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Comment Re:Charter schools undermine public schools (Score 1) 715

**top performers**. Top salaries should depend on top performance. Average salaries should be the result of average performance. People performing below the average should be asked to leave. We don't have time for our public education system to be a career of "last resort" for people that can't do anything and teach poorly.

Comment Re:Charter schools undermine public schools (Score 1) 715

Throw money at the situation and it will get better? Are you serious? We're spending already over double what we were spending on our students 20-30 years ago, and we haven't seen anything but continued failure and degeneration of our country's academic performance. http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/10facts/edlite-chart.html#1 I am also a young parent with two kids (one in first grade, one that won't be in school for another few years. But when it comes to you and your kids, and if you are in a situation where your public schools are mediocre but you have the option/ability to put your students into a better Charter (or perhaps Private) school, that you're not going to jump at the opportunity? Are you honestly saying that you will keep your children in a sub-par public school because you don't want to "hollow them out further and make them worse?" I seriously doubt you would.

Comment Let's focus on the public schools... (Score 1) 715

If you want to compete with these Charter Schools, then don't use these isolated instances of sensationalized journalism to try and make broad generalizations about all Charter Schools, but how about instead you focus on improving our public school system so that we're not driving families to these alternatives? I'm a product of a public school education (high school graduate in 2003), and I remember people would fail classes, students would be held back grades, teachers would grade our papers with red ink, not everyone was given a pat on the shoulder and told "good job for trying, here's a gold star." Our current public school system is one based on passing arbitrary standardized tests, where teachers are hounded by administrators that haven't seen a classroom in 15+ years to make sure their kids pass. My sister in law teaches elementary school. She is forbidden from giving any student a grade less than 50% on an assignment. Don't turn it in? That's okay! Here's a 50%! Didn't answer the question correctly. That's okay, at least you tried. Math is hard! Here's a 50%! She can't even grade students papers in red ink because of the psychological "trauma" that it will cause. Come on people...give me a break! The real psychological trauma will be when these kids are passed all of the way through high school with a 4th grade reading level, no ability for critical thinking, and a chip on their shoulder that they're smart and they'll never experience failure. What our public schools are doing is wussifying our kids and making them think that they don't have to work hard to succeed. They are going to be sadly mistaken when they go to college (because, you know, nowadays every kid DESERVES to go to college) or get their first job and they end up failing a class or getting fired because they aren't capable or willing to do the hard work. Parents that don't care are a big problem, but by schools caving to these parents and passing them up through the grades without the necessary knowledge, just so they don't have to deal with irate parents, they are doing these kids a disservice. I'm completely for criminal punishment of parents that don't support their children's struggle to obtain a basic minimum education.

Comment Get out of the ergonomics = expensive mindset (Score 5, Informative) 235

I work in Environmental Health and we get requests to perform an ergonomic evaluation all the time. Most of the time people call us thinking that we'll simply be able to get them a more expensive chair and that's the extent of what's required to work ergonomically. First, get out of the mind-set that you need to spend a lot of money to create an ergonomic work environment. Many people think that in order to have a workstation that is "ergonomic" then you need to have a piece of furniture that's been stamped ergonomic by the manufacturer. But that's simply not the case; you can create a completely ergonomic work setup with standard furniture without the need to pay a premium to buy an "ergonomic" workstation. You can do a lot to improve the ergonomics of your workstation by simply rearranging where you keep your equipment. If you have your monitor to your side so you constantly have to look over when you type, then move it in the middle. The top of the monitor should be at your eye level (it's more comfortable to look down slightly while you're typing than it is to look up or straight ahead for extended periods of time). If you're constantly leaning over to see your screen, bring it closer to you. Try and get away from wrist-rests; despite what you might think, having your wrists constantly sitting on those "ergonomic" wrist rests is actually terrible for your wrists and your typing technique. If you spend a lot of time on the phone, use a headset instead of picking up the phone and awkwardly holding it in place with your neck. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor...really all you need in a good chair is firm lumbar support and the ability to adjust its height so your legs aren't dangling or bent awkwardly (use a footrest if you're short and can't touch the ground with the chair all the way down). Buy a simple document holder to hold documents you are reviewing while you work, rather than have them laying flat or holding them in your hands. Take frequent breaks from your work (5 minutes every hour is usually recommended). This all will work wonders to improve your productivity and also reduce your risk of developing any type of repetitive motion injuries.

Comment Re:you don't want this (Score 1) 404

Given the technical specifications provided by the manufacturer, the NOHD for the 1W 532nm laser is 149 meters (~488 feet). Anyone that is closer than 488 feet from you, if they were to have intrabeam viewing of the beam or a specular reflection would exceed the MPE for this laser and would experience a very severe retinal burn. There's absolutely no reason for anyone other than a researcher to own a laser like this. If you were foolish enough to purchase this laser, make sure whatever goggles you purchase have an OD of at least 4.

Comment Choose a trade school. (Score 1) 913

You apparently want job training...not a college degree. A bachelor's degree is not training for a job. It's to teach you how to think and solve problems for yourself. How to absorb knowledge, interpret information and apply it to a variety of situations. Part of that involves studying the subjects you seem to want to avoid. Find a trade school. A college degree is apparently not for you if all you want is job training.

Comment Re:Hours (Score 1) 997

You are paid a certain amount of money per month/year. There is a minimum amount of time/week you are expected/required to be at work. If your position is "exempt," then they are not required to pay you overtime for any hours of work over 40. So basically, you're paid for the job you do, not for the amount of time it takes you to do the job. A salaried exempt employee would make the same amount of money if they worked 40 hours or if they worked 60 hours a week.

Comment Re:Develop a test (Score 1) 332

Um, a cold is caused by a virus so there's nothing going to the ER or any physician or clinic could do to treat you. You suck it up and wait for it to run its course. And a scraped knee you should be able to use common sense and say to yourself: "clean and disinfect the wound and then cover with some type of bandage." That wasn't too hard was it?

Comment Re:What these Democrats don't realize... (Score 1) 1128

I'm a conservative, voted against BHO, and I wouldn't vote for Palin for President. First, I don't like quitters, and the way she quit her governorship, that's not a characteristic I want from my president. Second, I don't think we really need a president to talk to America or other world leaders with stories about the way things are done in Alaska. She was a bad choice for VP and she's a bad choice for the top spot.

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