The debate of the fairness and efficacy of quota systems heated up this week after German legislators have passed a law requiring the top 100 companies to allot at least 30 percent of the seats on their boards to women within the next two years. The bill also mandated increased in women in upper level positions for some 3,500 companies. The companies could face sanctions if they cannot find enough women to fill the quota.
I have long been a critic of quota systems and this is no exception. While I certainly agree with the motivation behind the law, the emphasis of regulations should be to tear down barriers to women — not to force hiring based on gender. I am a firm believer that the market works against discriminatory values and practices. Women have made amazing strides in business and politics, as vividly shown by the leadership of Germany by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
There is clearly an underrepresentation of women on these boards. However, the way to erase that differential is to guarantee opportunities for women and to combat discriminatory practices in my view.
What do you think?
Source: NBC
Elaine M:
You’ve taught me plenty, too.
happypappies,
Are you being purposely obtuse? I never asked you to explain how someone would go about homeschooling their children, did I? Is it that you didn’t comprehend the comments that I addressed to you? Or are you still trying to avoid responding to me request?
This is what I asked you to tell me about on more than one occasion: You have not explained how young children learn to read/become literate using computers and software…and how that is a better way for children to learn than by attending school.
*****
You said: “Who cares if it was 1 or 10 years ago when your teaching experience was. Did you lose your ability?”
You said this to me previously: “You don’t have to be a teacher Elaine. find another vocation or teach high school. Jobs tend to open up. New Creative type Jobs.”
It appears that you were under the assumption that I was still teaching. That’s why I informed you that I had retired over ten years ago.
*****
Why all the anger and hostility? It appears as if you don’t feel confident about your teaching methods. I had a rewarding career as a teacher. I wasn’t a substitute teacher. I worked as an elementary school teacher for over three decades and as an elementary school teaching librarian for three years. I also taught at the Boston University School of Education for several years.
Elaine M
Are you being purposely obtuse? I never asked you to explain how someone would go about homeschooling their children, did I? Is it that you didn’t comprehend the comments that I addressed to you? Or are you still trying to avoid responding to me request?
Yes you did
You have asked me all of these things in a childish and redundant manner. I have no idea why you feel like this third grade hazing is necessary but I have been going along with it with good humor. It’s very immature.
I have given you examples of everything – pictures – links told you where to google.
I have outlined school programs when you said the computer programs were not enough help the children interact with each other and learn idiomatic speech forms properly.
You said this to me previously: “You don’t have to be a teacher Elaine. find another vocation or teach high school. Jobs tend to open up. New Creative type Jobs.”
You thought that was rude of me? Well, I am sorry but I was responding to this tone here
Elaine M.
happypappies,
“What I fail to understand is why you fail to understand a child would need stimulation in the lower grades.”
*****
Pray tell…how did you arrive at that conclusion? It appears you don’t have a clue as to what I understand about child development and the need to stimulate young children’s curiosity and interests.
Not all children have the kind negative experience that you did in school. You can’t claim that all schools in this country are failing their students because you had a bad experience. My daughter attended the elementary school where I taught. She had exceptional teachers…and got an excellent and enriching education. There are many fine schools in this country.
What is hurting our public schools and education in this country these days is the unhealthy mania for high stakes testing of our children. The craze for testing was brought to us by the school reformers.
BTW, you still have not explained how young children learn to read/become literate using computers and software…and how that is a better way for children to learn than by attending school.
I have tried to explain 6 ways of Sunday what to do late at night and all you have done is clench your teeth and reject what I say.
I got eccited and went off on a childish flight of fancy here and you and Inga wouldn’t do anything but raise your eyebrows and get sophisticated. Children are NOT sophisticated. They want to have FUN when they learn..
This was your Computer explanation for the 100th time
I have repeated over and over again how the child could learn at home with special books and programs with supervision and the books that could be ordered that supervise the teaching so it is accredited. One can give the child IQ and aptitude tests to see where their talents lay and then see how they do with different things. It’s fun. fun Elaine. Different and fun.
Have you done no research on this at all being a school teacher???? With Science experiments at home and dressing up like the Forefathers and so forth and acting out plays like Snow White. Did you teach your children Christmas Carols and how to read music and sing parts together and amuse themselves and be spontaneous without having to be in a “classroom” situation” My God woman! What else do you want to discuss. It’s 2:53 in the morning. We can work with them on instruments also like I said earlier so they can be ready for band and orchestra and choir and Musicals. I will leave the sports up to my Husband and his buddies. Of course this is hypothetical and I would do it if I had it to do all over again.. I know people who have and are. 😉 I hope this will suffice as an explanation this time
And I don’t have a problem with you. So don’t say that. I am just frustrated because I can’t make myself understood to you
Me neither.
