Hyper Education

 "By Pawan Dhingra

(NYU, 340 pages, $29.95)

A recent ad for the American Kumon learning centers begins: "In the past year, it's been hard to know if your child's learning has been on track and advancing." Parents are then encouraged to sign their children up for lessons after school to ensure that the students don't fall behind. Of course, after-school education was growing even before the pandemic. (Kumon has reported annual revenue to be roughly $40 billion, with nearly 300,000 students nationwide.) But it may well grow even more now,as parents worry about the effects of disrupted school schedules and remote learning.

Pawan Dhingra, a professor of American Studies at Amherst College, doesn't know quite how he feels about this. In "Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough," he tries to figure out why parents are having their children spend hours every week on academic study outside of the schools they already attend and what this trend is doing to the kids, the parents and the school system. The book is somewhat narrowly focused -- mostly on South Asians, who are especially keen on after-school learning and are enrolling their kids in math and spelling contests all over the country -- but his interviews yield results that reverberate beyond any particular group.

An "immigrant mentality," Mr. Dhingra says, plays a role in such academic ambition. Many parents worked hard in their native countries in order to make it here, and they are trying to pass along a work ethic to their children. Some parents are fearful of what will happen if their residency status wobbles (say, their visas expire) and their children must return home to compete with, say, fellow Indians. Other parents are in less remunerative jobs and need their children to get into a good college and have a lucrative career to shore up the family's resources. As one Russian immigrant mother tells Mr. Dhingra: "I cannot afford to produce stupid kids."

Such parents are often convinced that the schools they send their kids to -- even in some of the highest-performing districts in the country -- are not challenging their children sufficiently. And they're right. Especially in the elementary and middle-school grades, "tracking" -- that is, designating certain classes for students of higher demonstrated ability -- is considered mean or discriminatory. At the same time, teachers say that, in a classroom of widely varied talents, they can't design a curriculum that will challenge each student.

Mr. Dhingra, not surprisingly, blames testing. If teachers didn't have to "teach to the test," he says, they would have more flexibility to challenge smart students. But the reality is a bit more complicated than that. Testing was instituted primarily to help lower-performing students; higher-performing ones already grasp the test material and could be given more challenging work if schools would differentiate by ability. Now it seems that teachers and administrators are resentful that kids are learning math and other subjects elsewhere and are feeling bored in class. Mr. Dhingra claims that public schools "provide deeper, more thoughtful, well-researched means of teaching math, writing, and other subjects than are offered in learning centers." But if parents thought that, they wouldn't be paying all that money to Kumon and other tutorial companies.

Mr. Dhingra rightly notes that some Asian parents have resorted to the hyper-learning strategy because their children don't have the same cultural or social capital as their white peers. As one Indian motel owner told him: "I'm never going to make the secret handshake." But the impetus for "hyper education" doesn't come from parents alone. Children, it turns out, like spelling bees and math competitions. In such settings, they make friends, learn lessons about winning and losing, occasionally even get to be on television. They acknowledge that long hours go into the training, but they compare the experience to sports. It won't always be fun, but the payoff can be big. Public-school educators have trouble grasping this. One school principal tells Mr. Dhingra: "I can't believe you're going to find kids who are passionate about long division. I just don't believe it."

Mr. Dhingra is torn between his belief that schools should aim at "leveling the playing field" and thus become "socially just institutions" and his irritation with administrators and teachers for their condescension toward Asian parents -- telling them to just relax already. Asian families, he notes, are regularly mocked or faulted for their commitment to academics. Meanwhile, teachers expect the children to perform at a higher level than their peers. And other parents can be put off. (A mother recently told me that she was glad there weren't too many Asians in our school district because there would be "too much pressure on other kids to perform.") An admissions officer at a "prestigious" university told Mr. Dhingra that out-of-school learning was a problem when families used it "instrumentally" to get their kids into college. What mattered, he added, was "authenticity." This is the kind of thinking that got Harvard sued for bias. Its admissions officers were giving Asian kids lower scores on personality measures. One can only imagine how such kids would rank on authenticity.

Mr. Dhingra can't resist tangents into how public schools are built on white supremacy and how this mind-set harms blacks as much as Asians. He praises indigenous people for creating different kinds of education that are more culturally appropriate, like "land literacy pedagogy." And he feels the need to sprinkle the word "neoliberalism" throughout, meaning (it appears) intensely competitive capitalism. But if you can get through the academic cant, "Hyper Education" offers a fascinating look at a growing subculture and an account of the ways in which public schools are failing our most gifted and hard-working students and putting the blame on their parents." [1]

 The same subculture thrives in Lithuania as in America.

1. Studying Hard And Blamed for It
Naomi Schaefer Riley. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 2021: A.15.

