Just what we needed, more misinformation

 Just what we need, more misinformation

The Secretary of Health and Human Services has spoken yet again, this time with the President joining in.   RFK Jr. in his short tenure, has certainly kept the medical profession and medical professional associations on their toes by denying and challenging most of his pronouncements.   Next up, they will probably be joined by Johnson & Johnson, makers of Tylenol. The chief of clinical practice at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has specifically said “there is no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues.  Pregnant patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen (Tylenol), which is safe and one of the few options pregnant women have for pain relief.  ACOG’sj clinical guidance remains the same and, as always, any medication taken during pregnancy should be used only as needed in moderation and after the pregnant patient has consulted her doctor” Tylenol reduces fever.   The damage to the fetus when the mother has a fever and/or infection is proven science.  Once again proven science is defeated by cult wisdom.  The report prepared by the National Institutes of Health is expected to be a review of existing research on the possible causes of autism.   Jr has spent many years promoting the link between autism and vaccines.   He has never been daunted by facts despite numerous studies that discredit all that he advocates.  Jr. and his staff insist they are using gold-standard science to get to the bottom of the causes of autism.  Most scientists do not even describe these theories as gold-plated let alone a gold standard.  Researchers in the field are more inclined to go with the notion that what you seek you shall fine.  Greater awareness, improved screening tools and changes to the diagnostic criteria are more likely the cause for the rise in a diagnosis of autism.

The Autism Science Foundation said that autism results from a mix of genetic and environmental factors with genetics playing the larger role.  “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science” according to the association.

The sale of ice cream goes up in the summer.  So does crime.  Just because there is a correlation and association of the rise of each does not in any reasonable sense mean that eating ice cream causes crime.

But, hey, this is Jr operating here.  The Secretary of Misinformation. Just what we need.

You gotta a job!

 You gotta a job!

New regulations went into effect this past April 2024.   Now teachers will receive a license instead of a certificate.  More importantly, people can no longer receive a license by a credit count method to make sure they have the required courses.   Instead, they must complete a Maryland State Department of Education approved program.  These programs can take 2-3 years.   Ok, there are some good reasons behind that approach.  People wanting to be teachers should complete a program that reflects the full vision of a complete program.

Turns out that’s the plan for most people but not for all. The Governor is out to get those federal employees who are no longer employees of the federal government into state jobs, including jobs as teachers.   So, he has given one million dollars to several universities to create wonder women and men teachers.

After a one-week intensive program at Towson University, participants magically become teachers.   The program participants came from a variety of affected federal offices including USAID, the Department of Education, the National Institute of Health and the Department of Housing and Urban Development according to Towson officials. All agencies not known for their teaching skills.  “The program required participants to directly and physically engage in the material.”  According to one of the program leaders.  Whatever that means.  The one-week training covered things like building relationships, how to communicate and lesson planning.  “All the important highlights of what it means to be a teacher”, said one of the team leaders.

Hmmm, so how to differentiate learning for kids who don’t get the lesson the first time, how to teach the content in multiple ways, how to deal with discipline- none of these skills are evidently not part of the necessary “highlights”.   But not to worry.  These folks are already teaching in a school near you.  The One-week Wonders are now employed.  Those other people who are in programs that take 2-3 years to complete?  Wonder what their problems are.

You gotta a job!

Are the Ten Commandments a Religious Document?

 Are the 10 Commandments a Religious Document?

Turns out, that depends on whom you ask.  Most folks would probably answer yes, but legislatures in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas are thinking otherwise.

In the opinion of these legislators, the Ten Commandments is an historical document that provides behavioral guidance but not a religious one.  The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that while some of the Commandments provide behavioral guidance (thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, or steal) others are clearly religious in nature, particularly the ones pertaining to worshipping one God, keeping the sabbath and taking the Lord’s name in vain.  

These legislatures want to try another bite out of the apple because they feel emboldened by a much more conservative Supreme Court.  So far the approach is not working in the lower courts.

In Texas, beginning on the first of this month, all schools were supposed to display a copy of the Ten Commandments.  A judge is a US District Court has ruled that doing so would violate the Constitutional requirements that the US cannot establish any one religion and the Free Exercise clause both the first amendment to the Constitution.  He blocked the law from going into effect.  Some have argued that even though the US was founded on Judea Christian values, our nation has citizens of many different faiths and even no organized faith.

Louisiana also tried to require EVERY public school to permanently  display the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that law to be unconstitutional.  The ruling is all the more remarkable because the Fifth Circuit is considered to be the most conservative in the nation and its ruling was unanimous.  This Court too, cited the First Amendment Establishment clause.  The plaintiffs were a multifaith group of nine Louisiana families with children in the public school.

If the Ten Commandments are a religious document, then any required display in a public school would be restricted.  The question is still in the judicial system.  How it will turn our- God only knows.

Bad school or bad economy

 Bad school or bad economy

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released the scores for the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) last week.  The worst scores were in Baltimore City and Somerset County, even though both jurisdictions raised their scores just not as much as the rest of the state.

The scores also indicated which jurisdictions did the best and which schools within those jurisdictions had the highest scores.  In both instances, it was the county and the schools with the highest socio-economic status that did the best.

The highest level of kids living in poverty is Baltimore City (29.5%).  First runner-up is, you guessed it, Somerset County (29.4%. ) A dubious honor at best.  These kids don’t have parents with the time or energy to insist on homework, come to school meetings, make sure health care is provided.  Not to mention a good breakfast and lunch.  Then there is the issue of unions which allow seasoned teachers to pick the best schools leaving the least experienced teachers to struggle along with the kids.

If we want to see better achievement in our kids we need to start with improving their lives.  Many kids who live in poverty live with parents whose school achievement isn’t much better than the child which is one explanation for lack of a better paying job for the adult.  

In a school with high poverty, teachers have to cope with vandalism to their vehicles.  Kids who come to school hungry, kids fighting public transportation if they live in the City, violence in the neighborhood, and sometimes having to stay home to watch younger siblings because there is no one else to do it.  Teachers who teach in wealthier jurisdictions have first world problems: pushy parents who demand more of their kids and the school, expect higher achievement and offer after school tutoring to get it.

In the meantime, the Blueprint for Maryland’s educational future thinks giving teachers 40% of their day for planning while costing a fortune is somehow going to improve the educational achievement of those poor kids. 

Some countries require that all young adults serve their communities for two years, either in the military or in community service.   What would happen if in order to achieve an advanced pay status in a school district, experienced teachers would have to show they could do well in a lower socio-economic school?  Sort of like military service.   What would happen if instead of spending millions of dollars for teachers to have 40% of their time to plan instead of the 20% they have now, those millions were spent on after school care and tutoring in the poorest schools?  That would keep kids off the streets AND make sure they had some structured remediation time.  

That won’t happen because the teachers unions are the fattest pigs at the trough of public funding and we seem to be more comfortable blaming the bad schools rather than their bad economies.