The Bowtie Professor » Politics And Education

Awards And Promotions

The Bowtie Professor — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:50:28 +0000

Do not be impressed with the proliferation of individuals who acquire awards or promotions, because in many cases, neither you nor I really know what that particular person or persons did to obtain those awards or promotions. For example, Jane works diligently on her job. She is always the work on time and she goes the extra mile to be sure everything is done correctly. Jane is also a very good team player. However, Susan is just the opposite. She constantly comes to work late, and she regularly whines and complains about the workload she has. Susan, is a very slender young women with red hair and blue eyes, and she is a knockout dresser. Jane on the other hand, is not so attractive. She is much older, and a little chubby with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. Well, a few months ago the company called a meeting to announce that Susan had obtained both an award and promotion for her outstanding job performance. Now was it fair for Susan to get the promotion? Quite naturally it wasn’t. Jane was really the one who should have gotten it. However, since Jane was not young and pretty, and was not sleeping with the boss, he was overlooked. This happens a great deal on many jobs and careers. Individuals getting awards and promotions for some other reason than excellent job performance or abilities. Let it be understood however, that I am not implying that nice looking women only get promotions on their jobs or careers, just because they sleep with their bosses, because this simply would not be true. There are some nice looking women who acquire job promotions merely because of their abilities and talents, and for no other reason. Over the years some whites have argued that many blacks and other minorities get jobs just based on their race, and, not because they are truly qualified. I would argue that historically it was the other way around, meaning whites acquired jobs strictly because of their white skin. However, nowadays I think individuals mostly get jobs on their qualifications, due to the changes of time in the America. Just having white skin just cannot get one over like it use to in the older days. One has to be white with credentials. However, I still believe that good looking people have an edge over those who are not so good looking, when it comes to the job market. The point that I am making here is, when individuals or groups get awards or promotions, that they may or may not deserve, always remember that awards and promotions are like hemorrhoids. Every butt hole gets one every now and them.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Generation Y: The Millennial Crowd

The Bowtie Professor — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:42:55 +0000

Generation Y, are wizards when it comes to technology, but many of them are very weak when its comes to thinking critically and analytically. It appears that outside of some type of electronic or technological device, Generation Y, or the millennial crowd, seem to be brain dead. One can notice them most of the time, walking around playing with some type of electronic device, while being oblivious to their surroundings. Even in many college classrooms, it is very difficult to get the millennial crowd to read the class materials. Most in this group, simply do not like to read anything past a text message on a phone. Below are some characteristics of Generation Y:

(a) They see themselves as victims and have the tendency to blame others for their shortcomings or mistakes;

(b) They do not want to accept or take responsibilities for their own actions;

(d) Several of them have bad attitudes and they act if the world owes them something;

(e) Most of them are usually overweight and they do not appear to be clean, with their clothes sagging and tattoos all over their bodies.

(f) I also have noticed that many of the young girls or women in the millennial crowd, walk around acting like they are so cute, when really they are just the opposite;

(g) Finally, the thing that gets me the most about Generation Y, is that they have been lied to by high school counselors, parents, and others, including a few professors, into believing that they are intellectuals giants, when really they are either intellectual midgets or not intellectual at all.

Generation Y thinks that having a 4.0, grade point average is all that is required of them, not realizing that professors and others know that G.P.A.’s are sometimes overrated. Character and other factors also come into play as well. Remember some of the world’s most notorious serial killers were very smart and had high grade point averages. Nevertheless, there are a small group in the millennial crowd who do not fall within the characteristics outlined above, and these are the ones who will go far in life, and, as a professor I can truly say they are very easy to work with.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Not Wise To Become A Teacher

The Bowtie Professor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:29:57 +0000

In our present day and time, I do not believe that becoming a teacher is a wise decision, for the following reasons:

(a) As a teacher one will not be able to use his or her gift of teaching, due to the fact that he or she is going to be bogged down with a lot of paper-work, as well as spending a great deal of time in meetings;

(b) Our society as a whole does not respect teachers, and this can be seem in the salaries they make;

(c) Due to attending so many meetings and doing a great deal of paper-work, being able to actually teach will be very limited and when one does teach, he or she will spend a lot of time preparing students to pass the state exam. Therefore, many teachers are teaching to the test;

