America At Its Best

That we still produce such young men is a tribute to our heritage.  I'll bet he bleeds red, white, and blue, too, although it is my fervent wish that we never have to find out in battle:

High school senior Noble Rasmussen intends to serve his country well — and all five U.S. military academies seem to agree.

The Nebraska teen joined "Fox & Friends" on Friday to celebrate his acceptance to all five academies.

He then announced on the program that he’ll be attending the United States Air Force Academy in June.

OK, so he picked the wrong school, but still.  And you've gotta love his first name.

My New Book

I first learned about science historian James Burke when I saw his series The Day The Universe Changed on PBS back in the early 90s.  I liked the series so much that I bought the companion book, and later bought his Connections book.  Burke weaves the history of science like a tapestry, he's a wonderful storyteller.  Later, in a documentary I have about Apollo 13, I noticed him in some of the contemporary newscasts shown about that incident.

At school, our librarian is cleaning house.  Books that haven't been checked out in forever, she codes them out and puts them on a shelf for anyone to take.  Today I saw a book by James Burke on that shelf, Circles: 50 Round Trips Through History, Technology, Science, Culture.  I don't know when we got it in our library but it is copyrighted 2000, has never been checked out, and looks like it just came off the press.

I snapped that book up with a quickness, can't wait to read it.

One of Many Problems With Such Reparations

When have you paid enough in reparations?  When do the payments end and everyone agrees that the debt has been paid?  If the answer is "never", then why pay the reparations in the first place?

California residents who are members of federally recognized Native tribes will have their tuition and fees at University of California schools waived, according to a letter sent Friday.

In the letter, sent by system President Michael V. Drake to UC chancellors and also shared with CNN, Drake announced the waived tuition and fees specifically for "California residents who are members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes." The move is a key part of the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, he said, aiming to make the university system more affordable and accessible for Native American students. The waived fees will apply to both undergraduate and graduate students.

 

"The University of California is committed to recognizing and acknowledging historical wrongs endured by Native Americans," Drake wrote. "I am hopeful that this new program will benefit our students and continue to position the University of California as the institution of choice for Native American students."

Let's not forget that unlike Germany's after World War I, these reparations will be paid by people who never committed the wrong that's supposedly being addressed.

Shocking, I Know

I don't want to hear any of you liberal California tree huggers complaining about this:

California lawmakers appear unlikely to pause the annual summer increase in the state's gasoline tax ahead of a May 1 deadline, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on Monday...

California already has the nation's highest gas tax at 51 cents per gallon. The levy will rise to 53.9 cents per gallon at the beginning of July.

Nobody Acted Well In This Story

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

No, I don't think this teacher did anything wrong.  Rather than saying that, though, he said something completely stupid, which I'll paraphrase here:  this is how we black people play basketball.  Gawd, are you kidding me?

A middle school teacher who cultivated programs for Black students in Twin Rivers Unified School District is fighting his dismissal, contending he’s being unfairly punished over a one-off after school incident with a student he tried to help make the basketball team.

Jordan McGowan, a history teacher and basketball coach at Rio Tierra junior high school, further says his dismissal fits a pattern he experienced at the school in which he felt administrators showed signs of cultural insensitivity in discussions on civil rights and police shootings.

Does that mean if you don't agree with the black man, you're "culturally insensitive"?    Must be convenient to be able to have the "privilege" of tossing around such incendiary accusations, but let's continue: 

As far as he knows, his dismissal stems from an after-school practice with a Black student in which he practiced a common street basketball move that involves bouncing a ball off another player’s head. “I am being fired for playing basketball in the ways in which Black people play basketball within our own community. I am being fired for playing basketball in a culturally appropriate way, when those in power have little-to-no cultural connection to our community,” said McGowan. “This is just a microcosm of what I and other Black People have experienced at Rio (Tierra) and the district at large"...

McGowan’s public characterization of questions he faced during an investigation suggests officials pressed him on whether he has used a racial slur when communicating with Black students.

