Myrtle Beach: It’s no secret that there is a problem in our society with “image.” Most Americans are interested, if not obsessed, with celebrities in general or at least a select few. In our digital age it’s very easy for us to stay up to date on the latest drama with Justin Bieber or see Lindsey Lohan’s latest mug shot. As a society we are obsessed! The problem with this obsession is that not only do adults have access to this, but our children have access as well. Our young, impressionable youth are able to stay up to date on the latest celebrity sex tapes. Ultimately, parents should be responsible. But in this digital age the youth of this country are constantly bombarded with celebrities. Continue reading
Education
2013 Symposium: Education In America Continues To Decline As We Fall Further And Further Behind Other Countries. How Do we Fix This?
Cartwright: We have to stop teaching to the lowest common denominator. I’ve spoken about this many times before. You have all kinds of kids lumped into the same classes and some of these kids have different learning aptitudes. So, the teacher has to teach to the level of the slowest kids in the class. Continue reading
Top Problems Plaguing America by Digger Cartwright
America is in crisis. We are a nation in decline as a result of society’s own hedonism, greed, and self destruction. Our problems are rooted not only in our dysfunctional political system but in the dysfunctional state of society itself, both of which have become increasingly more dysfunctional over the last decade. Americans’ perceptions of our problems are divided along political lines, which tends to cloud the judgment of individuals and take the discussion away from the cause of the political problems to a debate over political ideology. Each and every American shares part of the blame for the problems plaguing our nation, and if we don’t address the problems individually, as a society, and as a nation, they will continue to grow and like a cancer consume our health and vitality, eventually killing the foundation upon which our nation was established and the foundations of our society. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: What hope do students graduating today have for finding employment sufficient to pay off their student loans? Is there a better way forward?
RMC3: I certainly wouldn’t want to be a kid graduating in this economic climate. It must be pretty daunting and demoralizing to get a degree that put you tens of thousands of dollars in debt only to find yourself either unemployed or else working at a minimum wage job. It’s no secret that the job market sucks, but having said that, there are going to be jobs for those students who excelled in college. Continue reading
Symposium 2012: Should schools incentivize students for good test scores?
Michigan: For the most part I don’t think that schools care. High schools only want to move students along and college is only a business. Our corporations and anyone looking to hire someone should offer the incentives. Higher pay for higher GPA. Maybe students would work harder is they knew that a 4.0 would get them $80,000 per year while a 3.0 is only worth $50,000. Continue reading
Symposium 2011: What role, if any, should the federal government play in education? Should we demand a repeal of No Child Left Behind?
Cartwright: None. Who’s better at deciding how to teach the kids—a bureaucrat in Washington or your local educators?
There are quite a few problems with our education system today. We’ve got teachers in some places who because of tenure can’t be fired and who are just riding their chairs until they retire; they’ve given up on teaching kids. We need to be able to get rid of teachers who aren’t teaching. Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 