Inga (Annie)
Elaine, did any of that make sense to you?
*****
No sense at all.
happypappies wrote: “No it’s not Elaine, look and what you had to do.”
It’s not what? I have no idea “it’s” refers to in that sentence.
*
happypappies wrote: “You had to be in education in order to watch out for your daughter.”
I never said that. That’s an incorrect conclusion that you drew. You’re making up stuff to try to prove your point. I’d say that YOU are the one with an agenda.
Did I ever say anything about how your mother felt? You’re talking ragtime. BTW, I’m not a teacher. I retired over ten years ago.
If you think so little of public schools and public school teachers, home school your children. Not all parents feel as you do.
I already explained in one of my earlier comments how parents are their children’s first teachers. Yet, you try to imply differently.
BTW, you still have not explained how young children learn to read/become literate using computers and software…and how that is a better way for children to learn than by attending school.
If you can’t explain, just say so and I’ll stop asking you for a response.
Elaine M.
If you were unable to understand any of the explanation regarding how a person would teach in the 21st century with what they had at hand at home and beyond, I would say you have a comprehension problem. Perhaps that is what is wrong with the people now days in the schools regarding testing skills. Some kind of deficit disorder from being micromanaged as I suggested earlier and you can’t seem to comprehend?
Who cares if it was 1 or 10 years ago when your teaching experience was. Did you lose your ability? I certainly have not. I substitute taught for years and still could if the need arose. I have a eidetic memory so it’s lots of fun to reach back and invent things for young people.
I am sorry for you that you are having such a time trying to understand my post. No one else seems to have this problem in the day time. Perhaps you need a nap. 😉
Elaine, did any of that make sense to you?
happypappies,
“What I fail to understand is why you fail to understand a child would need stimulation in the lower grades.”
*****
Pray tell…how did you arrive at that conclusion? It appears you don’t have a clue as to what I understand about child development and the need to stimulate young children’s curiosity and interests.
Not all children have the kind negative experience that you did in school. You can’t claim that all schools in this country are failing their students because you had a bad experience. My daughter attended the elementary school where I taught. She had exceptional teachers…and got an excellent and enriching education. There are many fine schools in this country.
What is hurting our public schools and education in this country these days is the unhealthy mania for high stakes testing of our children. The craze for testing was brought to us by the school reformers.
BTW, you still have not explained how young children learn to read/become literate using computers and software…and how that is a better way for children to learn than by attending school.
Elaine M.
No it’s not Elaine, look and what you had to do. You had to be in education in order to watch out for your daughter. See, that’s your agenda. My Mother was a teacher and I have mentioned it on here before. How do you know how she felt. this is you talking. I am sure my Mother would have said the same. And, my mother followed me around from class to class each teacher to teacher to advance me because all the other students were so far behind me. But I got an excellent education Elaine.
Now that we have that out of the way and you are done, I am happy for you. I think things need to change. You are the Liberal. You are the Progressive. Forcing young Children to school early is not healthy. They are not ready until they are 7 emotionally. Most of them still have imaginary playmates. I know I did. Most people can do their work at home now. You don’t have to be a teacher Elaine. find another vocation or teach high school. Jobs tend to open up. New Creative type Jobs.
I have repeated over and over again how the child could learn at home with special books and programs with supervision and the books that could be ordered that supervise the teaching so it is accredited. One can give the child IQ and aptitude tests to see where their talents lay and then see how they do with different things. It’s fun. fun Elaine. Different and fun.
Have you done no research on this at all being a school teacher???? With Science experiments at home and dressing up like the Forefathers and so forth and acting out plays like Snow White. Did you teach your children Christmas Carols and how to read music and sing parts together and amuse themselves and be spontaneous without having to be in a “classroom” situation” My God woman! What else do you want to discuss. It’s 2:53 in the morning. We can work with them on instruments also like I said earlier so they can be ready for band and orchestra and choir and Musicals. I will leave the sports up to my Husband and his buddies. Of course this is hypothetical and I would do it if I had it to do all over again.. I know people who have and are. 😉 I hope this will suffice as an explanation this time
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html
happypappies,
Parents are their children’s first teachers. They have them for five years before they enter kindergarten. Involved parents read to their children; teach them the alphabet, colors, numbers, nursery rhymes, etc.; help them with their studies; take them to science and art museums and historic sites–and many more things. Unfortunately, there are some parents/people today who think that the entire responsibility for educating children falls on the public schools.
You still haven’t explained how young children learn to read/become literate using computers and software…and how that is a better way for children to learn than by attending school.
