<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" > <channel> <title>Posts Tagged society « Frederick's Timelog</title> <atom:link href="https://www.frederickding.com/posts/tag/society/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/tag/society/</link> <description>Technology, law, life, and more.</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2017 05:19:07 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2</generator> <image> <url>https://www.frederickding.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Insignia-Only-100x100.png</url> <title>Posts Tagged society « Frederick's Timelog</title> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/tag/society/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">128920765</site> <item> <title>A little more about expat voting in Canadian elections</title> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2015/08/expat-voting-in-canadian-elections-032474/</link> <comments>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2015/08/expat-voting-in-canadian-elections-032474/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Frederick]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2015 06:07:24 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Legal Matters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Canadian expat]]></category> <category><![CDATA[election]]></category> <category><![CDATA[expatriate]]></category> <category><![CDATA[government]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[voting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wikipedia]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frederickding.com/?p=2474</guid> <description><![CDATA[After blogging last week about being deprived of my right to vote as a Canadian citizen, I realized two things: I’m personally affected as far as the impending election is concerned because Elections Canada is now requiring international electors to declare an intended date of return—even those of us who have previously applied to be on the Register, … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2015/08/expat-voting-in-canadian-elections-032474/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "A little more about expat voting in Canadian elections"</span></a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After blogging last week about <a href="http://www.frederickding.com/posts/2015/07/let-me-vote-dammit-212461/">being deprived of my right to vote as a Canadian citizen</a>, I realized two things:</p> <ol> <li>I’m personally affected as far as the impending election is concerned because <strong>Elections Canada is <a href="http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=vote&dir=abro&document=index&lang=e" target="_blank">now requiring international electors to <em>declare an intended date of return</em></a></strong>—even those of us who have previously applied to be on the Register, and have not yet been abroad for over five years</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Canada" target="_blank">Wikipedia’s page on <strong>Elections in Canada</strong></a> lacked any mention of the expat situation, erroneously claiming (though it used to be true for 14 months) that “National voting is available to all Canadian citizens aged 18 or older.”</li> </ol> <p>I rectified the second situation by revising those sentences and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Canada#Canadian_citizens_abroad" target="_blank">adding a section on expat voting</a> to clarify the current state of affairs.</p> <p>I believe my summary, which recalls the five-year limit’s origins in 1993, is the most compact summary of the whole picture, to date, in one place.</p> <p>Of course, I humbly encourage others to contribute to Wikipedia and edit the article to continue improving its content, but I think the section I mentioned is worth quoting:</p> <blockquote style="font-size: 80%;"> <h3><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Canada#Canadian_citizens_abroad" target="_blank">Canadian citizens abroad</a></h3> <p>Although <a title="Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_Three_of_the_Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms">Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a> provides that “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote”,<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html" target="_blank">[9]</a></sup> in practice only those citizens 18 years of age or older, <i>and</i> who reside in Canada or have been abroad for fewer than five years, may vote.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_10-0" class="reference"><a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/page-65.html" target="_blank">[10]</a></sup> Exemptions to the five-year limit exist for members of the <a title="Canadian Armed Forces" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Armed_Forces">Canadian Armed Forces</a>, employees of the federal or a provincial government who are abroad, employees of certain international organizations, and their cohabitants.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_10-1" class="reference"><a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-2.01/page-65.html" target="_blank">[10]</a></sup> The five-year limit was originally enacted as part of Bill C-114, <i>An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act</i>, in 1993; these amendments extended the special ballot to certain prisoners, and Canadians “living or travelling” abroad.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=his&document=chap4&lang=e">[11]</a></sup> In September 2005, <a title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Kingsley">Jean-Pierre Kingsley</a>, then the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada for 15 years, explicitly recommended in his official report that Parliament remove the five-year limit by amendment, but no action was taken.