The core operations of the Calculus are differentiation and integration. When I read the following I was torn between laughter and horror:

“What Middle and High School Mathematics Supports the Development of the Concepts of Calculus?”
“So what is Calculus? … Participants will deepen their own understandings of the mathematics behind Calculus and what Calculus actually is. (You don’t need to know what derivatives or integrals are, nor how to find these to participate in this workshop!!)”

The last sentence in quotes pushed my reaction to horror. How in the world are those who take these “workshops” going to understand “the mathematics behind Calculus” if they are ignorant of its basic operations?

‘“These are national standards and they are here to stay,” adds Fonzi, “and we have a chance to do it right.”‘ I sure hope they get it right, or at least better than it was before, if this is what they are going to force upon all of the students. It is a shame those in charge don’t often consider the merit of allowing schools to develop their own curriculum. If our education is so important, wouldn’t they want to try out as many different methods of instruction as possible so that we can actually then begin to find what may be the best curriculum?

Assuming that I want me and mine to succeed in the global economy and society, why do I want more successful competitors? Is it best for my children to excel at whatever they do against the local or global competition or is it better for them to simply be members of a successful group? In baseball terms, should they be .225 hitters on a pennant winner or .350 hitters on the second place team?

“Despite Focus on Data, Standards for Diploma May Still Lack Rigor – NYTimes.com” ( http://nyti.ms/zthU9o )

I had a client, a labor union, that for a few decades had a portfolio that funded their Blue Cross bills. Had they not stopped funding the account for a rainy day, they might have escaped the relentless day of reckoning of rising insurance premiums. In any event, they liquidated everything, squandering it all, a million in the last four months.

They forgot what they started out to do, which was different from the idea that someone else would take care of their responsibilities when a rainy day came.

To their credit, they were willing not to invest in short-term CD’s of savings and loans, the prevailing theory of labor union economics, and actually bought equity in good companies, while hedging their bets with bonds. This success was their downfall, because for twenty years they stopped adding money, which in retrospect should have been at least half the income or the same amount in new money.

Who has calculated the unfunded benefits due by contract to everyone? I guess the Chrysler and GM employees have some idea.