Steve Jobs will probably be remembered by most as the greatest entrepreneur of our time. The top banana behind Apple had some insightful comments about the whole subject of the status of American education. Keep in mind that Mr. Jobs was no die-hard right-wing conservative; far from it. He was a new age leftie techie. Also keep in mind that what he says he says as an astute businessman, not as an inside educational bureaucrat whose primary focus is to make sure the status quo stays just that.
"I'm a very big believer in equal opportunity as opposed to equal outcome. I don't believe in equal outcome because unfortunately life's not like that. It would be a pretty boring place if it was. But I really believe in equal opportunity. Equal opportunity to me more than anything else means a great education. . .It pains me because we do not know to provide a great education. . .We could make sure that every young child in this country got a great education. We fall far short of that. . .The problem there of course is the unions. The unions are the worst thing that ever happened to education because it's not a meritocracy. It turns into a bureaucracy, which is exactly what has happened. The teachers can't teach and administrators run the place and nobody can be fired. It's terrible. . .
But in schools people don't feel that they're spending their own money. They feel like it's free, right? No one does any comparison shopping. A matter of fact if you want to put your kid in a private school, you can't take the forty-four hundred dollars a year out of the public school and use it, you have to come up with five or six thousand of your own money. I believe very strongly that if the country gave each parent a voucher for forty-four hundred dollars that they could only spend at any accredited school several things would happen.
Number one, schools would start marketing themselves like crazy to get students. Secondly, I think you'd see a lot of new schools starting. I've suggested as an example, if you to to Stanford Business School, they have a public policy track; they could start a school administrator track. You could get a bunch of people coming out of college tying up with someone out of the business school, they could be starting their own school. You could have twenty-five year old students out of college, very idealistic, full of energy instead of starting a Silicon Valley company, they'd start a school. I believe that they would do far better than any of our public schools would.
The third thing you'd see is I believe, is the quality of schools again, just in a competitive marketplace, start to rise. Some of the schools would go broke. A lot of the public schools would go broke. There's no question about it. It would be rather painful for the first several years. . .But far less painful I think than the kids going through the system as it is right now."
Since Mr. Jobs brought up the subject of school vouchers, here is an interesting test we can take on the subject. Since America is #21 among 21 developed countries in educational ranking, this test can be open internet for all of us.
1. When did the school vouchers movement get started?
(a) 1955
(b) 1975
(c) 1985
(d) 1995
2. Who is credited with starting the modern-day school vouchers movement in America?
(a) parochial schools
(b) Ronald Reagan
(c) a PTA in the Deep South
(d) none of the above
3. What large city in America has the longest-running school voucher system in place?
(a) Atlanta, Georgia
(b) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(c) Birmingham, Alabama
(d) Austin, Texas
For extra credit, who said the following?
"The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother's care, shall be in state institutions."
I loved the old commercial that said "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." It's a compounded waste when we waste millions of dollars on a status quo that fails to educate young minds.
Big Oil has been grilled before Congress; Big Pharmaceuticals have been hauled before congressional hearings; Big Automakers have been taken to the woodshed as well by our nation's legislators. When will, if ever, Big Education ever have to make an appearance before our elected representatives? Maybe they get an excused absence due to sickness.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Man's Word is as Good as Gold
Recently I received a registered letter in the mail wherein was contained a pledge I was to sign to run a "clean campaign." The pledge states that I would run a campaign based upon my own background and my own stand on the issues. I would not mention any negative traits of any fellow Republicans who are running, thereby adhering to Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.
I believe that the motivation behind this letter and the pledge idea is very sincere. I want to thank publicly the person and persons behind this letter, because for one thing it got me to do some serious thinking on the subject. Had I not received this letter, I probably would not have given much thought to what I am about to express in this article.
Ronald Reagan did state on numerous occasions his 11th commandment. I don't recall, though, his asking others to sign a pledge, and I don't recall his signing any sort of written pledge. Maybe he did, but I just don't recall him doing either of those things.
