Kjellquist Blog

I’m not normally a big fan of Bill Gates. However, he certainly has the resources to evaluate some of the most serious problems facing our country. During a recent TED Conference, Gates gave a short talk on education and state budgets. This talk very succinctly illustrates our education funding problems. While not really proposing any miraculous cures, at least clearly defining the problem is a step in the right direction.

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Do the Wave!!!

By now most people have seen the statistics on America’s and South Carolina’s ranking in science and mathematics education.
    * The United States ranks 22nd in science and 30th in math. (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
    * In 2009, eighth graders in South Carolina scored lower than eighth graders in 30 other states on standardized tests in the areas of math and science. (Institute of Education Sciences)
    * 80% of all jobs created in the next decade will require math and science skills. (National Science Foundation)

South Carolina has launched a Do the Wave revolution to increase awareness and support for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

The movement is being lead by the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM). GSSM is a 128 student residential high school in Hartsville, SC. The purpose of GSSM is to provide for the education of the scientifically astute leaders vital to the development of the economy of the state. 

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Classic Baldacci! David Baldacci is the master of this adventure genre and Hell’s Corner doesn’t disappoint. I am fortunate to have started with the first Camel Club book so I have followed Oliver Stone’s exploits with each new release. Hell’s Corner keeps up Baldacci’s fast paced format with plenty of plot twists.

In my other postings for Baldacci’s books I make the point that his books are not fine literature but if you’re interested in an adventure shoot’em up requiring some suspension of conspiracy theory reality, then Hell’s Corner is for you.

The Camel Club books are best appreciated when read in their chronological sequence because of references to previous events. Though, Baldacci does provide a couple of sentence summaries with the references if you haven’t read the previous books.

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