Over the weekend I read several interesting pieces related to the issues we see at 48 Days. I’m including a few here with questions for you to respond to:
- A new study from Pew Research Center found that 61% of 19-34 yr olds get their political news from Facebook, whereas only 19% look to local or national TV as their source. We no longer trust the “news” as being unbiased so we might as well get our updates from people who already align with our views.
Is news from our peers rather than from “professionals” a good thing or a questionable trend?
- Cambridge University – the prestigious institute of higher education in England – was just given $6 million from The Lego
Foundation to foster study in the field of playing. The Foundation wants the university to create a professor position and a research center dedicated to examining the role that play has in development and learning. The ideal candidate will be smart, innovative and have a head that can be interchanged with Homer Simpson.
Are studies in “walking, maple syrup, fishing, and duck calling” a legitimate part of a university degree?
- A recent study from Bentley University found that of millennials (approx 12-30 yrs old), two-thirds (67%) plan to start their own business. By contrast, only 13% said they see themselves climbing the corporate ladder. That’s a huge shift from previous generations. One of the implications is that it’s no longer necessary to go the big cities where the corporate jobs are. They can choose based on climate, creative culture, and proximity to mountains, water or snow.
Is is reasonable for a 20-yr-old to start his/her own business or do corporate jobs provide needed training for moving into that later?
- A Trenton, New Jersey elementary school teacher who was allowed to keep his job despite being late for work 111 times in two years. He says eating a heathy breakfast is to blame for his tardiness. In a decision filed Aug. 19, an arbitrator in New Jersey rejected an attempt by the Roosevelt Elementary School to fire Anderson from his $90,000-a-year job, saying he was entitled to progressive discipline. Anderson remains suspended without pay until Jan. 1. The arbitrator found that the district failed to provide Anderson with due process by not providing him with a formal notice of inefficiency or giving him 90 days to correct his failings before terminating his employment. This dude says it’s only been “1 or 2 minutes” and it’s in that time when students are just coming into the classroom. Guess what he teaches – Math. 2+2=5 Hey that’s close enough!
Does teacher tenure provide needed job security or does it protect incompetence and inefficiency?
Let me know what you think. I’ll share some of your interesting comments on the 48 Days Podcast this week.
Q: Is news from our peers rather than from “professionals” a good thing or a questionable trend?
A: We ‘hear’ what we want to hear because we have already formed an opinion we label as ‘fact.’ Once the ‘professionals’ began telling biased news reports, they became no different a source of information than our peers. Most people choose to follow news that already aligns with their views, anyway.
Q: Are studies in “walking, maple syrup, fishing, and duck calling” a legitimate part of a university degree?
A: The financing by Lego strikes me as a means of getting high-quality research data to support future marketing campaigns to promote Lego toys and theme parks – clever!
Ironically, there’s never been a better time to pursue these seemingly silly university degrees. One can position oneself as an expert or mentor on almost any topic. Their only flaw lies in the belief that merely receiving the degree entitles the recipient to income. These graduates could become the world’s ‘foremost authority on maple syrup tasting’ – helping restaurants select premium ingredients. Or, ‘the competing fisherman’s coach’ could help weekend sport fishermen stronger competitors. Or, avid hunters could use the assistance of the guy who can share ‘the top secret techniques of duck calling used by the pros.’
Q: Is is reasonable for a 20-yr-old to start his/her own business or do corporate jobs provide needed training for moving into that later?
A: It is certainly reasonable for a 20-yr-old to start his or her own business. That 20-yr-old would need to be very self-reliant, responsible, and self-aware. People tend to dismiss such a possibility because they know only their own experience of immaturity at the same age.
Q: Does teacher tenure provide needed job security or does it protect incompetence and inefficiency?
A: As husband to a teacher, I know the extra burden his tardiness placed on his colleagues. When kids show up, somebody has to watch them. They should divide up his unpaid salary during the suspension and divvy it out to the teachers who stepped in to watch over the kids in his classroom before he arrived.
61% of 19 to 34s get their views from Facebook, really? That level of non-thinking disengagement in deep social and political discourse explains the deplorable state of what is left of our democratic process. No wonder our Congressman have to pass a bill to find out what’s in it and their constituents don’t call them on it. We won’t have any intelligent leadership unless we have an educated electorate. An excellent, moral and rational representative government can only exist when those who pull the levers are excellent, moral and rational. Otherwise, the representative government represents the values and education of people who are not educated and high-minded. Facebook government? Got it. When I was a kid, we read Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and deToqueville’s Democracy in America and debated the merits of their ideas. And walked uphill in the snow to and from school even in June. 🙂 Can we do better? I would hope so but my hope is fading.