Items of Interest 9/29/10 September 29, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
School Board regulates Homeschool – In Westport Connecticut, the local school board has set rules requiring homeschoolers to create a yearly portfolio and meet with the “director of pupil services” (does that sound like the ‘committee of public safety’ to anyone else? đ ) “The call to turn these procedures into policy was made to ensure all students in Westport receive a quality education” LOL!
Homeschooling moves Mainstream – From the today show. According to that we (homeschool students) now account for at least 3 percent of the population (up from the last study I saw which listed us at 2 percent) “data shows thereâs been an increase of 74 percent in the past 10 years.” Good news is that, like it or not, we’re here to stay. The bad news is that as we continue to absorb more and more of the school age population we become increasingly secular and average. Hopefully we (the Christian homeschool movement) will be a light to such people, and perhaps we can reform them instead of them dragging the movement to a new low. Time will tell. “âItâs hard to know what the root of it all is, but technology now gives parents the opportunity to encourage one another and get resources, making home-schooling more accessible than in the past.â” Welcome to the 21st century! Very similar to what I said in my paper on revolutionizing higher education only applied to secondary education.
Cognitive Slaves September 23, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Here’s an excellent post by John Robb on his excellent blog “Global Guerrillas” (original post here). Sometimes you have to take what he says with a grain of salt (he’s a visionary) but Mr. Robb is right on the money with this one.
——————————————————————————————————-
The companies that have created the most new value in the last decade, are Internet companies like Facebook, Google, etc. Â They’ve created hundreds of billions in value. Â Good for them, but bad for us.
Why? Â IF these companies represent the most valuable new industry of the early 21st Century, where are the jobs that will provide prosperity for millions today, and potentially tens of millions in the future? Â They don’t exist. Â These companies create few real jobs.
The distressing part is that in reality these companies actually employ hundreds of millions of people, particularly young and otherwise un or underemployed superusers. Â People that work for them day in and day out for free: finding, sifting, sorting, connecting, building, etc.
Let’s take Facebook as an example. Â Currently it’s valued at ~$25 billion by the market. Â However, it could be argued that ~100,000 superusers out of 500 million part time users, are the reason that Facebook is valuable. Â They generate the core network that is the backbone of the tool. Â Their devoted use, high levels of connectivity, and loyalty forms the engine that grows Facebook, year in and year out. Â They are the materials, labor, and product of Facebook’s assembly line. Â Yet they aren’t paid for their effort. Â They aren’t generating wealth for themselves or their families.
How much wealth? Â If we awarded 4/5 ths of the value of Facebook (and the same exercise could be done with Google at a couple of million superusers) to its superusers, leaving the tool managers $5 billion in value, each superuser would now be worth $200,000 from their contributions to this tool alone. Â But they aren’t. Â They haven’t earned a penny for their effort.
One way to look at this is that we are truly in trouble.  If the industries of the future are based on cognitive slavery, we all lose.  However, as an entrepreneur, an optimist (believe it or not), and a believer in the potential for social/economic improvement, I think this can be corrected.  I believe it’s possible to build tools and the companies that manage them, in a way that actually rewards the people that do most of the work.  All we need to do is make it possible.
A homeschool family by Tim Hawkins September 20, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Where were you when the world stopped turning? September 11, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Items of Interest 8/23/10 August 23, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Homeschool Students accepted at Harvard – Kudos!!!!
More Texans opt to homeschool – Same story everywhere. “Parents in Texas are not required to register with any agency or to get their curriculum approved…” LOL! I like it how everyone complains about government incompetence and then want them to regulate more.
LA opens $578M school – “Districts want a showpiece for the community, a really impressive environment for learning….” Wonder why everyone is going bankrupt. “”New buildings are nice, but when they’re run by the same people who’ve given us a 50 percent dropout rate, they’re a big waste of taxpayer money,” said Ben Austin, executive director of Parent Revolution”. Radical. đ
Items of interest 8/18/10 August 18, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Superhero or Slacker? – A study by the APA saying that boys role models are all messed up – be a valueless jerk or a lazy leech. They may be on to something there…….
Homeschoolers banned from math competition – They claim it’s to maintain fairness – I think it’s because we were beating them too bad đ
Why I don’t Miss Homeschooling –Â A mother explains why she sent her kids to school. Not sure why this is an item of interest (it doesn’t interest me). It just turned up in my google search.
Oops August 12, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.Tags: highschool, NC, Shcool, spelling
add a comment
Yep, that’s a real picture, right outside a North Carolina High school. I don’t even think I need to say more.