Chips Are U.S. Achilles' Heel

"The push for two big infrastructure bills -- one bipartisan, the other a much bigger one pushed by Democrats alone -- is getting all the attention in Washington right now, and for good reason. Trillions of dollars hang in the balance, as does much of President Biden's agenda and the question of whether Washington can do anything big in a bipartisan fashion anymore.

But most people are ignoring a third infrastructure initiative that, while smaller, is freighted with just as much long-term economic and strategic importance. It's a relatively modest initiative to supercharge America's at-home production of the semiconductors that now are vital in everyday life. That measure is sitting on a shelf in Washington, awaiting action, while the U.S.'s computer-chip vulnerability grows.

America today is dangerously reliant on foreign producers of semiconductors, crucial components of everything from phones to laptops to cars to smart appliances to much of the equipment in your local hospital. The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has dropped to 12% today from 37% in 1990, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group.

America's position has receded while China's has advanced. Worse, about 40% of the new chip-production capacity projected to be added in the next decade will be in China, which would make it the largest semiconductor-manufacturing spot in the world.

Already, a shortage of semiconductors is holding up production of cars and driving up prices for consumers. The chief executive of chip manufacturer Intel Corp. told The Wall Street Journal that he expects the global shortage will stretch into 2023.

Yet, both the economic vulnerability and geopolitical risk are more acute than that picture makes it appear. A single company in Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., makes almost all of the world's most sophisticated chips. It is the world's most important semiconductor company, and its 11th most valuable one.

And what if that Taiwanese company becomes a Chinese company? Chinese President Xi Jinping this month repeated his intention to complete "reunification" with Taiwan, and the head of U.S. forces in the Pacific recently warned China could invade Taiwan by 2027 to do exactly that. While other military leaders don't think the Chinese timetable for action is that aggressive, a takeover of Taiwan would put China in an overwhelmingly dominant position in the semiconductor business, at a time when computer chips are becoming a strategic commodity.

In short, the specter of semiconductor dominance could provide China an added incentive to move on Taiwan, and the U.S. an added incentive to stop China from doing so. It's no exaggeration to say that semiconductors have the potential to cause international tension and turmoil -- and even, in an extreme scenario, war.

So, maybe the U.S. should do something about all that.

As it happens, some in Congress are trying. Lawmakers in both the Senate and the House have introduced legislation to provide government help and incentives to increase domestic production of semiconductors. They propose doing so in a measure known, perhaps inevitably, as the CHIPS Act, or the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. It would, among other things, fund research into semiconductor design and production; create a pool of federal money to give manufacturers incentives to build semiconductor-manufacturing facilities in the U.S.; and provide a tax credit to those who do so.

The Senate last month passed, on a bipartisan vote, legislation that would provide $52 billion to start funding such initiatives. But that legislation hasn't yet been acted on in the House.

Twenty industry associations and unions sent congressional leaders a letter last week urging action: "The U.S. needs to incentivize the construction of new and modernized semiconductor manufacturing facilities and invest in research capabilities," the groups wrote.

The semiconductor business is a complicated one, and changes won't come fast. Much front-end manufacturing of chips still is done in the U.S., but high-end finishing work is done overseas. The shortage of manufacturing-ready chips has been made worse by tariffs on imports of such chips from China imposed by the Trump administration, a step that has cut into chip imports.

The long-term solution is to move more chip manufacturing onshore in the U.S., but building plants takes time, as does building up a workforce trained for the high-end fabrication work. America's competitors are investing in chip research and providing substantial subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing, which has helped produce today's vulnerability.

The pandemic has helped reveal American dependence on foreign supply chains for a variety of key goods. But the supply-chain worry that keeps some officials awake at night is this one -- the semiconductor vulnerability." [1]

 And the US ally Lithuania is still at war of the last century with Russia and Belarus, pushing these two countries into China's arms. It is necessary to drive Landsbergiai out of power in Lithuania and to redesign Lithuania's foreign policy.

1. U.S. News --- CAPITAL JOURNAL: Chips Are U.S. Achilles' Heel
Seib, Gerald F. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 2021: A.4.

Puslaidininkiai yra JAV Achilo kulnas

"Dviejų didelių infrastruktūros įstatymų rinkinių - vieno dvipartinio, kito, žymiai didesnio, vien demokratų - vystymas šiuo metu Vašingtone sulaukia viso dėmesio ir dėl geros priežasties. Trilijonai dolerių kabo pusiausvyroje, kaip ir didžioji dalis prezidento Bideno dienotvarkės ir klausimas, ar Vašingtonas nebegali ką nors didelio padaryti dviejų partijų būdu. Tačiau dauguma žmonių ignoruoja trečią infrastruktūros iniciatyvą, kuri, nors ir mažesnė, turi tiek pat ilgalaikės ekonominės ir strateginės svarbos. Tai palyginti kukli iniciatyva papildyti Amerikos puslaidininkių gamybą namuose, nes jie dabar yra gyvybiškai svarbūs. 

Ši priemonė sėdi lentynoje Vašingtone ir laukia veiksmų, o JAV kompiuterinių lustų pažeidžiamumas auga. 

Šiandien Amerikai yra pavojinga pasikliauti užsienio puslaidininkių gamintojais,  es jie yra svarbiausi komponentai, pradedant telefonais, nešiojamaisiais kompiuteriais, automobiliais, išmaniaisiais prietaisais ir daugeliu įrangos jūsų vietinėje ligoninėje. JAV puslaidininkių gamybos pajėgumų dalis sumažėjo iki 12%, palyginti su 37% 1990 m., rodo „Boston Consulting Group“ tyrimas. Amerikos padėtis atslūgo, o Kinijos pažanga akivaizdi. Blogiau, kad maždaug 40% naujų lustų gamybos pajėgumų, kuriuos planuojama pridėti per ateinantį dešimtmetį, bus Kinijoje, o tai ją pavers didžiausia puslaidininkių gamybos vietą pasaulyje. Jau dabar puslaidininkių trūkumas stabdo automobilių gamybą ir didina kainas vartotojams. Lustų gamintojo „Intel Corp.“ vadovas sakė leidiniui „The Wall Street Journal“, kad mano, kad pasaulinis trūkumas tęsis iki 2023 m. Vis dėlto tiek ekonominis pažeidžiamumas, tiek geopolitinė rizika yra aštresni, nei tie skaičiai rodo. 

Viena Taivano įmonė „Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.“ gamina beveik visas moderniausias mikroschemas pasaulyje. Tai svarbiausia pasaulyje puslaidininkių kompanija, o pagal vertę - 11-oji. O kas, jei Taivano įmonė taps Kinijos įmone? Kinijos prezidentas Xi Jinpingas šį mėnesį pakartojo ketinimą užbaigti „susijungimą“ su Taivanu, o JAV Ramiojo vandenyno pajėgų vadovas neseniai perspėjo Kiniją tai pabandant iki 2027 m. Nors kiti kariniai lyderiai nemano, kad Kinijos veiksmų tvarkaraštis yra toks agresyvus, Taivano perėmimas Kiniją pervestų į didžiąją dominuojančią padėtį puslaidininkių versle, tuo metu, kai kompiuterio lustai tampa strategine preke. Trumpai tariant, puslaidininkių dominavimo šmėkla gali suteikti Kinijai papildomą paskatą judėti į Taivaną, o JAV - papildomą paskatą sustabdyti Kiniją. 

Nenuostabu sakyti, kad puslaidininkiai gali sukelti tarptautinę įtampą ir suirutę, o kraštutiniu atveju netgi karą. 

Taigi, galbūt JAV turėtų ką nors padaryti dėl viso to. Kaip atsitinka, kai kurie Kongreso nariai bando. Tiek Senato, tiek Rūmų įstatymų leidėjai priėmė teisės aktus, kuriais teikiama vyriausybės pagalba ir paskatos didinti puslaidininkių vidaus gamybą. Jie siūlo tai padaryti priemonėmis, kurios galbūt neišvengiamai yra žinomos kaip CHIPS įstatymas arba „Naudingų paskatų kurti puslaidininkius Amerikai“ kūrimas. Tai, be kita ko, finansuotų puslaidininkių projektavimo ir gamybos tyrimus; sukurtų federalinių pinigų fondą, kad gamintojai būtų skatinami statyti puslaidininkių gamybos įrenginius JAV; ir suteiktų mokesčių kreditą tiems, kurie tai daro. Praėjusį mėnesį Senatas per dvišalį balsavimą priėmė teisės aktus, pagal kuriuos būtų numatyta 52 mlrd. dolerių, kad būtų galima pradėti finansuoti tokias iniciatyvas. Tačiau šie įstatymai dar nebuvo vykdomi Rūmuose. 

 Dvidešimt pramonės asociacijų ir sąjungų praėjusią savaitę išsiuntė kongreso lyderiams laišką, kuriame ragino imtis veiksmų: „JAV reikia skatinti naujų ir modernizuotų puslaidininkių gamybos įrenginių gamybą ir investuoti į mokslinių tyrimų pajėgumus“, - rašė grupės. Puslaidininkių verslas yra sudėtingas, ir pokyčiai nebus greiti. Daugybė lustų iš priekio gamybos dalies gaminama vis dar JAV, tačiau aukščiausios klasės apdailos darbai atliekami užsienyje. Gamybai tinkamų lustų trūkumą dar labiau pablogino tokių lustų importo iš Kinijos tarifai, kuriuos nustatė D.Trumpo administracija - tai žingsnis, kuris sumažino lustų importą. 

