A striking look at (some) American university students

I had not heard about "SWUGs" before reading this, but if you're interested in "how the other half lives" -- i.e. the elite and, some would say, overly pampered (and perhaps a wee bit self-pitying) students at famous "Ivy League" universities like Yale -- well, this story gives you an insight. Doesn't sound like such a very happy existence, all in all.

New "studio schools" to be set up in England

It has been announced that thirteen new "studio schools" are to be set up in England from September next year. Schools of this kind mix academic studies with work-based training and thus enable their students to gain not only theoretical knowledge but also practical experience. Moreover, national and local employers are involved in this project, so the students should have better opportunity to find job in the future.

As a future teacher I like the idea of mixing theoretical and practical education. Especially nowadays when it seems that academic titles are more popular than practical skills, this kind of school appears to be very effective. I wonder how long it will take the Czech education system to adopt this idea as well. I know we have various vocational schools, but these are being less and less prestigious. Maybe at least a new name "studio schools" would help them.

The death of Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister, has died. There's lots and lots of coverage and commentary about this in the British press right now, and a fair amount in the American press too, with various retrospectives on her eventful political career. For the occasion, I looked up the video above, of her final "Question Time" as Prime Minister, after she'd been forced to resign -- over relations with Europe and a controversial "poll tax" -- but before her successor, John Major, had taken over. Various members of the House of Commons pay tribute to her, but typically for the Commons, the opposition still doesn't go easy on her, and she hits right back with her usual scorn for their "socialism."

Also Thatcher-related: This recent item on Thatcher's and Ronald Reagan's iconic status as the "household gods" of contemporary conservatives in their respective parties and countries. As the commentator says, it's a problematic situation for conservatives -- good to have images of leaders you find inspiring, but not necessarily helpful in recognizing today's problems and formulating policies that will appeal to today's voters, especially younger ones.

"March Madness" and divine intervention

"March Madness" is the annual tournament for the championship of U.S. "college basketball," i.e. a big competition among basketball teams representing universities. (There is also professional basketball, the "NBA" or "National Basketball Association," but the "college game" is about equally popular. The same is true with American football.) This is an elimination tournament in which fans fill out "brackets" like this one, trying to guess (or bet on) who will win each round and which teams will end up playing which other teams. President Obama, who plays basketball himself, is a big fan and always prepares a bracket, although apparently his bracket this year didn't do so well

As I write this, the "Sweet Sixteen" (a quarter-final round among 16 teams), the "Elite Eight" (a semifinal round among the 8 winners of those games), and the "Final Four" (a final round among the winners of those), have already been played, and the championship game among the last two remaining teams is due to begin at about 3:30 a.m. our time. I don't plan to be watching and wouldn't expect you to be, but here's why I bring this up: the reaction of one coach whose team lost in an earlier round. It was very typical of America's "Bible Belt," and also indicative of the almost religious devotion that sports inspire in some (large) parts of America, including Indiana (the state I was born in and where I attended university myself, as it happens). So far, there's no word on whether the winning team was somehow getting help from Satan or not.