I’m writing for tomorrow and getting ready for a hellacious week. Tomorrow I will be collecting the data for and writing the Monthly Report for March. Wednesday I have to pack and run errands. Thursday I leave to get my volunteer training. Friday I return and unpack. Saturday I have a meeting that cannot be postponed. On a scale of one to ten, ARGH!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:34). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: A few months ago, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and Marlene Seltzer, the chief executive of Jobs for the Future, published an article in Politico titled “Closing the Skills Gap.” They began portentously: “Today, nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed. Yet, at the same time, 4 million jobs sit unfilled” — supposedly demonstrating “the gulf between the skills job seekers currently have and the skills employers need.”
Actually, in an ever-changing economy there are always some positions unfilled even while some workers are unemployed, and the current ratio of vacancies to unemployed workers is far below normal. Meanwhile, multiple careful studies have found no support for claims that inadequate worker skills explain high unemployment.
But the belief that America suffers from a severe “skills gap” is one of those things that everyone important knows must be true, because everyone they know says it’s true. It’s a prime example of a zombie idea — an idea that should have been killed by evidence, but refuses to die.
And it does a lot of harm. Before we get there, however, what do we actually know about skills and jobs?
Click through to see how Paul Krugman debunks this Republican lie. What we have is a Republican gap: the separation Republicans cause between where we are and a more healthy economy.
From Alternet: Equal Opportunity is an American Mandate
In the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown vs. the Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren said that education "is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." Equally eminent future Justice Thurgood Marshall insisted on "the right of every American to an equal start in life."
But now, as The Economist points out, "Whereas most OECD countries spend more on the education of poor children than rich ones, in America the opposite is true." Poverty, of course, is of all colors, but it’s disproportionately black. The Civil Rights Project at UCLA shows that "segregated schools are systematically linked to unequal educational opportunities," while the Economic Policy Institute tells us that "African American students are more isolated than they were 40 years ago." New York City is the best example of that.
Charters and vouchers are the ‘choice’ of the free market. But the National Education Policy Center notes that "Charter schools…can shape their student enrollment in surprising ways," through practices that often exclude "students with special needs, those with low test scores, English learners, or students in poverty." Stanford’s updated CREDO study found that fewer special education students and fewer English language learners are served in charters than in traditional public schools.
This is one of four Arguments on why we must save public education from the Republican onslaught. Click through for the other three.
From Crooks and Liars: I’ve had a lot of good teachers in my life, but there have been a few really great ones who will always stand out. They were the teachers who took the extra steps and showed just how much they cared about their students. At Red Bank High School in Tennessee, Jennifer Mitts was that kind of teacher.
When one of her students got sick, she drove the student to the ER. When that student couldn’t pay her bill, Mitts took care of it herself. Instead of a pat on the back, however, she was forced to resign.
According to the [Republican] school board, Mitts had done similar things in the past and was asked to stop. She had also received several other infractions, though the school wasn’t clear on what those were.
The school board also says that Mitts was only suspended but willingly resigned. Mitts says she was forced to resign.
Leave it to Republicans to fire a grade A teacher for doing right. What vile TEAbuggery!!
Cartoon:
24 Responses to “Open Thread–4/1/2014”
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It’s good to be busy.
That’s the lLincoln Tomb and Memorial Garden in Springfield, IL.
Having grown up in iIllinois I’d recognize that obelisk anywhere. And Lincoln is about the only decent thing the Republicans can claim!
PS – Typing on a smartphone qwerty is a pain since I don’t text that much
My fingers ALWAYS hit the wrong spots.
They say if you want something done, give it to a busy person to do – obviously this works in your case, Tom. I'm tired just thinking about all you do!
The teacher colored outside the lines – what a huge no-no – what a darn shame. Makes me think about all the teachers I had that did more than required and made a huge difference. Now they just want robots and those robots will make no difference. We are all less because of that.
We need more like her!
3:38 Okay, TC. You were there first. Will you please make a Mai Tai for me?
4:04 I stopped for a snack.
3:22 Funny thing happened on the way to the snack wagon! I was mugged by a puddy tat!
CAT is where it's AT!!
5:09 Not sure I'd want to hold a catered event on a beach.
NT Times – One of the commenters on the site mentioned this, which is what I thought just reading your summary: I wonder how many of those 4 million jobs could be well done by older workers who have been edged out of the work force by age discrimination. I am also surprised that the GOP is even claimng a skills gap when they are doing more than anyone to create, increase and maintain skills gaps by trashing public education! The two points together suggests that they only want employees who look a certain way, doesn't it?
Alternet – Wonderful and timely article – see also Diane Ravitch on Moyers and Company for March 28 (I see it 2 days later here). There's a link to Diane in the article but not to the Moyers show – I think both are valuable.
