text:
Texans for Parental Choice in Education
Let's Choose Schools in Texas!
Archive for the 'Vouchers' Category
'How Schools Work' Review: The Worm in the Apple
A former education secretary doesn't pull his punches when it comes to teachers' unions; still, the Obama administration didn't take them on. Naomi Schaefer Riley reviews "How Schools Work" by Arne Duncan.
Striking Chicago public school teachers in 2012. PHOTO: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
Naomi Schaefer Riley
Aug. 13, 2018 7:08 p.m. ET
Political memoirs are rarely tear-jerkers, but Arne Duncan's look back at his time as secretary of education under Barack Obama may make school reformers want to cry. It's not so much that Mr. Duncan, who served from 2009 to 2015 after a stint as head of the Chicago public schools, was bad at his job or in any way unprepared for its challenges. In fact, as "How Schools Work" makes clear, he understood a great deal about the problems plaguing American education. But that very understanding makes his cabinet tenure—recounted here alongside other tales from his public life—feel like a painful missed opportunity.
Mr. Duncan's theme is that our education system is built on lies. He tells the story of volunteering, while he was in college, at his mother's after-school tutoring program in Chicago, where she helped neighborhood kids with their schoolwork. His principal charge was a young African-American named Calvin, a rising high-school senior who had more than enough basketball talent to play for a Division I team. Mr. Duncan assumed that Calvin, a solid B-student from an intact, hard-working family, just needed some help studying for the ACT ahead of applying for college—until the first day that Mr. Duncan sat down with him and realized that he was reading at the level of a second-grader. Despite a summer of hard work, Calvin wasn't going anywhere.
"The lies told to Calvin," Mr. Duncan writes, "were not told to torture him. . . . More often than not they existed to protect resources, or to safeguard jobs, or to control what kids were taught and how or whether they were tested on what they knew." Calvin was ill-served by a system that kept passing him along to the next grade level when he hadn't mastered the basic skills of the one before.
PHOTO: WSJ
HOW SCHOOLS WORK
By Arne Duncan
Simon & Schuster, 243 pages, $26.99
When it comes to the role that teachers' unions play in the problems of public education, Mr. Duncan doesn't pull his punches. Upon taking charge of the public schools in Chicago in 2001, he discovered (with the help of the Chicago-based economist Steven Levitt ) that at least 5% of the city's teachers were helping their students cheat on standardized tests. He was appalled but felt stymied: "If I'd asked Mayor [Richard] Daley to fire 5 percent of all Chicago teachers, then there would have been hell to pay." The episode is emblematic beyond its particular circumstances: In what other profession is it acceptable to retain people who you know are falsifying results?
Mr. Duncan notes that for teachers' unions it's controversial to say—as Mr. Obama did during the 2008 campaign at the National Education Association's annual meeting—that school districts should be able "to reward those who teach underserved areas or take on added responsibility. As teachers learn new skills or serve their students better or if they consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well." This statement in favor of merit pay, Mr. Duncan observes, got candidate Obama "treated to a round of boos."
Clearly Mr. Duncan knows the value of a good teacher—he cites one well-publicized study showing that replacing a poor teacher with an average one can mean, for the student, a significant difference in lifetime earnings. Concerning college schools of education, he cites another study arguing that they have become, as he puts it, "an industry of mediocrity." He asks his readers to imagine a world in which such schools focus less on theory and more on the subjects to be taught in the classroom.
Mr. Duncan supports charter schools—though not as vocally as Betsy DeVos, the current education secretary—because, free of union contracts and bureaucratic burdens, they offer an alternative to underprivileged kids stuck in the classrooms of the lowest performing teachers. (He opposes school vouchers because he thinks they steal money from public schools; not surprisingly, the voucher program for poor children in Washington, D.C., repeatedly saw its funding cut during the Obama years.) In the end, the Obama administration either couldn't buck the unions or didn't want to.
Oddly, Mr. Duncan's most publicized fights were with parents. In Chicago, they hounded him for closing failing schools. But he was right: There is sometimes no way to improve a terrible school short of shutting it down; keeping it open because it's a fixture in the neighborhood does kids no favors.
In Washington, Mr. Duncan made the mistake of criticizing the "suburban moms" who were opting out of standardized testing for their kids, worried that test preparation would stress out their children and get in the way of more enriching classroom activities. But again he was right. If we don't test kids across the full performance spectrum (including wealthy children on Long Island), Mr. Duncan argues, we won't know how those at the bottom are really doing
Along the same lines, he defends No Child Left Behind—the George W. Bush-era program that required each state to create assessments at various grade levels—because it disaggregated student data by race, giving a fuller picture of where help was needed. At one point, a parent from a closing school accuses Mr. Duncan of being a racist. He replies: "If I were a racist, then I would leave this school exactly as it is." As Mr. Duncan's account makes clear, it would be hard to devise an educational system that is more harmful to racial minorities if we tried.
Mr. Duncan offers a lot of trivial solutions at the end of the book that he says could also improve things—universal pre-K programs, more after-school programs, more counselors to prevent gun violence—but most of these ideas would simply give more jobs to union employees and make it that much harder to achieve real reform. For the most part, though, Mr. Duncan does understand "how schools work." The tragedy is that he and his boss didn't have what it takes to make them work better.
Ms. Riley is the author, most recently, of "Be the Parent, Please: Stop Banning Seesaws and Start Banning Snapchat."
Appeared in the August 14, 2018, print edition as 'The Worm In the Apple.'
Posted in charter school, parental choice, Parental Rights, School Choice, teacher union, Vouchers | Leave a Comment »
Trump's School-Choice Fight
His plan to let money follow the child is a moral and political winner.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 17. PHOTO: REUTERS
If Donald Trump knew that promoting school choice would cause such a ruckus on the left, maybe he'd have weighed in sooner. The Republican nominee has found a winning issue by pitching a plan to "provide school choice to every disadvantaged student in America." Amen.
During a visit to the Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy, Mr. Trump proposed a $20 billion block grant for states by redirecting federal education money to support charter schools and vouchers. He also endorsed merit pay for teachers and said he'd support local candidates who champion school choice.
Most of the $50 billion or so that the federal government spends on K-12 education is targeted to particular programs like teacher training, and rural and STEM education. About $14 billion in Title I funds are earmarked for disadvantaged students. However, this money doesn't follow kids to private schools, and states often shortchange charter schools.
Mr. Trump wants to let states use federal funds to boost voucher awards, so parents rather than governments get to choose where the money goes. As he noted in Cleveland, "there is no failed policy more in need of urgent change than our government-run education monopoly." Judging by the panicky reaction on the left, you'd think he'd proposed eliminating public education.
Hillary Clinton said his block-grant plan would "decimate public schools across America." Yet $20 billion is merely 3% of what states spend on K-12 education each year and less than the increase in school spending in California since 2012. By the way, charters are public schools—freed of union control.
Mrs. Clinton is showing how far left she has moved on education. President Obama has been hostile to vouchers; recall former Attorney General Eric Holder's efforts to shut down Louisiana's voucher program that principally benefits poor black kids. But at least Mr. Obama supported charters, while Mrs. Clinton is now openly hostile to these reform public schools.
Unions and their friends are trying to deflect attention from Mr. Trump's speech and minority outreach by saying the charter school where he announced his plan received a failing grade on Ohio's school-progress report card last year. But the charter flunked due to a switch in state tests last year that caused student scores to slump nearly everywhere in the state.
In 2014 about 71% of third graders at Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy were proficient in reading. On the new test 55% rated as proficient. Yet the share of students at Cleveland Arts who scored proficient was still more than twice as high as at Harvey Rice Elementary (which has a similar demographic makeup) down the block. That school got an A on student growth.
It's ironic that progressives are howling about the charter's performance on standardized tests, which they usually insist are a poor indicator of school and teacher quality. Why is it that the only schools that unions believe should be held accountable for student performance are those run by their competition? That's a question Mr. Trump should ask from here to November.
Tags:Charter schools, Education reform, Parental Rights, problem schools, public funding, School Choice, teacher quality, teacher union, voucher
Posted in charter school, parental choice, School Choice, Vouchers | Leave a Comment »
Congressman Paul Ryan Talks Education In WSJ
Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin wrote a feature column in the Wall Street Journal this weekend to discuss the "war on poverty" as it turns 50 years old. Congressman Ryan, who worked extensively with the late Jack Kemp in the early 1990's before becoming a Congressman, is advocating many of the ideals that Kemp spent a career fighting for, such as parental choice in education, and local leadership taking control and solving problems, rather than bureaucrats in Washington far removed from the situation.
The two excerpts below really highlight some smart, innovative thinking when it comes to education. They say sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I think Congressman Ryan shining a light on these ideas in the WSJ is really important. I'm curious to know your thoughts.
One day at Pulaski High School in Milwaukee, a fight broke out between two students. The staff separated them, but one of the students, a young woman named Marianna, refused to relent. She continued to fight—now with the staff—and to cause a stir. Then a call went out over the school radio for "Lulu" to respond. Soon, Marianna began to calm down. Once she arrived, Lulu quickly defused the situation. Of all the people at Pulaski High—all the teachers and administrators—only one person got through to Marianna that day, and it was Lulu.
"Lulu" is Mrs. Louisa, one of five youth advisers in Pulaski High's Violence-Free Zone program. Along with program head Andre Robinson and site supervisor Naomi Perez, they work as a band of roving mentors. On a typical day, you'll find them walking the halls in black polo shirts. They chat with students, break up fights and help with homework. Most of them are recent alumni who grew up in the inner city, and they have the scars to prove it. They've been part of gangs. They've seen violence firsthand.
But they don't have education degrees or state certification. They have something more important: credibility. The youth advisers understand what the students are going through because they've had the same struggles. That credibility creates trust, and so the students listen to them. In the two years since the program started, suspensions at Pulaski High are down by 60%, and daily attendance is up by nearly 10%. Fourteen gangs used to roam the school grounds; today, they've all but disappeared. The school tried all sorts of things to keep students safe—more police presence, more cameras. But only this program worked.
Mrs. Louisa, Mrs. Perez and Mr. Robinson aren't just keeping kids in school; they're fighting poverty on the front lines. If you graduate from high school, you're much less likely to end up poor. According to the Census Bureau, a high-school graduate makes $10,000 a year more, on average, than a high-school dropout, and a college graduate makes $36,000 more. Ever since that day at Pulaski High, Marianna has improved her grades and now she is looking at colleges. Yet for all its professed concern about families in need, Washington is more concerned with protecting the status quo than with pursuing what actually works.
• In education, give teachers more control, and give parents a choice. Some of the most exciting work in education has occurred in Indiana. Three years ago, then-governor Mitch Daniels shepherded through the legislature several bold reforms.