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/off/r38&document=part13&lang=e#e" target="_blank">[12]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/off/sta_2011&document=p2&lang=e" target="_blank">[13]</a></sup></p> <p>In May 2014, a court decision from the <a title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Superior_Court_of_Justice">Ontario Superior Court of Justice</a> invalidated the five-year limit as an unconstitutional restriction on the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Right to vote" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_vote">right to vote</a>, in violation of <a title="Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_Three_of_the_Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms">Section Three</a>, leading to a period of fourteen months during which all Canadian expatriates could apply to be on the register of electors.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2014/2014onsc907/2014onsc907.html" target="_blank">[14]</a></sup> However, the decision was reversed 2-1 on appeal at the <a title="Court of Appeal for Ontario" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_for_Ontario">Court of Appeal for Ontario</a> on July 20, 2015, in a judicial opinion citing Canada’s history of using a residence-based <a title="Electoral district (Canada)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_district_(Canada)">electoral district</a> system and a justification based on <a title="Social contract" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract">social contract</a> theory, which held that the five-year limit was a permissible limitation of the constitutional right to vote under <a title="Section One of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_One_of_the_Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms">Section One</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2015/2015ONCA0536.htm" target="_blank">[15]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/no-voting-rights-for-long-term-canadian-expats-appeal-court-rules/article25590714/" target="_blank">[16]</a></sup> As of August 2015, <a title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_Canada">Elections Canada</a> has implemented changes to its registration process to comply with the latest court ruling, and will require expatriates already on the register to declare an intended date of return.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a title="" href="http://www.elections.ca/content2.aspx?section=vote&dir=abro&document=index&lang=e" target="_blank">[17]</a></sup></p></blockquote> <p><strong>Again, I <em>really</em> hope this is appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.</strong> Unfortunately, with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/world/americas/canadian-prime-minister-calls-federal-election.html">the federal election just having been called for October 2015</a>, it is impossible for any ruling to take effect in time for the impending election. (A legislative solution is also possible, but a court ruling would be the most optimal outcome.)</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2015/08/expat-voting-in-canadian-elections-032474/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2474</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Town of Greece v. Galloway</title> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2014/05/town-greece-v-galloway-052039/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Frederick]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2014 00:33:50 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Legal Matters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[law]]></category> <category><![CDATA[religion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[scotus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[supreme court]]></category> <category><![CDATA[US]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frederickding.com/?p=2039</guid> <description><![CDATA[I’m in the middle of final exams, and I really don’t have the time for this, but I was blown away by the decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 US __ (2014). As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent, “A person goes to court, to the polls, to a naturalization ceremony—and a government … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2014/05/town-greece-v-galloway-052039/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Town of Greece v. Galloway"</span></a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’m in the middle of final exams, and I really don’t have the time for this, but I was blown away by the decision in <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-696_4f57.pdf"><em>Town of Greece v. Galloway,</em> 572 US __ (2014)</a>.</p> <p>As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent,</p> <blockquote><p>“A person goes to court, to the polls, to a naturalization ceremony—and a government official or his handpicked minister asks her, as the first order of official business, to stand and pray with others in a way conflicting with her own religious beliefs. Perhaps she feels sufficient pressure to go along—to rise, bow her head, and join in whatever others are saying: After all, she wants, very badly, what the judge or poll worker or immigration official has to offer. Or perhaps she is made of stronger mettle, and she opts not to participate in what she does not believe—indeed, what would, for her, be something like blasphemy. <strong>She then must make known her dissent from the common religious view, and place herself apart from other citizens</strong>, as well as from the officials responsible for the invocations. And so a civic function of some kind brings religious differences to the fore: That public proceeding becomes (whether intentionally or not) an instrument for dividing her from adherents to the community’s majority religion, and for altering the very nature of her relationship with her government.”