Scott Miller

There will be no Beyond Labels meeting on January 18. The library will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

We plan to revisit US education (K-12) this coming Monday. The article that caught my attention and caused me to think we might revisit the subject  was the New York Times’ “Algebra Scores Prompt Second Look at Revamped Regents Exams.”

It seems like a recurring theme…we say we need to improve education standards and set what are characterized as reasonable goals, then fail to achieve them and “dumb down” the definition of “proficiency” to make up for the shortfall.

Here are some other articles that may inform our discussion:

NYT: Cuomo Panel Calls for Further Retreat From Common Core

NYT: Test Scores Under Common Core Show That ‘Proficient’ Varies by State

There are lots of articles this weekend about the new Education law that replaces “No Child Left Behind.”

Since we discussed the prospect of a “No Fly, No Buy” limitation on gun sales last week, there have been several articles on the subject. The State of Connecticut is considering banning sales of guns to individuals on the US “no-fly” list.

There was some discussion about whether the list might be too broad to be reused for other purposes…attached is a NY Times article discussing one US citizen’s issues and a lawsuit he is pursuing.

NYT “No-fly list has left Muslim Air Force veteran detained in Turkey”

Among other things, the suit described in the article asserts that this citizen is being deprived of certain rights without the benefit of due process.