At the beginning of the article he says that if every school principal would give this speech at the beginning of the next school year, America would be a better place.  I wholeheartedly concur.

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships.

The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity — your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.

If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values — e pluribus unum, “from many, one.” And this school will be guided by America’s values.

This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism — an unhealthy preoccupation with the self — while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interesting in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America’s citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here — it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English — but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning’s elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school’s property — whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can’t speak without using the f-word, you can’t speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as “Nigger,” even when used by one black student to address another black, or “bitch,” even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way — the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago — by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately lucky — to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

Just so you don’t start thinking everything I do around here is serious I thought I’d show you what my next computer monitor will be…you know, when I win the lottery.  After all, it does cost a cool $8000.

The NEC CRV43 Curved Widescreen Display has just about everything you could ever need in a display.  Thanks to Mike for posting it on Facebook.  Check out the info from Uncrate below:

Ever wish you could combine your dual-monitor setup into one behemoth display? Get ready, because your wish has come true in the NEC CRV43 Curved Widescreen Display ($8,000; July 2009). Boasting a unique curved design that’s sure to immerse you more than a standard two display setup, this beauty also features a 2880×900 double WXGA resolution, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, single link DVI-D and HDMI inputs, USB 2.0 ports, an on screen display, and the assurance that you have the most unique monitor in the neighborhood.

Adam Czar posted a link on Twitter to a website that had the coolest video ever on it.  Since the video was on Vimeo and shareable I’m posting it here for everyone to enjoy.

This is the future of the public restroom toilet seat cover.  This particular toilet is in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport which has just landed the #1 spot on my “list of airports I want to visit for completely random reasons.”

Is that not the coolest toilet seat cover ever?!?!  Although…one has to wonder how sanitary it really is.  Where does the “used” toilet seat cover go?  And how nasty might that get?  What happens when the roll of toilet seat cover runs out?  Does the last person know it’s out…like, for sure?

There’s some questions here that really deserve more answers but I don’t have them.  It’s still cool.

Please excuse the language of the guy filming the video…

The Daily Record has uncovered the only CD ever made by Scotland’s singing sensation Susan Boyle. And you can listen to it EXCLUSIVELY on our player below.

It emerged last night that Susan, whose Britain’s Got Talent triumph has made her an instant superstar, is being lined up for an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show which would give her the chance of a number one album in the US.

But the Record can reveal she made her first recording back in 1999, when she sang blues ballad Cry Me A River for a charity CD.

Only 1000 copies of the disc were ever produced, but we’ve got hold of the long-forgotten recording and it’s now on our site. A showbiz insider said: “This is a real coup for the Record. The whole world would have wanted to find this.

In short, the left side of your brain is your logic and organization center so people who use that side more tend to be more organized and think logically.  The right side of your brain is the creative side so the people who use that side more tend to be more “creative” types. 

The test is just a short, 20 question test that will enable the system to determine which side you use the most and will, theoretically, help it determine a lot about your personality depending on which side of the brain you use the most.  I took the test and I have to say that I think it’s fairly accurate.  We’d probably need to ask my wife HOW accurate, but I think it got a lot of stuff basically correct.

Here are my results:

Your Brain Usage Profile:
 
Auditory : 43%
Visual : 56%
Left : 50%
Right : 50%
 
Jason, you exhibit an even balance between left- and right- hemisphere dominance and a slight preference for visual over auditory processing. With a score this balanced, it is likely that you would have slightly different results each time you complete this self-assessment quiz.
 
You are a well-rounded person, distinctly individualistic and artistic, an active and multidimensional learner. At the same time, you are logical and disciplined, can operate well within an organization, and are sensitive towards others without losing objectivity. You are organized and goal-directed. Although a “thinking” individual, you “take in” entire situations readily and can act on intuition.

You sometimes tend to vacillate in your learning styles. Learning might take you longer than someone of equal intellect, but you will tend to be more thorough and retain the material longer than those other individuals. You will alternate between logic and impulse. This vacillation will not normally be intentional or deliberate, so you may experience anxiety in situations where you are not certain which aspect of yourself will be called on.

With a slight preference for visual processing, you tend to be encompassing in your perceptions, process along multidimensional paths and be active in your attacking of situations or learning.

Overall, you should feel content with your life and yourself. You are, perhaps, a little too critical of yourself — and of others — while maintaining an “openness” which tempers that tendency. Indecisiveness is a problem and your creativity may not be in keeping with your potential. Being a pragmatist, you downplay this aspect of yourself and focus on the more immediate, obvious and the more functional

I know I have a “slight preference” for visual processing.  I’m not sure if it actually takes me longer to learn than someone of similar intellect – honestly I don’t think it does as I’ve always been a quick learner.  I’m also not sure about the “anxiety” I may feel “in situations where you are not certain which aspect of yourself will be called on.”  I haven’t noticed feeling any anxiety.  Maybe it’s there and I don’t know it?  I’m also not indecisive on some bigger issues, but it takes me forever to order off a large menu…so I guess that’s a problem for some people.

It would probably be interesting to know if the people who know you could read your profile and tell you which parts are accurate and which are not.  I think sometimes it’s hard for us to see ourselves as we really are instead of how we want to see ourselves.

Still, if you’re interested, I encourage you to take the test yourself and come back and let me know what you think.  Is it accurate for you?