Before the reforms, union-negotiated contracts required teachers to earn compensation based on seniority, not performance, and the contracts dictated all aspects of the classroom experience, from the humidity level in the school to the number of hours a teacher must spend with students. Under the new laws, teachers' pay is based on performance. In exchange, they have more control over the classroom. Collective bargaining covers only wages and benefits, so teachers can tailor the curriculum to the needs of their students.
Low-income families are also now eligible for tuition vouchers on a sliding scale, and the reforms allow parents unhappy with a low-performing public school to turn it into a charter school with the approval of their local school board.
Tags:Charter School, Congressman Paul Ryan, education, Jack Kemp, parental choice in education, parents choice, Vouchers, Wall Street Journal, war on poverty
Posted in charter school, parental choice, Parental Rights, School Choice, Vouchers | 1 Comment »
WSJ: Vouchers Can Help Kids and Big-City Politicians
The Wall Street Journal has yet another great op-ed about Education Reform.
Politicians in cash-strapped municipalities can give families choice while saving money.
By Kevin P. Chavous
In his former post as White House chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel famously remarked: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." What he said next is less remembered: "And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."
These words come to mind as municipal governments across the country—from Stockton, Calif., to Jefferson County, Ala., to Mr. Emanuel's own city—grapple with massively underfunded public pensions, lowered bond ratings, and the prospect of layoffs for thousands of teachers and other public employees. These crises are opportunities for leaders to do things they could not do before.
I see this most clearly in public education. As a former chairman of the education committee on the District of Columbia City Council, I've experienced firsthand the tensions between paying bills racked up in the past and honoring the obligations we have to young students in the present and future. It is deeply unfair to settle adult disputes over pension obligations and fiscal mismanagement on the backs of school children who weren't even alive when the problems were created. In D.C., we chose to put our children first. Other cities can do the same.
How? By unleashing parental choice in education. While public-school systems take the painful steps necessary to remain solvent, public dollars can and should follow students to less costly and higher-performing private schools and public-charter schools.
The word "voucher" is a dirty word to many teachers and administrators in public schools, but it shouldn't be. With a well-run parental-choice program, elected officials and administrators can significantly reduce the stress on public-school budgets while living up to their obligation to provide great educational opportunities for young people.
In 2004, when I headed the D.C. City Council education committee, we secured federal funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides vouchers to low-income students for tuition at private schools that outperformed public schools. We also secured funding to improve the city's charter and traditional public schools. Between 2004 and 2012, the program received more than 11,000 applications and awarded 4,900 scholarships.
In June 2012, after the Obama administration nearly phased the program out, House Speaker John Boehner and then Sen. Joseph Lieberman reached an agreement with the Education Department to renew the scholarships. As Mr. Boehner said at the time: "Thousands of families have taken advantage of this scholarship program to give their children an opportunity to succeed in life, and there's strong evidence that it's both effective and cost-effective."
In the 2011-12 school year, D.C. students who used the scholarship program to attend private schools had a high-school graduation rate of more than 90%. The city's charter schools had a graduation rate of 77%, far above the traditional public-school graduation rate of 56%.
Other elected officials across the country are making similar choices. Last year, in the midst of a budget crisis, Louisiana lawmakers expanded the Louisiana Scholarship Program. Begun in New Orleans in 2008, the program provides low-income parents whose children are assigned to a failing school the opportunity to send them to a private school.
This school year, some 8,000 students statewide—91% of them minority—are using vouchers to attend private schools. A survey conducted in February by the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Louisiana Federation for Children reported that 93.6% of parents were satisfied with their child's academic progress in the voucher program. The new statewide program includes strong accountability measurements in order to remove schools that do not increase student proficiency.
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, the program is also saving the state's taxpayers an estimated $16 million a year. The average scholarship last year was about $5,000, while the average amount spent per public-school student was about $8,500.
Empowering communities and families requires leaders with the guts to step out of their political comfort zones. There will be no shortage of defenders of the status quo, teachers unions chief among them. But that's no reason to let this crisis go to waste.
Mr. Chavous is executive counsel to the American Federation for Children, chairman of Democrats for Education Reform, and a board member of Educational Choice Illinois.
Last year, in the midst of a budget crisis, Louisiana lawmakers expanded the Louisiana Scholarship Program. Begun in New Orleans in 2008, the program provides low-income parents whose children are assigned to a failing school the opportunity to send them to a private school.
Tags:D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, education department, John Boehner, Joseph Lieberman, Kevin P. Chavous, Louisiana, parental choice in education, scholarships
Posted in parental choice, Vouchers | 6 Comments »
Republican Rx: Parental Choice in Education
This column appears at National Review Online:
To reach Latino voters, the GOP needs to make it a paramount issue.
By Lance T. Izumi
In the aftermath of Mitt Romney's defeat, Republicans are scrambling to find a winning electoral formula. While the punditry class advises the GOP to cave in on immigration and social issues, the bigger and better opportunity for Republicans to increase their voter base and divide the Democrats would be to make parental choice in education a loud priority.
So much of the conventional wisdom dished out by Monday-morning-quarterbacking media grandees is wrong. Pandering to different demographic groups won't open the voter floodgates for Republicans, because Democrats will always be willing to call the GOP's bet and raise it. What Republicans need is an issue on which Democrats cannot outflank them and that will appeal to ordinary voters in populous Democratic strongholds. Parental choice in education fits that bill.
Democrats cannot outbid Republicans on parental choice because their paymasters, the teachers' unions, won't allow them. President Obama claims to support education reform but opposes full-blown choice options such as voucher programs. His reasons, such as believing that money is better spent on increasing public-school funding and that voucher-scholarship programs don't improve student achievement, are easily rebutted, as the empirical evidence shows otherwise. More important, the groups that Republicans are trying to win over support wider parental-choice options.
The Washington, D.C., voucher-scholarship program, for example, has strong support among African-American parents in the nation's capital. Among Latinos, the support for school-choice options is huge and exceeds that of the public in general. According to a May 2012 survey by the American Federation for Children and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO), an eye-opening 69 percent of Latino voters in five swing states supported vouchers, versus 57 percent of all voters.
"Unfortunately," notes Julio Fuentes, president and CEO of HCREO, "a lot of our Latino families come from low-income areas [where] choice is the only way that they are going to be able to achieve that American dream of graduating high school and going on to make something of themselves." While the Democrat-sponsored DREAM Act focuses on the illegal-immigrant slice of the Latino population, choice options such as vouchers to attend private schools are accessible to all segments of the Latino community. In other words, parental choice is the true dream act for all.
While most Democrats have abandoned their constituents on school choice, most Republicans have supported them. However, that support has often been quiet and low-key.
Mitt Romney supported parental-choice options such as vouchers, but his comments on the issue were limited and didn't form the backbone of his appeal to Latino and other minority voters. That strategy must change immediately.
Latino voters are more likely than most to say education is a leading issue for them. Yet, says Mr. Fuentes, "The immigration debate from a national level has taken the spotlight, and this educational crisis that we find ourselves in, especially within our Hispanic community, just seems to never be discussed." Republicans have to show that they care deeply about this critical issue, and there's no better way to demonstrate that they care than by championing popular and beneficial parental-choice programs.
So here is what Republican leaders and candidates can do: become megaphones for parents and parental choice; immerse yourselves in communities and do the hard work of building choice-based coalitions; participate very publicly in grassroots demonstrations such as National School Choice Week; learn from Republican heroes such as Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who pushed through landmark choice legislation; and promise not to play it safe, play by conventional rules, or cede the playing field to the other side.
By making parental choice a paramount issue, Republicans don't have to sell out their principles of freedom and liberty — they just have to amp up the zeal of their belief.
— Lance T. Izumi is Koret Senior Fellow and senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute.
Tags:gop, governor bobby jindal, hispanic community, julio fuentes, Lance T. Izumi, mitt romney, Pacific Research Institute, parental choice in education, republican party
Posted in parental choice, Vouchers | Leave a Comment »
Chicago Democrat Embraces Vouchers
A fascinating WSJ article about Rev. James Meeks, a black pastor, who is also a leading voice for the Illinois Democratic Party, choosing to force reform on the Chicago public schools.
Read this quote by Rev. Meeks to understand his wisdom.
The voucher movement seems to have been born, or seems to have been started as a Republican idea. That's the way Democrats look at it. That's the way black lawmakers look at it. This is a Republican idea. This is what the Republicans want to push on us. . . . We don't seem to see public schools not working in your area.
How does "the Reverend Senator" plan to get enough Democrats on his coalition to get [vouchers passed]?
"I'm banking on the difficulty Democrats will have telling these parents, 'No, you're not going to have choice. Your kids are locked into these failing schools.'"
Tags:Parental Rights, problem schools, public schools, School Choice, voucher, Vouchers
Posted in Parental Rights, School Choice, voucher, Vouchers | Leave a Comment »
Sasha Sidorkin's Hyper-Vouchers: Analysis & Comparison to Other Proposals
This is an editorial by Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Sidorkin from the Dallas Examiner.com. Dr. Sidorkin also has a book entitled Labor of Learning and a blog entitled "The Russian Bear's Diaries".
Hyper-Vouchers: A Radical Solution for American Education
Both New York City schools and Washington, DC schools have pilot programs that pay students to learn. Mexico and Brazil have programs that pay families whose kids go to school. This is, by far, the most radical, and the most promising solution to the educational underperformance of American kids. In my view, these programs are not radical enough, because the sums paid to kids are nowhere near to what the public spends on education.
In the fiscal year 2006, school districts in the United States spent an average of $9,138 per student. New York State's average is almost $15,000, although the City's expenditures are a little lower, at about $12,000 in the 2004/2005 academic year (the last available year). We're talking very serious money. Just imagine that the money would be paid not to schools but to the families directly, if the children can demonstrate learning. If the family has the skills and motivation to teach their own kids, they pocket the whole $15,000 a year. If they cannot, they may hire a tutor or sign up with a school of some sort, and share the learning income with those schools or tutors. Pass a test – get paid.
This would put the incentives to where they belong – with students themselves. We can provide all kinds of incentives to teachers, but if children are not motivated, it is not going to work. Education is not consumption; it is hard work, and it benefits us all more than it benefits about half of all K-12 students. This is why we're subsidizing it in the first place. We should treat learning as any other job: if the society as a whole benefits from basic education, and is willing to pay money for it, why not pay directly to those people who actually need to learn? For the educational system to become more efficient, we must stop paying for attempting to teach, and start paying for proven learning.