It's not a slur I'd get away with using, I'll tell you that.  Go read if you can't imagine what it is.

Apparently, though, playing the race card worked: 

Twin Rivers Board members unanimously rejected a proposal to dismiss a middle school teacher and basketball coach who had been on paid administrative leave since December...

He is still awaiting to hear from the district to decide the next steps moving forward.

Bottom line:  the kid isn't a joy to be around, the teacher likes to use his black skin as a shield, and the district took 4 months to decide unanimously not to fire him.  Does anyone in this story come out smelling like a rose?  If so, I missed that person.

Extra Days

I must've cut out a couple days' worth of assignments here and there this semester, because when I planned out the rest of the semester for my pre-calculus classes today, I had 4 "extra" days of instruction that I haven't had in years.  And I know just how to spend those 4 days--logarithm boot camp!

I'll be lucky if I can recreate this LBC experience.

Can't Let My Efforts Go To Waste

Some time recently I stepped on the scale and and discovered that some of my efforts are paying off, that I'd lost 14 pounds since New Year's.  

Saturday I went to an afternoon party.  Boy, did I eat.

Sunday I ate a lot of cake, but at least I got my 10,000 steps in.

Today I ate of lot of cake at school, and then had a huge dinner.  I'm so full right now that I'm not even going to do my evening stretching routine, I'm going straight to bed.  5,000 steps today.

I think I need to get realistic with the eating and exercising again.  Three consecutive cheat days aren't the way to do it.

Standardized Testing

If you want to know if students are truly learning, you have to have an objective test, given and graded by objective people.  That just seems obvious to me:

Now, consider what has transpired over the past twenty years in the USA. We were headed in the direction of other countries’ testing system structures at the turn of the millennium, with state-led consequential achievement tests for students administered only every few grade levels.[1] Plus, we benefitted from two competing college admission tests, whose scores could be submitted for consideration simultaneously to thousands of universities worldwide. [2]

Then came three disruptions, each of which, I would argue, served to undermine the utility of US educational testing.

First came passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2001–2002), which imposed a federal mandate on all public schools (including charters). The NCLB insistence on annual administrations of tests across seven grade levels virtually guaranteed lax security: teachers administer tests in their own classrooms to their own students and principals manage the distribution and collection of test materials in their own schools. Then, we judge schools and teachers based on those NCLB test scores they themselves proctor.

Now, consider what has transpired over the past twenty years in the USA. We were headed in the direction of other countries’ testing system structures at the turn of the millennium, with state-led consequential achievement tests for students administered only every few grade levels.[1] Plus, we benefitted from two competing college admission tests, whose scores could be submitted for consideration simultaneously to thousands of universities worldwide. [2]

Then came three disruptions, each of which, I would argue, served to undermine the utility of US educational testing.

First came passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2001–2002), which imposed a federal mandate on all public schools (including charters). The NCLB insistence on annual administrations of tests across seven grade levels virtually guaranteed lax security: teachers administer tests in their own classrooms to their own students and principals manage the distribution and collection of test materials in their own schools. Then, we judge schools and teachers based on those NCLB test scores they themselves proctor.

Read the whole thing.

The First Thing He's Done That I Can Agree With?

Long-time readers of this blog know I'm all in for nuclear power:

The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.

A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy told The Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. It's the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors.

Owners or operators of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down for economic reasons can apply for funding to avoid closing prematurely. The first round of awards will prioritize reactors that have already announced plans to close.

Now let's build some new ones.  Remember, even Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, supports nuclear energy.

Legitimate Reason For Firing A Teacher?

If being present was the only reason, I say no:

A former teacher is suing the Sacramento City Unified School District alleging the district fired him because he attended the rally that preceded the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

You've gotta love the unbiased, sober, professional use of the word "storming".  Sheesh. Here's some storming for you, including the dude with Viking horns that we've all seen.  Now back to the story:

Dustin Watson, a physical education teacher at New Technology High School, acknowledges in the lawsuit that he attended the rally for supporters of former President Donald Trump.

