The worst thing to happen to academia was the emergence of a nomadic administrative class like the one in corporations who just move from institution to institution setting fires and walking away.

Say what you will about the flaws of faculty governance, but at least they believe in the mission.

Otherwise, you end up with some kids bored and unchallenged, and others so hopelessly behind they give up. There's arguably going to be a little of that, regardless. But if most students are able to read at grade level, it's more feasible to advance them as a group.

Grade levels are a very imperfect solution! But, short of hiring individual tutors for every student, there has to be some way of grouping kids who are roughly at the same level, just to be able to share a curriculum, materials, assignments, etc. among them.

Yes, absolutely. But teachers don't have time (or, we don't have enough teachers) to break down whole classes into groups of three or four students, in order to meet every kid at their level. That's the whole reason we group them into grade levels in the first place.

The "Hillary the Hawk, Donald the Dove" thing was dumb, but because of the second part, not the first, which is 100% accurate.

"What kind of future are we leaving for our children" is no longer asked. Billionaires and their cronies have evolved into beings that can't think more than six months out. Nobody is building anything to last or endure. Kids today are raised in a world where humans are sacrificed eagerly for profit.

Left: FDR campaign speech, October 1936

Right: 1936 electoral map

CEO is the one role AI is perfectly designed to replace.

1) Make guesses based on data you barely understand.

2) Ignore things like facts and reality if they're in your way.

3) Spin everything in the most optimistic voice possible.

Eh, I don't think it's that telling.

You, a dangerous radical: We have to change the system so cartoon villains can't wreck the country again

Me, a wise pragmatist: What if we simply rebranded the system? Welcome to America Premium+

"This is the day Pete Hegseth became Secretary of Def -- of War." -- Van Jones, probably

I don't know if the nickname originates with you, but I am calling him "Bababouie" from now on.