So, I read the new this morning....I shouldn't read the news...it's not good for my blood pressure!

Two articles stand out to me:

This one--http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nationworld/stories/030908dnnatstemcell.1a06e392.html

It's about embryonic stem cell research. Apparently, it's not ok to clone for human reproduction, but it could be ok to clone human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells...a particular scene from the Matrix pops into my mind. My question is....why does the scientific/political community insists on exploring this possibility, when research has found adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells to be just as effective?

And this one--http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/031209dnmetschoolsintrouble.3d77079.html

It's about education. DISD is looking at lengthen the school year for some of it's lowest performing schools and offering significant bonuses to bring highly-qualified teachers to those schools. Noble plan, but the sad truth is if the parents of these children refuse to be involved and make education a priority, no amount of extra time and great teaching will change anything. Lengthening the school year could actual increase the drop-out rate--who wants to go to more school when you already are apathetic about the amount of time you currently spend there? Then there's this quote:

President Barack Obama said this week that he wants kids to spend more time in school with longer school days and school years. He said the "challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

I get it...in a high-tech global economy its hard to keep in front of the pack, but there is more to life than academics. If you ever get a chance, read Nation of Wimps by Hara Estroff Marano--here's a link to the article that inspired the book: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20041112-000010.html. Why do we insist on pushing our children to be the best and the brightest? According to Marano, we feel inadequate in today's market and fear our children falling behind and having a lower standard of living than we currently experience. We want them to have a bigger house, better car, cooler job than we do. Therefore, we push, not realizing our concern for our children is actually concern for ourselves, our image, our peace of mind. Kids don't worry about this stuff, at least they don't until we tell them they should.