Items of Interest 08/10/10 August 10, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
Chivalry dies – Albeit in a humorous way. LOL!
iTV – Software developed by John Robb’s team to predict social trends by constantly scanning social networking sites. Really cool, looks like it could potentially enable limited control over the information flow. Will be interesting to see how this is applied.
Off the Grid – A new book. Looks interesting.
Boydian Comedy – If you laughed (I did) there’s something wrong with you.
Ending Abortion August 9, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.Tags: Abortion
4 comments
âOur strategy is simple. We must do whatever research and education is needed to convince the public about the dangers of abortion.â â AfterAbortion.org
Out of all of the pro life web sites and groups I could find, the statement above was perhaps the closest thing I could find to an actual plan for doing anything. What are most (if not all) groups actually doing? Here, hold this sign and weâll protest every now and then, and then denounce you all as murderers. The results have been predictable. More and more republicans are showing sympathies towards abortion, the church continues to move left, and the debate between pro life and pro choice is nothing more than an occasional name-calling match. Google âending abortionâ, click on the first few things that come up to see what I mean. This world net daily article is trying to sell a book that supposedly gives a plan and shows the inevitability of victory for the pro life movement in America. Great! The only problem is that itâs not true.
Abortion cannot be separated from the larger ideological conflict going on between Liberals and Conservatives.* This conflict ranges from national identity to same-sex marriage to abortion. I donât think I even need to say whoâs winning. The left is clubbing the right like baby seals, and itâs not going to change any time soon. The reasons for this are many and complex. But from a very practical point of view, itâs because the right doesnât understand power politics. It doesnât matter what people think right now because the people are fickle and easily manipulated. Take a look at the richest people in our country (or even our world). Most of them are liberals. It is no coincidence that society is constantly moving in a direction to suit their ideology. Look at our current president (and most politicians of both the present and the past). They didnât get there by accident, they were put there by people with power and influence, most of whom weâve never heard of. They are people with money.
There are only two forms of power in this world: guns and dollars. Speeches, good looks, books, even right itself have no actual political power in and of themselves. If we are to influence the world and direct the course of events we must recognize that and put ourselves and others aligned with us into positions of power. The left has the money: they rule.
With this background we can begin to approach the abortion debate. We have to start with a basic understanding of what abortion is. Itâs a business. People make money, lots of money off of it. Even if you were to ban it, you wouldnât stop it. The result would be decreased supply, without decreased demand. This drives the prices of an abortion through the roof meaning that those that perform them will make twice as much (at least). Think of abolition in the 20s or the current so called âwar on drugsâ. Banning it doesnât stop it. The only way to end abortion is to take away the profit. Period. End of story.
How do you do that? Keep it legal, stop giving government funds to it, tax it and then sue them with malpractice suits. The IRS will take care of the rest. By keeping it legal you are able to keep tabs on it, and shut down the ones operating illegally on tax grounds. Abortion has been proven to damage the womanâs health (with of course the risk of death), which means you can sue them, making it less than profitable to run a clinic. Do that and youâve just virtually eliminated it. No protest or billboards (which are worthless anyway) required.
So now that we know what weâve got to do, the next logical question is how to do it. Enter the homeschool movement. Weâre a group of lots of young people (almost all of whom are conservatives), and who have strong political views, especially on abortion. Perfect! The problem is that homeschoolers are looking in the wrong direction. Homeschool students are actually fourteen times as likely to get involved in politics than their public school counterparts. Thatâs very special, but as weâve already discussed real power (hard power) only comes through money and guns. And in a capitalist society money trumps guns. We donât need more of Sarah Palin. We need a Bill Gates, an Oprah, and a Warren Buffet. Homeschool students need to seriously consider where they can make the most difference, business or politics? Politicians can only be successful in todayâs world is if theyâre backed by the money.
My advice to the pro life movement? Protest is worthless. Statistics are worthless. Only cold hard cash is going to turn the thing around. Get some billionaires on our side. Read less of Jefferson and Rousseau and start reading Machiavelli. The world isnât the way it should be. It never will be. Itâs just the way it is, play the system or get left behind.
* Actually it’s a much deeper conflict that’s been going on for a much longer time than America has been a country. For the sake of simplicity however I have reduced my terminology to simple, if shallow “left-right” politics.
âOur strategy is simple. We must do whatever research and education is needed to convince the public about the dangers of abortion.â â AfterAbortion.org
Out of all of the pro life web sites and groups I could find, the statement above was perhaps the closest thing I could find to an actual plan for doing anything. What are most (if not all) groups actually doing? Here, hold this sign and weâll protest every now and then, and then denounce you all as murderers. The results have been predictable. More and more republicans are showing sympathies towards abortion, the church continues to move left, and the debate between pro life and pro choice is nothing more than an occasional name-calling match. Google âending abortionâ, click on the first few things that come up to see what I mean. This world net daily article is trying to sell a book that supposedly gives a plan and shows the inevitability of victory for the pro life movement in America. Great! The only problem is that itâs not true.