</p></blockquote> <p>Unsurprisingly, <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/town-of-greece-v-galloway/">this case was again decided on a 5-4 split</a>, with the conservative justices in the majority. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/us/politics/in-justices-votes-free-speech-often-means-speech-i-agree-with.html">As the New York Times reports, “For Justices, Free Speech Often Means ‘Speech I Agree With’”.</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2039</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Lowering the bar on education isn’t the answer</title> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2012/11/lowering-the-bar-algebra-math-education-301427/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Frederick Ding & Kirill Peretoltchine]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 01:31:54 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science Matters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[math]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[university]]></category> <category><![CDATA[US]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frederickding.com/?p=1427</guid> <description><![CDATA[The following article was initially drafted with a guest author, Kirill Peretoltchine, at the end of July 2012. A giant statue in the opening ceremony of the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004, onto which laser images of geometrical shapes and scientific concepts were projected, was a powerful reminder of a bygone era. Ancient Greece was a birthplace … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2012/11/lowering-the-bar-algebra-math-education-301427/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Lowering the bar on education isn’t the answer"</span></a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>The following article was initially drafted with a guest author, Kirill Peretoltchine, at the end of July 2012.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzw8OQIVQAs">A giant statue in the opening ceremony of the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004</a>, onto which <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzw8OQIVQAs&t=1m30s">laser images of geometrical shapes and scientific concepts</a> were projected, was a powerful reminder of a bygone era. Ancient Greece was a birthplace of logical thought, education, mathematics, science… and democracy.</p> <p>The Renaissance was marked by an explosion in the diffusion of ideas, and the naissance of the scientific method that has allowed us to explore this world. This was the time of Copernicus, Galileo, Michelangelo, and da Vinci — the last of which, far from being just a scientist and artist, was also an engineer and writer: the stunning definition of a Renaissance man.</p> <p>And one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin — also the founder of our <em>alma mater</em> — was a polymath himself. Politician, scientist, writer…</p> <p>There is a reason we honour and respect figures like da Vinci and Franklin, even if we, enlightened with 21st century practicality, do not expect to educate the entire populace in their image.</p> <p>Both of us were shocked to read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html?smid=pl-share">a real proposal by an educator at the City University of New York <strong>for the lowering of educational standards</strong> and <strong>the removal of mathematics from standard curricula</strong></a>.</p> <p>We agree that there are serious deficits in the North American educational system that are in need of redress. We also concur that it is impractical to teach higher math effectively to every high school and college or university student. But we are firm in our belief that <strong>lowering the bar isn’t the answer</strong>. Andrew Hacker has a limited view of mathematics that fails to appreciate its value, and his solution of removing math from standards is flawed.</p> <p><span id="more-1427"></span></p> <h2>Math isn’t just for STEM</h2> <p>It’s true that the most visible applications for higher level math are in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). A seemingly simple statement like <img decoding="async" src="https://s0.wp.com/latex.php?latex=G%3DH-TS&bg=ffffff&fg=000&s=0&c=20201002" alt="G=H-TS" class="latex" />, which even a typical 8th grader should be able to grasp as an algebraic equation with four variables, has bountiful implications in biology and chemistry.</p> <p>But math has its uses outside of STEM, too. On the simplest levels, arithmetic serves practical purposes in life: personal budgeting, figuring out how much your bank is gouging you on your mortgage, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN9LZ3ojnxY">calculating your smartphone bill</a>, and so on. Basic algebra might be useful in, say, preparing for a road trip — how far will you get before your tank of gas runs out? Calculus finds applications in economics, financial modelling, etc. Take out calculus, and there go derivative pricing models. Probability/statistics seem to have even broader implications: they form the bases for all kinds of “analyses”, from presidential elections to life insurance.</p> <p>None of these examples are STEM applications. We don’t need to rely on standard arguments, like <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/07/30/abandoning-algebra-is-not-the-answer/">the contention that theoretical calc and linear algebra, detached from physical application, develop certain modes of thinking</a>.</p> <p>Indeed, the following recording illustrates what happens when people fail at basic numeracy. Is this irrelevant to daily life? We really don’t think so.</p> <iframe class="youtube-player" width="525" height="296" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zN9LZ3ojnxY?