Elaine M
Do I think a Child needs to be micromanaged in order to become creative if it is my child? No. Most Children do not need close supervision after the task is explained. Of course you must remain on hand and there are books explaining the classes. There are books now for taking home for the Common Core. This is nothing new.
What I fail to understand is why you fail to understand a child would need stimulation in the lower grades. The learning then with socialization is with family as school is not about recess but learning. If you want more for your child, seek groups like people do in the past in scouts only as in Choral Groups and learning how to play instruments with the local music store or chapter. You would be amazed at the help you would receive if you would just start googling ans ask.
Everyone that I know that had a home school environment did better than being in a class of 20 or 30. I was bored to death personally. I was allowed to walk around and read science and history books in the third grade while everyone else was reading Dick and Jane because they did not know what to do with me.
I am not saying my Idea is perfect, but it is better than what is going on now. What is going on now is an outrage.
Here…..playdesk set like this one. Now you can’t have such a thing because they think we are all too stupid not to choke to death on the letters and numbers 🙁
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/54/164450895_c0f986e926_z.jpg?zz=1
Most of the learning that little children (pre first grade) get is through osmosis. Learning and comprehending idioms, inferences etc is mostly obtained through observation and then by interaction with adults. This is why it is so very important to have that interaction with adults at the same time as learning through computer programs as we have now. I would sincerely hope that those parents who use training aids as computers don’t just rely on those aids. There is no substitute for personal interaction with your child while learning to read (among other things). Answering questions and making it a fun exercise.
My daughter learned to read by the time she was 3 yrs old and in first grade was reading at a level expected of 6th grade or higher. We read together all of the time. When we didn’t read together she would use books that came with cassette tapes that she could use to read along. Playing the tape and following along with the words on the written pages …..then DING…..time to turn the page and continue on. Mostly Disney stories. Cinderella and so on. Later in the day, or whenever, we would read out loud to each other from the same books without the tape player.
Before learning to read, about the age of 2, we used those plastic magnetic Playschool letters. The set came with templates, with matching holes for the letters.and a blackboard desk that was magnetized. One template would have C A T……and a picture of a cat. We would find the letter and say the sound(s) out loud. Letter “Ceee” sounds like “KAAA” for Cat, put it into the template and then sound out the word….and make meowing sounds of course. Later she could use chalk and line in the letters in the template…..take the template off and read out the word she wrote.
It was fun, no pressure, and she basically sucked it up like a little sponge.
Personally, I think the skills of reading and language is somewhat genetically based. Just as some people are more adept at math concepts, others are more linguistically inclined. Everyone in my family, (father, mother, brother, grand parents) could read at quite early ages and spent a great deal of time reading for fun.
SO.while the aids are nice, but you absolutely cannot substitute the interaction from parents or other adults.
The sad thing is that many children do not have this interaction and there is a narrow time window in which this osmosis type of learning is optimal.
happypappies,
They may design software for mommies and kiddies nowadays. That doesn’t prove that using computers and software is a good way to teach reading. Becoming literate isn’t just about learning to “read” words. It’s about comprehending what one reads, learning to read between the lines/making inferences, learning about idioms, figures of speech, etc.
Elaine M.
happypappies,
They may design software for mommies and kiddies nowadays. That doesn’t prove that using computers and software is a good way to teach reading. Becoming literate isn’t just about learning to “read” words. It’s about comprehending what one reads, learning to read between the lines/making inferences, learning about idioms, figures of speech, etc.
Elaine M. My Parents helped me with flash cards when I had problems making connections. It worked wonders. There is DBQ up there who looks like she had children later than I did and how marvelous that was. I have a friend who did the same and her children swear they learned more from her than the public schools. Now, understand, this is just the grammar school because the children should be ready to interact by 9th grade in a mature fashion and their should be money allocated for them.
“Creativity is an area in which younger people have a tremendous advantage, since they have an endearing habit of always questioning past wisdom and authority.” -Bill Hewlett
http://www.studica.com/us/en/KnowledgeAdventure/jumpstart-world-of-learning-kindergarten/20897.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&kpid=333460&gclid=Cj0KEQjwuI-oBRCEi87g0K3O8OoBEiQAb25WAYpkQuNuwU4l6FHbsTOK0Dt7OLYtOGb938HNlyK2FIAaAgGU8P8HAQ
http://www.familylearningdepot.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuI-oBRCEi87g0K3O8OoBEiQAb25WAf5sHzHykXKVGQQS6tU98EkUckJqHMdblQpbvrlqXBkaAkqi8P8HAQ
Anyway – you know how to google and Mommies sure do and I bought my Computer used at a Pawn Shop for 150.00 years ago.
happypappies,
How does one teach a five or six-year-old how to read using computers and software?
