Nancy Salvato

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Nancy Salvato - News - Society/Culture

Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting an Establishment of an Education System

January 14, 2008 by

-By Nancy Salvato

As an education reformer, I read about education every day. I read about ways to hold institutions of higher learning accountable for their education curriculum, I read about how important it is to have highly qualified teachers, and I read how students not receiving an equitable education should be afforded the right to attend private schools or charter schools with the tax dollars set aside for public education. While all of these are noble ideas, none of them address the real problem with education.

The real problem is that nowhere is it written in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that there is freedom of education. Unlike religion, which received protection from the faction of the majority by the Bill of Rights which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” nowhere is education specifically addressed in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Yet, today, we have in place a Department of Education funded by the taxpayers’ money and a public education system funded by the taxpayers’ money.

I am convinced that James Madison, who fought tooth and nail against using public money for religion, would have felt the same way about education. How can I be so certain about this? No one, especially James Madison, wanted the state to support a single system of religious beliefs. Furthermore, against majority opinion, James Madison fought against a general assessment tax which would have given “individual citizen[s] the option of designating his taxes to any one of a number of denominations.”
Continue reading “Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting an Establishment of an Education System”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - Military - Nancy Salvato - News - Patriotism - Security/Safety - Society/Culture

What Does the Progressive Left Stand For?

January 8, 2008 by

-By Nancy Salvato

I’ve come to the conclusion that the United States is having a midlife crisis, an identity crisis. And this is a huge problem because if we don’t know who we are, what we stand for, or how we arrived here, how can we know how to navigate the 21st century while maintaining the freedom and standard of living we’ve come to take for granted?

US detractors (and there are many living within the boundaries of this country), it would seem, do not possess a very thorough understanding of our founding documents, the thinking from which they’re derived, or the importance of these ideas in maintaining the system of government which has served us so well over the past 200+ years. Much of the thinking on the Progressive Left echoes Socialist and Communist ideology, which historical records have shown to be enemies of freedom and creativity, two rights which I imagine if the Progressive Left were to be queried, they would admit are extremely important to them. The breakdown is that these people don’t have the surplus of information necessary to understand the repercussions of what they are seeking. How does the Progressive Left stack up?

China
In the politically repressive society of China, where there is no freedom of religion, the CPC endorses Confucianism, which “emphasizes obedience to authority, submission of the individual to government, the family, and elders, and unquestioning acceptance of tradition…Lu Xun attacked Confucianism as an oppressive and hypocritical morality thinly concealing and encouraging exploitation, injustice, inequality, passivity, and conformity.”
Continue reading “What Does the Progressive Left Stand For?”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Taxes - Technology

Beware of Greeks… or Chinese Bearing Gifts

January 3, 2008 by

-By Nancy Salvato

China makes the little voice inside my head nervous. China has surpassed India in having the largest population in the world with no other country coming remotely close to a billion in number. [1] As a matter of fact, the United States claims less than the number of China’s population. If forced into a war with China, we would be battling the largest military in the world. [2] It’s possible they are not as well trained as our forces and do not have as sophisticated weaponry, however there is no disputing they are currently “engaged in the most significant military buildup in the world.” [3] They’ve produced submarines and missiles that are serious threats to the United States. [4] Indeed, they are diplomatic and economic allies of Iran, a country which certainly cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons of mass destruction, and whose leader would like to decimate Israel and has made no secret of his animosity toward western ideas…wanting to unite the world under Islam. [5]

Of lesser, but still of considerable concern is China’s blatant disregard for how their industrial development is polluting the atmosphere. Although this has garnered the attention of the green movement, there is tacit acknowledgement that unless China chooses to address the issue, no one will mess with China. Because the media is preoccupied with an anti-Bush agenda for the past two terms our president has held office, sufficient attention has not been given to the true threat of Islamofascism, nor to how the one world movement (driven by the fictitious idea that by undermining the US economy global warming could be controlled) would actually impact the freedoms we take for granted.

