#SchooolSafety #teachers #students #parents #FeelingSafe #SchoolShootings
Safety in schools is more than just being able to avoid being shot.
Of course, any moment now, someone could walk into a school with a gun and shoot a bunch of students, teachers and staff.
What can we do about it? Not much, short of limiting the supply of firearms – particularly the most lethal and purely offensive weapons — for people who shouldn’t have them.
More security officers in schools will help, as long as they are willing to come face to face with the assaulter(s).
But now, it’s not just the threat of violence in the schools that can concern children. Children used to be able to confide in teachers, or other staff, about things they may have been afraid to tell parents.
Now, in many places, teachers and staff MUST tell parents if children talk to them about, say, their sexuality.
Maureen Downey, education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, took on this topic in her March 14, 2023, column.
There was a time when school was a totally safe space for kids. Yes, they were supervised. Yes, they had many requirements they had to fulfill. Sometimes, discipline was necessary.
If Child X was bothering Child Y, Child Y could go to someone and report it confidentially – at least in theory. (There may have been some fear that Child X would retaliate if he or she were disciplined).
Of course, there should be cooperation between teachers, staff and parents when necessary. But there are some things kids don’t want to discuss with parents, particularly if they live in restrictive households.
Discussing such things with other students has its own peril. Besides, students usually do not have the adult wisdom to counsel properly.
We want students not only to be safe in school, but also to FEEL safe in school. If they do not feel safe, they won’t learn properly. Despite some schools that strictly use rigor and discipline as an education method, most students are not motivated to learn strictly out of fear. Certainly, fear can get kids to accomplish tasks. But, they are unlikely to truly learn what they need to know that way.
Feeling unsafe in school puts fear at top of mind for students.
So, what is an educator to do under these conditions?
If students are not allowed to be honest with educators about what they are feeling, how is an educator supposed to reach them?
As governments begin to impose unreasonable restrictions on how teachers teach, what they teach, what they can and cannot say to students etc., how and what do these entities expect students to learn in school?
It’s a question that will not be answered immediately. It’s difficult to measure what a deprived learning environment will do to any child.
The good news in all this – or the bad news, depending on one’s perspective – is that if a student doesn’t learn what he or she wants in school, there are other readily available outlets for them to get that information. Students often will fill that learning vacuum via other means.
We can only hope that depriving students of safety, and some education, in schools doesn’t lead to one or more of them, out of frustration, turning to weapons against that same school.
Peter
Monthly Archives: March 2024
WORK UNTIL YOU DIE?
#retirement #WorkUntilYouDie #labor #jobs #employment
There’s talk in the public sphere about abolishing retirement.
That means, of course, working until you die, unless you have a disability.
The conversation is coupled with talk of cuts in Social Security and Medicare, even if such cuts come from only “waste” in those funds.
First, if you have a great job, and your employer will let you work until you die, congratulations.
But, that’s hardly the case in most places. Despite the need for labor and many unfilled positions, employers definitely look at older workers, many of whom are making the most money in their categories, for places to cut. Ultimately, they may replace those workers with younger, cheaper ones.
The generous employers will offer these older workers separation incentives, commonly called buyouts, to leave by a specified date.
The less generous employers will just lay off older workers, despite laws that may put them in a protected class.
These protected class laws put the burden on the employees to sue to keep their jobs. They have to show, in most cases, that their employers fired them simply because of their ages. That’s hard to prove, since employers can come up with other – legitimate or illegitimate – reasons to let a person go. Many employees are also so-called “at-will” workers, meaning they can be fired for any reason. Also, most employees won’t bother suing, and the employers know that.
But, even if your employer WANTS you to work until you die, do YOU want to work until you die – particularly at a job you hate?
Retirement is designed not just to protect older people from workplace abuse, but also for the workers to live their golden years with some degree of well-earned pleasure. It’s designed for people to enjoy, and have control of, some part of their lives before they die. Also, it is designed to make jobs available for younger workers.
When Social Security was created as part of the New Deal after World War II, most people didn’t live but a few years after their retirement at, say, age 65.
Now, with advances in medical care, people are living decades after retirement, placing a burden not just on Social Security, but also on public and private pension funds. Some actuarial studies show these funds might not be sustainable for the near term, never mind perpetuity.
