by Jason on June 15, 2009
As many of you know from reading this blog, my wife and I were originally supporters and voters for Senator Clinton who then ultimately backed Senator McCain and Governor Palin in the 2008 election. Our reasoning were varied, and if you look in the archives you will find out why, so I am not going to rehash it all here again.
What we both find fascinating is the constant obsession of the left with Governor Palin and her family. Her family can’t seem to do anything without being ridiculed by the “liberal elite” in this country…a.k.a. the mainstream media. Just look at her recent trip to the baseball game. Some strange, and many people now think dirty old man, of 61 years has to make some sick remark about her 14 year old daughter getting knocked up. According to CNN, Governor Palin responded:
“Acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others,” she said in a statement, assuming the joke was in reference to Willow.
It is interesting how most of the groups that work so hard to defend the rights of women seem to be so quiet when it is a woman of conservative principals that gets attacked. Why do you think that is? These “entertainers” can’t seem to get enough of Governor Palin. I posit that the reason is that they are very afraid of her and for what she stands. We attended rallies where huge groups of people waited in line to hear her speak on multiple occasions. Her ticket did not win in 2008, but I wouldn’t be so quick to count her out. The liberal intelligentsia wouldn’t be so quick to criticize and insult her if they were not afraid of what change she might bring.
by Jason on June 15, 2009
I had a lot of high hopes for Governor Stickland, but he continues to disappoint. His education plan is basically a joke. There are no real changes. He wants Ohio students to add another month to their school calendar. I’ve got no problem with that as long as we are compensated. But just like students in my home state of West Virginia, the buckeye state is full of college-aged students looking for a way out.
As reported in the Columbus Dispatch, this brain drain phenomena is something that many in Ohio considered to be a problem of the poorer states like West Virginia, but according to a new study, our educated are looking to get out. According to the survey:
• Seventy-four percent of respondents say it is very important that the ideal job should have good opportunities for promotion and pay increases, while 53 percent want work that regularly involves new challenges.
• About 60 percent say they like the idea of a state cash grant for a down payment on a house as an enticement to remain in Ohio after graduation, and 65 percent say a state income-tax credit would be appealing.
• More than half are very interested in internships, co-ops and opportunities to meet with local companies.
• Education is a field worth consideration in the minds of 55 percent of the students surveyed, and almost half of the students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math fields show interest in pursuing education as at least a temporary career.
• Students are more concerned about success and money than about public service.
So as an educator in both high school and college levels, I worry about this problem. We are doing our best to educate students to be productive, confident, and good citizens. What can we do to get a few to stick around Ohio?
On a related note, I will soon be posting about why I am strongly considering backing and working to make John Kasich the next governor of Ohio.
Being a high school teacher, this time of year I am used to all of the graduation parties and the activities that are so important to our graduating seniors. Today, in fact, I had the honor to give one of my students his high school diploma at our graduation ceremony at Westerville South High School. I’ve also hit a couple of graduation parties and have had a great time watching these young men and women take a giant leap into adulthood.
It saddned me to hear of the “prank” perpatrated by a student, or students, at Centerburg High School. According to local reports, and to the Mount Vernon News, a high school senior was caught hacking into the school computer system and attaining access to school tests from one of the high school Social Studies teachers. But what happened next shocked the community, and I think others across the state of Ohio.
Lynn McCann, school board president, said the board spent four hours Thursday evening discussing options when evidence of cheating by some students on tests administered by world social studies teacher Mike Vargo came to light.
“We toyed with the idea about postponing commencement for a week to keep investigating to see where it leads,” he said. “If you go back through the test scores of, let’s say, John Smith, and it is decided that he cheated on this one and this one and that one, he would get a zero and a zero and a zero. That could knock his grade down enough to fail. He would not pass a required course and he would not graduate.”
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the school board made a huge mistake. I cannot understand how the board of education chose to punish all high school seniors for the actions of one, or even several students. I think it is a shock and an outrage that all seniors were punished in such a way and I hope that the community lets the board of education know how they feel during the next set of elections.
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