Abortion cannot be separated from the larger ideological conflict going on between Liberals and Conservatives.* This conflict ranges from national identity to same-sex marriage to abortion. I donât think I even need to say whoâs winning. The left is clubbing the right like baby seals, and itâs not going to change any time soon. The reasons for this are many and complex. But from a very practical point of view, itâs because the right doesnât understand power politics. It doesnât matter what people think right now because the people are fickle and easily manipulated. Take a look at the richest people in our country (or even our world). Most of them are liberals. It is no coincidence that society is constantly moving in a direction to suit their ideology. Look at our current president (and most politicians of both the present and the past). They didnât get there by accident, they were put there by people with power and influence, most of whom weâve never heard of. They are people with money.
There are only two forms of power in this world: guns and dollars. Speeches, good looks, books, even right itself have no actual political power in and of themselves. If we are to influence the world and direct the course of events we must recognize that and put ourselves and others aligned with us into positions of power. The left has the money: they rule.
With this background we can begin to approach the abortion debate. We have to start with a basic understanding of what abortion is. Itâs a business. People make money, lots of money off of it. Even if you were to ban it, you wouldnât stop it. The result would be decreased supply, without decreased demand. This drives the prices of an abortion through the roof meaning that those that perform them will make twice as much (at least). Think of abolition in the 20s or the current so called âwar on drugsâ. Banning it doesnât stop it. The only way to end abortion is to take away the profit. Period. End of story.
How do you do that? Keep it legal, stop giving government funds to it, tax it and then sue them with malpractice suits. The IRS will take care of the rest. By keeping it legal you are able to keep tabs on it, and shut down the ones operating illegally on tax grounds. Abortion has been proven to damage the womanâs health (with of course the risk of death), which means you can sue them, making it less than profitable to run a clinic. Do that and youâve just virtually eliminated it. No protest or billboards (which are worthless anyway) required.
So now that we know what weâve got to do, the next logical question is how to do it. Enter the homeschool movement. Weâre a group of lots of young people (almost all of whom are conservatives), and who have strong political views, especially on abortion. Perfect! The problem is that homeschoolers are looking in the wrong direction. Homeschool students are actually fourteen times as likely to get involved in politics than their public school counterparts. Thatâs very special, but as weâve already discussed real power (hard power) only comes through money and guns. And in a capitalist society money trumps guns. We donât need more of Sarah Palin. We need a Bill Gates, an Oprah, and a Warren Buffet. Homeschool students need to seriously consider where they can make the most difference, business or politics? Politicians can only be successful in todayâs world is if theyâre backed by the money.
My advice to the pro life movement? Protest is worthless. Statistics are worthless. Only cold hard cash is going to turn the thing around. Get some billionaires on our side. Read less of Jefferson and Rousseau and start reading Machiavelli. The world isnât the way it should be. It never will be. Itâs just the way it is, play the system or get left behind.
Washington Post: Family Spends Seven Years at Sea August 3, 2010
Posted by knightofrook in Uncategorized.add a comment
All I can say is, wow.
——————————————————————————————————-
After living the past seven years in this cabin the size of a hotel bathroom, the Crafton family seems in no hurry to clear out now. On a muggy, sun-drenched morning, all five of them — knees just touching, lives completely entwined– sit cheerfully in the sailboat that has been their home since they pulled away from this Severna Park dock in 2003.
Kalena, 18, who went through puberty and adolescence in this room, has her eyes fixed on a laptop slideshow of their travels that’s playing on the galley table. For her, college awaits on land. Her mother, Kathleen, fingers a Melanesian carving she picked up in a trade during one of the family’s countless island anchorages; the relaunch of her nursing career can wait until next week. Jena, 22, and Ben, 15, settle in for yet another telling of the family’s greatest adventures (such as the three-day trek into the mountains of Papua New Guinea, or the village festival no white people had seen before).
Tom, the dad, is most ensconced of all in the confines of the 43-foot ketch. If it were up to him, the Nueva Vida would still be out there and America 2010 could wait.
“I went to a Wal-Mart the first week we were back, and I had to come home and take a nap,” says Tom, rolling his ice-gray eyes and leaning against the teak bulkhead. “It’s way too soon for that. Some of our cruising friends warned us about reentry. Baby steps, baby steps.”
Home School High School 