Is it possible to implement? You bet. ETS and other testing agencies have decades of experience in administering tests on mass scale. Those tests do not need to be primitive testing of facts; they can include sophisticated measures of thinking, writing, and computational skills. Testing centers can be cheaply set up wherever there is internet access; each kid can have an account that keeps track of tests and of money paid to the student.
Will it leave behind poor children? Not at all; in fact, it will put resources into the hands of poor parents, and allow them to find the best educational solutions – with or without schools. We can also index payments in such a way that children with disadvantages such as poverty, non-native speakers, or with disabilities – receive higher payments than those kids with advantages. That will attract more talented teachers and tutors to poorer neighborhood, and create incentives for better specialized services for kids with learning disabilities.
Hyper-vouchers are the way to go. America has a history of radical, bold innovations. It has not been a part of our educational system for a while, but perhaps now is the time.
Bob Schoolfield's Analysis and Comparison to other Proposed Solutions
I am surprised the no one has commented on your radical (hyper-voucher) solution to the education mess. Maybe they thought it was too preposterous (but I don't) to comment on. So I will bless you with a comment on your plan.
First, I will describe what I think are the differences between your plan and a traditional voucher plan. I also want to compare your plan with the education tax credit plan advocated by the Cato Institute. Then, I will give what I see are the advantages and disadvantages to each plan.
1. Hyper-voucher: The family is "paid" only if the child makes progress on an achievement test.
Traditional voucher: The family gets their voucher regardless of academic achievement.
Tax Credit: The family gets a "private scholarship" from a Scholarship Organization, which may or may not put some academic progress requirement on the scholarship. The Scholarship Organization is funded by a dollar for dollar tax credit on the "ISD tax".
2. HV: The family gets hard cash.
TV: The family gets an "education stamp" (like a food stamp) that can only be spent for school tuition and may need to provide proof of attendance.
TC: The family must provide receipts or proof of attendance to get from the Scholarship Organization reimbursements for family educational expenses or monthly payments directly to the school.
3. HV: Money comes directly from government. (public money)
TV: Also, money comes directly from government. (public money)
TC: Money comes indirectly through tax credits. (private money)
Next, the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
1. Hyper-voucher
A. There is a clear financial motivation for the student in partnership with the parents to work hard to meet the achievement test goal.
B. The family has the freedom to choose whatever means is best to achieve the test goal (no strings).
C. Because the state is providing the funds, the program can start in full force after passage.
A. How does the family finance the student's education the first year?
a. No government provision, i.e. attend public school or finance from family's current resources.
b. First year the family gets "full pay" unconditionally.
B. How does the state avoid paying double? If the state pays to educate student in public school, and the family gets paid when student passes the exam, then state has paid double.
Possible answer:
a. Attending public school disqualifies the family from being paid. This is a strong disincentive for
attending public school and the exodus from public school will be more rapid.
C. There is a strong incentive for the state to make the achievement test very difficult so that they only pay a few families and force the rest back into the public schools.
D. If a student flunks the achievement test, what happens to the student?
a. Family gets no pay and student must return to public school or be financed from family's current
b. Rather than a pass/fail test, it could be a 0% – 100% test and the family gets the students percentage
grade of the "full pay" hyper-voucher.
E. Who designs the test? Since the stakes of passing the test are so high, you have a temptation to "teach to the test" or even cheat, e.g. tester sells half the answers via a kickback. Is only one test adequate in high school? How about a "white collar" test and a "blue collar" test.
F. Will the teachers unions let it pass? I think not. If they won't let vouchers be passed, to which they can attach all types of government strings, they are not going to let unrestricted hard cash out of their bank account with no strings attached. They will hate it even more when they realize that families have a disincentive to stay in the public school system. Either traditional voucher or tuition tax credits have a much better chance of passing.
G. The money come directly from a government account so it is "government money". Although U.S.Supreme Court has ruled favorably for government money to be used in a voucher system, there are still problems in state courts. Many states have very restrictive language in their constitutions prohibiting any state funds going to any sectarian school. These are called "Blaine amendment" after the senator that promoted them in the 1800's. Google "Blaine amendment" and you can study the historical context under which they were passed. Texas has a Blaine amendment, although it is not as restrictive as most of the amendments. Voucher programs in Florida, Colorado and two in Arizona have been struck down in state courts because of the Blaine amendments.
2. Traditional Voucher
A. Because the state is providing the funds, the program can start in full force after passage.
A. The family doesn't have a clear financial motive to do well in school. The traditional voucher has no academic restrictions. Although this is an advantage to the HV, I think it is much less than Mr. Sidorkin believes. I believe that the primary reason that parents are not involved in their child's education is because they see themselves as powerless to have any control or ownership of their child's education. When the great majority of parents see that they can choose their child's school, they will take ownership of their child's education, become more involved, and make sure they get a good education for their voucher. I believe that most parents don't want an easy road for their kids such that the kids can't take care of themselves.
B. The TV is much more likely to have "bureaucratic strings" attached to its redemption by a private school. This would restrict the use of the TV money much more than the HV. The HV has only one powerful "academic achievement string" making it less likely to get any other strings.
C. Will the teachers unions let it pass? It's much more likely to pass than the HV, especially if the unions can attach a lot of strings in the effort to get their tentacles into the private school industry.
D. The TV has the same "government money" problem that the HV does.
3. Educational Tax Credit
A. The most important advantage of the TC program is that the money comes from private donors, who receive tax credits for their donations. This money is NOT PUBLIC MONEY. It is clearly private money and is free from any attack based on the money being public money. So far every tax credit program in existence has withstood every lawsuit raised against it.
B. The organizations distributing the scholarship money are a private charities, Scholarship Organizations. Because there can be many such Scholarship Organizations, each can develop their own academic and/or attendance requirements using whichever test they choose.
C. Since the state is not distributing the scholarships, the families are more likely to have plenty of freedom to choose whatever means is best to achieve a quality education for their children. Private schools will be much more comfortable receiving scholarships from a private charity than from the government.
D. Will the teachers unions let it pass? Although any of these reforms will meet with teachers union resistance, I believe the TC program has the best chance of passing. Why?
a. Because tax credits are a well established public policy vehicle.
b. The state doesn't have to write a check to a family or private school. It's much more painful to give
up money that you already possess than to not get money that you anticipated getting. That is why
payroll deduction works so well for collecting taxes.
A. Because the state is not providing the funds, the program will start slowly and gain momentum over time. The program has to be sold to donors and scholarship organizations have to be created.
(Advantage E.) Actually the slow start has an advantage in overcoming teachers union resistance. They also know that the program will start slowly and may or may not get real traction. This slow start lowers the threat level of the TC program over the HV or TV.
In summary, I believe that the education tax credit program is the clear winner. I would give second place to the hyper-voucher with the huge disadvantage being that the teachers unions would NEVER let a hyper-voucher program pass the state legislature. The traditional voucher comes in last.
Tags:Parental Rights, property tax credit, scholarship organization, School Choice, tax credit, Texas, voucher, Vouchers
Posted in School Choice, tax credit, Texas, voucher, Vouchers | 1 Comment »
Grassroots Lession 1
Objective: Find out who your State Senator and State Representative are and print or save their contact information.
1.	Use your internet browser (e.g., Internet Explorer) to go to this webpage
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
2.	Type in your address and click "Submit" button.
3.	Print or Save this webpage as an MHTML Document.
(For Internet Explorer, look for the toolbar at the top of this window that has "File Edit View Favorites…". Click "File"; then click "Print" or "Save As…"; find a folder where you want to save the document; change the name of the document (if you don't like "Who Represents Me—Districts By Address"); then click "Save" button.)
The most important name on this document is the name of your "Texas State Representative". It is after "Texas State Senator" and before "Texas State Board of Education Member". Why? Because the State Representative district is the smallest district. Therefore your vote counts more, since there are fewer total votes.
If you finish this lesson, please send me a email so that I can know who has completed what.
Bob Schoolfield
bob@LetsChooseSchools.com
In the next lesson, you will call your State Representative. I will suggest what you can say over the phone.
Tags:grassroots, grassroots organization, Parental Rights, Parents Rights, Political organization, School Choice, tax credit, Teacher Freedom, voucher, Vouchers
Posted in Parental Rights, School Choice, tax credit, texas grassroots, texas political organi, Vouchers | Leave a Comment »
How we can pass School Choice in Texas.
Strategy: Short-term Goals vs. Long-term Goals
Why a Universal School Choice Program instead of a Pilot School Choice Program?
Why Education Tax Credits instead of Vouchers?
Pass the Parent "Trigger" Bill Now!
Summary of Texas Parent "Trigger" Bill
How to Contact Your Texas State (not US) Senator & Representative
Part 1: Find your State Senator & Representative
Part 2: What to say (or write) to your Senator & Representative
Find Us on the Following Social Networks:
We have a LinkedIn Group, also.
Teachers! Do you want liability insurance without supporting the NEA or AFT?
Assn. of American Educators
Christian Educators Assn. Intl.
Get "TxPCE" posts sent to your email.
Enter your email to get our posts sent to you.
Post History Select Month November 2019 (1) October 2019 (5) February 2019 (1) November 2018 (1) August 2018 (2) September 2017 (1) August 2017 (2) July 2017 (2) June 2017 (1) May 2017 (1) April 2017 (5) March 2017 (6) February 2017 (2) January 2017 (2) December 2016 (4) November 2016 (2) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) August 2016 (3) June 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) November 2015 (3) September 2015 (3) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (4) June 2015 (1) May 2015 (2) February 2015 (6) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (3) December 2013 (1) November 2013 (1) October 2013 (4) September 2013 (10) February 2013 (2) November 2012 (6) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) May 2012 (1) April 2012 (3) March 2012 (3) February 2012 (4) January 2012 (1) December 2011 (4) November 2011 (1) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (2) August 2011 (5) July 2011 (3) June 2011 (7) May 2011 (6) April 2011 (5) March 2011 (14) February 2011 (14) January 2011 (5) December 2010 (6) November 2010 (9) October 2010 (14) September 2010 (12) August 2010 (4) July 2010 (2) June 2010 (1) May 2010 (6) April 2010 (10) March 2010 (7) February 2010 (3) January 2010 (3) December 2009 (1) November 2009 (2) October 2009 (4) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (7) July 2009 (11) June 2009 (12) May 2009 (7) April 2009 (2) March 2009 (8) February 2009 (1) September 2008 (7) August 2008 (6) June 2008 (11)
A Right Denied
American Federation for Children
Austin Children's Educational Opportunity Foundation
Black Americans for Educational Options
Foundation for Educational Choice
Hispanic Council for Educational Options
Institute for Justice – Texas
Jay Greene's Blog
NBC News: Education Nation
Parent Revolution
Reason Foundation: Topic – Education
School Reform News
SchoolChoiceVoter.org
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog


text:
Q: Dynamically create table and rows How can I create a table dynamically and then add rows to the table? I have been able to create the table with one row with form fields, but how I can add additional rows? Any example on how it has been implement would helpful. I did in angular 2.
screenshot
$scope.newItem = function($event, valI) {
  $scope['questionelemnt'].push({
    id: counter,
    title: '',
    desc: '',
    Qty: '',
    price: '',
    total: ''
  });
}

Any help in angular or jquery.

A: Directive ng-app & ng-controller code
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

   <title>Hello AngularJS - Add Table Row Dynamically</title>
   <link rel="stylesheet"   href="//netdna.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.1.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">

...

Controller CompanyCtrl code in controller.js

 Directive ng-repeat code

    title

    desc

     Qty

    price

   total

    { {question.title}}

    { {question.desc}}

    { {question.Qty}}

    { {question.price}}

     { {question.total}}

**Directive ng-submit code**

<form class="form-horizontal" role="form" ng-submit="addRow()">

    title

        <input type="text" class="form-control" name="title"
            ng-model="title" />

    desc

        <input type="text" class="form-control" name="desc"
            ng-model="desc" />

    Qty

        <input type="text" class="form-control" name="Qty"
            ng-model="Qty" />

    price

        <input type="text" class="form-control" name="price"
            ng-model="price" />

    total

        <input type="text" class="form-control" name="total"
            ng-model="total" />