(d) There is not any classroom civility in many schools today, especially in large metropolitan areas, where the kids are practically raising themselves. Students curse teachers out and even threaten some of them and they sometimes even vandalize their vehicles, and what is so bad about it is, parents either condone or make excuses for their actions;

(e) Administrators and school boards make hasty decisionswithout teacher input, such as cutting programs and closing down schools abruptly;

(f) Everybody and their mother think that they can tell a teacher how to teach, but yet such individuals themselves have no teaching experience and school administrators are more willing to take their view over the teacher’s perspective;

This analysis may sound both negative and pessimistic, but young college students who are inspiring to become teachers, should consider the above factors before going into this profession. If teaching is one’s passion, he or she may want to consider the professorship.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Educational Politics: Is A College Degree A Scam?

The Bowtie Professor — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:01:09 +0000

It should be a federal law that institutions of higher learning must find jobs for their graduates in their respectable disciplines. It is a shame that students spend all of their money as well as tax payers fundings, to attend these institutions but still cannot find work. These colleges and universities are making millions of dollars off of these students and when they graduate, many of them cannot find decent work within their respectable fields. Which causes me to raise the question, ” is a college degree a scam ” ? If colleges and universities do not find work for their graduates, then I believe that a college degree is not too far from being a scam. Students take out several loans in order to acquire an education, and when they graduate several of them are unemployed, or they have mediocre jobs that they did not go to school to be trained for. Many of the core curriculum classes have nothing to do with the professions that most of these students are going into, but instead, are in the curriculum just to make money off of students. Believe me, I should know, since I hold five degrees. Let’s think about it for a moment, if we are so serious about education in America like we pretend, why are educators paid peanut salaries from pre-K, up to the college level? Also, what about the proliferation of online schools and classes popping up all across this country? Who is on the other side of the computer? Who cares? As long as we can make a profit. A great deal of these online educational institutions, are nothing but diploma mills. The point that I am making here is that education in the U.S., is more about making money than about individuals truly being educated and productive individuals in our society. It is all about the money. We tell individuals to go to college and acquire an education, then we turn around and give individuals who constantly have illegitimate children, free houses and food stamps, who make no effort to get an education, and thus, undermine those who work hard to get their college education. What a scam. Is getting a college education really worth it today, or is it a waste of time? Some will argue that a degree is still valuable, while others will argue that it is not. I will let you be the judge.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

They Are Not In The Classroom

The Bowtie Professor — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:35:12 +0000

Some administers, at two-year colleges, have a romanticized perception of students. They constantly make excuses for many of these students, who from the get go, should not be in college in the first place. Several of these administers, along with many elected officials have pompous ideas about what is suppose to take place in the classroom. Even though they themselves have either very limited or no teaching experience at all, and if so, they have never taught a hardcore subject such a psychology, history, political science or government, mathematics, or any other core curriculum requirements. Yet, they think that they are authorities on what needs to be taught in the classroom environment. This to me, is the number one problem with America’s educational system, from K-12,up to the college level. We have too many unqualified and non-educators setting the agenda for educators who do not know what the hell they are doing or talking about. One would not have a plumber setting the curriculum for medical doctors, or a school teacher setting the agenda for pharmacists. Yet, everybody and their mother are setting the techniques and strategies for those of us within the educational system. This should not be. However, the reasons for America’s educational system operating this way is because of the followings:

(a) There is a notion in our culture that anyone can teach, which is not true. Teaching is a gift like anything else:

(b) Many people believe that educators teach general knowledge material that everyone already knows and therefore, does not require any serious expertise:

(d) America as a nation pretends she values education and she really does not. America lets us know how much she values something by placing a price tag on it. For example, America values sports and we know she does, because there are very high price tags on athletes and coaches. What does America pay her teachers or professors?

(e) Finally, many believe that teaching as a profession, is really an easy laid-back job which does not cause a great deal of stress, when in reality it is just the opposite.