Under the radar, China has catapulted into a position of power because of what Rowan Callick coins, “The China Model.” [6] Deng Xiaoping opened China’s economy “to foreign and domestic investment, allowing labor flexibility, keeping the tax and regulatory burden low, and creating a first-class infrastructure through a combination of private sector and state spending.” [7] The paradigm shift is that while he implemented these changes, he maintained the ruling party’s “firm grip on government, the courts, the army, the internal security apparatus, and the free flow of information. A shorthand way to describe the model is: economic freedom plus political repression.” [8] China continues to jail those who advocate democracy or religious tolerance. [9] Clearly, capitalism + a politically free society are no longer the only conduit to a free market economy.
Continue reading “Beware of Greeks… or Chinese Bearing Gifts”

00Publius Contributor - Health - Nancy Salvato - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Slow Down and Savor the Moments

December 24, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

Food is everywhere. Advertised between mind numbing sitcom television shows and radio programs; interspersed between articles about diet and fitness to fight flab; or posted on billboards along our nation’s streets and highways, it is hard not to be reminded about what to consider eating next. For me, this epicurean parade for the palate takes place every work day as I step off the train and am forced to walk through the fast food emporium before I can exit the station and embark into the fresh air of the city. Then, food is available on every block between Chicago’s Union Station and my office. If I can’t actually see what’s available, smells abound, emanating from Jimmy Johns, McDonalds, and Caribou Coffee. It is an irony that there are people starving in this world when most people in this country are acutely aware of an expanding waistline.

Sometimes tempted by Corner Bakery or Nuts on Clark, upon closer inspection I take a pass. Keenly aware of the long list of ingredients that might set off a case of hives or swelling of my lips due to severe food intolerance, I’ve been forced to rethink what passes through my body in the course of a day. Even bottled water is suspect, because of the packaging. Generally, I ignore the bounty of convenience foods, instead, opting for the raw, unsalted or lightly salted nuts and unsulphured, no sugar added dried fruit on which I graze throughout the day. Learning to eat this way is similar to painting with only three colors. One becomes very creative about sustenance and eating becomes more about fueling the body and less about reacting impulsively to the day’s challenges.
Continue reading “Slow Down and Savor the Moments”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Health - History - Nancy Salvato - News - Religion - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

What If the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Was Relative?

December 12, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Nancy Salvato

For thousands of years, people have pondered the age old question, why I am here and what happens when I die. Depending on the answers a person hears during this time on earth, there can be a variety of different explanations. For many of us, there is the notion that we are here to serve a higher purpose. For others, life is simply what we make of it and it’s over when our bodies cease to function. Which answer is correct and how do we know?

The secular position on this question could be summed up by saying that, “the human race [is] an accidental by-product of blind material forces.” [1] The secularists come to such a conclusion by employing scientific reasoning to prove what is knowable and justify their position by saying that there is no evidence to believe in what is unknowable. Non secularists use scientific reasoning to argue that there is a God which began the whole chain of events which resulted in the human race.

Stephen Barr, in Anthropic Coincidences suggests because, ìlife depends on a delicate balance among the various fundamental forces of nature,î [2] the seemingly random chain of events which led up to our existence were perhaps not so random and were only possible if there was some catalyst for our coming into being. “The laws of nature did not have to be as they are; and the laws of nature had to be very special in form if life were to be possible.” [3]
Continue reading “What If the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Was Relative?”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Founders - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - News - Religion - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

In Defense of Freedom

December 8, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

According to “Devilstower”, a blogger on the DailyKos website, human rights are more important than national security. She explains, “Even if it was sure to be lost in a terrorist attack today, my life is not worth the Constitution. The life of my child is not worth the Constitution.” This same blogger believes that presidents Bush, Roosevelt, and Lincoln set aside their duty to uphold the constitution in exchange for the illusion of security.

“Devilstower” seems to have missed the whole idea behind instituting a constitution, which is that government is instituted to protect the peoples’ right to life, liberty and property, and the right to defend themselves against those who would rob, enslave, or kill them. This right, which the Constitution is designed to protect, is derived from Natural Law* not from the Constitution itself.

Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, proclaims:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.”

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow, this ground– The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

“Devilstower states, “The life of hundreds — thousands — is not worth setting aside the rights ensured to us by the Constitution. Because setting aside the Constitution is a defeat greater than any that can be delivered to us by any instrument of terror or war.” Isn’t it clear that those soldiers, of whom Lincoln spoke, gave their lives to preserve the union and to end the practice of slavery, a practice which had been under the protection of our Constitution?
Continue reading “In Defense of Freedom”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Someone Is Telling the Truth but No One Is Listening

December 6, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

It’s a timeless story, The Boy who cried Wolf, one I can remember reading many times as a young child perusing Aesop’s Fables long past my bedtime, while the rest of the house was sleeping. It’s a simple moral, “There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.” My love of these fables had an enduring effect; imprinting their many lessons on the direction my life has taken. Of late, it has occurred to me that many people are employing this moral to the yellow journalism that has graced the pages of our nation’s newspapers, the hyperbole which has escaped the mouths of our nation’s politicians and to the manipulation of statistics by special interest groups to draw attention to their causes.

As I read the Reuters headlines today on my Verizon LG mobile phone, my skeptical side emerged in full force. “More than º of US Birds Threatened: Report…global warming may be partially to blame”, yeah, right; “Bush vows active U.S. role for Mideast peace”, where have I heard that before?; “Cuddly Croc forces passenger off flight”, sounds like “Snakes on a Plane.” I rarely clicked to read the entire item, mentally deleting anything that didn’t sound like there was any substance to it. Every once in awhile I delved further, “Keep your shoes on: T-rays can see right through.” Hmm, that could truly be a breakthrough for medical science but I wouldn’t want airport security aiming that at my breasts.

How can one human being determine what is real and what is not? Who should a person believe? When is something really a crisis that needs to be addressed? What is a reasonable course of action? With all these roadblocks to simple, unedited facts, why (if I can borrow an overused colloquialism dating to the l980’s) wouldn’t our nation’s people be disillusioned and want to cocoon? For many, this is the path they choose, but for others who are trying to do the right thing and fulfill their civic responsibility, it is difficult to navigate through the b*#sh%t and make an informed decision. It is unlikely that they are analyzing both conservative and liberal sources of what is happening in the world and unreasonable to expect them to spend hours of their free time collecting news from around the world. No, for a great many people, they rely on a half hour broadcast which might spend 15 minutes of that time on Hollywood celebrities and sports figures. They will walk away comforted in the knowledge that they have been privy to “all the news worth knowing.” However, there are many stories to which they will never be exposed.
Continue reading “Someone Is Telling the Truth but No One Is Listening”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Family - GOP - Nancy Salvato - Religion - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

“E Pluribus Unum”

October 13, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

My sons are both in high school and are under the common teenage misconception that they are liberals. They parrot what they hear from their teachers, their friends at school, and their father from my first marriage. They don’t necessarily want to engage me in debate about my conservative beliefs. They just want to tell me I’m wrong and that I don’t know of what I speak. When I provide an explanation for my observations or present facts for why something occurs in our government, they don’t listen. It’s almost as though they stick their fingers in their ears and hum until I’m through talking, yet neither one of them can provide any concrete evidence for their opposing beliefs when I ask them to prove why I’m incorrect.

Like many who are unhappy with the current administration, they blame our president for legislative spending even though the Executive Office doesn’t create the budget. They blame our president for global warming, even though there is evidence that it is not the problem Al Gore wants us to believe. Press them hard enough and they blame our president for every ill that befalls our country. They sound very much like MoveOn.org followers, spewing their venom for all those who do not adhere to the MoveOn.org philosophy or mentality, especially conservatives. What bothers me most is that they lump conservatives into this group of people who don’t care about the earth, can’t enjoy shopping at Trader Joe’s, and couldn’t possibly appreciate wearing Birkenstock sandals.

