When I pulled up my home page (yes, I can still do that) this is the first headline I read.
Test Shows Troubling Trend for U.S.
Oh no! What now? Are we doomed to global warming? Are we running out of natural resources? Are Fords and Chrysler's falling apart? No, the story relates our 15-year-old kids test scores.
Asian Nations Dominate International Test Scores.
Teens from Asian nations dominated a global exam given to 15-year-olds, while U.S. students showed little improvement and failed to reach the top 20 in math, science or reading, according to test results released Tuesday.
American students scored below the international average in math and about average in science and reading.
The top average scores in each subject came from Shanghai, China's largest city with more than 20 million people. Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong were among the participants with students scoring at the top on average in each subject. Vietnam, which had its students participate for the first time, had a higher average score in math and science than the United States.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the results a "picture of educational stagnation."
"We must invest in early education, raise academic standards and make college affordable." Duncan said. "Test results haven't changed much since 2000."
Dare I say? Maybe children in other countries are more concerned with their studies? Maybe children in other countries value learning and education more than American kids? Maybe children in other countries are inherently smarter? And really, does it matter?
Sooner or later people are going to come to the realization we all, every single one of us, are citizens of this planet and we better work together. So what if the kids in China become scientists and mathematicians. The American kids will always have the service industry jobs to rely on.
"The HOT DOUGHNUT LIGHT will be on in a minute."
Look, I realize there's a lot more to this, our pride and all.
Younger Daughter Rebecca loves what she does. She spent years in school to obtain her M.A. She teaches in Oregon. She is paid once a month and said, "The only day of the month I don't like is payday."
Now, I don't know if teachers salaries are higher in other countries. Maybe it is more motivated kids that make them superior? I just think a little more appreciation and monetary reward for our teachers; our GOOD teachers may go a long way toward increased performance here at home.
This math and science topic is especially meaningful today.
I have a total page view count on the blog. Yesterday it was 39,665 and this morning 39,736. Hits from this computer do not count. If my math is correct it means yesterday 71 people clicked onto this site. I also have a stats page that records daily, weekly and monthly traffic. Yesterday's page views totaled 92.
Seventy-one.....ninety-two.....no wonder we're twenty first in math, even this computer can't get it right.
This is from the A.P. I rarely copy and paste anything but this is so vile, and topical I want you to read it in full.
A woman charged with killing a fellow Alabama fan after the end of last weekend's Iron Bowl football game was angry that the victim and others didn't seem upset over the Crimson Tide's loss to arch rival Auburn, said the sister of the slain woman.
Adrian Laroze Briskey, 28, was charged Monday with murder in the killing of 36-year-old Michelle Shepherd.
Hoover police Capt. Jim Coker said both Birmingham women were Alabama fans and at the same party for the annual game between interstate rivals. With no time left on the clock, Auburn returned a missed Crimson Tide field goal more than 100 yards for a 34-28 victory, dashing any hopes of Alabama playing for a third straight national championship.
The victim's sister, Nekesa Shepherd, said she witnessed the killing and had no doubt it was about football, even though it was unclear to investigators whether the violence was motivated by the game.
''That's one of the things we are investigating,'' Coker said Monday.
Nekesa Shepherd said Briskey flew into a rage when she saw the sisters and others joking that the Crimson Tide's loss wasn't as bad as if the NBA's Miami Heat had lost a game.
''She said we weren't real Alabama fans because it didn't bother us that they lost. And then she started shooting,'' Shepherd told The Associated Press.
Shepherd said she and her sister were invited to the party by a mutual friend who also invited Briskey. About two dozen people were on hand.
Shepherd, the mother of three, was shot to death in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover and the women did not know each other before the party, Coker said.
Court records were not available to show whether Briskey has a lawyer. She has only had a couple of speeding tickets in the past, records show.
Coker said alcohol might have been involved, but investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to make a determination.
Shepherd said Briskey drank multiple shots of liquor during the game and ''went crazy'' when she heard people joking after 'Bama lost.
''It was over a football game,'' said Shepherd. ''I'm never going to forget it because she died in my arms.''
People are sending hate and vicious tweets to the Alabama kicker. He's a college kid who had a terrible day, he missed three field goals. Did he lose the game for Alabama? No he didn't. But, if one of those misses was good his team probably has a victory. He's a college kid who did the best he could. Is that deserving of hate mail?
People are sending Carrie Underwood hate mail because she isn't Julie Andrews. How dare she play the part in the televised "Sound of Music?" I don't know why anyone much under the age of forty would even care. So, does this mean people my age are sending Carrie Hate Tweets?
Our days are regularly interrupted with new atrocities. Something that was unheard of just a few years ago, sports fans beating each other senseless, usually for wearing a different team's logo, is a common occurrence. It seems every few years we hear of terrible mass shootings and other crimes against humanity.
Fistfights between women on Black Friday now happen every year.
Does the ability to say anything to anyone in writing desensitize people to actual human contact?
Garry.....a friend and fellow cruiser sent me this article a few weeks ago.
A disgruntled parking lot attendant in Florida parked several dozen cars end to end and threw the keys in a dumpster.
When the people returned from a nice relaxing week long Caribbean cruise they had a problem, a big problem. Tow trucks and locksmiths were called to the scene. It was chaos. Some folks who lived close enough were able to call relatives to bring a spare car key. The story is more involved but I'm sure you get the gist of it. It's not so much the story as a comment I'd like to point out.
"Why didn't some of those who lived closer have family members drive them to the Port of Miami? It is cheaper and you don't have to worry about leaving your car in a parking lot."
Now that's a constructive and sympathetic comment.
The computer is a marvel and wonder that's brought people from all over the world closer together. Now if those people would behave with a little more compassion and think before they act, the world just may be a better place.
But honestly, I have my doubts that'll happen.
The problem people don't give a damn about consequences.
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