Making people work well into their so-called retirement years conjures up many awful scenarios. Would you want your parent or grandparent in a factory line, working his or her tail off in their 70s or 80s?
Would they even survive it?
In addition to medical advances, people are living longer likely because they are not working.
No one should discriminate against a worker because of his or her age.
But, no one should make someone work past a certain age, if he or she chooses not to.
And, yes, we need to take care of older people who are not working.
It’s not an easy problem to solve. But imaginative people in all sectors of society can, and, hopefully, will find ways to make retirement more achievable, enjoyable and sustainable.
Peter
There’s talk in the public sphere about abolishing retirement.
That means, of course, working until you die, unless you have a disability.
The conversation is coupled with talk of cuts in Social Security and Medicare, even if such cuts come from only “waste” in those funds.
First, if you have a great job, and your employer will let you work until you die, congratulations.
But, that’s hardly the case in most places. Despite the need for labor and many unfilled positions, employers definitely look at older workers, many of whom are making the most money in their categories, for places to cut. Ultimately, they may replace those workers with younger, cheaper ones.
The generous employers will offer these older workers separation incentives, commonly called buyouts, to leave by a specified date.
The less generous employers will just lay off older workers, despite laws that may put them in a protected class.
These protected class laws put the burden on the employees to sue to keep their jobs. They have to show, in most cases, that their employers fired them simply because of their ages. That’s hard to prove, since employers can come up with other – legitimate or illegitimate – reasons to let a person go. Many employees are also so-called “at-will” workers, meaning they can be fired for any reason. Also, most employees won’t bother suing, and the employers know that.
But, even if your employer WANTS you to work until you die, do YOU want to work until you die – particularly at a job you hate?
Retirement is designed not just to protect older people from workplace abuse, but also for the workers to live their golden years with some degree of well-earned pleasure. It’s designed for people to enjoy, and have control of, some part of their lives before they die. Also, it is designed to make jobs available for younger workers.
When Social Security was created as part of the New Deal after World War II, most people didn’t live but a few years after their retirement at, say, age 65.
Now, with advances in medical care, people are living decades after retirement, placing a burden not just on Social Security, but also on public and private pension funds. Some actuarial studies show these funds might not be sustainable for the near term, never mind perpetuity.
Making people work well into their so-called retirement years conjures up many awful scenarios. Would you want your parent or grandparent in a factory line, working his or her tail off in their 70s or 80s?
Would they even survive it?
In addition to medical advances, people are living longer likely because they are not working.
No one should discriminate against a worker because of his or her age.
But, no one should make someone work past a certain age, if he or she chooses not to.
And, yes, we need to take care of older people who are not working.
It’s not an easy problem to solve. But imaginative people in all sectors of society can, and, hopefully, will find ways to make retirement more achievable, enjoyable and sustainable.
Peter
ELECTRIC POWER GENERATORS AT A CROSSROADS
#ElectricalPower #PowerGenerators #PowerSupplies #widlfires #CleanEnergy
If you are wondering what a transition in business looks like, check out electric power suppliers.
Transition, in this case, does not mean they will go out of business soon. Instead, the power suppliers are at a crossroads. They know that clean power – wind, solar etc. – is trending. The nation, and the world, wants to wean itself from electric power driven by fossil fuels.
On the other hand, power suppliers have an immediate need to generate more power, particularly in growing areas.
Therefore, since fossil fuels are here and available, they may have to bring more such plants online to accommodate near-term growth. Coincidentally, U.S. oil production is at record levels.
Electric vehicle use is increasing as well.
They require electric power, which has to be generated by power suppliers, to run.
Also, there is increasing need for data centers and other big power users.
Complicating matters further is climate change. Hot, dry areas are having more wildfires that can be sparked by power lines. And, there are areas in which big storms are more frequent, knocking out power more often.
And, of course, many communities are addressing housing shortages. Solutions here require more power to those residences.
This all begs the question: what are those whose business is generating electrical power to do to accommodate immediate and long-term needs while also trying to be good corporate citizens?
As residents, we usually only think about our power companies and utilities when bills rise, or the power goes out.
