Beyond Labels

A 360° Discussion of Foreign, National and Local Policy Issues

State/Local

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For Monday: What is the Purpose of High School?

January 21, 2016
2 Comments

We often revisit the link between education and economic prosperity in our Beyond Labels discussions. This coming week, we will be joined by Tim Seeley, the new Head of School at George Stevens Academy.

We’ll explore the competing demands on high school educators:

  • General Education (i.e., what should every student know before leaving high school, recognizing that the next step might be specialization in college or the workplace)
  • College Preparation (what do colleges expect freshmen to know before they matriculate)
  • Vocational Training (for both college-bound and non-college bound students)

All this against a backdrop of rapid social and physical development of each student.

As usual, I expect we’ll have a wide-ranging and fun conversation.

October 20: The Bucksport Mill Closure

October 7, 2014
3 Comments

The recent closure announcement has triggered a lot of local discussion about what happened, what can (or should) be done to mitigate the impact on the mill’s employees, families and local community, and lessons we can learn and should apply going forward.

We’ll discuss this topic at our next Beyond Labels meeting on October 20.

Food Insecurity: A national, state and local issue

September 9, 2013
0 Comments

This topic was discussed on September 23, 2013.
September is “hunger action month,” a project of nationwide food-bank network Feeding America. This has drawn substantial publicity around the issue of food insecurity, including highlighting a recent US Department of Agriculture report “Household Food Security in the United States in 2012.”

  • How should we interpret the USDA study? In particular, how do we feel about some of the subtleties of the study:
    • the definitional difference between “food insecure” and “very food insecure”
    • the survey questions asked
    • the difference between “at any time during the year” and “during the last 30 days” statistics (and their derivatives, the average daily incidence of food insecurity)
    • the difference between “household” food insecurity and that for specific household members (children)
  • What should we do to reduce food insecurity?
    • Enhanced welfare programs (in the context of statistics offered by the USDA on the “Thrifty Food Cost” and the average monthly SNAP payment)?
    • What about the demographic analysis in the report (e.g., households led by a single female experiencing disproportionately higher food insecurity)? Does this recommend some other potential approaches?
    • The time-series data show a significant jump in food insecurity in 2007/2008, most likely associated with the recession. To what extent might steps to encourage job creation help to mitigate the issue?
    • How about the local issues? Maine’s incidence of food insecurity is higher than the national average and we know it is a real issue here on the Blue Hill Peninsula. What should be done to address the needs of our neighbors?

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