Tag: education

Duke Grad Student Secretly Lived In A Van To Escape Loan Debt [Photos] – Business Insider

Mandi Woodruff | Jun. 7, 2013 | Business Insider

Ken Ilgunas at Duke
Ken Ilgunas at Duke

By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he’d dug himself into.

He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible –– English and History –– and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships.

“That was a wake-up call,” he told Business Insider. “I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic.”

Back then, student loans had yet to become the front page news they are today. Ilgunas could have simply deferred his loans or declared forbearance. He also could have asked his parents (who were more than willing to help) for a leg up. He could have thrown up his hands and gone to grad school until the job market bounced back.

Instead, he moved to Alaska and spent two years paying back every dime. And when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn’t have to take out loans again.

“I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. I didn’t even know what interest was when I was 17,” he said. “I just think that’s awfully indicative of the incredibly poor personal finance education young people have at that time in their lives.”

In his book, “Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom,“ Ken chronicles his journey out of debt.

He was kind enough to share his story with us this week.

“What’s the Matter with Kids Tody?” – public education (re-blog)

bratPeanut Gallery: A new blog – Ooobie on Everything – has been brought to my attention and it’s well worth a read. The re-blog here speaks to the issue of how America got into our current mess – public education hijacked by leftists.

What’s the solution? Think homeschooling, or private schooling… yes, it’s that bad.

Here’s a sample of what Ooobie has to say about it –

The leftist infiltration of education as a primary means of spreading the faith has been underway for many generations, but it really went into high gear following the radicalization of the 60s generation. While most of that generation went on to pursue more lucrative fields, the real activists went into the classrooms. They knew that by indoctrinating today’s youth they controlled tomorrow’s politics. They could change the country fundamentally without ever setting off another bomb. And it worked perfectly, as propaganda always does when political debate is stifled and a compliant media endlessly amplifies the message. Such an environment puts the brain to sleep and supplants independent thought with militant slogans and threats of destruction to the old order. The teachers worked hand-in-glove with the union bosses, silencing, ostracizing and even punishing dissenters among the pedagogical ranks. The left took over curricula, faculty and administration. Opposing viewpoints need not apply. Our schools today are the enemies of intellectual discourse and the invigorating clash of ideas. Instead they toil to churn out mindless zombies, zealots of the left, masters of propaganda but ignorant of the reality of what they advocate.

I hope that quote encourages you to read the entire post here – and check out her most recent posts here. I particularly enjoyed her personal story recounted in her post “A Tale of Two Cities.” I’m looking forward to reading more.

Special thanks to Maggie at Maggie’s Notebook and NEO at nebraskaenergyobserver for bringing Ooobie to our attention. Please check out their blogs as well… there’s a lot of interesting reads… and plenty to think about.

Santorum on Life and Family Values

Peanut Gallery – Rick Santorum’s speech on Life and Family Values went largely unnoticed in Wednesday’s crowded GOP Convention schedule. But it was important because it clarified some of the social policy choices facing us in November.

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are not competing American values… they are complementary. And they are the foundation of a civil society that values education, marriage, family and hard work… in that order. Santorum points out that following this simple traditional roadmap greatly increases one’s chance for happiness and economic properity.

Santorum essentially told the convention what Christian parents tell their kids – you can do it your way, or God’s way, but these two choices have two very different consequences. I’ve included the entire speech here so that you can hear his remarks in context.

Who is Mitt Romney?

Peanut Gallery: I’m not really a big Romney fan… I voted for Gingrich when I had a chance here in the South Carolina primary… as a protest against the GOP Establishment.

But here I am and Romney is my only choice… if I care anything about Life, Religious Freedom, Family Values, Economic Solvency, and America as an exceptional nation – "a shining light on a hill." Oh… and did I mention Health Care, Education, Medicare, Social Security, Immigration, National Security, Israel and Judeo-Christian values. I know I've forgotten something….

So… I really have no choice but to vote for Romney (except not to vote at all, I suppose, which would be a total dereliction of public responsibility – as far as I'm concerned.) But who is Mitt Romney?

Why not let him tell you his own story… instead of relying on a hostile media and his deceiptful opposition? Here's a link to his home page – click here. Is he putting his best foot forward? Of course, there’s a lot at stake in this election. So filter what you read through honest skepticism.

But in the end you will not be able to escape the reality that Romney is an accomplished, essentially decent man with basic American values and a desire to restore the American dream. So check him out – maintain a healthy skepticism – and consider the alternative.

God help us!

Military finds 75 percent of today’s youth can’t serve | McClatchy

In a study it calls “Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve,” the group [Mission] says Pentagon analysts have concluded that 75 percent of people ages 17 to 24 could not qualify for military service because they are obese or have some other health problem, lack a high school diploma or have a serious criminal history.

Military finds 75 percent of today’s youth can’t serve | McClatchy.

BY MARTHA QUILLIN – STAFF WRITER

RALEIGH — The biggest long-term threat to U.S. national security might not be terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. According to a group of military leaders, it’s homegrown obesity, ignorance and criminality, which together make seven of 10 target-age recruits ineligible to serve in the American armed forces.

“It’s not just disturbing. It’s a call to action,” James A. Kelly, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, said Thursday during a telephone news conference from Washington. Continue reading “Military finds 75 percent of today’s youth can’t serve | McClatchy” →