Administrators, elected officials, parents, and the general public, are not in the classroom, and therefore, need to sit down somewhere and be quiet, because the educational system in the U.S., has gone through a serious transformation that many of these individuals and groups do not truly understand.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Rate My Students.com

The Bowtie Professor — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:47:36 +0000

Rate My Professors.com, is a site in which students give their opinions concerning the performance of their professors. One complain that students regularly make is that, professors do not go over or cover the chapters. Well first of all, I wonder how students could tell whether or not professors are going over the chapters, because most of them do not even bother to read the course syllabus, less more read the chapters. I know this to be true, because many of my colleagues and I complaint how students constantly harass us about such things as, which chapters will the test cover or how many exams will there be this semester? Approximately 95% of the questions that students ask their instructors, the answers are already in the course syllabus. The educational system in the U.S., has been dumbed down, due to the fact that high school counselors, parents, and others, have made many students to believe, that they are intellectual giants, when really they are intellectual midgets. Being able to work on computers, and use all types of technology, does not make one smart or a genius. It just makes one a technological drone. Technological drones usually lack analytical and critical thinking skills. If one were to take away all the technological gadgets from most students today, and ask them a simple question such as ” what is your philosophy of education? ” They would either stare out in space or look at you like you were crazy. Why? It is very simple, they lack critical and analytical skills, and cannot think outside some type of electronic device. What we as professors need, is something like Rate My Students.com., so that we can have a public network, to discuss the performance of our students. Such as coming to class unprepared, neither reading the course syllabus nor the assigned chapters in the text, and no scan-trons, pencils or pens on examination day. Also, some of them are usually playing with technological devices in the back of the classroom, while the professor is giving a power-point presentation, and when the instructor asks them questions about the assigned materials that they supposed to have read, they can’t tell the instructor anything, or they just flat out admit, that they did not read the materials. I thought that this was just a community or junior college thing, but a few of my colleagues who teach at large universities, claim to experience the same thing, but, not on such a large scale, as we do at the two-year institutions. Finally, too many of the two-year colleges in large metropolitan areas, are becoming more and more ghetto, due to the fact that we have open door policies and that we are trying to teach individuals who have had no parental guidance. Several students missed their basic skills, somewhere along the line between k-12. Therefore, we are trying to teaching individuals who have 5th and 6th grade reading levels, which exacerbates the problem when they possess negative attitudes. I have only given a few examples what many professors face, at several of the two-years institutions, across the U.S. . However, let it be understood that the community and junior colleges, also have a great deal of good students, who transfer to universities, after completing their basics at the two-years colleges, and become very successful in their fields of study, as well as gaining employment in their respectful disciplines. Rate My Students.com, would be great for professors, so that we can give our views concerning students.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

The Redundancy Of Life

The Bowtie Professor — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:12:39 +0000

Life at times can be a bore, especially if one constantly gets in the habit of doing the same thing over and over again. Life seems to go on an endless round of empty repetition. What happens after one acquires the college education, the big house, nice cars, and the expensive wardrobe? If one tries to find satisfaction and fulfillment in the physical appetites and pleasures of this world, he or she is doomed to suffer failure and disappointment. Think about individuals who possessed all the materialistic things that money could buy, such as the late Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe. Such individuals, looked for happiness in the wrong places and in the end, they found out that happiness did not come from sensual gratification and material wealth. The redundancy of life causes one to raise the questions, ” who am I, and what is my purpose in life? Why am I here? ” Such thoughts will cause one to question his or her existence, which usually leads to the giver of life, who is the Creator. When one recognizes that there is a life giver, then he or she will understand, that life itself must be lived on another plane, and not in the empty and meaningless existence of the day to day activities of redundancy. When an individual considers that life is a precious gift from the Creator, it brings meaning to his or her existence, because the popular materialistic view of life, over time will cause one to feel empty and become disenchanted and dissatisfied. This always appears to be the case, when one pursues materialistic wealth and worldly pleasures as a means to an end. Now for those who deny that there is no Creator or God, their lives will be doomed in the other dimension, known as eternity. If there is no God, then human existence is meaningless. If there is no God, why do the birds sing? If there is no God, why do the young loins roar? If there is no God, why does the spider shoots its web? If there is no God, why do the flowers blossom? If there is no God, why is man the most advance creature on planet earth, who has been gifted with a highly developed brain, which can engage in thought, reasoning, and understanding? It is amazing to me, how an individual can see a car and says it has a car-maker, a building, and recognizes, that it has a builder, a watch and says it has a watch-maker, but when it comes to the creation, it does not have a Creator. This universe could not have come into existence without a Creator, anymore than the alphabet could produce a book by itself without an author. The redundancy of life has meaning, when one realizes that he or she has been created, as apart of a master plan by the life giver, for His glory and purpose.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Politics: What Are They Doing To Our Kids?