Crooks and Liars – At least it sound like they have opened a can of worms and may be the recipients of the opening of a can of whoopass. I hope so.
Cartoon – Thanks, nameless, I zoomed through Illinois in 1979, not stopping in Springfield, and have never been back, so I needed the info.
Unrelated actions – I get these in emails and a few are new to me and seem just tailored for the readers of this blog. I'm not trying to steal TC's thunder. "Hold the Hypocrisy" campagn is from Roots Action at http://bit.ly/1lxmogU. Low Pay Is Not OK has a video with 2 former McDonald's managers ratting out how they were forced to steal wages at http://robbedonthejob.org/?utm_campaign=LowPay&utm_medium=email&utm_source=robbed-0401. Unfortunately neither of these is an April Fool joke.
Most Americans do not want those jobs. In my youth, I joined farmworkers in the field in an act of solidarity. I lasted for fourr hours. After teo, I thought I was going to die! And I was in good shape then.
Thanks for the good links.
NY Times: Krugman is so right! This myth that people are unemployed due to lack of skills fits well for the corporations that want lower paid workers and no benefits to those who work while giving the CEO;s millions in bonuses each year. It is also a good excuse to keep those who have jobs afraid to say anything about poor working conditions and lack of benefits.
Alternet: Equal opportunity in education no longer exists. While Eastern Ky is predominantly white, it is also the poorest section of the state, mainly because the coal companies have owned most of it since the early 1900's. More money is sent to the urban areas of the state, and have been since I was in school, long, long, ago. The "no child left behind" act from dubya did further harm. Teachers are no longer allowed to teach anything except what is on the "test" so their district can get its money. My grandmother, who only went to 8th grade, helped me with my physics homework in high school. That is how far our schools have deteriorated. Charter schools will only take more money from the public schools and cause more kids to receive inferior educations.
Crooks and Liars: their site is down for maintenance so I couldn't read the article. However, I agree, teabuggery is all you can call it when a teacher is fired for doing the right thing.
The cartoon is right on. Hope you get it all done, you are a busy man.
Edie, my brother in law had the same math text in as a high school Junior that I had in 7th grade!! 🙁
Puzzle — 3:22 Funny thing happened on the way to the snack wagon! I was mugged by a puddy tat!
NY Times —
Case in point, although a Canadian example. My niece was layed off from her job with a major courrier company where she was a supervisor in accounting and payroll. She did some more schooling to enhance her skills and job flexibility. Recently, she was offered a position at a starting income of $25K rather than the $40K she was looking for. There was no skills gap here but a gap in the understanding of the company — people need to be paid a living wage for the skills they will utilise on the job. The idea of slavery is dead, or at least should be.
The Republicanus/Teabaggers like Dimon are trying to make hay to cover their political tracks.
Alternet — As has been said many times, when you work with a bunch of turkeys, it is hard to soar like an eagle!
By keeping the inequality of opportunity in education, one ensures that only the elites progress, while all others flounder. The idea that public education is "socialist" is absolutely absurd. Public education is an investment in the future!
Crooks and Liars — Teabuggery is as teabuggery does! What a bunch of turkeys!
Cartoon — Sorry Mr Lincoln, it`s long over due!
Personal note I forgot to mention . . . I am back in my house with my 3 cats for the first time in 3 months. Renovations are almost complete (few small things) and this is our first night. The babes were a little spooked by the new floors etc, and of course, there are boxes all over the place to be emptied etc so they have "toys" and a jungle gym! The girls at the vet`s office are sad but they go back on 13/04/14 for 2 weeks while I am in Toronto.
Momma Puddy is very happy tonight to have her brood back!
Enjoy your new renovations. And give the pooties some tummy scritches from me.
Welcome home! 🙂
So glad you are back home, Lynn – I bet all the darlings are glad to have you back even though they were so loved at the vets!
Thanks everyone!
TC – do you happen to know if people knew that there was a petition to get Jennifer Mitts her job back – there is a link at the bottom of the Crooks and Liars article – signed of course! What appalling things to do to both Jennifer AND the pupils at the school – utterly shocking! (Petition now has 1,700 odd signatures – let's help it get more!).
What an amazing week you have planned TC – pace yourself, won't you?
In my bleary eyed state last night, I missed that petition. Thanks Pat. Signed with a comment "What else could one expect from a Republican state — no compassion for people (ill students) and no common sense or concern for the educational well being of its students."
I signed it.
HI TC.
Did you feel as sick and disgusted when watching and listening to the pandering and boot licking of the REPUG Presidential wannabees,to get $,s from a rich casino owner ( Adelson)???
What a bunch of crawlers!.I wanted to throw up!.
It's a good thing I have an industrial strength vacuum for my keyboard!!
7:06 – Puzzle