The former President was of an era and generation, just like my dad, who believed that a man's word was as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold. This Great Depression/WW2 generation, that Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation Ever, believed that all was required was a man's word and a gentleman's handshake. I know times have changed, sadly, but even written contracts today are easily broken at the drop of a hat.
The first ten commandments were written down on stone, but even the Author of those commandments did not ask His closest people to sign their names on a pledge to keep these benevolent, wise rules. Even if the people did sign a pledge, it would not have amounted to a hill of beans. They were guilty of breaking the whole lot of them even before Moses came down from the mountain.
There is something else to consider--I figure if I sign a clean campaign pledge, that the assumption behind that on my part would be that I would normally run a dirty campaign if I did not sign that pledge. Secondly, the implication would be that the only reason I would run a clean campaign is because I had signed a pledge to do so. So whatever happened to a man's word being as good as gold? And what does it say about a man's character if he needs some outward man-made device to keep him honest?
It has been rightly stated that a reputation is what people see you are in public; character is what you are in private, when no one sees except God.
As a common man running for this senate seat, I know there are two issues that grate people about politics and politicians. I hear it all the time, and it has bothered me my whole life. I call these two issues the M&M effect. Some M&Ms are plain, and some are nutty. These political campaigning M&M issues are just plain nutty.
The first M is Mudslinging, which is the topic behind this letter and pledge I received. Every election cycle people get tired of the constant mudslinging they hear in campaigns. Proper debate over issues is necessary, but rudeness and slander cross the line of sane campaigning. We hear of football players "talking trash" on the football field during a game. Shouldn't we expect more of our elected leaders, though?
The other issue is Money. People rightly deduce unfortunately, that many politicians are guided primarily by the not-so-almighty dollar. They get elected because they are able to accumulate large piles of cash from professional lobbyists, and then after they get elected they repay the favor by voting according to the lobbyists' wishes. Once in office they continue to get under-the-table and over-the-table monetary rewards from lobbyists and special interest groups. Legislators' cushiony paychecks and pension funds make it hard for some officeholders to do the right thing for the people they serve, when the right thing may cost them financially. It all made Will Rogers to bemoan the fact that "a fool and his money are soon elected."
It is for this reason that I have refused to take any money from lobbyists now or ever. Plus, I want to work to reduce the legislators' paycheck and pension plans. Do you know that Oklahoma pays its legislators more than all our surrounding states, and that legislators here make over $6,000 more annually than the median income in our state?
I have not signed a written pledge stating that I will not take any money from lobbyists. I have just said it over and over again, and it has been in my campaign literature from day one. I guess some might think I have made a pledge of sorts by writing it down in my literature (and here in this article), but I have not written it down in a formal pledge where I have signed my name to it. Nor will I ask anybody else to sign a pledge to do such a thing. That is an individual decision, and I firmly believe, and somebody can call me old fashioned, that a man's word should be as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold.
For over thirty years I have been in the pastoral ministry. If I made it my business to "talk trash" of other people, I would not have lasted very long in the ministry. I wouldn't be worth my salt as a pastor, let alone as a Christian. I never signed a pledge before I assumed the pastorate of any church that I would conduct myself uprightly in my daily life. It was expected of me, and I expected that of myself. For those moments when I faltered, and there were plenty of them, I asked God and others for forgiveness.
The beautiful thing about it is that God IS the one who has made a verbal and WRITTEN pledge that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
While being on the campaign trail the last several weeks, I have never said anything negative about any of my fellow Republicans or Democrats. People can testify to that. I don't plan on starting now or ever in partaking of the M&M effect. I want to be a man whose word is as good as gold. Whether one is running for office, or running things from an office, or running the children here and there, it would be a giant leap forward culturally if more and more people today would live up to the high standard of doing the right thing, in public and in private.
Sincerely yours,
Chris Humphreys
I believe that the motivation behind this letter and the pledge idea is very sincere. I want to thank publicly the person and persons behind this letter, because for one thing it got me to do some serious thinking on the subject. Had I not received this letter, I probably would not have given much thought to what I am about to express in this article.
