Stupid in America

I watched 20/20's report Stupid in America last night. I was not suprized by what I heard. The public school system is failing our kids. There are many parts to this that I agree and disagree with the report. Yes, monopolies do not work because most have no reason to do better because there is no real competition. You can either go to the school assigned to you, pay to go to a private school, or hope to get your child accepted into a charter school. Monopolies kill off innovation which is in part why children going to private or charter schools are doing better. The problem stretches far beyond the school system itself because the public school's hands are tied by the Teachers Union TEA which does not allow accountability on the part of teachers. It is almost impossible to punish teachers that do things that would make your heart stop. Private schools do not have that problem so the caliber of teachers is much higher and the innovation of teaching is much higher. The issue of money is because monopolies are so ineffective that they eat up money. Everything costs more because they have no need to be more efficient. Private schools can't afford to waste money like that. That is why they spend so much less on each child than the public schools and do better with what they have.
I agree up to this point with the report. Here is where I think the report is lacking. Generally students sent to private and charter schools have parents that take a bigger interest in their children's education and tend to work with their children on their schoolwork/homework. I am not saying all but more are involved. This is also why some children do just fine in public school because their parents are taking the responsibility of making sure their child is learning. If a child is in high school and still cannot read above a 4th grade level, then the parent failed the child as much as the school did. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure their child is learning.

Technorati Tags: Stupid in America, ABC News, Public School, Private School, Charter School, Teachers Union

2 Sunday Services follow-up

Well, we had a congregational meeting and it was an overwhelming decision to go ahead with 2 services on Sunday. The meeting was held directly after our Sunday morning service. The really ironic part to this is the fact that the attendance at the service was 194. There were people standing in the back of the church! So now we will have 2 Sunday Services starting at the beginning of February. The times will be 9:30am and 11am. Anyone is welcome to come. We have Sunday school for the children that starts at 9:30am and an Adult Bible study at 11am. Bethany Lutheran Brethren Church is located at 233 Westcott Blvd, Staten Island, NY.

Technorati Tags: Lutheran, Church, Sunday Services, Bethany Lutheran Brethren

Take that Pat Robertson

I am glad to see someone giving it to Pat Robertson. After his callous remarks, Israel has cut off communication with him and those associated with him. It will be interesting to see who his true friends are after the fallout from this. In the meantime, it did not take long for Robertson to change his tune, especially when it hits his wallet. This is how you find out what the person is really all about. How can anyone take Pat Robertson seriously when one minute he makes these bold statements that he says with conviction and then the next minute is backpedaling because he will lose a lot of money? Pat, it is time for you to go away. No one wants to hear what you have to say because you will not stand for what you believe. Or maybe you don't actually believe anything you say...

Technorati Tags: Pat Robertson, Ariel Sharon, Politics

Pat Robertson at it again

I am a conservative Christian and I hold to conservative values. In my opinion, Pat Robertson should not be called either and I would not give him the time of day if he asked for it. It is embarrasing to hear his comments about Prime Minster Ariel Sharon. Robertson is quoted as saying on his television show:

God considers this land to be his. You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, `No, this is mine.

Where is he coming up with this stuff? If you read the Bible, God gave that land to the people of Israel. I am glad that the President is condemning this kind of irrational and totally offensive remarks. What I now hope is that people start to realize how messed up Robertson is and I think it is time to tell Robertson that the Republican party wants nothing to do with him. I expected the reaction that you are hearing from those that do not like Israel. I do not expect that from decent human beings.
Personally I pray for Sharon's recovery. I pray that the people of Israel will remain strong and confident during this time.

Technorati Tags: Pat Robertson, 700 Club, Ariel Sharon, Politics

New Years Resolutions

I have to say that I never took a New Years resolution seriously in my life. The problem that I have with them is that there is not that will continue to motivate you to stick to whatever you decided to give up or change. Deciding to lose weight this year as a New Years resolution may start out OK just like anything else that you decide to try and change at any time in your life. You may even start to notice a difference in the beginning but eventually the novelty that started you on this path will wear off and you will go back to what you were doing before. I read an article that really captured what I think is the problem with these resolutions.

The reasons he says are simple...
1. Most people actually expect not to keep a resolution
2. Most don't know how to truly set goals or don't believe it matters

It can be fun to think up resolutions with your friends but if it is seriously something that you want to change then make a plan and skip the resolution.

Technorati Tags: New Years Resolutions, Resolutions, New Years

The State of Health Care

Over the New Year weekend my wife had to go into the hospital. She is in her last month of pregnancy and when she was at the doctor's office, she blacked out for a minute. The doctor sent her to the hospital to have her checked out. This was fine. They did every type of test known to man (EKG, CAT scan, X-rays, blood work,....) and the result was that they could not find anything wrong. I still do not have a problem with this. However, the next morning when my wife was visited by her doctor, the doctor said that she was going to see about getting her released. However, the specialist needed to OK the release. It took 5 hours to get the OK. This I have a problem with. You want to know why health care costs keep going up. At 9am my wife should have left the hospital and it would only have cost 1 day in the hospital. But since she was release after 11am, it counted as another day. This is what is driving health care costs up. They clear a bed by 2pm and now can bring someone else in and charge them for the day.

Technorati Tags: Health Care, Hospitals