My present husband, who to the Code Pink crowd is as conservative as they come, doesn’t fit the common perception of the conservative mold. This is mostly because he’s about as open as they come to meeting new people and withholding judgment about the way they live their lives (as long as they aren’t hurting anyone or forcing their views on him) and the circumstances in which they might find themselves. He believes that it is their different personalities and beliefs that add to the richness and the colors of the palette in his life. On the other hand, he doesn’t get along with people who are intolerant and believe the world is all about them. He has drawn the line with those who want to engage him about his beliefs, this being that if you want to argue, bring some facts to the table. Otherwise, don’t waste his time “Damnit”.
Continue reading ““E Pluribus Unum””

00Publius Contributor - Health - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Doctor Shortage, the Next Pandemic

October 6, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

According to the AMA, in many communities around the United States, there is a physician shortage, which presents a serious health care problem. For a host of reasons, more than twenty million people are affected by the inability to access quality medical services. While the premise of a popular television show, “Northern Exposure,” alluded to this very predicament some time ago, most viewers were likelier caught up in the relationships between the quirky inhabitants of Cicely, Alaska instead of pondering the very real implications for those without access to a qualified doctor.1

Similar to the circumstances in which the main character, Dr. Joel Fleischman, upon graduating from Columbia University medical school (which he attended on a scholarship from the state of Alaska), finds himself assigned to be the General Practitioner of a tiny Alaskan town in order to pay for his education, “medical schools have adopted a selective medical school admission policy to enhance a primary care choice in underserved communities.”2 The reality, though, is that while some students eventually practice in underserved communities, others do not.

Limited access to medical care is not always because doctors are unavailable. When ill, people who live in urban areas are sometimes unable to travel on a crowded bus or take other forms of mass transit in order to receive medical care.3
Continue reading “Doctor Shortage, the Next Pandemic”

00Publius Contributor - Budget - Education - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Bare Necessities: Hard to Attain for a College Graduate

October 5, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

College Loans: Scenario for Failure
Upon graduating from college, many twenty-somethings reconcile with living under their parents’ roofs until they can find full-time employment, pay for housing, feed, and clothe themselves. For some, there is the additional challenge of paying off college loans. “Student Monitor, a New Jersey research firm that specializes in the college market, puts a graduate’s average student loan debt at $25,760, which will take an estimated 7.9 years to pay off.” (1) Yale University’s Jing Cao has concluded that, “the current system forces college graduates into debt.” (2)

According to the experts, while paying off debt is important, the first priority of these young adults should be to start saving money, especially if they are offered a 401(k) plan at work. (3) Next, credit card debt should be addressed. This is because the interest rate is considerably higher than that of student loans which can be paid off over a longer period of time. (4) These are practical ways to address debt and help young adults become self sufficient. But it shouldn’t have to get to this point. Attaining a post secondary education shouldn’t force college graduates into debt.

Solutions to alleviate student loan debt, such as giving every newborn child a $500 certificate to open a savings account and in which the government matches contributions dollar for dollar to encourage savings for its poorest children, penalize taxpayers whose earnings fund such expenditures. While a well educated citizenry is necessary for a smooth functioning society, a likelier, more equitable way to resolve the problem of student loan debt is to eliminate the large grants and loans which serve to drive up the cost of tuition. Forcing colleges and universities to compete for students by offering a better product at a lower cost allows the free market to function properly. Furthermore, lending institutions should invest in students’ whose field of study is a sound venture. Scholarships should be awarded to students entering fields which are experiencing employee shortages. As it currently stands, college graduates who plan to work in shortage areas can sometimes have their loans discharged. Click Here
Continue reading “Bare Necessities: Hard to Attain for a College Graduate”

00Publius Contributor - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Family - Nancy Salvato - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - Uncategorized

Please Stop the Aid

September 20, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

“Economic freedom, in and of itself, is an extremely important part of total freedom.” — Milton Friedman1

