Re "No Child Left Behind"

It seems to me that there is a very easy way to obviate some of the problems with No Child Left Behind - which is to simply redefine the notion of "grade level" itself. Why shouldn't we determine "grade level" (which is an arbitrary and artificial construct anyway) not in terms of chronological age but in terms of a student's actual level of achievement?

Clearly a student could be at different "grade levels" from subject to subject - but if curricula were constructed in such a way that a student could move through them at relatively independent paces, achieving "certifications" as they master given bodies of knowledge, I don't see that as being a problem. It is exactly what we do within certain realms of the corporate world, such as IT or HR. We need to decouple the notion of academic progress from its present lockstep relationship to chronological age.

If we can do this, I believe we can strip the people who are presently trying to cripple public education by means of NCLB of their most potent tool, while still allowing educators to be evaluated in terms of effectiveness and establishing realistic standards for student progress.

Electoral College Reform

I've not decided whether the Electoral College needs to be thrown out completely - but I do support the idea of having the votes allocated by individual Congressional district, rather than the present system of winner-take-all on the state level. (The two votes that correspond to the Senators would be granted to the winner of the popular vote statewide.) I think this reform - which states can make all by themselves, without any kind of Federal statutory changes or Constitutional amendments - would make the results move closer to reflecting the popular vote, and make it necessary for campaigns to be more visible in areas that they presently feel they can neglect. I say this even though in my particular state, Pennsylvania, the results might skew more to the Republicans' benefit -

Full statehood for the District of Columbia

I'm for it.

Death Penalty

I'm against it. Next?

Back to basics, government-wise: reorganize the Executive Branch according to Constitutional purposes

In the Preamble to the Constitution, the basic purposes of the United States of America are enumerated:

1. Form a more perfect Union
2. Establish Justice
3. Insure domestic Tranquility
4. Provide for the common defense
5. Promote the general Welfare
6. Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity

So if I were President, I'd reorganize the Executive Branch to fit. Six Departments, or Ministries, or whatever you want to call them, with the appropriate agencies and bureaus rearranged accordingly. Functions that couldn't fit within this scheme would be kicked back to the states, unless we decided by Constitutional amendment that we wanted to add other purposes.

Of course, there would be some very interesting conversations that would have to go into this redesign - what do we mean by things like "more perfect Union" or "domestic Tranquility" or "general Welfare," anyway? But once we were done, we would know that whatever the Federal government was doing was indeed something that it is intended to be doing.

Decentralized power

If I were to be elected to any kind of Federal post (President, House, Senate) I would work for increasingly regionalized governance - a/k/a the devolution of power, or decentralization. By breaking up the concentration of power in Washington DC, I think we could make the system more responsive to local needs.

There's a flip side to this, though - such decentralization could only succeed if it were accompanied by a parallel and proportionate increase in awareness and responsibility on the part of the more local units of governance. Without this, devolution leads us back to the time of squabbling fiefdoms.

For more on this idea, check this out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/opinion/10alperovitz.html

My general economic stance

I'm not a centralized-command socialist, but I'm not a laissez-faire capitalist either. As a Green, I'm distrustful of large government and big business alike, and for similar reasons.

If I had to sum it up in a soundbite or two, I'd say this:

• "The basics are free - and you can work for the extras." The fundamental needs of life - food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, etc. - should be available to everyone. (This follows directly from the Golden Rule on the one hand, and the "inalienable rights" language in the Declaration on the other.)
  
• At the same time, one should be able to work for as many extra goodies as one might want - though we have to evaluate carefully the effects of our "wants" on other people and on the larger environment, and be responsible about the choices we make when it comes to those "extra goodies."
• Neglecting that responsibility eventually - and inevitably - brings negative consequences.

For me, that all follows directly from the Golden Rule. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

¡SIESTAS! - More Naps, Less Stress

From whatever level of government I might find myself at, you can bet that I would work to encourage policies in support of - naptimes.

Studies have shown that the mid-afternoon nap boosts productivity, decreases stress, and generally increases well-being.

For example -- take a look at these, just three links out of many you get from searching on "nap benefits":

• http://drdeborahserani.blogspot.com/2006/06/benefits-of-power-napping.html
• http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/insomnia_drjacobs_benefits_of_naps.htm
• http://www.metronaps.com/about/science_faq.php

That last link, of course, comes from a business that makes "nap pods" available in airports, shopping centers, and the like. Pretty cool.

Furthermore, an increase in naptime would contribute to the general Slowing of things - but that's for another post.

I say, "Chill, America - you deserve more rest!"

Expand PE Instruction - Martial Arts, Circus Arts

Here's a couple of simple suggestions for school PE programs -

1. I'd like to see self-defense taught as part of the PE program in schools. I'm a third degree black belt (sandan) in aikido, so of course my preference would be for aikido's non-aggressive (but defensively effective) techniques and philosophy - but any curriculum that conveyed the ability to remain calm and focused while defending oneself would be of value. I also think that kids would benefit from some exposure to t'ai chi and chi kung.
   
   Such studies would not only aid in anti-bullying efforts in school, but I think these rats in particular would help children realize greater ability to focus and concentrate.
   
   
2. Speaking of ability to focus - some PE programs have also had great success from teaching circus arts, such as juggling, unicycling, equilibristics, and so on. See the "Teach Circus" site for some more info!

Welcome to "Mendler for... Whatever"

Hi! My name is Skip Mendler, and I am not - repeat, not - running for any political office.

I'm not even contemplating forming an exploratory committee.

However - should you find yourself in need of someone to vote for, I would be available to fill various offices for which I might be qualified, and I'm happy to offer myself as a write-in candidate for - well, whatever. (Hence the title of the blog.) I do have some opinions, and some of those would even qualify as political positions - and some of those are actual policy suggestions. I'd even be willing to serve if I happened to win an election... to something... somewhere... But, of course, I'm not running for anything in particular, did I mention that?

Different kinds of ideas are appropriate for different kinds of political offices, from the local to the global. So in this blog I will post position statements that would apply to campaigns for various offices - if I were to be running for anything, which as I said before I'm not.

Some of these positions will be weighty and serious, and some might appear, well, kinda frivolous at first glance. But eventually, I hope you'll see how they all hang together to form a coherent viewpoint.

State- and local-level positions are generally written with my particular neck of the woods in mind. (I live in northeastern Pennsylvania, in a small rural county just outside the "NY Metro" demographic area.) Nonetheless, you might find them applicable to your own area as well.

Feel free to respond to these ideas with platform planks of your own. Part of my purpose here is to get ideas out of my head and in front of your eyes so that they might engender ideas in your own head in turn. Enjoy!