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For several weeks, we've explored the Promised One, spoken of by God in Genesis and foretold by prophets hundreds of years earlier. The world was prepared through historical events for His coming, and "at just the right time", the Messiah began His earthly life in a manger in a stable. We think of Jerusalem as significant, but Bethlehem and Egypt will be woven together as significant locations in the baby's story.
Listening to Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson try to sell state school board members recently on eliminating the state assessment test made me think of my granddaughter, who rarely lost a board game as a little girl because she changed the rules to tilt the game in her favor.
Watson says high school students don’t pay attention to the state assessment because they are thinking about other things (like getting a scholarship), implying that scores are lower because of that lack of interest. The 2024 state assessment shows 46 percent of 10th-graders are below grade level in math and 35 percent below grade level in English Language Arts; just 21 percent are proficient in math, and only 28 percent in ELA.
Researchers and scientists at universities have been at the forefront of developing bold new ideas into life-changing products in areas from biotech to artificial intelligence.
Yet even as we celebrate achievements in innovation, a Biden-Harris White House proposal seeks to upend the foundation on which it rests.
That foundation is the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. For nearly 45 years, this landmark legislation has provided the framework that allows development investment to flow into newly patented discoveries.
The circle of life is moving from one season to the next. For instance, we are moving from the holiday season to the legislative season. OK, that is a bit of a stretch but it does the job to illustrate my point.
January starts a new session in both our state legislature in Topeka and our national legislature in Washington, D.C. In both cases we have a lot of new faces filling seats in both the statehouse and Congress. We also know on the federal side the balance of power has shifted to the Republicans.
As we all prepare to enter a new year with all the hope and promise it brings, we may visit some goals we want to accomplish in 2025.
There are the boiler plate goals like weight loss, workout commitments, healthier living and the like, and those are all good.
Being able to let go of bad habits is never easy for any of us, and we will continue to battle with our inner demons every step of the way.
There will be a tendency to believe the deck is stacked against us, that somehow we cannot improve because there is a concerted effort that we should fail.
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