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Education in the Information Age

Posted by MacArthur Parker on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 4:00:37 PM
The classroom was a concept developed before the invention of the printing press, when most adults were illiterate, and leeches were the height of medical technology. Is it really the best way to teach people in an age where information is readily available from multiple viewpoints, for free? The classroom does have its advantages, to be sure, but is the amount of time kids spend sitting and fidgeting really necessary?

Separating kids into grades according to age may be convenient, but given the vast differences in ability and socialization for any age group, should we cling to it? Wouldn't it be better for them to form social groups based on interests and abilities, rather than age alone?

Many teachers see their role as to not only teach skills, but also to mold the character of their students, and shape their ideology. Are you comfortable with this? Wouldn't you rather be able to hire someone to teach your child English or Math without them having to learn collectivism?

These are just a few of the questions I have about formulating a modern education system that puts learning ahead of the interests of teachers unions or lazy parents. I would appreciate lots of feedback on this, and your own questions to add to the list.

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The Griefocracy

Posted by MacArthur Parker on Monday, March 23, 2009 2:19:45 PM
An 18-year-old woman sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend of two months, who proceeded to forward the photo to his friends. She was then teased about it, and subsequently committed suicide. Her parents seem to think that this requires a new law against "sexting". It doesn't occur to them that the same self-esteem problem that caused her to date a jerk and send him naked pictures may have also caused her to commit suicide over being called names. They are in pain, and therefore the law must change to reflect their emotions.

This phenomenon is nothing new. Parents who lose a child tragically often seek to rewrite laws so that "no other parent goes through what they went through" and "their child's death was not for nothing". But if we think rationally, they are the last people who should be formulating public policy, since the loss of a child is so very traumatic that it clouds all reason. Sadly, some people will die young, and no law can change that. And most of those deaths ARE pointless.

Bad cases make for bad law, and any law named after a victim is probably bad public policy.

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Regulations and the Environment

Posted by MacArthur Parker on Monday, April 14, 2008 10:52:28 AM
The environmental lobby has been seeking broad powers to regulate industry, in order to protect us from pollution and other ecological "catastrophes". Without debating the merits of their position on AGW or whatever they are calling the current "crisis", lets look at their "solution".

The biggest ecological disasters happened in the old Soviet Union. The drying of the Aral Sea, air pollution in industrial cities like Vilnius and Vladivostok, and of course, the Chernobyl disaster make make the Love Canal look like Aspen Colorado. Currently, the biggest emitter of CO2 is China. So much for finding salvation with a managed economy.

Managed economies do not struggle to maximize profits, they struggle to survive on a very thin margin, causing them to be blinded any other concerns. Western corporations can afford to make concessions to the green lobby without going broke, because of the very profit margins that liberals hate them for.

So, even if it turns out that AGW is real, do not look to government to solve the crisis; history shows that it will only make things worse.

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Communism and Tribalism: It Takes a Village to Raise an Idiot

Posted by MacArthur Parker on Friday, April 11, 2008 12:00:00 AM
The single worst form of government ever foisted on the world is tribalism; it is detrimental to human rights, technological growth, economic stability, and defense. Yet liberals love to quote African and Native American tribal expressions; they encourage those living in tribal communities to hold onto their "traditions". Why?

It cannot be that liberals are lovers of tradition and the wisdom of their elders; that would make them conservatives. They are always after Westerner to cast off their old ways of thinking and embrace "change". Nor is it a particular love for those peoples; if they really cared about them they would encourage them to to the sorts of things that would help them to succeed, ie abandon their superstitions and outdated societal structure.

No, the real reason for the affection liberals have for the aboriginal society is that Marxism is an attempt to impose a tribal culture on industrial societies. They want us all to abandon the notion of private property, gather everything into one big pot, and then dish it out to everyone.

If we follow their advice, we can expect to enjoy the same standard of living and technological advancement that Africa and the world's aboriginals are famous for.
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