He posted messages on Facebook that “described the events taking place as they were unfolding but he did not anticipate the events to take a violent turn,” read the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of California on Monday.

The lawsuit states that Watson left the area when the disruption began and did not enter the Capitol. Watson did not face charges in the incident and was not arrested.

Later, Watson was investigated by the FBI and was “relieved of any suspicion of domestic terrorism,” the lawsuit reads.

Watson is seeking relief and damages for loss of pay and denial of employment benefits. He was in the process of completing his teaching credential, and was unable to receive it since he was terminated.

With the barest of exceptions, we don't fire people just because their politics differ from ours.

The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations Meets The Real Bigotry of No Expectations

A new buzzword coming soon to a school near you--contract-grading:

Sadly, though, the idea of “contract-grading” is now gaining prevalence in disciplines of critical academic importance–not only in high schools, but in many prominent colleges and universities. This development is only the latest front in a larger war on intellectual excellence, where the focus has now moved from lowering standards to eliminating them...

In the face of these difficulties, many faculty are implementing some form of “contract-grading” (sometimes called “labor-based grading”). In the context of a writing course, it looks something like this: in the first week, each student elects a) how much writing they will do for the course, b) how much drafting and revision will be done for that writing, c) when the writing will be submitted, and d) how much “peer-review” of classmates’ writing he will do. Various choices on these bases correlate with different grades in the course. Assuming the student does the laps he promised, he will receive his preferred grade…regardless of the quality or competence of the writing.

Of course, there are glaring problems with such a method of assessment and evaluation. Is it true, for example, that producing a certain amount of writing entails the same degree of labor for all students? Surely, it is possible that some students could produce five typed pages in two hours, while another student might take seven hours to do the same task. In fact, this disparity is likely–especially at institutions that now admit students with widely-divergent levels of preparedness. Given these disparities, how can an instructor enact a system of “labor-based grading” when there is no reliable metric to indicate how much labor any particular student put into an assignment. Here, what matters is the trying. And trying is good. But when there is no possibility of trying and nevertheless failing, students have an incentive to try less hard. Needless to say, rewarding minimal effort is not a great way to cultivate any skill.

An advocate of contract-grading might say that their assessment doesn’t hinge on the amount of time the student spends. Rather, they may claim that the assignments are designed such that (if completed) the student’s writing will necessarily improve to some degree. The assumption here is that it’s not merely the trying that earns a reward–it is the improvement. Thus, as long as there is some improvement (never mind that there is a concerted effort to avoid both articulating a method for quantifying “improvement” and a minimum standard for such), the student will be deemed ready for more advanced courses and awarded a grade that reflects this (arbitrary) assessment. Further, improvement largely depends on the effort one puts forth–and as illustrated above, “contract-grading” disincentivizes effort.

None of this is to say anything regarding the effects of contract-grading on students with real aptitude. When the members of the varsity swim team receive their “A” in full knowledge that slower swimmers with poor form were awarded the same grade simply for getting across the pool, it is obvious that this might inhibit the further development of skills in those who might (with some encouragement and rewarding of their talent) refine them to a much greater degree. In short, contract-grading not only discourages striving for excellence; it refuses to even acknowledge any pre-existing aptitude.

*sigh*

Update, 4/28/22:  Called it:

Letter grades may be on the way out for some University of California departments and colleges, reports Michael Burke on EdSource.

UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry and UC Davis’s Department of Mathematics are considering replacing A, B, C and D grades with pass/no-pass grades, he writes. Another option is to let students “choose which assignments get the most weight in determining their grade"...

At UC Davis, math professors are considering “contract grading,” reports Burke. For example, a student could choose to have the final calculus grade determined primarily by exams or by problem sets and class participation.

