Tag Archives: education

Politics

In The Know with Oklahoma Policy Institute: 4/27/2012

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Number of the Week

1st

Oklahoma’s rank nationally for the share of female residents reporting that they have been raped, physically abused, or stalked by an intimate partner in their lifetime; 697,000 women in 2010.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Quote of the Week

They have been continuing to decrease the percentage of the state’s overall budget for years and years while there has been a steady increase in student population and costs have increased.  What if your budget at home had stayed the same over the last five years?

Lynn Stockley, Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association President, on several rounds of cuts to the common education budget

Chart of the Week

OK Policy Note

Who’s behind the assault on income tax?

Earlier this month, rival events on the income tax debate presented an illuminating contrast. OK Policy’s forum featured economists from Oklahoma public and private universities, as well as economic development experts from the state Department of Commerce and the OKC, Tulsa, and State Chambers of Commerce. These experts from across Oklahoma’s academic and business community shared the message that eliminating the income tax would not live up to the promises of tax cut boosters and could be a disaster for the state.  At the same time, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) brought speakers from outside of Oklahoma to push for tax cuts. {click here to continue reading this post}

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Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Losing our Dependence

Energy independence, or at least the lessening of our dependence on foreign oil, is something every presidential administration in my memory has talked about. In that time, the U.S. has fought a couple of wars in the Middle East while watching the price of fuel sky rocket. Still, our use of foreign oil continues to grow.

But thanks to new technology, we may be closer to breaking the grip of foreign oil addiction. Under American soil are vast reserves of clean burning natural gas. In fact, global energy leaders estimate that this country now has twice the energy reserves of Saudi Arabia. The question now is how do we convert our energy needs to this domestic fuel?

In this week’s video blog, we’ll look at work underway in Oklahoma to establish the infrastructure to use natural gas in our cars.
Rob McClendon

 

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: CSI Science Class

When I was in high school, science class was always fun. We would spend our time looking through microscopes and growing mold on bread. And let’s not forget the cool frog and cow heart dissections. Those were definitely fun memories. However, the things I learned in my science classes do not hold a candle to the students we introduce you to in this week’s video blog.

The students in the Biotech program at Southern Oklahoma Technology Center are learning in-depth science techniques that will catapult them into the field of bioscience. From DNA testing to growing cultures, these up and coming scientists are on their way to becoming the best in the industry.

~Andy Barth

 

On the Horizon: CSI Science Class from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Oklahoma Horizon TV

On the Horizon: Green Learning

The green energy push has been around now for several years. It seems as though more and more people are moving toward a greener way of living. From individual wind turbines to household solar panels, people are making a conscious effort to help conserve our planet.

Students attending Metro Tech Career Academy in Oklahoma City are getting a firsthand education at what it is like to live green. They recycle, have energy saving lights, and oh yeah, their entire building is made from green materials. In this video blog we take you on a tour of this year-old campus and show you what it is like to live green.

Andy Barth

 

On the Horizon: Green Learning from Alisa Hines on Vimeo.

Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Some Days Words Are Enough

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This snowfall in 2011 has really wreaked some havoc on my daily schedule, but in keeping with my Ranch Hand Guide for 2011, I’m just going with the flow.  I took advantage of a snow day last week by cleaning and reorganizing my craft closet.  This of course, affected other closets in my home, but I found some words that made me smile.

By “cleaning” I mean I dumped items out onto the floor and separated them into one of three piles: estate sale, burn pile, and trash.  If I could justify keeping it, I put it in a container and moved on.  Eventually, I made my way upstairs and started going through my folder from all of my years of teaching.  I took a little time to reorganize my work history, and then I opened a file folder that I had named “Love Letters.”

I remember making that folder.

Love Letters File Folder
This folder holds the motivation for getting me through one more day.

This folder holds my motivation for going to work every day.  I am a teacher.  We are up against scrutiny from every direction, but every once in a while we make a difference.  Even less often, someone thanks us for it.  Even less often than that, someone actually writes a note expressing his or her gratitude.  Those notes from parents and students written to me expressing some kind of thanks for something I did for them are in that folder.

I read every one.

The topics of the notes had nothing to do with the subject I taught at the time.  Parents wrote about getting their kids through “a difficult” year; students wrote about getting them through “a difficult” year.  Neither group mentioned a noun, verb, or essay.

I needed to be reminded of that.

Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: Some Days Words Are Enough →