Teaching: How to win hearts and minds

 

Some IB students having lunch in P6

One of the things I’ve always practiced as a teacher was to treat students as human beings.  I try to remember what it is like to be 15-18 years old and interested in things other than being in class.

As I get closer and closer to my final day in the classroom I find myself thinking back on the last few years and I truly hope I’ve been able to influence them and improve their lives, even if only slightly.  It is this influencing of young lives which has been most rewarding as a teacher.  I try and teach them to be responsible for their actions, to take an interest in their own education, and to become thinkers.  I do not expect them to think like I do, but to think for themselves and to come to logical and rational conclusions based on evidence.

As someone who wants to treat them like human beings, I do not do the “you only have three potty passes per grading period” thing.  If a student needs to go to the restroom I allow them to go.  The only time I clamp down is when I feel a student is taking advantage of this and takes too long to return.

The other thing is the Ipod cell phone thing.  Yes, I’m aware district policy states students are not supposed to have cell phones on their person.  However, I have one, so  why should I expect they don’t?  I just do not want them to use their Ipod or cell phone when we are working.  I allow them to use them in cases when we have finished up early or they have finished an exam.  I have found students are much more likely to not use them in these cases as opposed to the harsh “NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES ALLOWED” attitude some people have.  The reality is, if you treat students like human beings they will respect you and repay you by not misbehaving.

At the end of the day I guess you can say I try and treat my students as I would want to be treated if I were the student.  I can only hope I have had the same effect on their lives which they have had on mine.

 

The Palin Experience

The Palin Experience.

Okay, here is a good article on Palin from the Denver Post.  I actually was going to comment (might as well seeing as how everyone else is) but this really does a good job conveying my feelings, especially when the author says he admires her roots and charisma but doesn’t think she should run in 2012 (and like the author the more the left bashes her the more I root for her).

Obama’s Polices and Bush’s

Obama’s Polices and Bush’s.

This is an interesting article which discusses the similarities between Bush and Obama’s policies.

Foreign policy of peace

As the debate rages on about troop levels in Afghanistan, I find myself wondering how much of this we can take.  8 years of war has made us no safer than we were the day it started.  After 8 years of government propaganda against “Radical Islam” being the great evil of our time, etc…  Now, a year after he was elected, President Obama finds himself in a situation in which he has to decide on just how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.  Although he presented himself as anti-war and a transformational leader, we see from his actions his policies are no different than those of President George W. Bush.

Seeing as how this was all started because of the attacks of September 11, 2001, we should ask ourselves, why did those attacks take place.  After all, they were perpetrated by a man whom, at one point, had been an ally of the United States in a war against Soviet aggression.  The American people were told Osama Bin Laden hated the United States and our freedoms.  We were told radical Islam presented a threat to democratic societies the world over.  However, we have either ignored or forgotten the reasons the perpetrators themselves cited as being the reasons for these attacks (when I perpetrators I am referring to Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden).  They said these attacks were carried out because of American foreign policy in the 1990’s which, according to them favored Israel over the “Palestinians”, starved thousands of Iraqi children under economic sanctions, and placed US troops on holy Muslim soil.

So, as President Obama continues to contemplate the number of troops to be sent to Afghanistan, I offer up this solution:  send none.  As a matter of fact, bring the troops home and downsize the military.  End the warfare state and give the power back to the people.  Stop favoring some nations over others, and some people over others.

Over the last decade we’ve been told (and seen it for the lie it is) that bombs can transform nations into democracies.  Not only is that not true (so far it’s not worked in either Iraq or Afghanistan) it is ridiculous.  The only things bombs transform is people, from living people into dead people.  Period.

So what should our foreign policy be?  It should be, to paraphrase Washington, a policy of peace and trade with all nations, entangling alliances with none.  If we are a free nation, then our policy should be one which is in line with that idea of freedom.  Trade should not be used as a weapon in the form of sanctions against any nation, whether or not we agree with it’s internal domestic politics, as doing so is not only the reason we have suffered blow back, it is unethical.

Some people will condemn this policy as “isolationist”.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, this is the policy the US followed for most of it’s first century, with a few notable exceptions.  As Rothbard notes, “Until the smear campaign of the late 1930’s, opponents of war were considered the true ‘internationalists’, men who opposed the aggrandizement of the nation-state and favored peace, free trade, free migration and peaceful cultural exchanges among peoples of all nations.”(Rothbard)  To call the libertarian who argues for peace instead of the aggrandizement of violence an “isolationist” is simply ridiculous.  It is time the United States returned to such a policy.