When things are running smoothly, which is every power generator’s goal, users merely plug in and don’t think about it.
Many of these power generators are overseen by agencies looking to make sure their profits are not excessive and customer bills are as reasonable as they can be etc.
As the power generators and overseers think about the future, they have to find that elusive sweet spot among not being overly dependent on fossil fuels, looking to the clean energy future, protecting a fragile environment from accidental sparks and providing safe, abundant power at a reasonable price.
While it may be tough for citizens to have sympathy for power companies, those companies are indeed in a tough spot.
Some have resorted to adding nuclear power. But that has its own potential dangers, not to mention the problem of disposing the radioactive waste.
Nuclear power is indeed clean, until a reactor melts down.
What should a consumer do? First, if a person is thinking about purchasing an electric car, he or she should first determine how he or she will use it. Rapid charging stations are not readily available everywhere, so you may need a hybrid or gasoline-fueled vehicle for longer trips.
If you live in an area susceptible to drought and wildfires, know where your power lines are and try to live away from them.
Also, the next time you read about the rock and hard place some power generators are in today, know that very likely, they are agonizing over this. You don’t necessarily have to have sympathy for them – power executives get paid generously for their agony.
But, know that they are facing very complicated circumstances. Innovators are working hard trying to find the sweet spot(s) in power generation.
Still, feel free to plug in and hope everything works out.
Peter
If you are wondering what a transition in business looks like, check out electric power suppliers.
Transition, in this case, does not mean they will go out of business soon. Instead, the power suppliers are at a crossroads. They know that clean power – wind, solar etc. – is trending. The nation, and the world, wants to wean itself from electric power driven by fossil fuels.
On the other hand, power suppliers have an immediate need to generate more power, particularly in growing areas.
Therefore, since fossil fuels are here and available, they may have to bring more such plants online to accommodate near-term growth. Coincidentally, U.S. oil production is at record levels.
Electric vehicle use is increasing as well.
They require electric power, which has to be generated by power suppliers, to run.
Also, there is increasing need for data centers and other big power users.
Complicating matters further is climate change. Hot, dry areas are having more wildfires that can be sparked by power lines. And, there are areas in which big storms are more frequent, knocking out power more often.
And, of course, many communities are addressing housing shortages. Solutions here require more power to those residences.
This all begs the question: what are those whose business is generating electrical power to do to accommodate immediate and long-term needs while also trying to be good corporate citizens?
As residents, we usually only think about our power companies and utilities when bills rise, or the power goes out.
When things are running smoothly, which is every power generator’s goal, users merely plug in and don’t think about it.
Many of these power generators are overseen by agencies looking to make sure their profits are not excessive and customer bills are as reasonable as they can be etc.
As the power generators and overseers think about the future, they have to find that elusive sweet spot among not being overly dependent on fossil fuels, looking to the clean energy future, protecting a fragile environment from accidental sparks and providing safe, abundant power at a reasonable price.
While it may be tough for citizens to have sympathy for power companies, those companies are indeed in a tough spot.
Some have resorted to adding nuclear power. But that has its own potential dangers, not to mention the problem of disposing the radioactive waste.
Nuclear power is indeed clean, until a reactor melts down.
What should a consumer do? First, if a person is thinking about purchasing an electric car, he or she should first determine how he or she will use it. Rapid charging stations are not readily available everywhere, so you may need a hybrid or gasoline-fueled vehicle for longer trips.
If you live in an area susceptible to drought and wildfires, know where your power lines are and try to live away from them.
Also, the next time you read about the rock and hard place some power generators are in today, know that very likely, they are agonizing over this. You don’t necessarily have to have sympathy for them – power executives get paid generously for their agony.
But, know that they are facing very complicated circumstances. Innovators are working hard trying to find the sweet spot(s) in power generation.
Still, feel free to plug in and hope everything works out.
Peter
AI INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY
#productivity #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #work #jobs
Artificial intelligence (AI) is raising productivity.
Increasing productivity per worker is the way to get the economy to expand, and keep going strong for years.
Jeanna Smialek discussed this development in an article for The New York Times. It was also published March 2, 2024, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The last time productivity went up like this was 30 years ago, the article says.
