Madisonians aren’t afraid to name their schools after people, or alphabets

The conservative Manhattan Institute got lots of press a couple of months ago for its study of school naming practices, which discovered that ever fewer schools are being named after people. This trend, the Manhattanites wrote, “raises questions about the civic mission of public education and the role that school names may play in that civic mission.”

Well, in its perennial effort to become the “most progressive city in America,” Madison, Wisc., which I’ve been visiting this week, veritably oozes with civic mission–albeit possibly not the same mission that the guys at the Manhattan Institute are on. This is from an article in yesterday’s Capital Times:

Eighty-seven possible names for Madison’s newest elementary school were submitted to the district by Monday’s end-of-day deadline. … The new school was originally named Vang Pao Elementary last spring but the School Board withdrew that name after the Hmong military and civilian leader was charged in California in June with conspiring to topple the Communist government [of Laos, I presume].

The full list can be read in the Capital Times article, but here are some of my favorites:

Clarence H. Beebe
Amy Elizabeth Biehl
Bong-Sijan Medal of Honor
Brain Dead School Board
Rachel Carson
James Doty
Frederick Douglass
Tony Farina
Frank J. Gambino
Mahatma Gandhi
Glacier’s Edge
Elroy Hirsch “Crazylegs”
Hmong-American Unity
Hmong Freedom
Honeylands
Honor Striving
Steve Irwin
Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King Jr.
Lady Liberty
MMSD #1
Thurgood Marshall
Christa McAuliffe
Nash (Philleo & Edith)
Peace & Prosperity
Promise (School of)
Senator William Proxmire
RPA (Romanized Popular Alphabets)
Ronald Wilson Reagan
Fred Rogers
Thornton Wilder
Reggie White
Frank Lloyd Wright

The Creepy Dudes of Wall Street: Are Finance Guys Losing Their Mojo on the Dating Scene, Too?

It’s tough to tell when an internet phenomenon reaches actual meme status. But, in the case of the “creepy finance guy,” I think we can finally call it.

This week saw yet another jaw-dropping tale of Wall Street prattishness, this time in the form of a post-date survey. Yep, a finance dude went on a date with a lady. And then he asked her for constructive feedback.

http://www.youtubethis.blogspot.com coolrepublica

Whatever they decide to name their school, it better not have the word “King” in it. I have yet to know or hear of any school that has the word “King” in it’s name that is not a failing school, and failing badly.

If anyone out in US has been to, or knows of a school that has the word “King” in it and is a great and successful school, please post. I would love to see this miracle with my own eyes.