Getting Foreign Currency For A Trip

I’ve probably mentioned this once or twice (or a dozen times) before that I’m road-tripping to Cabo this summer.  I’m going to hitch up the trailer and drive!

Understand that I’m not a novice traveler.  My goal is to leave the country at least once a year, and while I don’t always meet that goal, I’ve left the country many times in my life.  I’m seasoned enough that I don’t fear going to new places, don’t fear not speaking the language (Google Translate is my friend), don’t fear trying new foods, don’t fear using different money--in fact, as a coin collector, using local money is one of the big joys of travel.  And I’m quite familiar with different ways of getting local currency.

Still, I like to stay current and I read plenty on the topic.  Many of the travel sites I’ve read recently said that one of the best and most inexpensive ways to get foreign currency is to get it from your bank before you travel.  Are they kidding???

It’s not that I haven’t used my bank for this before, but to say it’s a good/efficient/inexpensive way to get foreign currency, well, that’s not quite true.  Of course, it’s possible that my bank just tries to rip us customers off, but I’d find it hard to believe it’s the only one.  Since I’m heading to Mexico this summer, let’s look at the peso--today’s exchange rate is MXN$20 for USD$1.  Thus, 20,000 pesos should be 1,000 dollars, plus a fee.  What’s a reasonable fee, a few bucks?  Ten?  Twenty?  A couple percent?  Using the foreign exchange converter on my bank’s web site, 20,000 pesos would cost me $1061.70!!!  That’s a lousy exchange rate and a hefty fee, all rolled into one!

I went to another national bank's web site and tried to look up their rate, but you have to have an account and log in before they’ll tell you how much they’ll milk you for.  I cannot find the information quickly at my credit union’s site.  I can see the not-insignificant fees on the web site for another national bank, but not the crappy exchange rate they’d give me.

In other words, getting money from your bank is *not* necessarily the way to go!  The way to go, at least in Mexico, Europe, or the Caribbean (IOW, where I have traveled)  is to get money out of an ATM on your network and *not* to accept dynamic currency conversion rates.  The same people who write about getting money from your bank also mention the ATMs, so this isn’t an unknown method.  So why do those other authors say that getting money from your bank is inexpensive—do they write that crap because it makes them *sound* knowledgeable?  Have they ever compared their bank’s rates and fees to the official exchange rate?  Are they just copying the same bad information they read somewhere else without really knowing?

You can’t believe everything you read on the internet—except for this blog, of course.

Who's Surprised? Not Me.

I can tell you that my 'rona-shutdown math students didn't get anywhere near the education that my current students are getting, especially given the rampant cheating that took place:

Post-lockdowns, new college students struggle to pass basic college courses

Lefties Truly Don't Understand

You can call yourself whatever gender you want, you can use whatever pronouns you want, you can wear a mask if you want, you don’t have to eat meat—just quit trying to force the rest of us to do it, too.  That’s all the rest of us want, is to be left alone and not required to share in your insanity.

NYT columnist Paul Krugman predicts 'violence' towards mask wearers after mandate lift

The Very Definition of Injustice

I'm a big fan of the Innocence Project, which as of last year has helped overturn over 300 wrongful convictions via DNA evidence.  Wrongfully sending a person to prison is one of the worst human rights abuses that can occur.

Imagine, though, being wrongfully convicted, serving 21 years in prison, being exonerated, and still getting the shaft:

A Durham, North Carolina man who won a $6 million lawsuit after being wrongfully convicted on two murder charges will likely never see the money after the Durham City Council decided against paying him.

Darryl Anthony Howard, who was exonerated in 2016 and pardoned in 2021 by Gov. Roy Cooper after serving 21 years of an 80-year jail sentence, was awarded $6 million by a federal grand jury in December, according to The News & Observer...

The jury also found that Howard's wrongful convictions were a result of retired detective Darrell Dowdy fabricating evidence and performing an inadequate investigation, according to The News & Observer.