        <input type="submit" value="Submit" class="btn btn-primary"/>

Happy Coding ,Hope it will help you

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Hobbes, Lee Kuan Yew and Black Lives Matter
Selections from the Inroads listserv, edited by Bob Chodos
By Inroads Contributors
Photo: Black Lives Matter Plaza, Washington DC. Victoria Pickering, Via Flickr.
The Inroads listserv began in 1997 as a means to link Inroads readers and others interested in policy discussion. It offers one of the few chances for people of diverse views to grapple with social and political issues in depth. To subscribe, send an email note to listserv@lists.queensu.ca with the following in the subject and body of the message: subscribe inroads-l
Changes are underway that will make the listserv more widely available. Please stay tuned for details.
Police killings of African Americans had sparked protests before, but the scale of the response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, captured on video that was to be replayed countless times, was unprecedented. There were ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations in cities across the United States, as well as in Canada and other countries. As the protests multiplied, many people sought a deeper understanding of a web of interrelated topics, from policing methods to high homicide rates in U.S. cities to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. One forum where these topics were – and continue to be – discussed is the Inroads listserv. The following exchange from late August provides a sampling of the opinions expressed.
John Richards | August 27
The Chicago Sun-Times is running a special feature. Its journalists write up a short story on every homicide victim in Chicago this year, and have organized an interactive filter that enables readers to determine race, age, neighbourhood, murder weapon. As of August 26, there have been 477 homicides in Chicago: 334 Black, 37 White, 45 Hispanic, 61 not determined. On Mondays, the Sun-Times reports the number of Chicago gunshot victims and homicide deaths over the weekend. The latest weekend was more peaceful than the average: 66 gunshot victims, five deaths.1
The New York Times publishes occasional stories on homicides in large U.S. cities. Not surprisingly, Chicago has experienced the largest increase in homicides among these cities. The article concludes that the onset of the pandemic is a cause. The 2020 increase over the same dates in 2019 was "only" 16 per cent prior to the lockdown orders due to the pandemic, but 34 per cent from onset to mid-June. Spikes in homicides predate George Floyd's murder. Chicago had the highest number of victims (433 by the end of June) among large U.S. cities; the second highest was Philadelphia (247). Overall, in 23 large U.S. cities, homicides in the first six months were 1,800 in 2019, 2,200 in 2020 – a 22 per cent increase.2
The police are part of the story. Over the first seven months of 2020, police in the United States shot to death 558 people (215 White, 111 Black, 71 Hispanic, 161 other or unknown). Relative to population, the police killings are three times higher among Blacks than among Whites.3
Beyond the obvious conclusion that homicide is far more prevalent in the United States than in other high-income countries, what explains these statistics? The "social justice" (Black Lives Matter) explanation boils down to slavery and White racism. This is a partial explanation, but inadequate. It cannot explain the large number of "Black on Black" murders, as in Chicago. The liberal media in Canada (e.g. CBC, the Globe and Mail) report fulsomely whenever the police kill a Black man. However, I have seen no Canadian and few American journalists attempting to explain this complex reality comprehensively. One of the best journalistic assessments I have read is German Lopez's article in Vox, in which he cites a number of possible explanations:
the changes forced on people by the COVID-19 pandemic;
reduced policing in response to protests, as occurred after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015;
loss of trust in police that led people to rely more on street justice and other illegal activities to resolve disputes;
more gun violence resulting from a surge in gun buying, likely in response to concerns about personal safety during a pandemic;
an increased number of deaths because hospitals, overwhelmed as a result of COVID-19, were unable to treat victims of violent crime;
possible increased conflict because of boredom resulting from the pandemic (unemployment, closed schools, absence of entertainment, suspended support programs) – although this is speculative;
effects of the bad economy: people pushed to desperate acts, disruptions in the drug market, less state and local funding for social supports (this too is speculative).4
Gareth Morley | August 28
John points out that violence between young Black men in Chicago is unacceptably high and that it is higher than deaths from the police.
This is undeniably a fact.
But John wants to go beyond just an assertion of fact. He wants to say it is relevant in two ways:
He says "Black on Black violence" cannot be explained by the theorists of systemic racism who point to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow as defining America's contemporary race problems.
He at least implies that the extent of this problem should temper demands for a more accountable police force, including more restrictions on police use of force and more consequences for officers who breach those restrictions.
Unlike the facts, both of these implications are extremely deniable.
There are many ways to draw a line from slavery and Jim Crow to high rates of violence within contemporary Black communities, just as there are many ways to draw a line from colonialism and residential schools to high rates of violence, including sexual and domestic violence, within Canadian Indigenous communities. Indeed, that is exactly what the proponents of claims of ongoing genocide are doing. Whether you agree with these accounts or not, it is just misunderstanding what is being said to think that antiracist activists, whether moderate or radical, are unaware of the fact of high levels of violence within their communities.
Speaking in my own voice, I would say that it is precisely the lack of legitimacy of police forces – combined with their inability to rule by fear – that is a major explanation of the high levels of irregular violence. This is a lesson that goes back to Hobbes, Locke and Hume.
Young men killing one another over status is not a strange thing that requires special explanation. It is the standard of human history, as the Hamilton musical or a typical 19th-century Russian novel makes clear. If you live in a violent situation, you are likely to be taken advantage of unless you have a reputation for being willing to react violently when disrespected. Of course, if you live among young men who feel a strong need to project a reputation that they will react violently if disrespected, you live in a violent situation.
Hobbes's solution to this was the Leviathan. If there is a monopolist on the use of force – and if that monopolist reliably uses force when retail violence is on offer – then there will be less retail violence. This seems to work, which is why Iceland today is not as violent as Iceland during the sagas.
But Hume pointed out that the Leviathan itself needs to rest on some form of consent. He rejected the "social contract" myth that the state originates in a universal act of consent, but he noted that it requires a broad coalition of the acquiescent and enthusiastic to repress everyone else. This coalition does not need to include everyone who is subject to the Leviathan. One approach to "order" is repression by external forces, as existed with respect to Black people in the Jim Crow south. To be sure, these forces may not care that much if there is violence among the repressed group, but they will keep it under some degree of control. They do not need any legitimacy among the people who are repressed because they gain their legitimacy within an external population from which they can recruit.
Another solution is to have legitimacy among the people who are policed based on a more or less justified sense that the force of the Leviathan is under some sort of popular control, mediated through legal institutions. If that is the prevailing view, then most people will cooperate with the police since they have no reason to fear them.
Neither situation prevails in much of America today. The police are not given the full ability to repress – "Giuliani time" in the (disputed) phrase of the NYPD officers who sodomized Abner Louima with a broom handle in a Brooklyn precinct. At the same time, they are not fully legitimate – an alternative "Dinkins time" in which elected officials could actually control their police forces.
In the old joke, when a physicist, engineer and economist are trapped on a desert island with a crate of canned goods, the economist proposes to "assume a can opener." John is making the mistake of "assuming the can opener" of legitimacy when viewing force as an alternative to a genuinely bad situation. But how do you get to legitimacy when police react to demands for accountability with work-to-rule strikes – which of course have the effect of increasing crime rates? Isn't it basic political economy that disputes have to be resolved somehow, and if the formal system isn't reliable, informal violence will be used? As Locke suggested, this ultimately gets out of hand because everyone is a judge in their own cause.
If there are institutions in the South Side of Chicago that could get past this, aren't they the Black church and the Black Lives Matter movement? Doesn't the idea that the federal government is at war with these institutions and sees major political gains from their failure just make the problem worse?
Black Lives Matter Plaza in front of White House. Photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
There is much to criticize among us economists but we display some virtues. One is to entertain a belief that many factors combine to determine outcomes. At its simplest, economists like to describe changes in some outcome, y, as a function of changes in x1, x2, x3 and so on. The relative importance of each variable depends on the magnitude of the relevant coefficient and the variance in the "x"s: y = a1x1 + a2x2 + a3x3 + … + . To the extent that there is an answer, it requires some sort of empirical assessment.
The logic of the Black Lives Matter movement – or "social justice" or Critical Race Theory – is that the explanation for the fact that violent Black deaths (y) far exceed those of Whites can be attributed to slavery and subsequent Jim Crow laws and practices (x1) and current White racist attitudes (x2) that support racist policing, policing that is viewed as illegitimate by the Black community. End of story. There is no need for a more complex explanation that entails additional relevant factors (x3, x4 and so on).
Gareth does acknowledge the fact that the great majority of Black homicide victims suffer from "Black on Black" homicide, not from the police. However, in his telling, Black on Black homicide is simply a consequence of present reversion to the Hobbesian war of all against all: "Young men killing one another over status is not a strange thing that requires special explanation. It is the standard of human history." Implicitly, he is arguing that there are only two relevant variables, x1 and x2, and the only means to lower Black casualties arising from the Hobbesian war is to end all forms of White racism, the basis for policing inevitably deemed by the Black community to be illegitimate.
Gareth accuses me of ignoring the matter of legitimacy. I agree with him that a well functioning society requires some combination of powerful norms concerning sanctity of life and some means of legitimizing exercise of a police power. For Gareth, there are two sources of legitimacy in the Black community, "the Black church and the Black Lives Matter movement." These are, I suggest, weak reeds to hold onto. I grant that religious institutions can play a major role in instilling norms that constrain violence, and in the U.S. context Black religious leaders have played a powerful, largely positive, role – from Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King. (I'm not so sure about Al Sharpton and Malcolm X.)
As for Black Lives Matter, what is its contribution? Is it promoting some altogether different form of nonracist policing able to tackle the Hobbesian war of all against all? If so, I have not heard about it. In nearly all discussions this year of undeniable serious racial inequalities, I have found almost no academics or journalists analyzing "Black on Black" violence. Admittedly, some who do discuss such violence do so essentially to exacerbate White racism. In his 1968 presidential campaign, Richard Nixon successfully interpreted widespread violence associated with Black community protests as a threat to peace, order and good government in America. Trump is attempting a similar strategy in 2020. He too may succeed.
My "x3" variable is that of William Julius Wilson, a prominent Black sociologist whose early work at the University of Chicago emphasized the lack of decent employment prospects in inner-city Black neighbourhoods as key to understanding the high rates of homicide, women choosing to be single parents, and endemic drug use. Wilson's explanation amounts to the necessity of a social democratic agenda of decent publicly funded education and preservation of near-universal employment at decent wages for those who want to be in the labour force. Such an agenda requires higher taxes than Americans have been willing over the last half century to accept. American society has not seriously tackled this agenda since the Great Society programs of the 1960s.
In any industrial society, a necessary condition for community harmony is an adult population with near-universal decent-quality secondary education and a majority with some form of postsecondary training (trades certification or university degree). Income transfers via welfare, free housing and so on are not an adequate substitute. In my (admittedly crude) interpretation of Maslow's pyramid of needs, we all have "esteem needs" (prestige and feeling of accomplishment). If young men cannot achieve self-esteem via employment at a decent wage level, they are unlikely to form stable unions with women, and unlikely to assume long-term responsibility for raising children. They are likely to revert to a Hobbesian world of "young men killing one another" (to quote Gareth). Rahm Emanuel, a close confidant of Obama and former mayor of Chicago, understood all this, and did his best to improve schools and employment prospects for Black communities. Unfortunately, not much remains of his efforts. A mayor, however smart and innovative, cannot succeed if higher orders of government are ineffective partners.
Implicit in a successful social democratic agenda is that leaders of both majority and marginalized minority identity groups agree that this agenda is crucial. Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew is perhaps the iconic example over the last half century of providing high-quality social services and full employment, and thereby persuading diverse cultural groups (Malay, Indian and Chinese) – which in the mid–20th century had been engaged in armed conflict – to live in reasonable harmony.
An old joke about Pierre Trudeau and Jacques Parizeau summarizes the emergence of a social democratic agenda in mid-20th-century Quebec. Both grew up in Outremont; both criticized the victim ideology of traditional Quebec nationalists and condemned fellow Quebec leaders for tolerating religious-dominated unworldly schools; both wanted ambitious social democratic governments. There was only one small difference. Trudeau wanted one such government, in Ottawa; Parizeau wanted two such governments, one in Ottawa and one in Quebec City.
Gareth, do you see any element of a social democratic agenda in Black Lives Matter? I don't, but maybe I am wrong.
George Floyd Memorial, South Minneapolis. Photo: Chad Davis Photography/Flickr.
Henry Milner | August 30
As I see it, real progress for the Black community can only take the form of a virtuous circle: Policies/programs/actions are instituted that help Black children break out of the self-destructiveness of the ghetto (drugs, crime …). Once they have succeeded, a sufficient number of them choose to invest their resources (money, contacts, knowledge, experience …) in areas (business, politics, media, schools, community organizations …) that further help Black children break out of the ghetto. And the circle continues. Hence, concretely, it is primarily a matter of channelling energies and resources at the community level where they can be most effective.
Where do defunding the police and Black Lives Matter protests fit into this perspective? Media-focused protests draw attention to examples of racist actions by police forces but also to those of looters and rock throwers. They serve an educational purpose, reminding people about the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, but in so doing they also serve to legitimate aspects of ghetto life holding back needed progress.
A useful discussion of these issues would weigh these factors based on actual evidence.
Bob Chodos | August 30
I hope economists understand that explanatory variables are not always independent of one another. Let's take John's "x3" – lack of decent employment prospects in inner-city Black neighbourhoods. Why are African Americans' employment prospects inferior to those of White Americans? Why is their educational attainment lower? Why are they concentrated in inner-city neighbourhoods in the first place? And why is the sensible social-democratic agenda John advocates such a tough sell in the United States? Surely x1 (the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow) and x2 (ongoing systemic racism, which goes beyond White racist attitudes) are implicated in all these phenomena. In other words, x1 and x2 could be causes of y (disproportionate violent Black deaths) indirectly through x3 as well as directly.
Simon Rosenblum | August 30
One does not have to be an economist to agree with John that racial economic disparities in the United States should not be understood through a "one shoe fits all" type of explanation. Not even two shoes will do! Probably all of us agree that movement toward social democracy is where most of the necessary redress will come from. And the Democratic Party is headed in that direction.
I do however feel that John might be a bit harsh in his rather fulsome dismissal of Black Lives Matter. Admittedly the organization – which is not totally synonymous with the movement which bears the same name – can be more than a little problematic in some its rhetoric and policies, but one can detect some moderation as it becomes more mainstream in the American Black community. There is much in its evolving platform (ending voter suppression, stopping police violence against innocent Black people, strong investment in Black communities, etc.) that we surely can find common ground with. Yes, the devil is always in the details but I see no useful purpose served in writing them off. That said, criticism is necessary when we disagree – as we surely will – but their presence and evolution can be part of a solution. It needs to be.
I don't have much to add to Simon here. "Black Lives Matter" is a movement and the organizations using that name have a complex relationship to that movement. By any reasonable account, they are broadly social democratic. There are a few more radical slogans – but the same could be said of the German Social Democrats' Erfurt Program or the CCF's Regina Manifesto. Most movements have a maximum program and a minimum program – and for BLM, the minimum program includes a larger public sector, investments in reducing pollution in poor communities, jobs guarantees and so on. If you look into it, even "defund the police" really turns out to be "deemphasize the use of force in law enforcement." Poor and working-class Whites would benefit a lot from BLM's program.
Generally speaking, Black Americans have been consistently social democratic since the New Deal – when many moved from the party of Lincoln to the Democrats even though New Deal programs often excluded them as the Democrats sought to sustain support in the Jim Crow south. By 1964, this transition was complete – and Black Americans have overwhelmingly voted for the most social democratic alternative in American politics ever since. Older African Americans concluded, probably correctly, that Bernie Sanders was unelectable, but that did not indicate a lack of support for more government spending or regulation.
While social science about the causes of violent crime is obviously complex and uncertain, activists inevitably have to take a simpler line. They encourage young Black men to stop shooting one another, arguing that in doing so they are performing systemic racism. That analysis isn't wrong, although of course an econometric model would put things differently and emphasize other standards of causation and evidence. But the same kind of pedantic response could have been made in response to Tommy Douglas's mice-and-cat speech. Activist rhetoric and social science models are just playing different language games.
If we agree that the police need legitimacy to be effective and that they lack it with certain racial groups – in Canada and in the United States – then there is no tradeoff between effectiveness and reform. The problem is that the police themselves respond to pressure to reform by going on de facto strike. The only solution is a big enough movement to make politicians take risks to try to break that resistance.
Garth Stevenson | August 30
The problems the Americans are suffering now might not exist if the Republican Party after the Civil War had stuck to its original plan of Reconstruction: break up the large estates of the slaveholders and give each Black family "50 acres and a mule" – in other words land reform. Ulysses Grant, an underrated president, tried to implement that program but made little progress during his eight years in the White House, although southern Blacks did have some political power during his administration.
In 1876 the Republicans reached an accommodation with the southern Whites who controlled the Democratic Party, which allowed the Republican candidate (Rutherford Hayes) to take the presidency although the Democrat (Samuel Tilden) had really won the election. The price of this accommodation was to give up Reconstruction and hand over the south to the people who had lost the Civil War. After that the whole country, north and south, was doomed to the misery that has lasted unto the third and fourth generation, and beyond. I am not hopeful that the misery will ever end, at least in our lifetimes.
By way of contrast look at Ireland, which was also dominated in the 19th century by a landowning elite that treated the native Irish as little better than slaves. The British government imposed land reform which paved the way for Ireland, apart from the northern six counties, to become the democratic republic that it now is. And I think even the six counties will join it within the lifetime of many who will read this.
The moral of the story is that political rights mean very little, and can easily be taken away, without some redistribution of economic resources.
Garth makes a good addition to the discussion: "Political rights mean very little, and can easily be taken away, without some redistribution of economic resources." He recalls Ulysses Grant's failed hope of providing freed slaves with "50 acres and a mule" in the context of land reform. In today's economy, the equivalent is a decent education – which the United States does not provide in inner-city ghettos. For a century following the U.S. Civil War, its K–12 + college system was superior to those of almost all other OECD member countries. The system succeeded in integrating millions of European immigrants pre–World War I, millions of Asians post–World War II, and (with less success) millions of Hispanic immigrants. Over the years of Jim Crow, Black segregated schools were generally weak. Since the 1970s, the entire K–12 public system has been in decline – and shamefully has not provided inner-city ghetto communities with decent schools. The best evidence of U.S. education decline is to be found in the mediocre rank of upper-level secondary students (age 15) in the OECD Program for International Student Assessment.
1 Chicago Sun-Times, Homicides in Chicago: A List of Every Victim; Sun-Times Wire, "66 Shot, 5 Fatally, This Weekend in Chicago," Chicago Sun-Times, August 24, 2020.
2 Jeff Asher and Ben Horwitz, It's Been 'Such a Weird Year.' That's Also Reflected in Crime Statistics, New York Times, July 6, 2020; German Lopez, The Rise in Murders in the US, Explained, Vox, September 28, 2020.
3 Number of People Shot to Death by the Police in the United States from 2017 to 2020, by Race, Statista, September 2020.
4 Lopez, "Rise in Murders."
Inroads Contributors
Inroads is proud to feature articles written by a wide variety of knowledgeable authors and expert contributors. Read More

