Education

What Henley Says!

This entry was posted in Education Literature Philosphy on by

Jim Henley nails this:

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

Heck, if this does nothing more than get us to reread the dusty volumes that have been sitting on the shelf untouched for years it is monumental. That there may be recoverable complete or near complete new works is thick frosting on a tasty cake.

Cleaning House

This entry was posted in Education on by

This is a great idea. Something I’d enjoy!
However, it works only if one is completely cut off from external resources while working through a pile. Otherwise, two more piles will rise up just so you can follow up on the interesting ideas in the first pile.
Really, if a paper or a book is worth reading then it is going to lead you to more interesting stuff and nevermind the growing list of stuff to write about.
So, I sometimes go one step beyond Tyler and, with great anguish, just toss stuff out. Or, maybe I’ll box it to read later. And, sometime in the future, hopefully a far distant future, folks will wonder why the hell he saved this stuff.

Grand Rounds

This entry was posted in Drug Laws Economics Education Government Libertarianism Regulation Taxation on by

isemmelweis finds the health care industry to be the lone victem of special interest corporate-government collusion:

In all other economic sectors free people drive production, and good things happen quickly. In response to the Atkins craze, sodas and even beer cut out the carbs to meet the wants of a fit society. But in healthcare, rather than serve ordinary citizens, producers court the people in power: big insurers, government officials, and academics.
….
So who�s navigating this ship? While it may be enormous fun for managers, officials, and scholars to control how sick people get medicine, it would be much better if free people chose for themselves.
Yes, it should be much better but isemmelweis is mistaken to think that this problem is restricted to health care, e.g., consider communications and the FCC, agriculture, and education to name just a few areas. We would live in a much healthier world, physically and economically, if this phenomenon did not permeate both the American and the world economy.
There is a lot of interesting reading from the medical blogosphere at Chronicles of a Medical Madhouse which is hosting Grand Rounds XV.

bush43 joins bush41 as Double Winner

This entry was posted in bush Education on by

bush43 won the Doublespeak Award for the second year in a row joining his father bush41 as a two time winner. Other two time winners include: ronald reagan, the US departments of state and defense, and newt gingrich.
Well, I stretched that a bit. The 2004 award went to the entire bush administration and:

President George W. Bush, for the second year in a row, has set a high standard for his team by the inspired invention of the phrase “weapons of mass destruction-related program activities” (1) to describe what has yet to be seen. Further he has made clear the principle of democratic discussion: “[A]s you know, these are open forums, you’re able to come and listen to what I have to say.”
Read the list of past recipients and some of you may find this article useful: Doublespeak Detection for the English Classroom (PDF).
Via Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…it’s all FUBAR now.

Sex Education Homework

This entry was posted in Education Humor on by

Henry Waxman had the gall to criticize aspects of many of the abstinence only education programs funded in whole or in part by the federal government. Amongst other concerns, his report noted cases of “false, misleading, or distorted information” in the course material of many of the programs. Talk radio hosts1 and others on the right reacted heir usual ad hominum to hell with the facts response.
Abstinence is a fine choice to make and one that should be made with all the facts of life in hand. However, if one is going to choose to be sexually active, also a fine choice, then this choice should also be made with all the facts in hand.
So, in the spirit of christmas, and especially if you or your children have attended one of the abstinence mis-education classes head over here and here to learn a little bit about why if you are not going to abstain you should at least use a condom.
Warning: Not work friendly.
1Medved began his discussion of the topic by trying to discredit Waxman because Waxman is a liberal from the California coast.