 | ||
 | Obama tries to sell Dems on budget | |
| What Obama said and what he meant | |
| Tammy Haddad at the White House | |
| W.H. allies target moderate Dems | |
| How did Obama do? | |
| The Big Takeover | |
| Change Iran Can Believe In? | |
| Specter Trails In Second PA Senate Poll | |
| Geithner Goes Global? | |
| Silver Lining in Golden State? |
| Islamic States Push to Criminalize 'Defamation of Islam' | |
| A Lack of Reality About Women From Obama | |
| Obama's "Investment" Strategy | |
| Obama, Mr. Populist? | |
| Obama's Just Not That Into You |
March 25, 2009
Government's Brain Deficits
By Maggie GallagherDaniel T. Willingham, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Virginia, about why kids don't like school:
"Contrary to popular belief, the brain is not designed for thinking. It's designed to save you from having to think, because the brain is actually not very good at thinking," the good professor writes in the journal American Educator. "Thinking is slow and unreliable. Nevertheless people enjoy mental work if it is successful. People like to solve problems, but not to work on unsolvable problems."
Gee, this explains a lot about Washington, D.C., doesn't it? The Obama administration? Why President Obama's approval ratings have suddenly tanked in the latest Zogby and Rasmussen polls. And why Barney Frank just won't shut up about the number of things he thinks he should be in charge of.
In the real world, we have things called "reality checks." When the president of a successful company makes bad decisions, he gets fired. His company goes bankrupt. He loses his stock options.
In Washington, there are no reality checks, only taxpayer checks that the government believes will never bounce.
Only government bails out the bonuses of executives who run their company into the ground, then expects applause for trying to get the money back. Only government would buy a failing car company (or two!) in order to funnel taxpayer money to labor unions that voted for certain government officials who shall remain nameless (OK: President Obama). Only Barney Frank would think that the moment he's got Tim Geithner in front of his banking committee would be a good time to announce on national television he thinks the government should control compensation for ALL executives, not just those who accept bailout funds.
Only in Washington, D.C., can a guy who's made as many mistakes as Barney Frank not only keep his seat, but appear unabashedly as if the whole thing was somebody else's fault and he's the guy who is going to fix it.
"People are naturally curious, but they are not naturally good thinkers," professor Willingham again explains. "Unless the cognitive conditions are right, people will avoid thinking."
And not just in Washington. Consider one small education story in New York. Only in government would you find executives threatening to put one of their most successful companies out of business -- because some paperwork conditions have not been met. Bronx Preparatory Charter School is a shining city on the hill in terms of New York City public schools. The percentage of middle-schoolers who meet state requirements in math and reading is 22 points higher than the district average, according to the New York Post. So what's the problem? Some of the great teachers producing these great results with poor kids are not properly "certified."
Even Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute had trouble justifying the policy, since studies have shown only a weak correlation at best between teacher quality and paper credentials called "certification": "Certification in and of itself doesn't explain a whole lot about teacher effectiveness."
Formal rules designed to benefit labor unions are more important than actually educating kids in some of the most difficult terrain on Earth? The people who think that way about certification should be certifiable.
According to The Washington Post, "The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds."
Only people in government would conclude that now is the moment in history to give Tim Geithner the unilateral power to seize vast new economic territory.
Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