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Poppy McLeod's teaching focuses on group communication and decision-making, social influence, intergroup communication and research methods. Students have lauded her commitment to student learning, and faculty have said she inspires her students to learn and her colleagues to improve their own teaching.
On Nov. 2, McLeod, professor and chair in the Department of Communication, received a Stephen H. Weiss Award in recognition of her excellence in teaching undergraduate students and her contributions to undergraduate education.
McLeod and three other faculty members were recognized with Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships, which are given to tenured faculty members having a demonstrated commitment to teaching and mentoring undergrads. The awards were announced by President Martha E. Pollack at a meeting of the Cornell University Board of Trustees, following unanimous recommendation by a selection committee that considered 14 distinguished nominees in all. The committee includes three current Weiss fellows, two emeritus faculty members and three undergraduate students.
The committee also noted that her engagement with student organizations and residential experiences contribute positively to the academic environment and the overall undergraduate experience.
Her teaching awards include a Merrill Presidential Scholars mentorship award in 2016; a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009; and an Innovative Teacher Award for Creativity in Undergraduate Teaching in 2008.
Former chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees Stephen H. Weiss '57 established the Weiss fellowships in 1993 to honor Cornell faculty members for inspiring, distinguished teaching and mentoring of undergraduates.
Other Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows are: George Boyer, professor of economics and international and comparative labor in the ILR School; Dexter Kozen, Ph.D. '77, the Joseph Newton Pew Jr. Professor in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences; and Kelly Zamudio, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.


text:
Q: jqgrid not showing search custom fields I am migrating code from jqgrid 4 to jqgrid 5.0.0 and cannot seem to fix this issue.
in jqgrid 5.0.0 do we still need to use searchoptions : {sopt ?
colModel:[
        {
            name:'col_id',
            key:false,
            index:'col_id',
            width:40,
            searchoptions: {sopt: ['bw','eq','ne','lt','le','gt','ge','ew','cn']},
            editable:false,
            edittype:'custom',
            editoptions:{custom_element:disabledelem, custom_value:elemvalue},
            formatter:customFormatter
        },

I checked the source code for
jquery.jqGrid.5.0.0.js
and I cannot see any way this.oper will have a value with the way I am using this. The online examples for jqgrid is not very clear.
        $.each(that.p.ops, function() { aoprs.push(this.oper); });
        for ( i = 0; i < op.length; i++) {
            ina = $.inArray(op[i],aoprs);
            if(ina !== -1) {
                selected = rule.op === that.p.ops[ina].oper ? " selected='selected'" : "";
                str += "<option value='"+that.p.ops[ina].oper+"'"+selected+">"+that.p.ops[ina].text+"</option>";
            }
        }

A: It could be a bug in Guriddo jqGrid JS 5.0.0, which you use. I recommend you to try the same code with free jqGrid 4.10.0. You need just change the URLs to described in the wiki article. Free jqGrid is the fork of jqGrid, which I develop after changing of license agreement and renaming jqGrid to Guriddo jqGrid JS (see here). You can consider to migrate to free jqGrid if the code works in the fork.


