Somebody, somewhere, wants this part of the core curriculum
When laws like NCLB centralize funding by tying money to tests, every wacky kook job lobbies for their special case to be part of the nation’s core curriculum. Even us computer geeks get in on the action:
ACM CEO John R. White welcomed the Obama team’s efforts to increase the pool of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields and identified key recommendations to address the particular challenges at the K-12 level. "The new Administration can play an important role in strengthening middle school education, where action can really make a difference, to introduce these students to computer science. They can also expand efforts to increase the number of females and underrepresented minorities in this field and expand professional development opportunities for high school computer science teachers."
The ACM approach actually isn’t that bad. Middle school is probably not too bad a time to introduce kids that are interested to logic and programming. I’d never used a computer but was introduced to one in 9th grade, and was programming a few days later.
But I don’t like who they are talking too…. President-Elect Obama. One guy. One lever of power. I don’t like the ACM having access to that, nor do I like gay activists, Christian activists, or any other “activist” having just one lever to pull to control all of us.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Simple solution is no federal funding except scholarships. No grants, no meals, nothing except federal standard tests for federal jobs. Oops, we have those!
December 24th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I agree. There are lots of things the federal government doesn’t need to fund.
Only by getting rid of the 16th amendment can we get the Feds out of this crazy venture.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
No free school lunch- if you cant afford a buck for your kid’s lunch, you shouln’t have had kids. Most houses I’ve been in that get this have nicer TV’s than I do..
December 24th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I hear three advocates for the economically secure to guard their advantage for education opportunity. Upward mobility for kids who picked the right parents. Hail our Land of Opportunity?
December 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I don’t have any kids that need any advantage. I’m tired of educating Mexico. I’m tired of irresponsible people making bad decisions, and I get to pay for it. Am I the only one who thinks that parents should be responsible for their children, not society?
December 24th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
There are plenty of full merit tuition scholarships out there for achievers and very smart kids. The feds can add those necessary for critical skill sets or breaking monopolies like the AMA. This is not the Land of Guarantees except for some volunteers who may have a verbal contract with politicians which is shaky at best.