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe> <h3>Frederick: better pedagogy</h3> <p>The importance is that, when courses are taught at the general level (i.e. K-12), instructors should make the effort to connect seemingly useless proofs like <img decoding="async" src="https://s0.wp.com/latex.php?latex=%5Cleft%28x%5E2%2By%5E2%5Cright%29%5E2%3D%5Cleft%28x%5E2-y%5E2%5Cright%29%5E2%2B%5Cleft%282xy%5Cright%29%5E2&bg=ffffff&fg=000&s=0&c=20201002" alt="\left(x^2+y^2\right)^2=\left(x^2-y^2\right)^2+\left(2xy\right)^2" class="latex" /> with <strong>applications</strong>. Some teachers call this “motivating the lesson”, and the best ones always find something for the students to grasp onto, whether it’s a municipal water tower leaking onto the streets or optimizing the speed at which you drive a 10-year-old truck for fuel efficiency.</p> <p>Of course, this applies not only in math—if the justification that math builds logical thinkers isn’t sufficient for mandating this education (as it generally isn’t), then an English teacher, too, should justify how analyzing Shakespearean literary themes or postmodern novels will help a student who hopes to be a biology researcher or a future nurse. There is room for pedagogy in all fields.</p> <h3>The lowest common denominator?</h3> <p>It is an uncontroversial position that statistics find broader uses in non-STEM fields than, say, calculus or linear algebra (here at Penn, statistics are taught in the business school in their own department independent of math). Yet, as some commentators point out in the NYT comments section, one cannot comprehend how standard deviation works without algebra skills. (How does <img decoding="async" src="https://s0.wp.com/latex.php?latex=%5Csigma%3D%5Csqrt%7B%5Cfrac%7B%5Csum_%7Bi%3D1%7D%5E%7Bn%7D%7B%28x_i+-+%5Cbar%7Bx%7D%29%5E2%7D%7D%7Bn-1%7D%7D&bg=ffffff&fg=000&s=0&c=20201002" alt="\sigma=\sqrt{\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{n}{(x_i - \bar{x})^2}}{n-1}}" class="latex" /> make sense without understanding algebra?) Take out an algebra foundation, and all one becomes is an automaton applying an equation that someone else supplies.</p> <p>Take out the algebra foundation, and quite possibly the student will never have what it takes <em>to decide to become</em> a chemist, an engineer, a financier, or a <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/">Nate Silver</a>. We should retain such foundations because they enable decisions that would not otherwise be possible.</p> <p>Yet the op-ed chooses this example to support its argument:</p> <blockquote><p>“… a definitive analysis by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce forecasts that in the decade ahead a mere 5 percent of entry-level workers will need to be proficient in algebra or above.”</p></blockquote> <p><em>The system shouldn’t be designed to push kids into “entry-level worker” positions.</em> That would be defeatist. It would mean responding to challenge by backing down—an approach that <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/12/164793058/struggle-for-smarts-how-eastern-and-western-cultures-tackle-learning">a recent NPR piece attributes to the North American perspective that “intellectual struggle in schoolchildren is … an indicator of weakness”</a>.</p> <p>Even if we accept that some people struggle with math and won’t use it, we should look for other ways to address this perceived problem.</p> <h2>Alternative Solutions for Reform</h2> <p>It is an easy matter to disagree. It is a far worthier challenge to find an alternative — a superior solution.</p> <h3>Kirill: “A German System”</h3> <p>The importance of math is difficult to gauge on an absolute scale; there are some professions for which it is directly applicable, some for which it helps greatly, and finally some for which, we are forced to admit, math is not particularly useful.</p> <p>The fields that fall into the last category are those that, even today, do not explicitly require a college education, or even necessarily a secondary education. Workers like janitors, garbage handlers, and truck drivers comprise a necessary part of society — but whether they receive education, and to what degree, must be left to both individual choice and utilitarian economics. Indeed, an economic argument can be made that <em>we waste resources</em> teaching integrals and magnetic flux to students who neither appreciate that education nor require it for physical labour.</p> <p>In this sense, we find ourselves accepting some of Hacker’s arguments. But these workers have no less need for math than they do Shakespeare or watercolour paint.</p> <p>To be clear, we see enough benefit from teaching math to future businessmen, philosophers, historians, and artists that we reject optionalizing math in high school (or any earlier) based on intended field of study. We might, instead, think about changing the broader system and on a different scale, rather than attacking math itself.</p> <p>A solution that we can propose, then — at least for secondary education — is to have a stratified education system, where <strong>students are separated by learning class</strong> into distinct groups. One such group (admission into which must occur by testing or another means of assessment) will continue to post-secondary university studies, while another group will instead pursue vocational training specific to their intended career, and bypass the (unnecessary for them) ordeal of learning advanced mathematics and sciences.</p> <p>To summarize the suggested educational framework, here are a few key elements that we feel should be present:</p> <ol> <li>A strong standardized testing system to separate students into appropriate groups at entry. This must happen sufficiently early for the differences in curriculum to have an effect.</li> <li>Similar exit testing to differentiate members of society who have completed varying levels of secondary education.</li> <li>The ability to move between schooling levels.</li> </ol> <p>If this so far sounds like a <em>Brave New World</em>-style dystopia, it really is not without real world foundation. The relevant example in secondary education today is the German school system, which comes closest to accomplishing these targets in an effective way.