Jonah Goldberg does a great job of explaining why the latest news about China passing Japan is not that big a deal.
see the article at Townhall.com
In fact, per capita income is lower for China than it is for many African nations. The last I saw, China was #99 out of about 185 countries in terms of per capital income. That is no threat to the US. Of course 1.3 Billion people can produce a lot of cheap plastic garbage. However, I don't think many people would trade their middle-class lifestyle in the US or Japan for that of middle-class China.
In addition, a rich China does mean more markets for US goods and that's a good thing. So a strong China is good for everyone even if it means they are more competitive with the US for world domination. Rising standards of living in China do not have to mean a zero sum gain or a reduction in US standards of living.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Why Government Fails The People, Education Edition.
This is a prime example how government is ineffective in delivering products or services outside or Courts and Military protection.
LA Times
There are two problems here. One, administrators are doing nothing to address the performance of teachers. Two, teachers have no idea how they are really performing. I'm sure all of the LA teachers think they are above average. Statistically, that's impossible.
The really scary thing is that many kids get poor teachers in back-to-back years. My guess is that a study of these kids in 15 years will reveal the true cost of a poor education. Data would suggest that the problem is not more money, but truly teacher performance.
My own kids have had both good and not-so-good teachers. I think we knew it before the first parent teacher conference. Shame on us for not doing more to address the issue as it hurt our kids. Fortunately, I do not think we ever had a back-to-back situation.
One thing I am going to do is check standardized test results. I want to see this information for myself.
LA Times
There are two problems here. One, administrators are doing nothing to address the performance of teachers. Two, teachers have no idea how they are really performing. I'm sure all of the LA teachers think they are above average. Statistically, that's impossible.
The really scary thing is that many kids get poor teachers in back-to-back years. My guess is that a study of these kids in 15 years will reveal the true cost of a poor education. Data would suggest that the problem is not more money, but truly teacher performance.
My own kids have had both good and not-so-good teachers. I think we knew it before the first parent teacher conference. Shame on us for not doing more to address the issue as it hurt our kids. Fortunately, I do not think we ever had a back-to-back situation.
One thing I am going to do is check standardized test results. I want to see this information for myself.
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