tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post378340751582881473..comments2024-03-28T14:15:19.304-04:00Comments on Progressive Eruptions: Massachusetts Garners High Marks on International Science and Math TestsShaw Kenawehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-51428811607116802002012-12-14T12:27:20.568-05:002012-12-14T12:27:20.568-05:00Shaw, this is good news for Mass for sure. Do you ...Shaw, this is good news for Mass for sure. Do you have any idea how schools in the inner city scored compared to those in smaller neighborhoods? <br /><br />In California we have what many would call a failing school system (financially and educationally) yet we have second highest paid teachers to Illinois. Our administration is very top heavy and represents an inordinate amount of the budget, as does the defined pension plan system that has been constructed using faulty, inflated projections on investment returns. So the money situation is not great despite some of the highest state taxes in the nation (now highest). <br /><br />Having said all that, California has pockets of very good public education. The high school my girls attended in San Diego is well run and produces some top students. Nearby Poway High School is perennially one of the best in the state. They are well integrated and used busing to bring students from the inner city where a new high school (Lincoln high) was being built. <br /><br />I see a common thread at the schools that achieve and it isn't money or teacher's salaries. It is parents that act as an extension of the school, kids of who respect an education (again parents) and teachers that are able to teach willing students. Money is down the list of what leads to success. To me, the top three variables look to be 1) quality parenting, 2) teachers who are leaders 3) willingness of the student to participate in his or her own education. Those three things lend themselves to a sense of pride in accomplishment (students and teachers). Kids (and adults) respond to leadership. We don't want to let leaders down or disappoint them. Parents and teachers should be leaders. <br /><br />It seems to me that smaller communities have a distinct advatage over very large cities where there is more crime, less intact families and, perhaps, teachers who are more isolated; less leadership. <br /><br />How does it break down back there? KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788103894599339102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-54126806599095708692012-12-14T09:39:14.208-05:002012-12-14T09:39:14.208-05:00Lets add another variable here, and that is what i...Lets add another variable here, and that is what is spent by states to educate children.<br /><br />Massachusetts is in the top ten in regards to spending. As this article points out that the relationship between spending and results (where most states are just attempting to graduate students) is not all that great.<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/31/the-states-that-spend-the_n_869398.html#s285461&title=10_Pennsylvania<br /><br />Thus, for Massachusetts to spend what it does and achieve results beyond just graduating students from high school shows something much more important; an enlightened and involved citizenship.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Tao Speakshttp://taospeaks.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-86860805226802870552012-12-14T09:26:09.201-05:002012-12-14T09:26:09.201-05:00I have tried to find where it says it is public sc...I have tried to find where it says it is public schools only but don't see it.<br /><br />If Mass can achieve those results I commend those responsible.skudrunnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610092853412481236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-48577011443154642432012-12-13T22:49:36.921-05:002012-12-13T22:49:36.921-05:00a cursory check shows that mass. has the 2nd highe...a cursory check shows that mass. has the 2nd highest percentage of adults with university education. i think gene pool in mass. might be a bigger factor than the quality of the teaching.billy pilgrimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00128876723713271131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-51857443356085904362012-12-13T20:02:32.849-05:002012-12-13T20:02:32.849-05:00The GOP decries education funding as wasted $$. Y...The GOP decries education funding as wasted $$. Yet they are willing to wreck the economy to fund cavalier military adventures.<br />IMO, they are wrong on both counts<br />and in education, you get what you<br /><a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3825" rel="nofollow">pay for</a>.<br />(was education in Wisconsin when<br />excellence had yet to be Scott Walker-ized)<br />BB-Idahohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01168862935045755393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-39859674695475789502012-12-13T10:40:14.025-05:002012-12-13T10:40:14.025-05:00@skudrunner -- The interesting statistic would b...