In a series closed-door session meetings between December and February, however, the Durham City Council voted against paying the judgment on Dowdy's behalf. The city also expects Howard to pay the legal fees of the two city employees who were dismissed from the case, according to legal documents.

Howard and his attorney found the city's decision concerning, especially after it paid more than $4 million defending Dowdy.

Former prosecutor Mike Nifong, who originally handled Howard's case, was disbarred for lying and misconduct in the case of rape accusations against Duke University lacrosse players who were later found innocent.

It's gut-wrenching even to read about it.

Update, 4/21/22:  Some clarification:

In a series of closed session meetings between December and February, however, the Durham City Council voted against indemnifying Dowdy and paying the judgment to Howard on behalf of the former city employee.

Rehberg pointed to a North Carolina statute that she said prohibits the city from paying judgments on behalf of individual employees if the city council finds that the employee or former employee "acted or failed to act because of actual fraud, corruption or actual malice on his part."

Movement Towards Reason

Where do you want to travel?  Go there!

After months of warning all travelers to avoid a long list of countries due to "very high" COVID-19 levels, the CDC has removed all countries from its "Do Not Travel" list.

The federal agency on Monday removed 89 countries from its "Do Not Travel" list. The highest Level 4 designation will now be reserved for "special circumstances" reflecting a dangerous spike in COVID cases, a new variant or health care infrastructure collapse.

While the Level 4 list had at one point included well over 100 destinations, there are currently no Level 4 countries.

Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 classifications continue to be based on a 28-day incidence or case counts.

Countries with a "high level of COVID-19" are considered Level 3. Travelers who are not fully vaccinated are still advised to "avoid travel" to these destinations, but the warning does not apply to fully vaccinated visitors. Travelers with weakened immune systems are urged to check with doctors before visiting.

Mexico was in Level 4 when I went there in February.  Then again, so was most of the United States at that time. 

This land you want to visit?  Fly there!

The federal government said Monday passengers traveling on airplanes and other forms of public transportation won't be required to wear a face mask for now after a federal judge in Florida voided the mandate.

The decision Monday by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa says the federal mask mandate exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which failed to justify the order and didn't follow proper rulemaking procedures...

A Biden administration official said the ruling means that, for now, the mask mandate is not in effect. Federal agencies are reviewing the decision and assessing potential next steps, the official said, but the Transportation Security Administration will not enforce the mandate at this time...

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines announced that masks would be optional on domestic flights and in airports, "effective immediately."

Meanwhile, a statement from Amtrak said its trains would continue to enforce the mask mandate.

"As we have seen with the vaccine mandates, these court decisions are subject to review on appeal. Pending further information from TSA and (the Federal Railroad Administration) about their mask mandate guidance, Amtrak’s mask mandate remains in place," the statement reads. 

And for those Chicken Littles who still insist the 'rona-sky is falling, well, they won't believe data anyway:

Over and over,  journalists and public officials have made fools of them proclaiming the success of mask mandates in some state or nation — whereupon Covid would promptly surge to unprecedented levels among the masked population. Some of these maskaholics will never learn, but they should at least be required to look at a graph prepared for City Journal by Ian Miller. It compares the  trajectory of  Covid throughout the pandemic in states with mask mandates versus the states without mandates — and shows that the masks made no difference. He also compares Germany, where almost everyone wore high-quality masks, with Sweden, where few citizens bothered to wear anything on their faces. Again, no difference in the Covid toll.

I've been showing such graphs for two years.

Update, 4/19/22:  Amtrak has backtracked, breathe free on the train.  No matter where you are, take in a deep breath so you have lots of air with which to laugh at these cuckoobirds:

The 5 Most Unhinged Responses to the End of the Travel Mask Mandate

Update #2, 4/20/22:   And then there are these cuckoobirds:

Biden administration will appeal ruling that lifted Covid mask mandate on travel

 

Whose Children?

