Attack on education is hard to figure

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 12 April 2011 17:06

Make no mistake about it, education is under attack. It is happening at the local, state and national levels. And, those who are mounting assaults on the public school system are coming from several angles.

The most obvious and effective attempts to undermine our children’s right to the best possible education are centered on money.

When I first became a teacher back in the late 1980s, administrators were concerned about how dwindling student numbers were going to affect the smaller, poorer school districts. We heard about the belt tightening that would need to take place.

At the time, the outlook seemed gloomy. But the state legislature and governor were still interested in adequately funding Kansas school districts. We saw a...

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What makes mad can make us glad

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 08 March 2011 14:43

I’m getting tired of being angry all the time. I feel a need to listen to the news and read the newspaper daily, but what I hear and see just upsets me. For example:

I am angry because burgers at McDonald’s are now made of a third of a pound of Angus and have bacon on them, and I am about to turn 52, and I shouldn’t even think about eating one of those monsters.

I’m angry that nobody is talking about eliminating sales tax breaks for businesses that buy equipment in Kansas. That money would virtually solve all our cash-flow problems in the state. Instead, education is about to take another major budget hit.

I’m angry that 2D became 3D as soon as I bought my HDTV. I’m angry that there are so many Ds to deal with on a daily...

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So many questions, so few answers

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 08 February 2011 15:39

Questions. Questions. Questions.

Did anyone else find the reactions of the two people sitting behind President Obama more interesting than the speech itself? Was it irony or coincidence that the vice president was sitting to the president’s right and the speaker of the house was sitting to his left? How long would the speech have actually been without the interruptions for applause?

What the heck does the phrase “winning the future” mean exactly? Since when are we in competition with the future? Or is it for the future?

Where do college athletes get the money for all those tattoos? How much would it cost to adorn one’s body as heavily as those belonging to the Morris twins, who play for Kansas?

How about that Jordy Nelson...

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New movies that shouldn’t be made

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 11 January 2011 17:14

The holiday season that just concluded presented an opportunity for filmmakers to roll out their best and most creative movies in hopes of catching consumers in festive moods just itching to spend their entertainment dollars. And the attention of the movie dudes who give out the Oscars.

But, at the start of a new year, the quality generally goes down. Lots of really bad shows hit the silver screen. I am nothing if not helpful. So, here are some utterly fictitious and entirely ridiculous ideas I would like to pitch to Hollywood executives searching for the next great cinematic triumph.

Don’t look for these flicks at a theater near you any time soon.

“Brownback Mountain.” A newly installed governor tries to scale the mound of...

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