How do we do this?  It is important for us, the citizens, to start holding our politicians feet to the fire.  Libertarians in the US must lead the way, and I think we have an especially important role to play, as we have been the most interventionist/imperialist government of the last century.  I hate saying that, but it’s true.  I’m sure those who have “drunk the Kook-Aid” put out by the Establishment about the justice and saintliness of our foreign affairs will find this statement a shock, but it is the truth.  As Rothbard succinctly put it “In the name of national self-determination and collective security against aggression, the American government has consistently pursued a goal and a policy of world domination and of the forcible suppression of any rebellion against the status quo anywhere in the world.  In the name of “combatting ‘aggression’ everywhere–of being the world’s ‘policeman’–it has itself become a great and continuing aggressor.”  Just ask those most affected by our policy if they agree with this statement and most likely they will.

Instead of acting as the world’s policeman and involving ourselves in any and every dispute which arrises, it is time we persue a policy of non-intervention.  It is time we bring home our troops which have been stationed in Europe and Japan since World War II (the war did, afterall, end over 60 years ago!), dissolve or extricate ourselves from NATO (a relic of the cold war, which ended more than 15 years ago), and engage with nations as equals, not as if we are the master and they are the servant.  By doing this we would see immediate benefits and the economic growth which would result from lower taxes and more productive workers would be incredible.  If President Obama were truly interested in peace (as his peace prize suggests he is) this is the policy he would follow.  Unfortunately, war is the health of the state, and war leads to increased power for the state, so I do not expect him to end this war anytime soon.  I would expect he will continue (as he has for the past year) the war on terrorism, the war on drugs, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan.

The triumph of Socialism?

I have often been amazed at the prevalence of socialist ideas in today’s America.  I wouldn’t say I’m shocked, but I am surprised that so many people find socialism, in America, to be a good thing.  Even some former students, some of whom were anti-liberal at one point, over the last year or so have become “socialist”, at least in their thinking.  I just read a poll which said that only 11% of the people around the world thing capitalism is a good thing.  25% believe capitalism is fatally flawed.

What is truly shocking is that just 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc, people think government controls and socialist/communist ideals aren’t a bad thing.  When this system in EasternEurope collapsed we saw what it had created: a backward society where  ”people lived short and miserable lives.”  Yet, 20 years later, people think socialism is a good thing?

What get’s me is that most people don’t even understand what capitalism is, or what “free market capitalism” is.  They equate the US system with capitalism, yet calling the US a “free market economy” would be incorrect.  Heck, most Americans do not know what capitalism is.  Even the great Michael Moore doesn’t know what capitalism is.  For the last year or so we have heard how capitalism in the US has failed, “this is despite the reality that the United States has a comprehensive planning apparatus in place that is directly responsible for all our current economic troubles.”  Anytime someone blames the current troubles on capitalism I cringe and wonder about the state of our education system.  Capitalism is a system which protects the rights of everyone and serves the common good.  The current system in this country does the exact opposite.  Through a system of taxation and inflation certain groups are favored at the expense of other groups.  This is NOT capitalism.

While it may be fashionable to be “socialist” or “marxist” today, the fact is, these systems are unworkable.  History has shown this to be the case.  When government does not interfere in the market except to enforce the natural law rights of individuals, there is prosperity.  However, when the government interferes in the market to create “prosperity” as it did in the earlier part of this decade with the housing market, there is inevitable pain, as we are seeing now.  Yet, ironically, we do not get calls for less government interference.  Instead we hear calls for more government interference in the economy.  I can only put this down to a failure in our government schools to teach students how to think.  I fear, what we have instead, is a situation in which the government schools are teaching students that it, the government, is the only solution to the ills of society.

Life changes

Well, the last 48 hours or so have been filled with excitement and dread.  Excitement over my appointment as the at-Risk coordinator here at Coronado.  It is a chance to work with kids who need someone to challenge them and show them the value of education.

However, there is a flip side to this coin.  I have to leave the classroom, and that is something which makes me extremely sad.  When I first came into the teaching profession back in August of 2005, I knew almost immediately, this was for me.  I completely loved it!  I loved the interaction with the students and I loved teaching them not to think like I do, but to think.

