What's Your 'True Calling?'

Ravitch: Why Finland’s schools are great (by doing what we don’t)

What makes the Finnish school system so amazing is that Finnish students never take a standardized test until their last year of high school, when they take a matriculation examination for college admission.

Their own teachers design their tests, so teachers know how their students are doing and what they need. There is a national curriculum — broad guidelines to assure that all students have a full education — but it is not prescriptive. Teachers have extensive responsibility for designing curriculum and pedagogy in their school. They have a large degree of autonomy, because they are professionals.

Admission to teacher education programs at the end of high school is highly competitive; only one in 10 — or even fewer — qualify for teacher preparation programs. All Finnish teachers spend five years in a rigorous program of study, research, and practice, and all of them finish with a masters’ degree. Teachers are prepared for all eventualities, including students with disabilities, students with language difficulties, and students with other kinds of learning issues.

Million Man March, Farrakhan Forgotten At MLK Dedication

Many around the world watched with great pride as President Obama spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication. Black civil rights, political, and entertainment royalty were present, surrounded by thousands of people who wanted to be close to the tribute on the National Mall for a non-president.

Everyone from Rev. Al Sharpton and members of the Congressional Black Caucus to Nikki Giovanni and Aretha Franklin were there as presenters and participants alike. References were made to all forms of black resistance and struggle, providing the audience with a picture of the movements that shifted the country and the world to change. That is all but one movement and its leader.

Left out of the MLK Memorial celebration by every speaker was the fact that it was the 16th anniversary of the Million Man March. And Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam and the march's charismatic and often chastised convener, was no where to be found in Washington DC.

The Next Great Migration? Black Chicagoans Return To The South

As the economy stays stagnant, many African Americans are leaving northern cities and returning to their more rural, southern roots.

Chicago's Great Migration: Blacks Leaving Historic Neighborhoods To Return South

Former magnets for black migrants, including Illinois, Michigan, New York and California, all have had black population declines. Atlanta has even overtaken Chicago as the city with the second-largest black population behind New York City. The black population in Atlanta has grown in the past decade by 473,493. In Dallas it grew by 233,890, and in Houston by 214,928 over the same period. Today, 57 percent of the country's black population lives in the South, a 50-year high, according to the most recent census data.

"There are places like Harlem that no longer have majority black populations because many of the black folks who have lived there for the last 50 or so years have decided to cash in, and they are going to live somewhere more affordable, places that don't come with the urban baggage that maybe we didn't ever want but put up with because this was our best chance at a solid economic future," said Khalil Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the New York Public Library and renowned for its collections of historic artifacts. "Those people are going to places that look just the way they want them to look. They are not going to be shackled by a political nationalism or the segregation of the past."

Video Of Toddler Being Hit By Van And Ignored Sparks Outrage

BEIJING — A video showing a toddler being struck twice by vans and then ignored by passers-by is sparking outrage in China and prompting soul-searching over why people didn’t help the child.


The 2-year-old girl, identified as Wang Yue, is in a coma in critical condition in the Guangzhou Military District General Hospital following Thursday’s accident, state media reported Tuesday. The Guangzhou Daily quoted the hospital’s head of neurosurgery as saying the girl is likely to remain in a vegetative state if she survives.

Loss Of A Hero! Tuskegee Airman Dies In Tucson At 90-Years-Old

Retired Lt. Col. Luke J. Weathers Jr., a member of World War II’s legendary Tuskegee Airmen died in Tucson at age 90. He will be buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.


Choose Wisely In Your Career Choice!
Create Your Own Business Choice To Serve Your Neighbors and Community!

Let's face facts: The economy sucks!  Year 2011 has become a nightmare for so many individuals who are seeking employment, have lost their jobs, and as a result of this despicable trend of employers not wanting to hire more people at their place of business is downright shameful!  But then again, who is really to blame for this crisis?

While many of you are still figuring out whom to blame for our present economic condition, I urge all of you who are contemplating on a career choice to delve into, the following career choices that I believe will catapult your horizons by increasing your chances of getting hired, especially since a few of my suggestions are not palatable to some, or create for yourself, may prove to be beneficial in the long run.

What's Your 'True Calling?'

Take Advantage of "Who You Really Are" in Life!
Your parents want you to become a doctor.  You, on the other hand, want to sing and dance on Broadway.  Ahhh, decisions, decisions. 

Well, the truth of the matter is that not everyone can become a doctor or dentist, and love it!

Much can be said about other careers that parents would rather see their child pursue in life, and to the parents dismay, these adult children are much happier than ever before doing what they know is best for them, and not the other way around!

However, let us not forget that those 20th Century days and ways of decision-making choosing to “do their thing,” or engaging in a career that “makes them happy” are basically OVER! 

Postage prices go up ... again

Snail mail is about to get a little more expensive.

The price of a first class stamp is going up by one cent starting next year, the United States Postal Service said Tuesday.