Ronald Reagan did state on numerous occasions his 11th commandment. I don't recall, though, his asking others to sign a pledge, and I don't recall his signing any sort of written pledge. Maybe he did, but I just don't recall him doing either of those things.
The former President was of an era and generation, just like my dad, who believed that a man's word was as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold. This Great Depression/WW2 generation, that Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation Ever, believed that all was required was a man's word and a gentleman's handshake. I know times have changed, sadly, but even written contracts today are easily broken at the drop of a hat.
The first ten commandments were written down on stone, but even the Author of those commandments did not ask His closest people to sign their names on a pledge to keep these benevolent, wise rules. Even if the people did sign a pledge, it would not have amounted to a hill of beans. They were guilty of breaking the whole lot of them even before Moses came down from the mountain.
There is something else to consider--I figure if I sign a clean campaign pledge, that the assumption behind that on my part would be that I would normally run a dirty campaign if I did not sign that pledge. Secondly, the implication would be that the only reason I would run a clean campaign is because I had signed a pledge to do so. So whatever happened to a man's word being as good as gold? And what does it say about a man's character if he needs some outward man-made device to keep him honest?
It has been rightly stated that a reputation is what people see you are in public; character is what you are in private, when no one sees except God.
As a common man running for this senate seat, I know there are two issues that grate people about politics and politicians. I hear it all the time, and it has bothered me my whole life. I call these two issues the M&M effect. Some M&Ms are plain, and some are nutty. These political campaigning M&M issues are just plain nutty.
The first M is Mudslinging, which is the topic behind this letter and pledge I received. Every election cycle people get tired of the constant mudslinging they hear in campaigns. Proper debate over issues is necessary, but rudeness and slander cross the line of sane campaigning. We hear of football players "talking trash" on the football field during a game. Shouldn't we expect more of our elected leaders, though?
The other issue is Money. People rightly deduce unfortunately, that many politicians are guided primarily by the not-so-almighty dollar. They get elected because they are able to accumulate large piles of cash from professional lobbyists, and then after they get elected they repay the favor by voting according to the lobbyists' wishes. Once in office they continue to get under-the-table and over-the-table monetary rewards from lobbyists and special interest groups. Legislators' cushiony paychecks and pension funds make it hard for some officeholders to do the right thing for the people they serve, when the right thing may cost them financially. It all made Will Rogers to bemoan the fact that "a fool and his money are soon elected."
It is for this reason that I have refused to take any money from lobbyists now or ever. Plus, I want to work to reduce the legislators' paycheck and pension plans. Do you know that Oklahoma pays its legislators more than all our surrounding states, and that legislators here make over $6,000 more annually than the median income in our state?
I have not signed a written pledge stating that I will not take any money from lobbyists. I have just said it over and over again, and it has been in my campaign literature from day one. I guess some might think I have made a pledge of sorts by writing it down in my literature (and here in this article), but I have not written it down in a formal pledge where I have signed my name to it. Nor will I ask anybody else to sign a pledge to do such a thing. That is an individual decision, and I firmly believe, and somebody can call me old fashioned, that a man's word should be as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold.
For over thirty years I have been in the pastoral ministry. If I made it my business to "talk trash" of other people, I would not have lasted very long in the ministry. I wouldn't be worth my salt as a pastor, let alone as a Christian. I never signed a pledge before I assumed the pastorate of any church that I would conduct myself uprightly in my daily life. It was expected of me, and I expected that of myself. For those moments when I faltered, and there were plenty of them, I asked God and others for forgiveness.
The beautiful thing about it is that God IS the one who has made a verbal and WRITTEN pledge that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
While being on the campaign trail the last several weeks, I have never said anything negative about any of my fellow Republicans or Democrats. People can testify to that. I don't plan on starting now or ever in partaking of the M&M effect. I want to be a man whose word is as good as gold. Whether one is running for office, or running things from an office, or running the children here and there, it would be a giant leap forward culturally if more and more people today would live up to the high standard of doing the right thing, in public and in private.
Sincerely yours,
Chris Humphreys
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