The Current Events Thread

[BeatBoxingBoo]

Does anyone on this forum actually do drugs frequently

[Syobon]

Not frequently but occasionally, like once a month. Only marijuana. I did my research and came to the conclusion that it's probably less harmful than alcohol, and I drink a shitton anyway, so I figure it doesn't matter that much.

Fun anecdote: all the med school students I personally know have smoked pot.

[Shad]

I know someone who does marijuana frequently. She isn't a pothead, is a very responsible woman with a man, two kids that she raised exemplarily and none of them do drugs, a job and a house, she has multiple talents, is very sociable and friendly, one of the nicest persons I know.

BBB, if you refuse to talk to someone merely because they, once, tried any drug, you have a lot of growing up to do. Besides, you should at once stop talking to anyone that ever smoked a cigarette or drank a glass of any alcohol, which represents a LOT of people.

[BeatBoxingBoo]

It was a joke. I then proceeded to jokingly block him for like thirty seconds.

[SaintCrazy]

Texas GOP doesn't want critical thinking taught in schools

I weep for my state.

I cant believe that there are people who honestly support these politicians.

[Syobon]

Holy fucking shit. How the fuck.

[General]

On the topic of Marijuana, I think it should be legalized but regulated. Studies show that the effects of weed in moderation are less destructive than alcohol, and the fact that the internal drug business makes more cheddar than the US spends trying to get rid of weed in general.

Also Texas:
Wow. No wonder Texas is the laughing stock of the country when it comes to education. I'm sure next Texas will make teaching science illegal.

[Shad]

I don't think Marijuana should be legalized because people are incapable of consuming with moderation. Alcohol is already enough of a problem. And Marijuana is already a problem with idiots that abuse it. Making it legal would only let more idiots abuse it, even with regulations.

[Syobon]

I think people should be free to abuse themselves to a certain extent (as long as it's their own choice and not because they're compulsed to it like with heroine). And marijuana has the advantage that it's practically impossible to OD on it. Also, the idiots will use marijuana regardless of whether it's legal. Legalisation will only decriminalise them, so they can contribute to society instead of rotting in jail.

[BurntToShreds]

I agree with Le Great Handsome Oppressor on keeping marijuana illegal. However, I think that the current punishments for marijuana users are excessive. A person found to be in possession of or using marijuana should pay fines rather than spending time in jail. However, is someone came to harm due to a person's use of marijuana, through negligence or other circumstances, then they should be sent to jail.

Also, I cannot comprehend the reasoning that these men and women on the Texas GOP have gone through to believe that their proposals for the Texas education system would prove beneficial in any way. They are essentially damning Texas to become even more of a stereotype of stupidity than it is right now.

[Kalekemo]

Texas GOP doesn't want critical thinking taught in schools

I weep for my state.

I cant believe that there are people who honestly support these politicians.

Ugh, this along with Wisconsin removing unions from teacher or whatever and everything else going on. The government seems intent on giving our future children the least amount of public education possible. If this continues into when I have kids sometime in the future, there's no fuckin way I'm letting them grow up in the US education system

[Madican]

Actually I would love for school unions to be completely dissolved. They have far too much power and wield it to the detriment of the taxpayer. California had a Prop that would have forced schools to give due process to teachers accused of things like molestation, rape, and other crimes, rather than let them sit around drawing a paycheck and remain in position while the investigation is thwarted at every turn by the union.

It was struck down because the union put out propaganda and the voters around here are fucking idiots.

[Kalekemo]

Tbh it really depends on the union. There are a lot of unions out there who misuse their power and it's a shame, because when used properly, unions can be an amazing thing

[Shad]

ACTA is dead after European Parliament vote
Great news, everyone.

Also, one of France's new president's promises during the presidential election was to make same-sex marriage as well as adoption for LGBT couples legal. Yesterday, the prime minister announced that this would become a reality during the first semester of 2013. pop flyin' news.

[Kamak]

Texas GOP doesn't want critical thinking taught in schools

I weep for my state.

I cant believe that there are people who honestly support these politicians.

For those that need more context, every few years people get into a big discussion in the Texas legislature about education. We basically keep changing the standard for the curriculum at the state level and have massive arguments over everything, including intelligent design.

Since I started school in Texas, I've gone through different standards of testing. In Elementary school I went through TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills), the short lived TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (which turned into the standards of testing rather than the actual test), and finally TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) through middle and high school. TAAS encompassed English, Writing, and Math, and TAKS added Social Studies and Science. The biggest problem with these tests is that they progressively get dumbed down to help "Improve student performance" while ramping up the number of benchmarks (or practice tests) students have to do. Every year, students have to take a minimum of 4 sets of benchmarks for the actual tests they're taking that year (writing is a 4th, 7th, and 10th grade thing, yet is the one students struggle with a lot because nothing is done between then to prepare). After taking 4 tests that don't matter, they're burnt out when the actual test comes and they say "fuck this, I don't want to take it, and if I fail, there's no repercussions". The only tests you need to pass are the 8th grade ones to move onto high school, and the 11th grade ones to graduate (and if you fail those, you get 4 more chances to pass before you are refused graduation rights), so most people blow them off, which makes us look like idiots and reduces our funding. Teachers get cut for bad performance under this, and then of course, we need to "revise" our testing strategy, which means purposely trying to skew test results higher by lowering the standard for the test to make students appear smarter. Which results in lower results when students say "fuck this" because of how stupid the whole system is.

When I left, they were in the process of doing away with TAKS, and trying to put in STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness), or end of course exams. They initially recieved Positive results in play testing because Students only needed to take 1 test that year (and some school districts encouraged good results with scholarships), but now that the first couple of years of full STAAR testing have happened, the scores are even lower, with one test reporting a 67% failure rate in 7th graders (who, again, don't need to pass to keep going).

Recently, these testings have caused school districts to resort to dubious methods, including opening student booklets and changing answers so students get higher grades (thus meaning more cheddar for the district and less firing). Some even had "TAKS parties" where they stayed at school for 12 hours to edit the tests in time to send them off to the state for recording grades. The ones caught doing this got in trouble (usually the big wigs got kicked upstairs. Teachers mostly got fired) and kids had to come back and retake the tests for "Integrity" purposes, which just rustled them off more.

It's important to note that these tests were made because back in the 80's, teachers in Texas were notorious for having pensions and being terrible teachers. By adding a curriculum guide and a standardized test, this was a way to make sure that students got AT THE VERY LEAST this information, giving them a common platform. Also, it was a way to ensure that teachers were doing their jobs. If a whole class failed this test, it's pretty certain that the teacher is terrible and should probably be fired, and cold numbers took over where corrupt principals and personal experience were before.

But yeah, we're up for a big debate this year. STAAR failed spectacularly MUCH sooner than anyone would have thought. We'll be looking at a replacement. In the meantime, we'll also be discussing what can and can't be taught in History, whether "evolution is essential" to biology, how much we can neuter about sex out of Health, and whether it's better to teach classic literature or support female/minority writers more than "tired old Shakespeare and Hemmingway".

And pretty much no citizen will have a say in what goes on, unless they happen to be on the Board of Education.

And wow, long post is long.