The Bowtie Professor — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:13:30 +0000

I sometimes like to listen to satellite radio, and on many of these radio talk shows, I will listen to African American parents who call in and complain about how the educational system in America, is doing black children wrong. Now this is very interesting because several of these same African Americans who are calling in and making such complains, probably do not invest any valuable time or effort in their children’s educational development. I know this to be the case, because as an educator, I have done a great deal of volunteer work in the public school systems in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and what I noticed was that, the children in the suburban areas, were not necessarily smarter than the kids in the inner cities, as some would have us to believe. It was the fact that the suburban children’s parents were highly involved in their educational development, as compared to the kids in the inner city areas. I noticed the same-thing, when I lived in Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Alabama. Parential involvement was the key factor in the success of the children in the suburban areas. What many African American parents need to start doing is, getting more involved in their children’s educational future, by going up to these schools, and siting in on some of these classes, to see what they are teaching their children. Yes, I am very much aware that many of these inner city kids, live in single parent households, and many of these parents work, and thus, cannot afford to take off from their jobs. But, what about those parents who are not working and are living on welfare? Why are they not participating in their child’s or children’s education development? I will tell you why. These parents do not value education, nor do they truly understand it. They send their children to schools out of habit because they have been socialized to do so. Just like many folks go to church out of habit. They do not go to church to seek a great God, who is the Master of the universe, who created space, matter, and time. No, they go to church because their mothers and grandmothers went. Well, the same analysis is applicable to many parents who send their children to school. The point that I am making here is that, many black parents and others, need to stop complaining about, how the public school systems across the U.S., are doing black children harm. Instead, they need to get up off of their behinds and do something about it. Education is only an extension of what parents are teaching their children at home. Home is the cake, the public school system is the icing. Home is the cake, church is the icing. Home is the cake, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, are the icing. Home is the cake, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Simba, are the icing. However, far too many parents do not understand this, especially in the inner city areas. To those African American parents who believe that the public school systems are doing more harm than good to your child or children, get up and do something about it.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

Political Shields Of Destruction

The Bowtie Professor — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:54:59 +0000

A great deal of members of the Republican party, claim to be conservatives who are God fearing Christians, that believe in good family values. However, from my studies of the G.O.P., over the last 30-years or so, I have noticed that their voting records have been anti- black, Hispanic, Asian, and poor white. They claim to be big Christians, but yet, most of them are certified racists. They claim that they believe in family values, but in the last three-years, Republican elected officials, have constantly been in the news for committing adultery. They say that they are anti-abortion, and want to bless the baby in the womb, but once the baby gets here, they curse it on its way to the tomb. Meaning, they fight for the unborn baby to live, but once the child is outside the womb, they support public policies to disenfranchise the child by making it difficult for him or her to experience the ” American Dream “. This is definitely a party of hypocrites. They claim that they pulled themselves up by their own boot-straps, but this is a lie, because no one got started without some type of governmental assistance. Every multinational corporation, railroad company, airline and bus industry, all got started with some type of governmental assistance. Even multi-billionaire Bill Gates, received some type of governmental assistance, before he became a corporate giant, and still currently receives tax breaks from the government. The Republican party are also notorious for playing the race card. Has anyone noticed how the Tea Party crowd are about 99% white? They are about 99% white for a reason, and that is, they hate to see people of color prosper, over good white folks. Sure they will have a few token Sambo Negroes like Michael Steele, who by the way, was later ousted by the Republican party from being their chairman. The political shield of destruction, is when individuals hide behind slogans, such as, “conservative” or “Christian”, in order to cover up their true identity. The vast majority of Republicans, along with the Tea Party crowd, are nothing but a bunch of racists, who claim to be consevatives and God fearing Christians, which is a lie, within itself. If they really knew Jesus Christ, as they claim, they would not be so damn racist. They cannot stand to see black and other minorities move up the socioeconomic ladder, and through much of their actions, one can tell, that they are more racist then Christian. What the Republican party and the Tea Party crowd, need to stop doing is, using the bible to justify their racist attitudes. All through America’s political history, when whites were not able to experience the American Dream, they have always found ways to blame minorities for their shortcomings. This is the exact same thing that Adolf Hitler did, when Germany faced 300% inflation. He blamed the Jews, and used them as scrapegoats. White Americans must stop blaming minorities, every-time that they can not experience the American Dream. They must look up and see who is really pulling the purse strings, and when they do, they will realize, that it is not the black, Asian, or Hispanic, that is holding them back. It is the rich political, economic, and social elites. The same-thing also can be applied to African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians, who believe that the average white is hold them back. The average white is not holding anyone back. It is the super rich, who are constantly trying to keep all of us down. To some, the rich are referred to as the “Elites”. To others, they as known as the ” Insiders”. If Karl Marx were living, he would probably refer to them as the “Super Bourgeoisie”. However, most of us know them as the ” Illuminati “. I will close by saying, ”whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others, stop letting the Illuminati make fools out of us”.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

