To Teach or Not to Teach

As the summer begins to wan, the start of school is starting to come into focus. Many are wondering if school is going to start and whether or not classrooms will be real or virtual. Based on what one reads and sees in the media it appears that for most locations, it will virtual. This raises the question of quality. How good will the instructions be without the backdrop of a brick and mortar schoolhouse? Does the learning environment suffer without the face to face instruction provided at school? When teaching from home, do teachers have the resources they need to fully engage their students?

I think a compromise can be reached. Have the teachers instruct from school, while the students stay at home. Outlined below are some ideas on why this should be done and ideas on how to make it work.

How Does This Happen?

Today 17 kids were killed in a mass shooting in Florida. Most of the people killed haven't even been identified and the political rhetoric heated up, as it always does in these horribly tragic moments.

Invariably, calls for more restrictive gun ownership rules could be heard. Those calls ran the gamut from tighter background checks to outright ban on gun ownership. Also, those on this side of the argument tend to believe (or SAY they believe) there is a straight line connection from freedom of gun ownership to events such as Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, and Florida. To those who support the 2nd Amendment these ideas are nothing less than infringing on constitutional guaranteed rights.

Also invariably, those who support gun ownership and the 2nd Amendment push back against those ideas and suggestions. To nearly all on this side, the Constitution is the final day on this matter. There is no equivocation. To those who support tighter rules or even outright bans, this push back and philosophy is completely heartless.

The arguments for and against, in each givers eyes, are valid. Especially in times of such grave tragedy.

The solutions are perplexing and not easily attainable.

Costco Offers Interviews to Sate Workers

Earlier this week Washington State actually held some elections that had importance. One of the more controversial measures on the ballot was Initiative 1183, which if approved, would remove the state from the liquor business.

The Initiative was backed with some serious money ($22+ million) from Costco which hopes to begin sales of hard alcohol next May.

One of the unintended consequences of this initiative was the elimination of more than 900 state employee jobs which were used to staff and run the state-run liquor stores and distribution services.

Costco has offered to step up (sort of) and offer state employees who lose their jobs the chance to interview for positions within Costco.

Costco Wholesale said it will offer any displaced state liquor store worker the opportunity to apply for a job at the chain, and, “We will make sure that they get an interview,” chief legal officer Joel Benoliel said Thursday.

“There is obviously no guarantee of a job, but anyone who would like to work at Costco will have the advantage of being interviewed. We will be working on a procedure to make happen between now and June when the transition will happen,” he said.

Benoliel also noted that workers who want to keep their affiliation with their union, which also represents grocery-store workers, might be better off seeking work elsewhere; Costco in nonunion. (Source: Seattle Times)