Who is more likely to have a child's best interest at heart, a parent or a school employee?  Who is more likely to know and understand a child, a parent or a school employee?

Don't push your personal demons onto other people's children:

The fight against gender cult grooming is raging across the country and in Massachusetts, two sets of parents have filed a lawsuit alleging violations of religious freedom, privacy, and parental rights against public school officials who attempted to drive a wedge between them and their children using extreme gender ideology...

The same family discovered that the school officials were not only counseling their daughter in gender theology against their wishes but their son as well, giving him female pronouns and a female name without consulting the parents.

Vernadette Broyles, CEO and General Counsel of CPRC stated that “we are seeing this type of concerted effort by school officials across the country. School officials are making decisions about the lives of children that they are not qualified or authorized to make and doing it without telling, and often deceiving, parents. This is a clear violation of the parents’ rights to control the education, health, and upbringing of their children.” 

In a sane world, this wouldn't even need to be litigated.  The school employees would have been run out of town on a rail.

Screw Up, Move Up

Good work if you can get it:

A Queens principal accused of using fraudulent schemes to boost his school’s graduation rate can never again work with city students — but will get a $1.8 million desk job, The Post has learned.

Khurshid Abdul-Mutakabbir, who was removed as principal of Maspeth High School last July, won’t return to any city school as a principal, according to a settlement of misconduct charges. But he can stay on the Department of Education payroll for another seven years.

Under Abdul-Mutakabbir, Maspeth HS created fake classes, awarded credits to failing students, and fixed grades to push kids out the door, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools found, confirming exposès by The Post.

Instead of trying to terminate Abdul-Mutakabbir, as city investigators recommended, the DOE settled the charges on Jan. 25 by fining him $12,000  – and barring him from working as a principal.

But under the sweetheart deal – which DOE officials kept hidden for months – the disgraced educator, now age 47, will sit in an office until he “irrevocably” retires on Nov. 30, 2029.

He will pocket his current $187,043 annual salary, and get all union-negotiated pay raises for principals. He will also enjoy paid vacations and holidays, plus full health and retirement benefits, which will cost at least $78,558 a year in addition. The total cost will come to more than $1.8 million.

Cushy desk job, none of the stress of running a school, and more than 2.5x my pay.  Must be nice.

One Flew Off Of The Bucket List

When I was young I had a long list of things I was going to accomplish in life.  Some I've accomplished and some I've decided I no longer need or want to accomplish, and I've even done a few things that are important to me now but weren't on my radar when I was young.  Life changes you.

One item, though, is still on the list.  I've wanted to officiate at a wedding.  Well, it's on the list until later this evening, when I can cross it off.

Update, 4/17/22:  Went off without a hitch.  I wonder who was more nervous, the bride and groom or me!

Press and Tech People Are Flipping Out

Lefties.  I hope Elon Musk buys Twitter just so their heads will explode:

“Democracy Dies in Darkness” is the motto of the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post. It may sound like a warning, but more and more it seems like a summary of the left’s aspirations to control debate and shut down any opposition.

A recent example of those aspirations appeared in a column by former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s big buy of Twitter stock. The original headline — changed after widespread mockery — was this: “Elon Musk’s vision for the Internet is dangerous nonsense: Musk has long advocated a libertarian vision of an ‘uncontrolled’ internet. That’s also the dream of every dictator, strongman and demagogue.”

Yeah.  Stalin, Mao, Xi, Castro, Kim--they all have supported the free exchange of ideas, right.  Reich is an idiot. 

In George Orwell’s “1984,” war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. To these Orwellian inversions, Reich would add another: Censorship is free speech. But it’s not, and claiming otherwise won’t make it so.

Sadly, though, Reich isn’t just one lone wacko writing in The Guardian. He is instead, as usual, parroting the establishment’s line.

The establishment doesn’t want free speech because if Americans can talk honestly about what elites are doing, people will understand just how rotten the establishment has become and will want to do something about it.

What he said.

Update, 4/16/22: