http://bigthink.com/ideas/38573

This is an amazing letter that needs to read by everyone. A school superintendent in Michigan wrote to the governor asking that the schools be turned into prisons. He presents a great argument. I just find it sad that we are such a reactive society. We refuse to properly fund education even though we know of the links between not educating people and crime. Lets cut education now and spent 10x as much on prisons in ten years. Not a wise fiscal policy, yet that is exactly what we do.

Dear Governor Snyder,

In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and preparing them to take on the issues that society has created.

One solution I believe we must do is take a look at our corrections system in Michigan. We rank nationally at the top in the number of people we incarcerate. We also spend the most money per prisoner annually than any other state in the union. Now, I like to be at the top of lists, but this is one ranking that I don’t believe Michigan wants to be on top of.

Consider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a day. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to a library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof over their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide to our school children.

This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners, with equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give my children access to free health care. Please provide my school district Internet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give my students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of these things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What about the rights of youth, our future?!

Please provide for my students in my school district the same way we provide for a prisoner. It’s the least we can do to prepare our students for the future...by giving our schools the resources necessary to keep our students OUT of prison.

Respectfully submitted,

Nathan Bootz, Superintendent, Ithaca Public Schools

Geometry skills are innate, Amazon tribe study suggests

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13469925

"Tests given to an Amazonian tribe called the Mundurucu suggest that our intuitions about geometry are innate.
Researchers examined how the Mundurucu think about lines, points and angles, comparing the results with equivalent tests on French and US schoolchildren.
The Mundurucu showed comparable understanding, and even outperformed the students on tasks that asked about forms on spherical surfaces."

Researchers Explore the Seafaring Culture of the Maya

http://www.history.com/news/2011/05/23/researchers-explore-the-seafaring-culture-of-the-maya/?cmpid=Social_Facebook_Hith_05232011_3

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11maya/background/slideshow/flash_slideshow.html

This month, researchers are seeking a better understanding of Maya maritime trade by excavating an ancient port city on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Early Bronze Age battle site found on German river bank

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13469861

Fractured human remains found on a German river bank could provide the first compelling evidence of a major Bronze Age battle.

Inca success in Peruvian Andes 'thanks to llama dung'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13439093

Inca civilization may never have developed as we know it without the helping hand of llama droppings, a new study finds.

California Governor Puts the Testing Juggernaut On Ice

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/05/california_governor_puts_the_t.html

California Governor Jerry Brown has taken a big step towards reducing the testing mania in the nation's most populous state.

The tent that turns into concrete in less than 24 hours

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13430747

http://www.concretecanvas.co.uk/

"The past 12 months have seen a remarkable number of humanitarian crises with earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and deadly tornadoes in the southern US being among the most recent.
Among new innovations which could help relief efforts is a fabric shelter that, when sprayed with water, turns to concrete within 24 hours.
Invented by two engineers while at university, Concrete Canvas allows aid teams to construct solid structures in emergency zones quickly and easily.
Will Crawford and Peter Brewin showed BBC News how the concrete tent is put together and spoke about what inspired them."

If you were to be buried with grave goods, what would you take?. As you were pushed out to sea on a flaming boat, laid beneath you shield, or mummified and placed in a tomb; what would you have alongside? What would be the objects that would most define you? Who or what should accompany you?

Neanderthals in the far north 33kya.

It looks as if Neanderthals may have been living in the far north of Russia 33,000 years ago. This is a lot farther north than previously thought and provides more evidence they survived much later than previously thought. The stone tools look to be Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic).

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/neanderthal-last-stand-tools-ural-mountains-110512.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6031/778.summary

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6031/841.abstract

Anthropocene: Have humans created a new geological age?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13335683

Billionaire's role in hiring decisions at Florida State University raises questions

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/billionaires-role-in-hiring-decisions-at-florida-state-university-raises/1168680

"A dean says it would be "irresponsible" not to accept a large donation. A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.
A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."

http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientific-misnomers-71-nutcracker-man/story-fn5fsgyc-1226048900405

"After a half-century of referring to an ancient pre-human as Nutcracker Man because of his large teeth and powerful jaw, scientists now conclude that he actually chewed grasses instead."
"It turns out that the early human known as Paranthropus boisei did not eat nuts but dined more heavily on grasses than any other human ancestor or human relative studied to date."

Princess sheds new light on early Celts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13225829

The discovery of what is believed to be the oldest aristocratic female grave from the Celtic world could reveal a previously unknown way of life, writes Stephen Evans.

The Meaning of Words: New Evidence of Ancient Maya History

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/25/the-meaning-of-words-new-evidence-of-ancient-maya-history/?source=link_fb20110502ancientmayahistory

"The ancient Maya culture flourished in Mesoamerica. At the height of their splendor there’s an overwhelming rise in architectural construction, the type of buildings that pay homage to their rulers and their ancestors. Archaeologists call this phenomenon the Classic Maya Period, a time between 200 and 900 A.D. Within these centuries, archaeologists have found evidence that city-states expressed their power by creating unique architectural centers that in many ways were meant to replicate their cosmology."