I do think that the federal government has truly hurt public education in this country with its No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top programs…and their focus on high stakes testing of children. Our educational programs should focus on meeting the needs of our students. Not all children learn in the same way. Lots of bright kids aren’t great test takers.
Elaine M
They design software especially for children and Mommies now days. I wish that I had the opportunity to do it myself
https://www.schoolzone.com/software/preschool-2-pack-on-track-software?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuI-oBRCEi87g0K3O8OoBEiQAb25WAUx_NKG7KN76sfBnOucD3gzDMbZ4iRvtIDZGsPK3vdMaAi6I8P8HAQ
david2575
OK, you are putting me on.
The info is from easily available public information. Harvard has well over 30 billion in endowments. $300 million a year in tuition is a drop in that bucket. The idea of reserves to fund costs works in that the money made by investing the endowment pays for the several billion a year in salaries, chairs, etc. That endowment fluctuates depending on the economic times, ie. after the three stooges got through with the economy, the endowment was around 28 billion, down from 35 billion. Now under Obama it is back up to what it was, that barbarous conquerer.
Your ‘bottom line’ bottomed out of reality. Students going to Harvard pay three and four times what it costs in other schools, except of course if they are one of the 20% that Harvard assists. It that case they are probably able to get scholarships to any University. Harvard does have academic standards, unless of course your Dad was the President once, oh, that’s Yale. I went to graduate school with several students that received their Bachelors degrees from Harvard, all rich, all not that much above average, all had had the best private school K-12. The primary advantages they had, not that the Harvard education is anything to sneeze at, were their family connections and the connections they made while at Harvard. Connections made at prestigious schools such as Harvard really come into play in the graduate programs. In my field of Architecture we had a lot of ex Ivy League graduates that were assistant professors etc. They had accompanied the professors that taught at our school that also taught at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. There are always exceptions to the rule but if you plot the histories of most Ivy League and other comparable school graduates you will find the privilege of having had a very high end K-12 education, at very high costs, and of course well orchestrated by family and friends. It is what it is and nothing more.
Schools such as Harvard certainly have their advantages but 80% of the time it is nothing more than a continuation of the status quo. In this case it is a crapshoot. You might get a Bill Gates or you might get a George Bush.
mespo
David has the ‘wonderment and innocence of a child’ and the ability to select or cherry pick as well as a Republican politician. Without government’s assistance, financial as well as organizational, education in the US would still be offered to those connected to historical money. Endowments are just that. Rich people give money to this or that endowment or charity. This reduces their taxes and makes them feel good. For schools such as Harvard, the benefits are great. Scholarships allow well deserving students without means to attend this school, 20%. However, Harvard with its 30 billion+ endowments could pay every student’s tuition and still accumulate more money. Furthermore a substantial portion, if not most, of the student’s expenses is paid with government grants and loans.
State and federal funding for higher education is from six to eight times that of private funding. This does not include student loans. Private funding is integrated into the overall business plans of individuals, corporations, as well as the educational institutions themselves. Most of these endowments are parts of the investment formulas of Wall Street and rise and fall with the world’s economy. Anyone who has studied economics and tax laws understands that losses are extremely flexible and can travel back as well as forward in time and magically represent several times their worth when placed in the appropriate blanks, as in loss of profits from lost investments, etc. Endowments are a welcome part of America’s system of higher education, but they are also good business and would not exist in any form resembling their present one if they were not such good business.
The United States, Canada, Great Britain and other countries endow their institutions of higher learning, the first example being that of Rome’s Marcus Aurelius and more recently the grandmother of Henry the 8th.
The social aspect/taxes for education is still by far the most important and direct. So David, ‘taxes are really not necessary for education. People will support education voluntarily.’ There is a modicum of beneficence included in endowments. However, almost all of the endowments do nothing for the student. Harvard spends less than 2% of its endowment on scholarships each year with like percentages in the cases of Yale, Stanford, and the other big opportunities. The bulk of the funding for scholarships based on ability and need comes from the government/taxes, for all institutions of higher learning, including Harvard.
A little but related titbit of information, Norway ranks at the top in the world in charitable donations, per capita. This is almost entirely due to the amount of government funding of charities, through taxes, by the will of the people.
This is a slow week, David. Come up with better stuff than that.
issac, I do not find your information to be accurate. The bottomline is that students going to Harvard pay less than students going to public institutions, and they get a better education with greater opportunities after graduation.