text:
Home Chicago Blackhawks Puck Drop Preview: 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks
Puck Drop Preview: 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks
Bryan Oakley
CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 23: Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville yells from the bench during a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks on February 23, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Blackhawks won 3-1. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Welcome to Puck Drop Preview 2018-19, where Last Word On Hockey gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the start of this hockey season and offers our insight and analysis. Make sure to stick around until the end of the series, where we'll offer our full predictions for the standings in each division, and eventually our 2018-19 Stanley Cup pick. You can check out all our articles on our Puck Drop Page. Today the series continues with the Chicago Blackhawks.
2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks Preview
2017 Off-season
The Chicago Blackhawks needed to recover quickly after getting swept in the first round of the 2017 playoffs by the Nashville Predators. There were warning signs in that series that the team that won three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015 was on a decline. They also faced another tough off-season with salary cap concerns as well as the expansion draft. This brought about an off-season full of player changes.
General manager Stan Bowman made several moves in the off-season trying to bolster the roster. He traded sniper Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets in order to reacquire winger Brandon Saad. He traded Scott Darling to the Carolina Hurricanes for a third round pick, and also Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes for Connor Murphy. The Blackhawks then traded Marcus Kruger to the Vegas Golden Knights, then lost Trevor van Riemsdyk to them as well in the expansion draft. Bowman did add Patrick Sharp, Tommy Wingels, and Lance Bouma as free agents last summer. He also signed Cody Franson to a PTO contract prior to training camp.
Season of Disappointment
With all of the roster moves made by Stan Bowman, the team faced a difficult time gelling together. They also had a new kid on the block after rookie Alex DeBrincat made the opening night roster. DeBrincat played his way into the lineup with the hugely successful prospects tournament in Traverse City Michigan. He led the Blackhawks prospects to the tournament championship and had the tournament game-winning goal. Following that up with a strong training camp and pre-season playing against NHLers, his place on the roster was set and he would end up leading the Blackhawks in goals with 28 last season.
The previous season started well for the Blackhawks as they went 4-1-1 in the first six games. This included a 10-1 pounding of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night. The Blackhawks appeared to be on the right track. Unfortunately, the team settled into one that struggled to stay above .500 during the first half. At the point Crawford went down for the season in December, the team was 17-11-5. This was only after Crawford won five straight games before going on injured reserve.
What ensued next was a revolving door in net as the Blackhawks struggled to find consistent quality net-minding. The backup goaltenders could not play at the same level as Crawford behind a suspect defence corps. Because of this, the team struggled the rest of the way going 16-28-5 without their star netminder. The hope for another playoff run faded early in the spring leading up to another long summer.
Expectations were huge as the Chicago Blackhawks entered the off-season searching for ways to improve their lineup. The June 22nd, 2018 NHL draft brought about hope as the Blackhawks had pick numbers 8 and 27 in the first round. The Blackhawks drafted defencemen Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin with their first two picks. The two defence prospects have a lot of promise, and overall the Blackhawks draft got high marks from Last Word's own Ben Kerr.
After the NHL draft, the Blackhawks made three free agent signings in July. They were Cam Ward, Chris Kunitz, and Brandon Manning. These were considered lacklustre signings and brought a torrent of scorn on social media in Chicago. The term "rebuild" was not being used by Blackhawk management, but many were realizing the team was in one now. The once vaunted Blackhawk core was now facing another season with many new faces.
Projected Lineup
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Dylan Sikura
Alex DeBrincat – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Victor Ejdsell – Nick Schmaltz – John Hayden
Chris Kunitz – Marcus Kruger – David Kampf
The Chicago Blackhawks forwards are a mix of familiar and many new faces getting their shot this season. Youngsters Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Sikura, Victor Ejdsell, Nick Schmaltz, David Kampf, and John Hayden are getting the chance to play regular roles. Their ability to produce offence and also defend will be a large factor in how well this season goes. If they have a productive year scoring, that will help take a lot of pressure off of a defence corps facing some questions.
Veterans Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane, and Artem Anisimov need to have solid years for their club. They will have to stay healthy and lead by example in order for the younger players to learn their way in the NHL. Role players Marcus Kruger and Chris Kunitz must excel on the fourth line. There may be some turnover on the fourth line with whatever forwards make the opening night roster. Jordan Schroeder and Tyler Sikura may see some games if the fourth line struggles. Andreas Martinsen and Matthew Highmore are two other forwards in training camp who will be trying to make the team. The upcoming training camp and pre-season games will be the proving ground for the youngsters looking to impress the way Alex DeBrincat did last year.
Defence:
Duncan Keith – Connor Murphy
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Brandon Manning – Jan Rutta
Much has been written about the poor performance of the Blackhawks defence last season. At times, they were abysmal in their own end. The Blackhawk goalies often faced an onslaught of prime shots from the slot while in net. Defensive coverage has got to improve if the Blackhawks are to be competitive this season.
Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook must have bounce-back years for their team. They are both past 30 and on the downside of their illustrious careers. It will not be easy as Keith (35) has played in 995 career games, and Seabrook (33) 1004 games. Their days as the anchors of the defence may be slipping away from them in the next year or two. They must recover their high level of play while the Blackhawks future defence has a chance to develop. Rushing defence prospects into the NHL is never a good idea.
The other Blackhawk defencemen will also have to play better. Connor Murphy left a lot of people missing Niklas Hjalmarsson, the former Blackhawks shutdown defence warrior. Murphy, Rutta, Gustafsson, and newcomer Manning will be expected to play solid defence. If they do not, expect prospect Henri Jokiharju to get his shot. He had a terrific season for the Portland Winterhawks scoring 12 goals and 59 assists.
There are also several other defence prospects for the Blackhawks waiting in the wings. Blake Hillman, Dennis Gilbert, Gustav Forsling, and Carl Dahlstrom will be playing for a call-up to the Blackhawks if there are defence problems again. Hopefully, things will not get so bad that the Blackhawks bring up their first-round pick Adam Boqvist. At 6'0″ 165 pounds, he is not ready for the rigours of playing in the tough Western Conference. The Blackhawks need patience with Boqvist as he adds size and experience.
Goaltenders:
Corey Crawford
Cam Ward
Anton Forsberg
The goaltending situation in Chicago will be the main focus as the team prepares for its training camp and pre-season games. The health of Corey Crawford will be a hot topic over the next month. After going down with a season-ending injury last December, Crawford's recovery and health status have been a guarded secret by the organization. Signing Cam Ward in the off-season was a sign that the team's #1 goalie may not be ready when the season begins. If this is true, Cam Ward and Anton Forsberg will have to hold down the fort until Crawford returns. Their ability to provide number one goaltending has caused anxiety this summer and will be watched closely.
Brandon Saad & Jonathan Toews
Both Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews need to have bounce-back years after last season's disappointment. After Saad was re-acquired in the Panarin trade, it was expected that he and Toews would have the same chemistry as previous Cup winning years. Unfortunately. Saad finished with a disappointing 18 goals and 17 assists. Toews scored 20 goals and 32 assists to cap off another down year for the captain. The two top-line forwards need to show improvement in order for the team to compete for a playoff spot this season.
Alex DeBrincat & Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane playing on the same line has some incredible potential for highlight reel goals this season. We have Artem Anisimov slated as the second line center to start the season. You can be sure that a motivated Nick Schmaltz will be pushing him for playing time on that line. A line combo of Schmaltz, DeBrincat, and Kane would provide speed and playmaking ability unmatched by most second lines in the NHL. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville will be hard-pressed to not combine this trio together early on this season.
Duncan Keith & Brent Seabrook
As stated earlier, Keith and Seabrook have to improve their play next season. Similarly to Saad and Toews, they're on the players to watch list due to how important they will be this next year. If one or both struggle again, that will place too much pressure on the younger defence who are still learning the game. Their age and contracts are also major issues for a team in rebuild mode. At some point, they may be asked to waive their non-movement clause in order to swing a trade.
Season Predictions
Making a prediction for the season ahead is nearly impossible right now. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is the key for next season. If Crawford is healthy by opening night and doesn't have any further issues, the Blackhawks could be a .500 team or better. It's even possible the Blackhawks could contend for a wildcard spot if their defence improves and young forwards produce. Unfortunately. the likelihood of all of those happening at once is really a long shot for the storied franchise.
If Crawford is unable to play until after the season starts, then it may be another rough year for the Blackhawks. Crawford's ability to return to top form quickly will make or break next season for his team. With Cam Ward and Anton Forsberg manning the nets, the Blackhawks will look very similar to last season's second half. The team will struggle to be a .500 club without their #1 goalie providing Vezina quality minutes in net. Crawford must return to the lineup before the season is lost.
Main Photo: CHICAGO, IL – February 23: Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville yells from the bench during a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks on February 23, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Blackhawks won 3-1. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Alex DeBrincat
Brent Seabrook
NHL Free Agency
Previous article2019 NHL Draft: Preseason OHL Player Power Rankings
Next articleMnM Hockey Podcast – Colorado Avalanche Season Talk And More


"Its first name was Bethel..." so began the Reverend A. B. Fields in his centennial sermon of 1876. The congregation known today as the Presbyterian Church of Brookville traces its formal beginning to 1824. However, Presbyterian clergy were baptizing, marrying, preaching, and burying in Jefferson County more than a decade earlier.
Meeting first in homes, then in a log schoolhouse near the Old Jefferson Cemetery on Route 23 and in a log church where Route 322 enters Union Township, the congregation moved into the county seat and a new building on the corner of Main and White Streets in 1842. Scot-Irish descendents continued to move into the area, encouraged by timber prospects, and the congregation grew.
Following the Civil War but before the Depression of 1873, the congregation built a new building on the same location. Sermons were described as "strong, doctrinal, and yet with a tenderness of pleading that touched the hearts", and preachers as "effective" or "evangelistic". In 1884 Paul Darling's bequest made possible the construction of the French Second Empire manse adjacent to the present building (1905).
worldwide by offering a wide variety of programs and activities for people of all ages.
- 36 north into Brookville; Church is across from the traffic light to the right.
intersection with Route 322 and go into town; at the traffic light at the bottom of the hill church will be on left corner.
continue across bridge and up the hill into town; pass thru the second traffic light; the church is on the right corner at the third traffic light.
Take Route 322 west to the traffic light at the bottom of the hill; go straight into downtown; at the second light, the church is on the right corner.
light where the road intersects with Routes 28 and 36; go straight into town; at traffic light at the bottom of the hill; church is across street on the left corner.
across the street on the left corner.