“In 1996, the UN declared that 70 countries, aid recipients all, were poorer than in 1980. An incredible 43 were worse off than in 1970.”2 Experience has consistently shown that simply providing money to Third World countries will not buy political stability, spur social progress and eliminate poverty, yet this strategy continues to influence charitable efforts aimed at helping the impoverished people residing in these areas.3

It may sound cruel, but there are many valid reasons to stop the billions of dollars in aid given to poor countries. Often, it ends up in the hands of officials who repress their people. Many of them spend this money on arms and military instead of necessary infrastructure. Foreign countries acknowledging leaders, in this way, legitimize their rule. With money comes influence; not only of corrupt officials but with the countries providing the donations. Donors determine which projects to support. As a result, beneficiaries lose their autonomy and any possibility of true self government. Instead, allegiance is offered to those in power who can distribute aid or provide public service.4
Continue reading “Please Stop the Aid”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - History - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

In the Midst of a Second American Revolution

September 10, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

Antonio Gramsci and Ayn Rand; each notable for their distinct yet conflicting views on the role of the individual in society, were both heavily influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Each denounced physical coercion employed by police and armed forces, or as Rand would say, by “communist thugs”. Both wrote about the revolution’s influence on their belief systems. That is where their similarity ends.

Gramsci agreed with Karl Marx that capitalism was bad for the “average Joe” because,

“Although workers produce things for the market, market forces control things; workers do not. People are required to work for capitalists who have full control over the means of production and maintain power in the workplace. Work, he said, becomes degrading, monotonous, and suitable for machines rather than free, creative people. In the end people themselves become objects—robotlike mechanisms that have lost touch with human nature, that make decisions based on cold profit-and-loss considerations, with little concern for human worth and need. Marx concluded that capitalism blocks our capacity to create our own humane society.” 1
Continue reading “In the Midst of a Second American Revolution”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Family - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Down by the School Yard

August 16, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

I’ve been following the news story on the execution style killings of three college bound students in Newark, NJ. It is just so horrific that I wanted to find some justification, no matter how slight, for such an atrocity to befall this particular group of victims; young adults whose gruesome fate was decided because they chose to hang out in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was particularly disappointed when Bill O’Reilly’s guest, Jesse Peterson, a professor of hip hop culture, had absolutely no concrete suggestions on how to prevent kids from turning into thugs –except to suggest paying teachers more money so that the schools can better address troubled youth.

If O’Reilly’s producers want to continue with this thread of discussion, a solid case could be made that offering parental school choice would go a long way toward solving many of the problems that plague our young people. By offering parents without economic mobility the means to provide their children a place to explore without fear, or being forced to grow up too fast, where administrators can enforce standards of behavior and create a culture of learning, these kids might stand a chance. As it stands now, in many lower Socio Economic Status (SES) areas, public schools have become dumping grounds and even the kids who are excited about learning, are left behind. In this atmosphere, students will not come close to receiving the level of intellectual stimulation from their teachers or peers to which higher SES students are exposed. Why has this been allowed to happen?
Continue reading “Down by the School Yard”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Entertainment - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

Ignorance Is Bliss, Or Is It?

August 9, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

If there is one thing for certain in this world, it is when Jack Nicholson plays the male protagonist in a film, his performance will be outstanding. As McMurphy, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, his impression on me is as compelling today –as it was over 30 years ago when I first watched him bring to consciousness the minds of assorted inmates staying on Nurse Ratched’s ward of the mental institution. The message I took away while watching McMurphy undermine Nurse Ratched’s authority over her unit -until she has him lobotomized, stands the test of time. Power hungry people will resort to any means necessary to maintain control. Although Nurse Ratched’s actions were extreme, her display taught me just how vulnerable people are if they are labeled mentally unstable or forfeit the responsibility of making decisions on their own behalf. Those placed in their charge are not necessarily looking out for them.

