Overcast.. 75 degrees.. low humidity. Not a bad day all in all.
Went to my dermatologist who says that my cancerous head lesions are all cleared up. He spritzed a small growth on my left arm and I was "good to go." I'll see him again in December. (I don't have quite as many "barnacles" as before.)
"Never hire a cleaning lady named Dusty." David Corrado (Funny Times)
01. Middle East
Today, Mitch Edelman wrote his usual common sense column.. this time about the messes in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, and how more boots on the ground and massive air strikes are not the way to build societies strong enough to handle terrorist attacks.
02. Now that is love!
Two Iowa women in their 90's celebrated 71 years of living together by getting married last week.
03. *Religion.. Same Sex Marriage
S. Truett Cathy died last week at 93. Mr. Cathy was the founder of the Chick-Fil-A fast food chain. As a Southern Baptist, he closed his stores on Sunday, did not think much of same sex marriage, and made sure that everyone knew his viewpoint on that subject. I know several persons who stopped eating at his restaurants because of that viewpoint.
04. What is really important?
New York Times: Anjali Vaidya recently married into a traditional Indian family and when she met her fiancé's grandfather, he immediately asked her how many degrees she had earned. "This is usually the second question your Indian friends' relatives will ask, after they ask your name." That is because they think education is one of the most important part of your life. And, you know.. it is.
05. Faith and begorra!
The SUN: "Immediately before lowering the coffin into the grave, the Irish would remove the nails from the lid, so the dead would have no difficulty freeing themselves on "Resurrection Day." So says Sy Safransky
06. *Common Core .. I didn't know that!
New York Times: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated hundreds of millions of dollars to educational initiatives like the Common Core Standards Initiative. Now it is involved with The Big History Project which debuted in five high schools in 2011. This Fall, it will be offered free to more than 15,000 students in some 1,200 schools.
The Big History Project is not a rehash of the usual History classes, where one studies a certain era, in a certain way and concentrates on dates and events within that era, to the exclusion of the outside world which was definitely continuing on at the same time. This version of history aims to offer all-inclusive information.. for instance: a discussion held about the formation of stars would include "Einstein and the Hydrogen bomb".. and a lesson on the rise of life on earth would include discussion of the work of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.
Big History is already being offered in South Korea, The Netherlands, and Australia.
This kind of teaching has been developed and promoted by Professor David Christian, and one can experience its effect by viewing one of his "Great Courses" as Bill Gates did.
Christian also gave a TED talk entitled: "The History of Our World in 18 Minutes," which has been viewed 4 million times online.
07. The Secret to Learning
In 1620, Francis Bacon wrote (no..no.. not the works of Shakespeare, you dodo) about learning something new: "If you read a piece of text through twenty times, you will not learn it by heart so easily as if you read it ten times while attempting to recite it from time to time and consulting the text when your memory fails."
Do American students ever try to memorize? Recite? Study? I remember when I was going from Fraternity House to Fraternity House at Boston University trying to sell something.. I saw guys studying.. but what they were "studying" were copies of final exams that their fellow frat brothers had stolen somewhere. But.. what the hell... questions on tests all fade away quickly upon graduation.. and I really don't think fraternity brothers get any education anyway... but that is my humble opinion.. and it is not "sour grapes" because as a "commuting, married, working veteran student", fraternity life was not possible for me anyway.
Enough for today! Time to watch America's Got Talent on TV.
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