US SCHOOLS RANK 20TH OR LOWER IN SCIENCE

US schools are way behind other countries in the world in math and science. We are behind countries like Finland, UK, Germany, Japan, and others. Why is this? I will give you several reasons that I think are responsible and you can judge.

First, there is no discipline in our schools. Discipline needs to be established and students need to have respect for their teacher, their principal, their fellow students, and their school.
Second, teachers need to be fully qualified to teach their subjects and they need to be chosen and tested for their skills periodically. Continuous updating of teacher knowledge and skills should be practiced. We must have the best teachers possible.
Third, classes must be interesting and stimulating for students so that they will be interested in learning the subject. Students who show a special interest or ability in a subject should be encouraged.
Fourth, classes should be kept as small as possible, less than 25 if possible.
Fifth, schools should be clean and properly maintained to provide a good teaching environment.
Sixth, the school year should be extended to a full year with reasonable breaks for vacations, and teacher training.
Seventh, but maybe the highest priority, schools must be safe. All entrance doors should controlled entry with metal detectors, cameras, and other security devices as needed. There must be NO GUNS or other weapons in schools.
Eighth, students must be continuously watched and monitored to prevent any form of student bullying or harassment.

I think all of the above problems apply to most US schools. Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts!

IS AMERICA IN A STATE OF DECLINE?

According to the Wall Street Journal, 65% of Americans think we are in a state of decline at the present time. The rest either believe otherwise, don't know, or don't care. President Obama recently proposed a tax incentive for business research and development, investment, and new plants and equipment. He also proposed $50 billion for infrastructure improvements. These are a couple of good steps in the right direction but is Congress smart enough to approve these measures? We need to support our President on these important initiatives and work to help restore our former drive, can-do attitude, and cooperation with each other. This means rejecting negative thinking, racism, demonstrating over minor disagreements, rolling up our sleeves, finding jobs, starting businesses, and hiring workers. It would also help if President Obama would get our manned space flight moving again and continuing with advanced military weapons research. We need a complete overhaul of everything we do in this country, in business, in medicine, in the space program, in our infrastructure, in our space program, in our military, and in our dealings with our nations. It will take a mighty effort on the part of all of us to bring us back to the super-power nation we used to be with the respect of the world. This is the only way we can hold back the forces of darkness that are threatening us now in the US and in the world. Write your Congressmen and tell them what needs to be done and why. There is limited time available to us before we could be engulfed with evil forces.

SECURITY OR PRIVACY?

India is now going to force Google and Skype to allow the Indians to spy on private Internet communications. RIMM has already been pressured to do the same. The supposed reason for this is state security. I think this is a big price to pay for the companies involved to have to comply with India's requirements. True, India might catch a few terrorists or criminals, but is it really worth the loss of communication privacy. How do we know that corrupt officials might not use the stolen information to fatten up their pockets? A similar problem surfaced earlier in China where the Chinese government is scared to death that someone might find out the truth by searching on Google.

It is evident to me now that the democracies will fail because the freedom of privacy and free speech can no longer be tolerated in the world. The world is now on the path to an absolute dictatorship because of this issue and the need for beefed up security everywhere. It will be impossible to have any privacy and freedom of expression. Everything you do will be known and controlled.

So what can we do about it? Not much, unless we refuse to do business with countries like China and India, but I don't think that is going to happen. Maybe some sanctions? Hello Congress, anyone, is anybody listening? Any comments?