@skudrunner -- The interesting statistic would be private schools VS public. <br /><br />---------<br />Maybe, but the fact that Mass. public schools are absolutely world class is the issue here.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-55629503261787272012012-12-13T10:37:17.804-05:002012-12-13T10:37:17.804-05:00And we have a teacher's union. Imagine that.And we have a teacher's union. Imagine that.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-24237182479319760572012-12-13T08:33:20.904-05:002012-12-13T08:33:20.904-05:00These were public school results, not private.These were public school results, not private.Shaw Kenawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-82954025503970864952012-12-12T21:21:29.937-05:002012-12-12T21:21:29.937-05:00The interesting statistic would be private schools...The interesting statistic would be private schools VS public. I don't know the answer but where there is parent involvement, there are better achievements. <br /><br />Private educators are normally paid less but are in the profession to teach. Michigan teachers have a sick out in support of unions, I guess that shows where their priorities are.skudrunnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610092853412481236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-26426930663960040702012-12-12T18:52:42.659-05:002012-12-12T18:52:42.659-05:00Good for the Bay State! It does pay to invest in e...Good for the Bay State! It does pay to invest in education, for all who are willing to learn, at every level and for all times of life. Every American has an interest in creating a better-educated society. We need more emphasis on this. But we also need to modernize our attitudes and horse-and-buggy method of funding public schools. There should be no poor schools in poor neighborhoods. <br /><br />There should also be no parents ignorant of the importance of getting their children ready to be good students, and ignorant of how to go about doing that. There, too, more and better education is essential.S.W. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16521540043304710796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-40969465869130424462012-12-12T10:44:39.068-05:002012-12-12T10:44:39.068-05:00Massachusetts among the LEAST religious states.<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/01/massachusetts_a.html" rel="nofollow">Massachusetts among the LEAST religious states.</a><br /><br />Shaw Kenawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-41463618886307665712012-12-12T09:57:15.679-05:002012-12-12T09:57:15.679-05:00Science and faith however can co-exist as is evide...<i>Science and faith however can co-exist as is evidenced by scientists who accept the concept of a creator (God)</i>.<br /><br />That's quite rare, though. The higher one rises among the ranks of scientists, the less prevalent religion becomes. <a href="http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/10-myths-and-10-truths-about-atheism1" rel="nofollow">93% of members of the National Academy of Sciences</a> (the most distinguished American scientists) reject belief in God, and most likely many of the other 7% "believe" in God in a metaphorical sense, as Einstein did.<br /><br />Religion really isn't compatible with modern science, not unless one or the other is massively distorted to make it compatible.<br /><br />As for Massachusetts's educational attainments and the "Taxachusetts" label, I guess it just demonstrates the old saying that you get what you pay for.Infidel753https://www.blogger.com/profile/10965786814334886696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-7867497134627764622012-12-12T08:23:50.241-05:002012-12-12T08:23:50.241-05:00Dave: "Perhaps a good example is dinosaurs. ...<b>Dave</b>: "<i>Perhaps a good example is dinosaurs. I know many of my Christian brethren who cannot accept that there were at one time dinosaurs roaming the earth "because there is no record of them in the bible.</i>"<br /><br />Proof positive that dinosaurs exist: There is a living, breathing dinosaur at the Swash Zone who writes erudite commentary and scares off right-wing trolls. A good chap to have around. Wish there were more of them.(O)CT(O)PUShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07589336822561030860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-22706336358154691312012-12-12T00:06:32.855-05:002012-12-12T00:06:32.855-05:00Science should be mandatory k-12 in public schools...Science should be mandatory k-12 in public schools.. Creationism is best left to churches and private schools that are faith based.<br /><br />Science and faith however can co-exist as is evidenced by scientists who accept the concept of a creator (God).<br /><br />Just saying...Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-51261920050313037712012-12-11T19:24:19.712-05:002012-12-11T19:24:19.712-05:00Thanks for the link, BB Idaho. Here's what it...Thanks for the link, BB Idaho. Here's what it said:<br /><br />"Televangelist Pat Robertson challenged the idea that Earth is 6,000 years old this week, saying the man who many credit with conceiving the idea, former Archbishop of Ireland James Ussher, “wasn’t inspired by the Lord when he said that it all took 6,000 years.”<br />The statement was in response to a question Robertson fielded Tuesday from a viewer on his Christian Broadcasting Network show “The 700 Club.” In a submitted question, the viewer wrote that one of her biggest fears was that her children and husband would not go to heaven “because they question why the Bible could not explain the existence of dinosaurs.”<br /><br /><br />“You go back in time, you’ve got radiocarbon dating. You got all these things, and you’ve got the carcasses of dinosaurs frozen in time out in the Dakotas,” Robertson said. “They’re out there. So, there was a time when these giant reptiles were on the Earth, and it was before the time of the Bible. So, don’t try and cover it up and make like everything was 6,000 years. That’s not the Bible.”<br />Before answering the question, Robertson acknowledged the statement was controversial by saying, “I know that people will probably try to lynch me when I say this.”<br /><br /><b>“If you fight science, you are going to lose your children, and I believe in telling them the way it was,” Robertson concluded.</b><br /><br /><br />Forty-six percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years, according to a survey released by Gallup in June. That number has remained unchanged for the past 30 years, since 1982, when Gallup first asked the question on creationism versus evolution.<br />The Gallup poll has not specifically asked about views on the age of the Earth."<br /><br />46%! You have to go across the Atlantic, past Europe and land in the Middle East to find percentages like that.<br /><br />For the most technologically advanced country in the world, it is astounding that such a huge number of citizens believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old.<br /><br />This explains why the US is so far behind so many other countries in science.<br /><br />People can believe their religious stories as allegorical explanation of their beliefs. But to expect our young people to use those stories a fact is what continues to make us fall behind in science and math.<br /><br />Unforgivable.<br /><br />Shaw Kenawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-43000287524057315532012-12-11T18:50:55.701-05:002012-12-11T18:50:55.701-05:00There is a flicker of hope; even the most trenchan...There is a flicker of hope; even the most trenchant of biblical literalists grow old and come to<br />their <a href="http://wtvr.com/2012/11/30/pat-robertson-challenges-creationism-cites-dinosaurs/" rel="nofollow">senses</a> .<br />BB-Idahohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01168862935045755393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-91247885457065189752012-12-11T18:04:17.922-05:002012-12-11T18:04:17.922-05:00Silver, you know what Shaw is saying...
She is sa...Silver, you know what Shaw is saying...<br /><br />She is saying that a science based education is a stronger foundation of empirical knowledge than a faith based education that calls into question many proven facts and generally accepted positions.<br /><br />Perhaps a good example is dinosaurs. I know many of my Christian brethren who cannot accept that there were at one time dinosaurs roaming the earth "because there is no record of them in the bible."<br /><br />That to me is just poppycock, yet for many it remains an unreconcilable difficulty.<br /><br />I'm just sayin... Dave Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04272431500457083818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-73788686377501412022012-12-11T16:49:55.974-05:002012-12-11T16:49:55.974-05:00Some states either want to ban teaching Evolution ...Some states either want to ban teaching Evolution or teach Evolution along with Creationism, which is tantamount to teaching science along with superstition.<br /><br />Shaw Kenawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-44284438467361432052012-12-11T15:25:32.249-05:002012-12-11T15:25:32.249-05:00Hard to explain such results. When right-wing tro...Hard to explain such results. When right-wing trolls invade this blog, it doesn't feel like Massachusetts anymore. Maybe more like Mississippi.<br /><br />(O)CT(O)PUShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07589336822561030860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883838569462983439.post-2104936999068409802012-12-11T15:16:54.742-05:002012-12-11T15:16:54.742-05:00I don't know of any states that do not value &...I don't know of any states that do not value <i>"science and math over superstition and ignorance,"</i> but regardless, you should be proud, and other states should be studying what Mass has done to achieve this accomplishment.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.com