Inherent in writing and exposing one’s own ideas about terrorism (or the war against radical Islamism), the border threat, or political correctness, is the likelihood of being branded a right wing nut. Being labeled as such isn’t personally offensive (I’ve begun to grow my Alligator Skin) but there is the danger that being branded as such could chip away at my credibility, which is the whole idea behind such mudslinging. This is why it’s so important to be able to back up an argument with facts. This is extremely difficult in the face of a movement doing everything it can to shut down ideas which run counter to their own.
Continue reading “Ignorance Is Bliss, Or Is It?”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Three Good Reasons to Become a Teacher: June, July & August

July 19, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

“Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain, With the barkers and the colored balloons . . .”
– Neil Young

In the July 9, 2007 Issue of National Review is a short piece on “Workaholics”. In it, the author makes the argument that Americans are preoccupied, actually obsessed, with work. He comes to this conclusion based on a number of factors. First, he points out that any increase in leisure activities over the past four decades is due to electronic appliances making our lives easier. Secondly, people living in Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Canada and Japan can take advantage of 10-28 more vacation days than the average 14 allotted to Americans. Most remarkable is that, on average, Americans, don’t even take advantage of three of their vacation days.

Reading the aforementioned article, I couldn’t help but feel that the author, Kevin Hassett, could have explored this subject much further. Although interesting in and of itself, this tidbit of information was just the jumping off place for something more central in understanding what a cross section of Americans are willing to do to maintain a particular standard of living, forge a career, or keep a roof over their heads. Something else he doesn’t explore is the idea that there are people who do enjoy working, who find it feels a need in them to be doing something useful, perhaps for the betterment of society. But his most egregious omission is something that I, an education reformer, noticed straight away. What about teachers?
Continue reading “Three Good Reasons to Become a Teacher: June, July & August”

00Publius Contributor - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Nancy Salvato - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

July 8, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

“A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.” — Alexander Pope

Around this time last year I participated in the Center for Civic Education’s National Academy, where Professor Will Harris led a selected group of students in 21 days of intense study on the basic issues of political theory, and the values and principles of American constitutional democracy. Early on, the importance of gaining a “surplus of mind,” as a crucial element of the democratic process, was discussed. In order to become thinkers or problem solvers, our citizenry must be taught by teachers who are ambitious in their learning goals. When teachers over simplify learning objectives, this conditions our citizenry to fail at more complicated tasks. Conversely, giving the populace the tools to figure out the world’s complexity enables each person to be more powerful and free. Moreover, this is a necessary component of our system of government.

To elaborate further, a surplus of knowledge is especially useful when dealing with unexpected situations. When weighing the possible consequences of a decision, an intelligent person draws on these reserves. The key to “intelligence” is a capacity to weigh the variables that come into play when assessing individual situations. A surplus of knowledge gives us a reasonable shot at being able to anticipate short and long term repercussions of actions or inaction. Indeed, as a colleague of mine recently noted, every choice comes with regret.
Continue reading “A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Nancy Salvato - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Technophobia Serves the Status Quo

June 28, 2007 by

-By Nancy Salvato

Education is probably the most important element in a functioning democratic republic, one in which citizens’ value and are responsible for the maintenance of their individual freedoms balanced against the needs of the society as a whole. To ensure that members of the communities which make up our great nation have equal access to learning, schools must provide the same tools and information across socio-economic groups. This is no easy feat. Regardless of how well an education is delivered, each child will bring a different set of challenges to the table and every student will not take away the same experience. Still, a reasonable goal is to present everyone the opportunity to learn and thus be in a position to care for themselves and be responsible citizens. Therefore, we must strive to deliver every student a high quality education.

It can be argued that, “Technology provides both mechanical advantages over manual approaches and enables learning experiences that would otherwise have been impossible or highly improbable.” (1) While many people already take advantage of technological innovations, others for myriad reasons have not taken the steps to learn how to use these tools properly or to incorporate them into their everyday lives. While it is not an expectation that the average person integrate technology into their world, teachers have a responsibility to learn how to use computers and other devices so as not to put their students at a disadvantage. Not only can information be accessed and processed at a faster rate, but “intangible benefits such as high levels of satisfaction and motivation, improved self-esteem, are often noted as outcomes of technological innovation in education.” (2)
Continue reading “Technophobia Serves the Status Quo”