At that time, Federal Reserve officials were debating whether the economy could keep moving vigorously without causing inflation, Smialek reports.
Also, during the 1990s, computerized work was just catching on. Now, AI is just starting to catch on. As the article says, it was the computer age vs. the Zoom age. Inflation is also beginning to cool down, and wages are rising more quickly than inflation.
As discussed here before, AI is a double-edged sword. It will cause workplace changes. Some will benefit greatly. Others could be hurt badly.
Since there is nothing any one person, or group, can do to stop this progress, we, as individuals, have to figure out how to live with it – or, better yet, be better off for it.
AI may be able to fill some jobs that go unfilled. It may send people who never thought a machine would ever replace them looking for new ways to make a living.
New hiring and layoffs could be happening at once in the same company or workplace.
When the internet was in its infancy, employers thought workers would waste a lot of time at their desks surfing, the article says. While that sometimes happened, it did not cause widespread decreases in productivity.
The users of AI can probably find nefarious ways to use it. But, the article makes clear that it will increase productivity overall.
Another factor the article sites in the productivity gains is the rise in entrepreneurship. Business applications are surging again, as people decide to strike out on their own after losing or leaving jobs, the article says.
Indeed, AI could bring about a golden age of entrepreneurship. That means it will be up to individuals to figure out how best they can fit into this brave new world.
If certain skills become obsolete quickly, one will have to figure out the next chapter in their lives. These moments don’t have to be bleak, or not end well. They can be an opportunity for one to find his or her real passion, and capitalize on it.
We may all have passions we did not know we had. Or, we may have imaginations nimble enough to find a new way to work.
AI is not superior to human intelligence. While human intelligence can create from scratch, AI, at least for now, can collect what has already been done and morph it into something that a human does not have to do.
Therefore, we must all buckle up for what is to come. There may be some bumps and bruises along the way, but it will be up to all of us to find a way to make life even better than it is now.
Peter
Artificial intelligence (AI) is raising productivity.
Increasing productivity per worker is the way to get the economy to expand, and keep going strong for years.
Jeanna Smialek discussed this development in an article for The New York Times. It was also published March 2, 2024, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The last time productivity went up like this was 30 years ago, the article says.
At that time, Federal Reserve officials were debating whether the economy could keep moving vigorously without causing inflation, Smialek reports.
Also, during the 1990s, computerized work was just catching on. Now, AI is just starting to catch on. As the article says, it was the computer age vs. the Zoom age. Inflation is also beginning to cool down, and wages are rising more quickly than inflation.
As discussed here before, AI is a double-edged sword. It will cause workplace changes. Some will benefit greatly. Others could be hurt badly.
Since there is nothing any one person, or group, can do to stop this progress, we, as individuals, have to figure out how to live with it – or, better yet, be better off for it.
AI may be able to fill some jobs that go unfilled. It may send people who never thought a machine would ever replace them looking for new ways to make a living.
New hiring and layoffs could be happening at once in the same company or workplace.
When the internet was in its infancy, employers thought workers would waste a lot of time at their desks surfing, the article says. While that sometimes happened, it did not cause widespread decreases in productivity.
The users of AI can probably find nefarious ways to use it. But, the article makes clear that it will increase productivity overall.
Another factor the article sites in the productivity gains is the rise in entrepreneurship. Business applications are surging again, as people decide to strike out on their own after losing or leaving jobs, the article says.
Indeed, AI could bring about a golden age of entrepreneurship. That means it will be up to individuals to figure out how best they can fit into this brave new world.
If certain skills become obsolete quickly, one will have to figure out the next chapter in their lives. These moments don’t have to be bleak, or not end well. They can be an opportunity for one to find his or her real passion, and capitalize on it.
We may all have passions we did not know we had. Or, we may have imaginations nimble enough to find a new way to work.
AI is not superior to human intelligence. While human intelligence can create from scratch, AI, at least for now, can collect what has already been done and morph it into something that a human does not have to do.
Therefore, we must all buckle up for what is to come. There may be some bumps and bruises along the way, but it will be up to all of us to find a way to make life even better than it is now.
Peter