Last fall I read The Great School Rethink by Frederick Hess, who works with the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. He focuses largely on education policy initiatives, many of which might be familiar: school choice, assessments, funding distribution, and curriculum adoption, among others. While I find these topics and the debates around them interesting, my main takeaway from reading this book was broader. It reminded me that a person is not static, and when we talk with someone we have to focus more on the thoughts they’re presenting and not conflate that with our notions of who the person is when taken as a sum of their parts.
Continue reading ““The Great School Rethink” and Assessing Ideas”Fear and Power
In the discourse among citizens, abortion is nearly an undebatable issue. It’s a hill to die on, where opposing views argue across each other about whose values are more important: bodily autonomy, or fetal life. These sides have moved further away from each other. When I was first of an age to even consider the ramifications of abortion, I commonly heard phrases like “pro-life with exceptions.” With the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade, it seems the anti-abortion crowd is taking the ball and sprinting the other way. Whatever common ground existed has rapidly evaporated.
Continue reading “Fear and Power”The Spirit of Competition
Competition is a slippery idea. In both professional and casual interactions, people often walk a fine line when showing a desire to compete. It can be fun and humorous to have a friendly intensity, but there’s always a tipping point where it becomes uncomfortable for those involved. Competition is one of the most natural things in the world, but needing to play out the act of competition in society muddies the waters.
Continue reading “The Spirit of Competition”Evidence-Based Education Part 0
As part of a new role at work, I’ve been researching aspects of funding for education in the United States. A recurring phrase is evidence-based interactions. I’m going to explore some of the facets of this idea, from its definitions and origins, to potential ramifications of its increasing usage in education.
This post is a placeholder for those future investigations. The educational landscape is of interest to many people, and learning about some of the guiding tenets can help explain a lot of the situations states are finding themselves in. I’m excited to be diving in.
2020 Election Pre-Processing
Although this is admittedly a privileged position to be in, the 2020 election snuck up on me. I got my mail-in ballot for California, but let it sit on my desk. I knew inside would be races for positions with which I was unfamiliar, having only lived in San Diego for a couple years and not knowing what the political environment was on the local level. In addition, the California Voter Information Guide let me know there would be 11 propositions that were difficult to parse, and had at least 4 pages each of thorough explanation and official arguments for and against them.
Feeling a little overwhelmed by the voting that did not involve the presidential race (and that presidential race being uncertain nationwide, despite me knowing who I would vote for), the ballot remained on my desk for two weeks. It wasn’t until a podcast introduction from ATP that it finally sunk in that the election was coming up incredibly fast, and I needed to get my vote in. So I sat down this past Thursday, and over the course of a couple hours researched and made decisions on the various candidates and measures filling my ballot.
With that done, I figured it was time to take a break from my self-indulgent series on text adventures, and focus on a particularly sticky election. I have no guess as to how it will turn out. Other people have summarized some of the main possible outcomes quite well, so I feel no need to do that. And since I am no longer working in a college dorm, I feel disconnected from the effects this nation’s politics have on people. I’m stuck between the privileged spot of wanting to simply focus on my daily work, and a deep discomfort for what precedent the past 4 years have set, and what the next 4 years could mean for our country.
What has been most frustrating is the lack of respect for our country, and a disagreement in what it stands for. We’ve set up a system where people refuse to change it (or actively try to hamstring it) because that’s the only way for them to maintain power. We’ve also set up a system where discussions about the system, ignoring the specific politics of the day, seem nearly impossible to navigate. So many cling to the wisdom of Founding Fathers without recognizing that a large part of what they included was the ability to adapt and change within the system. Yet these avenues seem cut off from us until massive change is created.
It’s a frustrating time, and I am discouraged by the thought of the presidential election. I find it unlikely that a transfer (or maintaining) of power will go smoothly, because the conversations are always about the wrong thing. It’s discouraging that reality has become inconsequential, and I’m not sure where my spot is in what the next few months will bring.
I’m sure this week will be a multiple-post week, at the expense of making any progress on NaNoWriMo. But this is a time for focusing on something much bigger than a certain creative itch, because I believe there’s much more at stake. It may be true that all the well-meaning people won’t be enough due to nefarious actors outside our control, but I hope we can start moving in a better direction.
Some Links RE: Protests and BLM
I don’t feel equipped to write more about this right now, but there have been others whose words I would be happy to share; they are not directly from those affected, but instead are from those of similar backgrounds as me. They are mainly from technology podcasts, which I think others are unlikely to share around. Just listen to the introductions of each, and they provide good viewpoints and resources in their show notes.
Accidental Tech Podcast, Episode 381
Listen to the intro by John Siracusa for a wonderful explanation of why we know police brutality is an issue, and Marco Arment for an impassioned, appropriate response to everything going on.
Connected, Episode 297 and Upgrade, Episode 300
Both provide straightforward introductions addressing everything going on.
Most of the episode discusses the events going on, with equal parts clarity and disbelief. It was cathartic listening for me, and helped guide a lot of my thoughts. Listen particularly for the “circles of complaining” idea: those more affected than you shouldn’t be burdened with helping you, try to reach further outside for help.
Related to this episode, you can read a brief, well-written post by Casey Liss.
I’m still young, and don’t feel like I know how to process all of this right now, similar to Myke’s reflections on the London Riots you can hear in Analog(ue). I’ll keep trying to go clean up Minneapolis, and support in whatever way I can. Black lives matter, and this country, this world, can do so much better.
George Floyd, Minneapolis, and Processing
It’s hard to form any words that describe the thoughts swirling in my head with regards to the situation in Minneapolis. I can’t deny the selfish thoughts in my head: A week after I come back to Minnesota to be with family for the summer, this all happens. There’s also the privilege I hold that allows me to sit here and process everything from the safety of my home (or even potentially ignore it if I had a mind to.)
There is also the open question of what those protesting are specifically protesting against. It’s difficult to protest against an idea, when the action to be taken is all of society changing. This doesn’t put them in the wrong; people have protested for less, and they have the right to do so. Seeing people marching in the streets is inspiring; I think some people want to ignore it, to demonize them, to believe that somehow the world is past the need for such actions. However, the state of the world, and our country, is despicable and tensions just keep rising.
This is difficult. I can’t begin to effectively pour my heart out to those affected and those actively participating. The words I have are broken and ineffective. Yet, I need to address it directly, even if the address is short and insufficient. On the day this is published, I plan to go down to Minneapolis with a couple friends and help clean up what is leftover from the riots. There are many ways to help the community and to show kindness. It’s something I can do.
Space Force – Part 3
This post has very little to do with the Space Force as an entity. I’m mainly interested in describing my experience reading the legislation that formed the Space Force. It was quite the trip, causing me to think about how legislation is written, who reads it, and who checks whether it’s accurately and precisely formed. For reference, this is all pulled from the National Defense Authorization Act (PDF warning).
Continue reading “Space Force – Part 3”