Ilgalaikis sprendimas yra daugiau lustų gamybos perkėlimas į JAV, tačiau gamyklų statybai reikia laiko, taip pat ir aukštos kvalifikacijos gamybos darbams apmokytos darbo jėgos sukūrimui. Amerikos konkurentai investuoja į lustų tyrimus ir teikia dideles subsidijas puslaidininkių gamybai, o tai padėjo sukurti šiandienos pažeidžiamumą. Pandemija padėjo atskleisti Amerikos priklausomybę nuo užsienio tiekimo grandinių dėl įvairių pagrindinių prekių. Tačiau tiekimo grandinės nerimas, kuris kai kuriuos pareigūnus kelia naktį, yra šis - puslaidininkių pažeidžiamumas. "[1]

O JAV sąjungininkė Lietuva vis dar kariauja praeito amžiaus karą su Rusija ir Baltarusija, stumdama šias dvi valstybes į Kinijos glėbį. Reikia vyti Landsbergius iš valdžios ir sutvarkyti Lietuvos užsienio politiką.

 1. U.S. News --- CAPITAL JOURNAL: Chips Are U.S. Achilles' Heel
Seib, Gerald F. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 2021: A.4.

Covid tarp vaikų

 „Apie 12% JAV Covid-19 atvejų ir mažiau nei 1% mirčių įvyko tarp vaikų iki 18 metų, rodo CDC Covid duomenų stebėjimo priemonė. Nepaisant to, kad virusą gaunančių ar mirštančių vaikų yra nedaug, vaikams vis dar svarbu nešioti kaukes uždarose patalpose, teigė kai kurie mokslininkai.  

Nešioti kaukes ypač rekomenduojama nevakcinuotiems vaikams šalia nevakcinuotų suaugusiųjų už vaiko namų ūkio ribų, siekiant apsaugoti vaikus nuo jo gavimo ar paskleidimo kitiems, kuriems gali būti didesnė rizika. Pasaulio sveikatos organizacija, atsižvelgdama į sparčiai plintantį „Delta“ variantą, pakartojo savo rekomendaciją, kad visi - paskiepyti ar neskiepyti - ir toliau nešiotų kaukes uždarose patalpose, kad sumažintų viruso perdavimą." [1]

1. U.S. News: Schools Look at Mask Mandates Again
Koh, Yoree. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 2021: A.3.

Covid among children

"About 12% of U.S. Covid-19 cases and less than 1% of deaths have occurred among children under the age of 18, according to the CDC Covid data tracker.

Despite the low numbers of children catching or dying from the virus, it remains important for children to wear masks indoors, some scientists said. Masking is especially recommended for unvaccinated children around unvaccinated adults outside a child's household, to protect children from getting it or spreading it to others who may be more at risk. The World Health Organization has, in the wake of the surging Delta variant, reiterated its recommendation that everyone -- vaccinated or not -- continue wearing masks indoors to reduce transmission." [1]

1. U.S. News: Schools Look at Mask Mandates Again
Koh, Yoree. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 2021: A.3.

Nuobodžiaujantis irakietis migrantas nutarė pasilinksminti, puolė Lietuvos muitininkų šunį ir jam įkando

 Šuo, gindamasis nuo irakiečio, jam taip pat įkando. Kur Laisvės partija? Kodėl negina migrantų laisvę vaikščioti per valstybių sienas be galimybės būti šunų sukandžiotiems?

Some Lithuanian Conservative party figures are escalating the threats posed by the Russian and Belarusian regimes.

  "But they do not take any responsibility for the consequences of their actions, including the ongoing crisis of illegal migration. Those who have a different opinion or oppose this politics are immediately named followers and supporters of Putin or Lukashenko. Lithuanian Conservative party cannot make any positive impact on the domestic political processes of  the Russian and Belarusian regimes, despite all their loud declarations. 

On the contrary, the policies pursued by Lithuanian Conservative party can make it even easier for the Russian and Belarusian regimes to mobilize their followers and stifle the beginnings of political opposition in their countries. Moreover, such an escalation of threats from Russia and Belarus and the imposition of sanctions are pushing Belarus into Russia's arms, and both countries are encouraged to join China. 

It is China that, because of its increased power and specific mentality, and not Russia, or even more so Belarus, poses a serious and real threat to the US and the EU. This was clearly demonstrated by US President Joe Biden, who recently met with the leader of the Russian regime, Vladimir Putin, on his own initiative. This was stated quite openly during the discussion in the Lithuanian Seimas by the members of the US Congress, when they visited Lithuania in 2018. It is a method of political manipulation, an escalation of imaginary or real external threats, which is now actively used by G. Landsbergis, R. Juknevičienė, A. Kubilius and their accomplices."