Can Poverty Be Cured?

Percent poverty world map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think it can. And the cure is within reach. We already have the know how.

A poverty cured world is one without hunger, because the world already produces enough food, but will now also learn to distribute. It is a world where 5% of the people are taken care of in terms of their basic needs, just because. 100% employment is actually bad. You need some churn in the economy. Another 2% might not even be in a position to work, and they are taken care of. And there is willful employment for the other 93%. Everyone has internet access through their cheap smartphone. The Internet is in the air.

Basic food, basic shelter, basic clothing, internet in the air, basic education, basic health. The costs are not that high. But it is we that are so disorganized. And the Internet itself can be that organizing tool, the best there can be.

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Online Learning

This is tremendous news, although I don't understand why elementary and secondary education is not the primary focus of these online education disruptors.

The global implications of free online college courses are enormous.

Lifelong education for everybody everywhere with people moving at their own paces on their own schedules is the goal. The term high school dropout or college dropout is weird. Unless your internet access has been taken away by the unknown you can not drop out. It is not possible.

Beam online education to the inner cities. This disrupts the whole voucher debate in politics.

Online Learning and Upheavals in Social Networks

For all the attention lavished on the Web’s growth on mobile devices this year, one of the most interesting Internet trends is still best experienced on a desktop computer: online education.

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Just Say No

Fred Wilson has an interesting guest blog post up.

MBA Mondays: Guest Post From Angela Baldonero

the biggest shift that we made was when we decided to stop trying to be like every other company and to instead actively resist changes that would not make sense for us. We started saying no, regularly and forcefully, to policies, systems and procedures that many companies adopt as they grow..... We don’t tolerate brilliant assholes. ...... we have unlimited vacation and sick time. We have a common sense expense reimbursement philosophy (“spend the money as if it was your own”). ..... we value transparency which means we share the good, the bad and the ugly openly (and often). Our commitment to transparency was dramatically tested when we decided to spin off part of the business and needed to decide if we should alert staff ahead of a formal sale. We did what most companies wouldn’t – we told the staff ..... I’ve seen too many executive teams where personal relationships and politics are the real business drivers behind-the-scenes. Business is done over cocktails, after hours and not in broad daylight. Personal agendas trump team goals. People smile and nod politely in meetings, then leave the meeting and corner the CEO to say what they “really think.” ..... set your people free to focus on important, high impact work and solve challenging business problems

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Bill Gates On Education: Making Sense

Image via CrunchBaseBill Gates: The Washington Post: How teacher development could revolutionize our schools

Over the past four decades, the per-student cost of running our K-12 schools has more than doubled, while our student achievement has remained virtually flat. Meanwhile, other countries have raced ahead. ...... For more than 30 years, spending has risen while performance stayed relatively flat. Now we need to raise performance without spending a lot more. ....... When you need more achievement for less money, you have to change the way you spend. ....... the single most decisive factor in student achievement is excellent teaching. It is astonishing what great teachers can do for their students. ...... we do very little to measure, develop and reward excellent teaching ....... The value of measuring effectiveness is clear when you compare teachers to members of other professions - farmers, engineers, computer programmers, even athletes. These professionals are more advanced than their predecessors - because they have clear indicators of excellence, their success depends on performance and they eagerly learn from the best. ....... t. The United States spends $50 billion a year on automatic salary increases based on teacher seniority. It's reasonable to suppose that teachers who have served longer are more effective, but the evidence says that's not true. ....... Perhaps the most expensive assumption embedded in school budgets - and one of the most unchallenged - is the view that reducing class size is the best way to improve student achievement. ...... get more students in front of top teachers by identifying the top 25 percent of teachers and asking them to take on four or five more students. Part of the savings could then be used to give the top teachers a raise. ..... 83 percent of teachers said they would be happy to teach more students for more pay

Education Is Media, Action Is Thought

Watch live streaming video from paleycenter at livestream.com

(Source: AVC)

In this video that I first came across here, and then the money quote - like Fred Wilson might put it - that I came across here first, Fred Wilson says Education is media.

Cure For The Common Cold, Aka The Great Recession

Randi For Reshma

Dear Paramendra,

My name is Randi Zuckerberg. I was born and raised in New York, attended school in New York City, and currently lead political, media, and non-profit initiatives for Facebook. Like you, I'm very excited that Reshma, at age 35, can become the youngest woman in the House of Representatives.

Reshma truly embodies the qualities of a candidate for this generation: young, energetic, whip smart, and compassionate. I've been very impressed with Reshma's smart use of social media, fully integrated into her campaign. Reshma listens to her constituents, empowers her supporters to help spread key messages, and uses Facebook and other powerful tools to include everyone in the political process.

No matter where you live, supporting candidates like Reshma is important to all of us. Please help to spread Reshma's message to everyone you know!

How can you help?

1) Connect with Reshma on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/reshma2010 by clicking on the "like" button

2) Once you "like" Reshma's Page, click "suggest to friends" link under Reshma's photo and invite your friends to support Reshma as well.

3) Update your status on Facebook with a link to Reshma's Page by typing @Reshma and choosing Reshma's Page in the drop down menu that pops up. (very cool feature that not too many people know about!)

4) Make a contribution to ensure that Reshma's campaign keeps gaining momentum! Every donor counts, no matter how big or small.

5) Sign up to petition and help get Reshma on the ballot!

6) Be responsible for getting five people you know in New York registered to vote and out to the polls on September 14th.  

Thanks so much for your support -- I could not be more excited to support such a smart, talented, accomplished woman on her journey to Congress. We'll see you on Facebook now, and in Washington soon after!

Best,
Randi

P.S. Please read Reshma's smart op-ed in The Huffington Post today about education: "Don't Just Reform Our Schools...Transform Them"

Support the campaign by making a contribution and volunteering.
Signup for email updates at reshma2010.com, or stop receiving email updates here.
You can also follow @reshma2010 on Twitter or Facebook.

Reshma Saujani: Don't Just Reform Our Schools .... Transform Them (The Huffington Post)

..... performance-based teacher evaluations and expanding the cap on charter schools ...... New York's children lost out on the first opportunity to secure $700 million in essential educational funding. ....... We are on the verge of graduating the first generation of Americans that will be less literate than the one before it. ...... we need to move past 20th century battles and get serious about 21st century transformation. ...... I wouldn't be running for Congress if my public school teachers didn't let me stand on their shoulders and see the world. ....... . In New York City, teachers are given lifetime tenure after only three years of teaching and layoff decisions are made on the basis on tenure, not performance. ...... I propose creating a Teachers to the Top program to provide Race to the Top grantees with supplemental teacher training in data management, performance tracking, and technology. In addition, we must re-balance our evaluation system from a high-stakes "testocracy" to one that more holistically measures student growth and performance. ...... Another myth is that reform is about charters schools versus traditional schools. ...... Charter schools are publically funded institutions that are privately operated, with stricter data-driven accountability and usually a non-unionized environment. ..... I propose creating RAISE, or the Readying all Instructors and Schools Exchange, an online platform facilitated by the Department of Education to promote collaboration and best practice sharing of successful instructional and school management strategies among all schools. ...... 21st century skills, such as technological fluency, financial literacy, and foreign language training. ....... ensure that every child participates in arts, music, and physical education classes and has access to healthy meals and after-school programs. ..... an era when new industries can emerge, evolve, and dissolve in one lifetime, learning cannot stop at high school - or even college. We must re-conceptualize workforce transition and continuing studies education. .......

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