text:
Can Consumer Electronics Help Stem the Decline of U.S. Life-Years? A Preface for #CES2023
January 3, 2023 sam0
Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped nearly three years between 2019 and 2021, from close to 79 years down to 76.
We ended 2022 with this new, sobering statistic from the Centers tor Disease Control (CDC).
We begin 2023 with the opening of CES 2023, the world's largest annual meet-up of consumer electronics innovators, companies, and retailers.
How can digital health and other consumer-facing technologies help our health?
First, consider the stark data point(s), and then we can better respond to the question's answer in the Hot Points, below.
In case you missed it in your pre-holiday wind-down, the CDC published two reports on declining life expectancy in America on December 22, 2022.
Here are links to those two reports:
Mortality in the United States, 2021, and
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 20021-2021.
"The drop [in life expectancy] was primarily due to increases in COVID-19 and drug overdose deaths," the CDC summarized in the reports' release.
This is the largest fall in U.S. life expectancy in a two-year period since the early 1920s during that era's dramatic economic shock/decline.
This time around, national news media are covering Americans' shortening life-span with headlines like,
"U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in 'Historic' Setback," as covered in The New York Times
"American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades," via NPR, and
"Covid-19 and drug overdoses drive US life expectancy to lowest level in 25 years, CDC reports," in CNN.
As to CNN's headlining those drug overdose deaths reducing Americans' life-years, this line chart from CDC's report tells us which drugs are especially responsible: the fast-growth line is for synthetic opioids (read: fentanyl). For important insights into this devastating risk-trend, read this Washington Post coverage published just a few days before the CDC reports came out.
One last comparative point to keep in mind: the U.S. is an outlier in the relatively large statistical drop in life-span compared with other nations, even accounting for COVID-19 impacts on populations by country.
As this chart from Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center's Health System Tracker clearly illustrates, health citizens in the U.S. marked the lowest life expectancy and by far the greatest health spending per person than any other wealthy country tracked in the list of wealthy countries.
Doing the simple math, that's over six years fewer life-years for an American health citizen with roughly twice the health care spending.
Health Populi's Hot Points: N0w to the question at-hand for the week: can consumer-facing technologies help us bolster our health and well-being and — Holy Grail time — reverse the U.S. decline in life expectancy?
Check out the top causes of mortality in 2021: the death rates for heart disease significantly rose from 2020 to 2021, as did the rates of death due to unintentional injuries (those so-called Deaths of Despair from overdose, suicide, and accidents), and to be sure, COVID-19.
At CES 2023, we'll see innovations for consumers to help deal with heart health, from prevention to tracking to avoiding stroke — from the likes of AliveCor, Fitbit, OMRON, and Withings, among many others. Inf act, heart health is table-stakes for much of wearable technology in 2023. The American College of Cardiology collaborated with the Consumer Technology Association at CES 2020, so this category has been evolving for some years.
How about those Deaths of Despair? How can technology help us address addiction, loneliness, and other contributors to this seemingly intractable challenge for U.S. public and personal health? We cannot expect Technology itself to be a panacea to this national tragedy that public policies must help solve in terms of underlying drivers of health and well-being.
But there are technology innovations that can help people deal with addiction through, for example, digital therapeutic solutions . For mental health — particularly, low-to-mid-level anxiety and depression — there are cognitive behavioral therapy apps and tools that have been shown to be useful for many patients backed by clinical evidence. At CES 2023, we will also see alcohol-sensing technologies, automotive safety features, and solutions for people dealing with pain, among other pioneering devices and features embedded in products focused on healthy living and smarter, safer homes and mobility.
Bolstering the impact of digital health technologies — and particularly remote health monitoring and clinically-prescribed wearable tech — was the late December 2922 health policy news that telehealth provisions would be included in the FY2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Specifically, there is a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth services that began in the early coronavirus era in 2020. These will now be in place until the end of 2024.
To put a fine point answering our question, there is evidence that technology can enable and scale programs and services that channel drivers of health to people when designed with intention, value- and values-orientation, and privacy-by-design. This is front-of-mind for me this week as I explore the myriad announcements and innovations emerging from CES 2023 — in and outside of the digital health tent.
The post Can Consumer Electronics Help Stem the Decline of U.S. Life-Years? A Preface for #CES2023 appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.
REPORTS Chelsea FC's lavish spending hasn't improved them – Graham Potter may pay the price
Suspect in Idaho slayings not expected to fight extradition
La Jolla Expert: 'Very Good Tactic' to Test Wastewater from International Flights for COVID
China could see nearly a million deaths as it exits zero-COVID, study says
Army tests prep course for recruits who don't meet fitness, academic standards
July 27, 2022 sam


text:
Nuts is the squirrel spy thriller I never knew I wanted
By Rachel Watts
last updated 7 October 2021
What exactly are these squirrels hiding?
(Image credit: Noodlecake)
The squirrels in Nuts (opens in new tab) have secrets, I feel it in my bones. I've been following them for days now, tracking their movements at every twist and turn. They're smart, smarter than I first gave them credit for, and just when I think I'm hot on their cute bushy tails, they always slip away just out of view of my camera lens. Every single time I think I've placed my cameras down in the perfect positions to capture their route through the forest, they always find a way to outdo me.
But why the effort? This goes further than just finding where their nut stash is. They're keeping something from me—something big—and I need to find out what.
Nuts plays more like a hard-boiled detective game than a relaxing squirrel-tracking adventure. As a university research graduate, you've been given your first job in the field: to study and survey a group of mischievous squirrels and locate their nut stashes. Your observations will be used as evidence to prove that the plans to build a new condo in this woodland area would further endanger the squirrels. You need to set up cameras around the forest during the day and then survey the footage on a group of monitors at night, trying to find out what these critters get up to when the rest of us are asleep.
It's a puzzle game of sorts, where you need to keep adjusting your camera positions each day to keep tabs on where the squirrels are going. Tracking your furry friends is no easy feat, and it's going to take multiple days of trial and error to follow them throughout the forest. Thankfully, the squirrels stick to the same route every night, so it's only a matter of time before you find their well-hidden stashes.
These squirrels seem to know you're on to them. As the story progresses and the threats of the new building project draw closer, it seems the squirrels have devised their own plan of action. It's not just a case of following their movements on the ground: they'll jump from tree-to-tree, run behind rocks that block your vision, and try to give you the run-around by taking unexpected sharp turns.
You're given a set of equipment to help you in your squirrel pursuit. A GPS for tracking what trees you should be watching, a set of three cameras on tripods, three monitors that display what each camera has recorded, and a fax machine that doubles as a printer. Your tin-can of a caravan even comes with a notice board to pin all your printed photographs on, which is a great way for working out your next angle of approach.
There's something unnerving about watching back through the footage of places that are just footsteps away from your caravan's front door
It's a relaxing game at first, and exploring the forest and carefully placing the cameras is almost tranquil. Watching the footage at night time is a slightly different story. Nuts' fluorescent visuals echo the look of infrared monitors which allow you to easily spot the little critters. Each monitor has pause, rewind, and fast-forward functions, allowing you to scan the footage. As you further research by watching their movements, it feels like you've accidentally stumbled upon some bigger master plan.
There's something unnerving about watching back through the footage of places that are just footsteps away from your caravan's front door. But you've been told that there are only squirrels out there, so there's no need to worry, right?
Depending on how much thought and planning you put into your camera placement, days are anywhere from one to fifteen minutes, so the day and night loop is relatively short. When I first began tracking the squirrels, I was meticulous in my approach, placing my cameras and examining previous squirrel sightings with orderly intent, like the most methodical game of hide-and-seek ever.
But after the story took some unexpected turns and the mystery deepened, my discreet approach flew out the window, and I'm suddenly slapping my cameras down and high tailing it back to my caravan to see if I was correct in predicting the squirrels' movements. Often I'm not, and they've outsmarted me again. Who can blame them for not trusting me? With their home ask risk, these seemingly peaceful woodland creatures have decided to take some serious action, and they don't need me snooping around.
Nuts introduces its mysteries early and around an hour in I was hooked on its story. Deciding where cameras should be placed to get the perfect shot and trying to analyse where the squirrels will go next makes for some great detective work. It's a great mystery game and there are plenty of surprising twists down the road to keep you hot on the squirrel's trail, or in this case tail.
Nuts is out on Steam (opens in new tab) and itch.io (opens in new tab).
Rachel Watts
Rachel had been bouncing around different gaming websites as a freelancer and staff writer for three years before settling at PC Gamer back in 2019. She mainly writes reviews, previews, and features, but on rare occasions will switch it up with news and guides. When she's not taking hundreds of screenshots of the latest indie darling, you can find her nurturing her parsnip empire in Stardew Valley and planning an axolotl uprising in Minecraft. She loves 'stop and smell the roses' games—her proudest gaming moment being the one time she kept her virtual potted plants alive for over a year.