain and Norway announced they are prepared to join the enforcement of a no fly zone.

President Obama will make an announcement this afternoon.  It is expect that two Arab nations will be named as taking part in the no fly zone operation, Qatar is expected to be one of those countries.

The United States, United  Kingdom, France are members of the UN Security Council, and voted for the no fly zone.  China, Russia, Germany, India and Brazil are also members, but abstained, they will not help with the no fly zone.