Maybe Mike Appleton should chime in here. If memory serves me well, he graduated from Harvard.
Ah, Davidm, you have the wonderment and innocence of a child. Harvard and other well-heeled private institutions profit considerably from public assistance In the form of tax breaks. Take these away and you’d see how fast our independent privates would be screaming for help.
http://m.thefiscaltimes.com/all/articles-2011-10-07-the-rich-university-the-mother-of-all-tax-breaks#1
Mespo, I fully support tax breaks for educational institutions. Excusing them from paying taxes on their income is much different than taking money from our neighbors by force and giving it to the institution.
Actually, I think the idea of progressive would be to have a government whose income is entirely voluntary just like all private institutions. Why should government be the only institution allowed to legally take money from our neighbors? It is an archaic idea rooted in barbarism where the conqueror demanded everybody pay him tribute. We need to outgrow that idea.
This thread has taken some strange twists. I have a couple of quick observations. First, comparing US to Germany, and resulting US policy to German policy is not an apples to apples exercise. Second. there is major shifting underway in the power structure of the entire planet. Bush most likely will be remembered as a pivotal figure enabling the change; Obama may be remembered as either as being totally incorrect in response, or at best irrelevant in the course of oncoming events.
I declare this post has been an exercise in futility.
That’s the scotch talkin,’ barrister. I hope you get some sleep tonight. Those demons are toughest @ night.
I was reading on the admissions to Harvard when I was checking out what the magna cum laud really was, and it was lower before 2010, in 2013 and it said if your family made less than 60 grand before taxes your education was totally free if you were accepted.
I just thought that was interesting because I had no idea you could get into Harvard on a Hardship Scholarship
http://law.harvard.edu/current/careers/ocs/employers/hls-grading-policy/index.html
happypappies wrote: “I just thought that was interesting because I had no idea you could get into Harvard on a Hardship Scholarship”
Everybody in Harvard gets help somewhere. Fully 100% of students at Harvard students graduate debt free. Some 20% of the students at Harvard come from families with income below $65,000 so their parents pay nothing.
And check out how being an illegal immigrant was advantageous for this person to get a free ride at Harvard:
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/09/29/student-says-harvard-gave-him-free-ride-when-revealed-was-undocumented/
If you play with the financial aid calculator at the Harvard financial aid site, you may be surprised how much money parents can earn and yet Harvard still pays most of the bill. The thing about Harvard is that they have a big foundation so they have lots of money to give away.
https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid
Davidm2575
I was looking (like I always do) and it says Radcliffe has been fully absorbed into Harvard which I take to mean the finances and degrees would be available also. God – I wish I was young now lolol. Not really. I like who I am. I still study on my own and it’s wonderful to know that people have that opportunity, I will send this link to one of my friends whose Grandson lives with her and has no idea about this opportunity. I thank you so much for your kindness in looking this up 😉
happypappies, Harvard is kind of interesting to think about. It is our oldest educational institution and demonstrates how private educational institutions can be done better and less expensive for students than public educational institutions. One key to its success is a well managed endowment. This is a much better model than supporting education through government taxes. We waste so much tax money on education simply because it is a “good idea.” Who doesn’t think education is a good idea, but because it is such a noble venture, taxes really are not necessary for education. People will support education voluntarily. Harvard’s first graduates were Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. A Native American graduated in 1665, more than 100 years before we became the USA. Interestingly, Harvard undergraduate college did not become co-ed until 1977. So according to modern liberals, I suppose Harvard was “progressive” in regards to racial equality, but not so “progressive” in regards to gender equality.
davidm2575
I wish everything education wise could go through endowments. The federal government is the ruination of the Education system. The way computers and software is now you could actually teach at home for the first 8 grades and then move up to high school with endowments for programs in sports and the arts.
I read everything on line that day you gave me the link on Harvard regarding Harvard and Radcliff and it was a very Conservative School. Liberal Arts only for the Women for the longest time. Well, that’s what I got. That is pretty much the way it was. That was the gist of my question to you previously. I have children and Grandchildren I don’t get to see but I know will have more chances than I did at this sort of thing as it’s my understanding that my genetic carry over is double what my mates was 😉
I did pass this on to my friend and posted it to my timeline on Facebook and Personally, I think it’s great.
Nick:
“Dems are fixated on book smarts. That’s because they own the education industry. There are all types of intelligence and skills. I’ll take a person w/ street and people smarts over book smarts for just about any job.”
************
Yeah, how about a tough,savvy, private dick for President whose been everywhere and knows everything and the closest he could get to admission to Harvard is driving by the place and sticking his tongue out at all those the lib college kids. He’s my guy. Know anybody like that?