Beyond Labels

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

For Monday: What is the Purpose of High School?

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.

CO2: Maybe a pause, maybe a turning point

Follow up to my post on my post on Climate change change,  an article in Bloomberg is also optimistic that things are moving in a better direction.

… I have some very good news thttp://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-15/it-looks-like-global-carbon-emissions-hit-a-peakreo report. In 2015, global carbon emissions actually fell.

This isn’t an occasion for complacency. The fall might be a temporary blip. Even if it’s not, emissions represent the amount of additional carbon that is added to the atmosphere every year — that carbon builds up, so to really halt climate change we will need to decrease emissions drastically, not just halt their growth.

Most of the drop, the article admits, comes from China’s economic slowdown, which will ultimately reverse itself. But some of it comes from the cost-effectiveness of solar in a growing number of areas, even without subsidies, and even with relatively low fossil fuel prices. Some comes from the increasing prices of good quality coal. And some comes from the shift in perception and politics that “has caused even growth-obsessed China to be worried.”

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