</p> <p>After the completion of primary school (age 10), students can choose from the following options:</p> <ol> <li>Gymnasium/Gesamtschule: a type of school with a strong academic focus. Upon completion of an exit exam after grade 12 or 13, students graduate with an Abitur, which qualifies them for admission into university.</li> <li>Realschule: an “intermediate” school, with graduation after 10th grade. Graduates are awarded the Mittlere Reife, which is similar to the American high school diploma. After receiving this degree, many go on to vocational school, while others (who qualify) may attend additional schooling to receive an Abitur if they so choose.</li> <li>Hauptschule: the lowest level of secondary education. Students receive a diploma after 9th or 10th grade, after which they may enroll in a vocational school or begin part-time work/training. In some regions, different “levels” of the 10th grade are offered: completion of the higher level allows the student to receive the Mittlere Reife, the degree attained by Realschule graduates.</li> </ol> <p>The beauty of the German system is that it allows for differentiation, but does not preclude the possibility for movement between educational levels. This differentiation has two clear goals:</p> <ol> <li><strong>An optimized learning environment.</strong> Students who know from an early point in their life that they do not want to perform a highly specialized and academic job need not trouble themselves with unnecessarily “difficult” educational goals. This addresses the issue that the NYT op-ed brings up: failure rates for advanced classes will be lower if the population of students taking them is restricted to the academically capable and motivated. Students who wish to pursue this lower level of education will be grouped together with those of similar interests and goals, and will likely benefit from such an environment.</li> <li><strong>Specialization of resources.</strong> It’s hard for a teacher to take into consideration such a wide spectrum of academic abilities as we see in the classroom today. This is inefficient for students on both ends of the bell curve: the more advanced students feel that the class is moving too slowly, as teachers are forced to move at the pace of the lowest common denominator, while those who are not quite up to academic standards may feel intimidated or discouraged by the successes of those at the top.</li> </ol> <p>Detractors may question if this systematic differentiation would reduce social mobility long after the attainment of secondary education — in other words, if one would be limited by having “only” obtained a degree from the Hauptschule — but we see no reason that it would be any worse than what occurs in America when a teenager drops out of high school. Instead of setting just <em>one</em> standard that may be unattainable for many, this stratified educational system provides multiple paths to accommodate students’ inherent differences, and encourages them to exit secondary education with some indicator of achievement.</p> <p>In our perspective, this is superior to the rigid inflexibility that North America affords at-risk high school students, and can only <strong>create more gradations to help those not currently served by a one-size-fits-all educational system</strong>.</p> <h2>Conclusion</h2> <p>The scope of this post has far exceeded a simple rebuttal to the question, “is algebra necessary?” Indeed, the answer to that problem cannot be restricted to a confined study of math — it must be in the context of other disciplines and the broader educational system.</p> <p>We see value in mathematics across the board, from arithmetic to algebra, from calculus to statistics. <strong>Not everyone needs to understand moment-generating functions or higher-order differentials</strong>. Rather than cutting math because it seems to confound so many students, we instead offer actual solutions: first, on the smaller scope, <strong>a pedagogical emphasis on <em>motivating</em> learning</strong>, and second, more broadly, <strong>a stratified structure for secondary education</strong>; in both cases, we believe we can better provide everyone with the tools they need to thrive.</p> <hr /> <p><em>The authors, Frederick Ding and <a href="http://kirillp.com/">Kirill Peretoltchine</a>, are undergraduates, respectively in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania. Both use math on a daily basis.</em></p> ]]></content:encoded> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1427</post-id> </item> <item> <title>My experience with American health care</title> <link>https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2011/11/my-experience-with-american-health-care-211290/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Frederick]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:36:02 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Personal Matters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Political Matters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category> <category><![CDATA[government]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[medicine]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[US]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frederickding.com/?p=1290</guid> <description><![CDATA[Right now*, I stand among several dozen patients at Health Center #3, operated by the Philadelphia city government to provide clinical care to residents in a way that is available even to those without insurance or wealth. I’ve nearly been waiting for two hours for a quick skin test. My alternative is Student Health Service, … <p class="link-more"><a href="https://www.frederickding.com/posts/2011/11/my-experience-with-american-health-care-211290/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "My experience with American health care"</span></a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Right now*, I stand among several dozen patients at Health Center #3, operated by the Philadelphia city government to provide clinical care to residents in a way that is available even to those without insurance or wealth. I’ve nearly been waiting for two hours for a quick skin test.