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By Mike Bock, on November 25th, 2009
Although “liberty and justice for all” is our nation’s goal, we are far from realizing that ideal. The problem is, liberty and justice cost money and in the U.S., a lot of people simply don’t have enough money. We have liberty to freely travel, for example, but without money to pay for traveling expenses such liberty is useless.
The best definition for “justice,” I believe, is fairness. When we speak of a nation where there is liberty and justice for all, we are speaking of a nation where everyone is treated fairly. The good question is, “What is a fair society?”
…continue reading the article Justice Is A Prerequisite For Liberty
By Mike Bock, on November 25th, 2009
Interesting editorial today in The Dayton Daily News says, “Poor children need quality teachers, too.” It implies that the teachers in poverty schools are inferior to the teachers in high income schools.
There are a lot of interesting comments. Here is what Max said:
I am soooooo very tired of the poor performance of poverty-ridden districts being attributed to a “poor” teacher – there needs to be “better” teachers. Education is NOT meeting the needs of these students – there are not alternatives for disruptive students, they are left in the classroom to disrupt the educational process for all. Parents are not
…continue reading the article If The Bureaucracy Says You Are A “Quality Teacher,” Or A “Professional,” It Hardly Makes It So
By Mike Bock, on November 24th, 2009
Here is today’s test:
What does the phrase, “with liberty and justice for all,” mean to you?
On a scale of 0 -100, to what degree does the US live up to the ideal of “liberty and justice for all”? Please explain.
Which is more important, liberty or justice? Please explain.
I wonder if seniors in our local high schools ever consider such questions?
Thomas Friedman points to coming disaster he foresees for the U.S., and says that in order to avoid a bad future, we need better citizens. Better citizens. Friedman feels, for the sake of our future, we need increasing numbers of individuals
…continue reading the article Public Education’s Biggest Failure Is To Prepare Students For Effective Citizenship
By Mike Bock, on November 24th, 2009
Thomas Friedman fears that our democracy is so broken it will not be able to meet the big challenges of the future. In “Advice From Grandma,” he cites six stubborn realities that are paralyzing America:
Money in politics has become so pervasive that lawmakers have to spend most of their time raising it, selling their souls to those who have it or defending themselves from the smallest interest groups with deep pockets that can trump the national interest.
The gerrymandering of political districts means politicians of each party can now choose their own voters and never have to appeal to the center.
The
…continue reading the article Thomas Friedman Says In Order To Meet The Challenges Of The Future, The US Needs Better Citizens
By Jeff Putman, on November 18th, 2009
Whoever heard of a pep rally barring a sign that supports the cause? Well, now you have! The Dayton Region Pep Rally at UD Arena on November 17 did not allow the following sign to be brought in:
TOP TEN TIPS
FOR ECON. DEV’T
daytonos.com/?p=7801
Conspicuously absent at the pep rally was any mention of manufacturing. Considering that “advanced materials and manufacturing” is one of Dayton Development Coalition’s “focus areas,” you would expect it to be featured.
The Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show (http://www.daytonamts.com/) last month was, as always, a DAZZLING display of capability! The Dayton area has the ability to make ANYTHING! If you
…continue reading the article Pep rally bars support
By Jeff Putman, on November 14th, 2009
Thanks to the Fairborn Daily Herald and the (Xenia) Gazette News-Current for publishing the following letter to the editor on Tuesday August 25, 2009. (The article by Gery Deer to which I referred in the letter was published in those newspapers on Thursday August 13, 2009. It can be found at here (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2098545/back_to_the_future_again.html).
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Dayton area doing nothing to nurture our innovators
Gery Deer is exactly right. The Dayton area IS putting all its eggs in one basket again. “The City Of A Thousand Factories” has become “The City Of Monolithic Bureaucracy.”
Not only is the Dayton area putting all its eggs in one
…continue reading the article Dayton area doing nothing to nurture our innovators
By Mike Bock, on November 9th, 2009
One great feature of trying to maintain a web log is that, over time, you accumulate a lot of thoughts. Two years ago, I would not have guessed that the biggest theme in my web log history would turn out to be democracy. I recently searched through the DaytonOS archive and found these articles. I’m rereading these articles and finding it valuable to refresh my thinking.
The Ascending Issue In Our Democracy Is Democracy Itself, September 17, 2007
Our Democracy Must Be Revived — If We Hope To Achieve The Dreams of Our Wisest and Best, November 28, 2007
The
…continue reading the article If We AreTo Have A Great Future, The Ascending Issue In Our Democracy Must Be Democracy Itself
By Mike Bock, on November 5th, 2009
I came in dead last. But 4481 voters in the Kettering School Board race voted for me. I figure I got about 30% of those voters who voted for school board candidates. 30% sounds a lot better than the 14% reported yesterday.
Yesterday I reported these results from the Kettering School Board election that show what percentage of votes cast that each candidate received. These percentage numbers are deceptively low.
JULIE ANN GILMORE 8858 votes or 27.31%
GEORGE H. BAYLESS 7577 votes or 23.36%
JIM BROWN 5811 votes or 17.92%
FRANK C. MAUS 5706 votes or 17.59%
MIKE BOCK 4481 votes
…continue reading the article In Kettering, 3 Out Of 10 Who Voted For School Board Members Chose BOCK
By Mike Bock, on November 4th, 2009
In Kettering’s elections, two challengers won. Jim Brown will replace Frank Maus on the School Board and Ashley Webb will replace Frank Spolrich on the City Council. A couple of my predictions came true — Julie Gilmore was the top vote getter for the School Board, and Amy Schrimpf was the top vote getter for the City Council.
In the Kettering School Board election, turnout at 43.3% was more than expected — 17,822 people voted, out of 41,090 possible. The top three vote getters were elected. One challenger, Jim Brown, won by a small margin — 105 votes —
…continue reading the article In Kettering, One Challenger Wins For School Board, One Challenger Wins City Council
By Mike Bock, on November 3rd, 2009
I’ll predict that Kettering will reject all three state issues and will approve both levies.
In Kettering this election there was strong competition in both the City Council race and in the School Board race. It’s a good sign that our democracy in Kettering may be stronger than it sometimes lets on.
W. Edwards Deming said that those thing most important cannot be measured. In our school system we are defining excellence in terms of those things we can measure. In other words, we are agreeing to a meaning of excellence that from a broader view is very trivial.
…continue reading the article Kettering Democracy Is Alive — Nov 3, 2009 — See My Predictions Of Kettering Election Outcome
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