Over the last 2 years I was blessed with some wonderful AP students.  I will never forget them, or the things they have taught me.  This year I have also had some great students, not the least of whom are my IB kids.  They have been amazing.  They have risen to the challenge and pushed me to be a better teacher.  They are truly a great set of kids with an amazing future in store.

So one week from now I will no longer be an active classroom teacher.  That phase of my life will have come to an end.  However, a new chapter will be starting, and, while I may no longer be an active class room teacher I will keep this blog alive.  Hopefully I can still spread some knowledge and humor (so keep reading and responding).  To all my ‘babies’(as my wife calls them) I will always be YOUR teacher.

Inflation? What inflation?

One of the things I keep hearing from various statists (and their defenders) is that there “is no inflation” (these are the same people whom in 2006 said I was crazy for thinking there was an economic crisis on the horizon).  Some even argue inflation is a good thing.

The coming problem with the economy is depicted on this graph.

Yes, this graph is a good indicator of the coming problem, one which could make 2008/09 look like a joke.  You can see that, in the last year or so the Federal Reserve has increased the money supply by an incredible 120% (note: the chart up above only takes into account the M1, not the M1+M2+M3 for ease of viewing purposes only and various sources give different amounts for the exact increase in monetary supply).  Yes, you read correctly.  The monetary stock has been increased by 120%, give or take.

The red line, however, is of particular interest.  It is the size of excess reserves being held by the banks.  So far most of the money the Federal reserve has “pumped” into the banks has remained in the banks.  Believe it or not, that is a good thing.  Why?  Because once this money starts leaving the banks (and it will) then it will “gain velocity” and we will have inflation.  Back in the early 1980’s the chairman of the Fed, in order to counter an increase in the money supply of approximately 13% was forced to raise interest rates to 20%-21%.  Want to purchase a home with 20% interest rates?  I didn’t think so.

But the Fed, at some point, will have to raise interest rates or it will destroy itself.  The result of this will be to crush what ever economic comeback will take place in the next year or so (if there is any economic come-back).

So when I hear politicians complain that the banks aren’t loaning money and are bad for keeping “stimulus” money in their vaults, I thank the banks (at least in this instance) for being greedy.

For the three or four people regular readers, tomorrow a little discussion about the gold standard.

Free market solutions to Health Care

As our days get shorter and the temperatures drop, we see the debate about the US health care system heat up.  Democrats and Republicans alike argue how best to provide “affordable health care for all”.  Unfortunately, both sides are arguing for different versions of what is essentially the same solution: government intervention.

Here is a thought from left field (or, since it’s free market solution, would it be right field?):  let the free market solve the problem.  What a novel idea!

However, before we solve the current “problem” we might want to try and understand what exactly is the root cause of this problem.

The first problem we tend to hear about is “health care in this country is too expensive.”  Having a sick wife, I can attest to the fact that health care is quite expensive.  However, one must (or should) ask “why is it so expensive”?  Is it because the “free market” does not work (something we are often told by statists) or is it because the market is, in fact, responding to intervention in the market by government?  I would suggest the problem is, in fact, multi-faceted, but the main problem is two-fold.  It is caused by government inflating the dollar and then spending said dollar in the health care arena (thus you have more dollars chasing the same number of goods and an increase in price) and by the fact you have a virtual monopoly on who can and can not become a supplier of health care services.

The second part of this problem is caused by the monopoly powers of the American Medical Association (the AMA).  They have act as gate-keeper if you will in the creation of medical schools.  Through their powers of accreditation and certification they ensure the number of doctors in this country is kept as low as possible, the result of which means they MUST charge more money (more buyers chasing the same amount of “product” means the price of that product must be increased) and results in doctors making more money.  An interesting fact is that approximately 10% of all applicants to medical school are accepted.  I seriously doubt only 10% of the applicants to medical school are qualified to be doctors.

So how could we solve this problem?  Easy.  Free up the market and you will see an improvement not just in the quantity of health care available, but in the quality of health care which is provided.  Think of high definition televisions (or cell phones for that matter).  It was not long ago that HD televisions were hovering around the $10,000 price range.  Today, you can get them for SIGNIFICANTLY LESS money, thanks to the innovations of the free market (or at least a market which is significantly more free than the health care market).  Cell phones at one point were large and expensive.  Today, they are small, affordable and of far better quality, with many cell phones containing such “space-age” features as GPS, internet, email and gizmos limited only by the imagination of would-be designers.

