sundries

[rm]

Last night Patty and I had a lovely dinner at the outdoor restaurant on the West Side. We haven't really formulated specific/definite weekend plans yet, but we have a lot of ideas. Movies? Boats? Hiding out at home which we would like to do more of while awake? (we're both somewhat inexplicably exhausted, but we think the heat is making us sleep less well).

The first of the kidney stone related medical bills as arrived. Over $500 for the ambulance, which is less than I suspected. Apparently I just have to sign some stuff and they will send it to my insurance company, although I'm highly doubtful about how much of this the insurance company is going to pay (although since it was called in for by a doctor at the urgent care I was at, that may help, but there are deductable issues too). Sigh.

The Art of Manliness is, as recently noted, often evil, but they have an installment in their continuing series on wardrobe and its care today.

Lt. Dan Choi was discharged yesterday under DADT.

The ranking of US residents ages 25 - 34 with college degrees has dropped to 12th of 36 developed nations. People are freaking out about the future of US competitiveness. I'm wondering what college degrees matter when they increasingly seem to teach things that should have been learned in high school, or earlier. Luckily, everyone's general sense is that it's all of US education, from K on up, that needs to be improved. Too bad about Texas and those textbooks then, huh?

Despite a long-standing Supreme Court ruling that immigration status/violations cannot be used to deny a child access to our public schools, 1 in 5 school districts in New York are effectively doing just that.

The rooftop bars of Manhattan: more challenging than you'd think.

There's going to be another benefit for Kimlee and her husband Chris this weekend. Chris recently suffered a traumatic brain injury, and the expenses are adding up.

Thanks to the near unending linkage to the SDCC WBC counter-protest, most of the ads on my LJ today about how many college credits you need for ordination from this or that religion-focused educational entity.

Comments

[soukup.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering what college degrees matter when they increasingly seem to teach things that should have been learned in high school, or earlier.

THANK YOU. When I started out at university as a freshman, I remember thinking every day, "When do we get to something hard? Why is everyone having so much trouble with this stuff?" I'm taking grad-level courses now and I still feel that way.

[idunn.livejournal.com]

I felt so bitter when I got my first office job after college and wondered why I acquired debt to do a dull job that my B.A. didn't prepare me for, anyway.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

::finger to nose::

There's something wrong when a Broadway show has a song, "What Do You Do With A BA In English?" and half the world goes YES. THIS.

The hurdles are getting higher, and the rewards are getting lower.

[idunn.livejournal.com]

And seriously? While we'll always need people who can do office work, you dont't need a B.A. to do it ... but the American school system is so lacking in teaching basics like being able to organize one's thoughts and express oneself clearly, so we now assume that college will do that.

Also, it's now becoming de rigueur to get an advanced degree because even B.A.'s aren't cutting it. I majored in politics and foreign languages with an interest in going into government or law, and it was expected of me to get an M.A. or J.D. if I wanted to get anywhere. I decided to get off the carousel.