High stakes tests?
by David Safier Here's a comment from Phillip D, spotlighting a recent article on education in Finland — high scorer on international tests yet virtually standardized-testing free. And recess! And art and music! And high paid teachers! (If you read the article, look at the very telling comparison between Finland and Norway.) Advertisement I am … Read more
Update: Neoconfederate insurrectionists in Arizona Legislature are destroying Arizona
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have already told you about our de facto governor, Sen. Russell Pearce, and his attempt to revive the long since discredited "nullification" theory to effectively secede from the United States. Neoconfederate insurrectionists in Arizona Legislature revive discredited 'nullification' theory. But the Looney Tunes insanity doesn't stop there, oh nooo. Proponents, including Gov. … Read more
Is it time yet to let Tucson know about the Pearce recall effort?
by David Safier Still no mention in the Star about the effort to recall Russell Pearce. There was another story about the recall in the Republic yesterday, including this interesting information about the chair of Citizens for a Better Arizona which is pushing the effort. He's a Republican and a Mormon. Chad Snow, a Phoenix … Read more
Halal isn’t quite Kosher (and Kosher isn’t quite Halal)
by David Safier I went to an interesting talk last night by Prof. Joe Regenstein from Cornell University whose field is food science and heads the Kosher and Halal Food Institute. I know a fair amount about Jewish kosher law but very little about Muslim Halal law. Basically, they're quite similar, with Kosher law being … Read more
Disappointing job numbers
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Corporations have enjoyed record earnings and are sitting on more than $2 trillion in profits. The stock market closed above 12,000 this week. Corporations have used the money to pay record bonuses rather than to expand business and to create new jobs in America. Job growth is slower than in any post-war recovery as … Read more
For-profit colleges: huge student loan default rates
by David Safier For-profit colleges too often sucker students with promises of future jobs, get them to take big government-insured loans, then take the money and run. Often the training programs aren't what they're cracked up to be, or the students lack the background to succeed in the programs. The 3-year default rate on student … Read more
Kansas journalist goes after G.I.’s Matthew Ladner
by David Safier Here on his home turf, Goldwater Institute's Matthew Ladner is treated by the media as a reliable source, a paragon of intellectual virtue. Even when he earns a Bunkum Award from the National Education Policy Center and I give the media all the information it needs, no one seems to think it's … Read more