The second part of the problem is to end the monopoly power of the AMA.  Why is it that, when someone is taken ill with a respiratory infection or common cold they have to see a Doctor to obtain medication?  Why not allow people to see a “medical technician” in such cases, a person who did not attend a full fledged medical school, but perhaps has had a year or two of training to provide people with basic services in “non-emergency” situations?

Some would argue the latter solution would be unsafe.  How can they assume this?  If the current system is full proof then why do we have patients who sue doctors for “malpractice”?  We have it because it isn’t full proof.  It will never be full proof.  Instead of going to a doctor who charges $300 an hour for his services (because he has a ton of med school loans to pay off) why not go to a trained technician who would charge say, $20 to look in your throat, take your temperature and prescribe some basic medication?  If you don’t get better after a day or so, then go to the more advanced practitioner.  This would cut down on people using their health insurance (which should truly only be used in cases of catastrophic illness such as hospitalization) to pay for the equivalent of an oil change and tire rotation on your car.  Would you use insurance for that procedure?  No.  Of course not.

The good news is that, without government intervention, the market is stepping in to solve this problem.  Walgreens is developing “retail health clinics” where you see a health care professional and can purchase medication right there in their store.  Wait times will be shorter than a doctors office and prices will be low.  THIS is innovation and the free market at work.  This would NEVER happen if we allow the people who run Amtrack, the war on Terrorism and the Fannie Mae get their hands on health care.  Remember, if there is something being done in this world, and it’s being done wrong, it’s probably being done by the US Government!

What has happened with costs in the health care market is not because it’s free, in fact it is far from “free”.  It is caused by intervention by government bureaucrats who, although I’m sure they mean well with their ideas of “economic justice” and “redistribution of wealth”, by intervening in the economy simply create the very problems they are trying to solve.  What is amazing to me is that, after about a century of experimentation in the market place with “progressive” ideas we still have not learned our lesson.  Socialism/Marxism/cooperative economics does not work.  There is a mountain of evidence to prove it does not work.  And yet, here we are in 2009 being led by people who look to the writings of Karl Marx and Mao and tell us that if we just increase the amount of socialism in the health care industry all will be well.

Here are some facts to help prove my point.  In 1990 the government said medicare would cost us $12 billion.  They were wrong by about $95 billion.  In the UK, 20% of patients with “treatable” colon cancer (treatable at the time of discovery) have to wait so long for the “free treatment” to start that their cancer has become incurable.  Think about that.  In Massachusetts the state implemented a universal health care system.  Some refer to it as the Romney miracle (one of the things I dislike about Mitt Romney).  Rather than lower costs the people of that state have seen their health care costs RISE 18%!  This is what happens when government gets involved and tries to regulate the market.

If government completely takes over the health care industry, we will all be feeling like this patient!

 

 

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”…

What a great sporting weekend.  I am never amazed by the power of sports and their usefulness to us as human beings.  What am I talking about?  Please bear with me.

The past week or so has been a dark time for us Liverpool FC fans.  Last Saturday we lost our third match in a row thanks to a freak beach ball on the pitch and an incompetent set of officials who forgot the rules of the game (or chose to completely re-write the rules of the game).  On Tuesday we lost in the Champions League to Lyon, something Liverpool don’t usually do (especially not at home).  By Wednesday morning the British press were calling for our manager to be sacked, and things looked truly dark.

However, then came Sunday.  Arch rivals (and three time defending Champion) Manchester United came to Anfield.  To make things worse, club captain Steven Gerrard (the best player in the world in my opinion) would be left out due to injury sustained on international duty in a completely meaningless friendly match.  Fernando Torres was questionable, and things did not look good.  However, as someone once said, that’s why they play the game.  By the end it was 2-0 and could have been 4-0 in favor of Liverpool.

As the song says, “At the end of the storm is a golden sky…”.  Is this the start of our march toward title number 19?  Champions league title number 6?  Who knows?  The season is a long one, 28 more matches to go (in the League).  But, the fact is, Liverpool have just won a MASSIVE match (viewed by more people around the world than the Super Bowl) and we are within striking distance of league leaders Chelsea.  And it is a very good Monday morning!

Goalie Pepe Reina celebrates the second goal against Manchester United on Sunday

Pity the Imperialists

A great post which I found quite interesting. Check it out.

Pity the Imperialists

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