Real Education

I just read Charles Murray's book Real Education. His main point is that too many students attend college who shouldn't be. They aren't prepared, nor are they particularly interested in attending. So why are they there? Because we live in a society in which going to college is expected of everyone. Murray argues that our culture looks negatively upon people who do not earn degrees, so this leads to poor decision-making for a huge group of people who would be much happier and successful in other fields, particularly the trades. High schools need to do a much better job in encouraging a wider range of fields for students to enter. It's true that college is overemphasized at the expense of careers that are more suitable and worthy for a great many students, but first we'll have to remove the stigma associated with not having a college degree.

The Horror of Columbine

I just finished reading David Cullen's book, Columbine. I remember the event so clearly; seniors were in Florida, and when they got back the next day, it's all anyone wanted to talk about. What I found fascinating is that so many of the myths surrounding that tragic day have been perpetuated for so long; Cassie never said a word to the killers; the killers were not picked on, nor were they obsessed with video games or Marilyn Manson's music; it wasn't a mass school shooting, but rather a failed school bombing. They were just evil, mentally ill, narcissistic and depressed.

The parents weren't oblivious to their sons problems. Unfortunately, when a perfect storm of events takes place, there's little that anyone can do. The killers were determined to blow up their school, and they failed. What's amazing is that given the ammo they possessed, fatalities were incredibly low. I hope the victims and the community take some solace in knowing that as the assassins were destroying lives, they knew they failed.