The Rich VS. The Poor

The Bowtie Professor — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:53:56 +0000

How long shall the average American citizen, be ignorant when it comes to race relations in the U.S. ? Time and time again, the American citizenry, has allowed those in power to play the race card. As a result, we have powerless people fighting powerless people. If one were to study the political history of race relations within the United States, he or she would notice that those in power, have always played the race card, in order to keep the less privileged classes fighting among themselves. Too many Americans have the tendency to see political, economic, and social phenomenons, only in terms of race and, thus, ignore other factors, such as class, ethnicity, religion, education, age, gender, or occupation. The war is not between black, brown, yellow, or white. It is between the haves and have-nots. Unfortunately, so many Americans fell to understand this. As long as the elites, can keep the masses fighting for the crumbs from their tables, they will continue to stay in power, and exploit the uneducated and poorer classes of the U.S., citizenry. Below are seven big lies that have been told or projected to the American public by certain groups in power:

(a) Illegal aliens from Mexico, are taking jobs from American citizens;

(b) Blacks and other minorities, are taking jobs from so-called good white folks, and the positions that they hold, they are not qualified for them. They only acquired them through affirmative action;

(d) Corporate America, is the number one employer of U.S., citizens;

(e) If one cannot, or does not experience the, ” American Dream ”, someone else, is to blame;

(f) It is the government responsibility, to take care of the poor, on a long term basis;

(g) I became rich or wealthy all by myself, without absolutely no governmental support or assistance.

First, for those who believe that illegal aliens are taking jobs from Americans, guess what? The jobs that illegals do, most U.S., citizens would not do them, because many Americans, perceive such jobs to be beneath them. Secondly, the task of affirmative action, was to give qualified blacks and other minorities jobs or careers, but through the mass media’s propaganda, the correct image of affirmative action has been distorted. Third, what is good for corporate American, is good for the American public. If this statement were true, then why did we as Americans, have to pass the Wagner Act (1935), Norris La Guardia Act (1932), and the Clayton Act (1914)? All of these Acts, dealt with the protecting of workers, from corporate elites, who wanted to exploit them. Corporations are only about profit, and human beings are dispensable, at any time, moment, or place. No, what is good for multinational corporations, is not necessarily good for the American people. Fourth, by far government is the number one employer of the American citizenry, not corporations. Remember, the U.S., political system has over 80,000, governmental entities. When I say government, I mean the federal, state, county, and local systems. Fifth, if I do not experience the ” American Dream “, it is someone else to blame. Most Americans blame the wrong individuals or groups for their shortcomings. Before we start pointing our fingers at others, we must first consider, did we do all we could to make our dreams come true. Then we must consider other factors such as, were our dreams realistic, or were there any financial barriers, and the list could go on and on. Sixth, it is the government’s responsibility to help it’s citizens out, but, it is not the government’s responsibility to take care of the poor or anyone else for that matter, on a long term basis. Seventh, and finally, no one got started without some type of governmental assistance. The notion that I got rich all by myself, without absolutely any governmental assistance, is a lie. The airline and railroad industry, got started with governmental assistance, as well as the bus companies, such as Greyhound and Trailways. Mulinational corporations currently receive tax breaks from the U.S. government, and they will continue to receive them, as long as they are in existence. The point that I am making is, we as average American citizens, must stop seeing everything in terms of race, and, we also must stop letting those in power make fools out of us.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!