</p> <p>My alternative is <a href="http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/shs/">Student Health Service</a>, on another edge of campus, where there is a comfortable environment, shorter waiting times, and probably better trained personnel.</p> <p>Instead of taking advantage of the benefits afforded to me by my student health insurance plan, a consequence of my attendance at the University of Pennsylvania, I chose this clinic because I could get the test done on an earlier date. I imagined it wouldn’t be as great of a place as SHS, or the expansive, top-tier hospitals of Penn Medicine, but what I am experiencing has convinced me, even more so than I thought before, of <em>the epic failures of the American health care system.</em></p> <p><small>* This post has since been revised and reformatted, although it was initiated during my time in the clinic.</small></p> <p>[acm-tag id=”468×60″]</p> <h2>A comparison</h2> <p>Those who are fortunate enough to have employer- or school-sponsored health insurance may have access to HMO hospitals, clinics, and doctors.</p> <p>Those who attend a comprehensive university like mine may have access to the combined resources of a student health clinic and a set of university hospitals merely a block away.</p> <p><strong>Those who are in the lower strata of income and status, or whose recent unemployment leaves them uninsured, are relegated to public institutions such as these health centers,</strong> left to understaffed clinics, long wait times, and expensive, unaffordable medications. Some of these people are also caught outside the eligibility criteria of governmental programs like Medicare and Medicaid.</p> <h3>I’m from Canada</h3> <p>If timing weren’t an issue, I would just do this skin test back at home in Ontario, Canada. Sure, the skin test itself might not be covered by the provincial OHIP program, but at least <em>every resident</em> (after a certain number of months of residence) <em>has access to physicians and walk in clinics at no basic charge</em> beyond their taxes; <em>those who are below the low-income cutoff might even pay $0 in federal and/or provincial taxes</em>.</p> <p>There is no such thing as a general practitioner who will turn you away because you “belong” to another unaffiliated insurance company. <strong>Low income citizens do not have to go to a crowded government “health center” for basic medical care; any privately-operated walk-in clinic, or a family doctor who is accepting new patients, will do.</strong> The UK also demonstrates how access to prescription medicine can be broadened.</p> <p>Even those who <em>are</em> insured in the US are shocked when they find the cost of health care to be much higher than budgeted.</p> <ul> <li>Students on our private university-organized insurance plan still must pay a <strong>$100 co-pay to go to the emergency room</strong>, although the co-pay is waived under restrictive conditions</li> <li>There’s a co-pay of <strong>$35</strong> for an <strong>X-ray</strong> diagnostic test. I had a chest X-ray done as a matter of an annual physical examination over the summer in Canada, and it was covered by OHIP.</li> <li><strong>Flu vaccinations</strong> are <a href="http://phillyflushots.com/"><strong>$24</strong></a> <a href="http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/shs/2011fluvaccine.php">(at least)</a> in the vicinity of this university. While private health insurance may cover the cost, <em>it’s surprising that this basic tool of public health isn’t free</em>; <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/health/flu/index.htm">municipal governments in Ontario almost universally administer them at no charge</a>, and they are available through doctors’ offices, public health clinics, walk-in clinics, and even some pharmacies.</li> </ul> <p>Even if we forget entirely about how much this sucks compared to medical care in Canada—which admittedly has its own issues—the disparities in access to, and quality of, health care between classes here in the United States <em>should be appalling</em>.</p> <p>Dr. David Himmelstein of The Cambridge Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues, authored a paper in the <em>International Journal of Health Services</em> in 2004 on <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15088674">the inefficiencies in the American health care system</a>. One of the most potent conclusions is summarized in the abstract:</p> <blockquote><p>The United States <strong>wastes more on health care bureaucracy than it would cost to provide health care to all its uninsured</strong> … Only a single-payer national health insurance system could garner these massive administrative savings, allowing universal coverage without any increase in total health spending.</p></blockquote> <p>He also concludes that, in the US in 1999, “administrative spending consumed at least 31.0 percent of health spending… [i]n contrast, administrative costs in Canada… are about 16.7 percent of health spending.” I imagine some people are profiting from this spending.</p> <h2>Closing</h2> <p>I am a student, who, as a matter of circumstance (i.e. parents’ hard work) and fortune, have access to one of the top hospital systems in America. Not everyone is as fortunate. And it takes a bit of altruism to be able to stand up in a position like this and advocate on behalf of those who can’t.</p> <p>Experience has shown that a weak populace is easier to rule over. One wonders if the goal of weakening the populace, especially the poor, is the reason that America continues to fail at reforming health care.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1290</post-id> <georss:point>39.9482859 -75.2093179</georss:point> <geo:lat>39.9482859</geo:lat> <geo:long>-75.2093179</geo:long> </item> </channel> </rss>