subjectivity

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Bold

If you're shy, hesitant, or passive, you run the risk of leading a boring life marked by routine and unfulfilled goals. Most progress has been led by people who were bold--scientists, political servants, artists, and others who didn't wait for opportunities; they created opportunities. So if you want to be bold and unstoppable, here are some ways to kick start your momentum.

Babies are dropped several stories for good health and good luck at a shrine in Solapur, in Maharastra, India. </span>

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=avBw74V2Lsuk&refer=us

You may remember the case of Christopher Pittman, a 12-year-old boy who shot his grandparents to death while they slept. 
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the chance of parole. His lawyers argued that that was too harsh of a sentence for a 12-year-old, especially since he was taking antidepressants at the time.

We know antidepressants have been proven to cause suicidal thoughts in kids and teenagers. and Christopher's behavior changed for the worse after he took some samples of Zoloft. Yet, the Supreme Court just refused to hear the kid's appeal. 

To me, that is refusing an amazing chance to really explore the dangers of the drugs. We are messing with people's brains -- how could anyone say that's irrelevant to their behavior? It's a slap in the face to science and to knowledge, and could very well be the cause of more deaths like this in the future. I can't say for sure but guess that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court doesn't want to put any shadow of blame on any pharmaceutical companies.

I wonder if there has ever been a case of a Supreme Court ordering a randomized controlled scientific trial or other scientific investigation to prove a case one way or another.

A charter school in New York is experimenting with paying teachers $125,000 a year.

One good thing about charter schools is that they've been able to experiment.  My hunch is that you don't even have to pay teachers THAT much (well at least outside New York), just reasonably more than what they make now and enough to support a comfortable middle class life. It seems like most good teachers are even more upset about lack of freedom in the classroom than they are about salary. Not that teachers shouldn't be paid more.  What do you guys think?

This charter school is also only paying the principal $90,000.  Doesn't say whether the principal will have the normal principal duties, but teachers will have more than normal teaching duties. They will work longer hours and more days of a year, and do more administrative stuff I think. There are no assistant principals and only 2 social workers. There will be 30 kids in each class. Also, the only electives will be Latin and music and everyone has to take them. I'm curious if there will be a library or science labs... where else are they cutting costs? He's just using public money and charter school grants. Plus, everyone wants to move up in life. If you start at $125,000, where do you go from there in a few years if all the teachers stay on?

Maybe this guy is being extra dramatic to prove a point that good teachers are the key ingredient to a good education, but I think the point could be proven for less...

In MY charter school, maybe I'd try paying the teachers $75,000. Have more social workers and guidance counselors. Not expect teachers to work longer hours, though, yes to more days of the year. Most teachers already work longer hours than many professions because of the time it takes to plan lessons and grade papers. Have a few fewer students in each classroom, and focus a lot on staff development -- mentoring programs for teachers, some kind of upward mobility, sending them to conferences whenever possible, bonuses and promotions based at least somewhat on student ratings of teachers, not just test score improvements.  I think Latin and music are good electives to start with, and this is only middle school. But it would be nice to have some kind of partnership with schools that offer different electives -- other languages, art, shop, etc., for students who do well in classes or have good behavior.

What would be in your charter school?  Wonder if there's a SIMS program for that?

In all seriousness, I don't think this issue is a huge deal, since Obama admitted right away he stole the words and should have credited them. But it should give pause to anyone who is voting for him because they like his speeches. Or anyone who thinks he's 'above' politics somehow.