Education

The Good News Only Network

Honoring Veterans

The Meaning of Operation Recognition

Every year since 2007, the Riverside County Office of Education has honored a particular breed of military veteran: Those who sacrificed the
completion of their formal public education in order to serve their country and other countries in their time of need. In a special graduation ceremony,
authorized to recognize the real-life education they acquired in the armed forces, we present these veterans, at long last, with their high school
diplomas.

The ceremony is called Operation Recognition, and on November 9, another 30 diplomas were awarded to veterans of World War II, the Korean
War and the Vietnam War. Each honoree was, of course, deserving; each had a story not just of service, but of forfeiting their education - a selfless
act which shaped the rest of their lives.

But if there's a classic example of why we celebrate Operation Recognition, it can be found in Claude Chastain. Mr. Chastain was one of our
honorees this year. A Hemet resident, he's remarkably tall and fit for 87. He's a Navy veteran of World War II, and like a lot of vets who survived truly
desperate times, he declines to talk about the battles in which he took part. But we know this: He served two-and-a-half years in the South Pacific. He
was involved in 12 amphibious landings, as the Marines fought their way through the islands. He was awarded eight combat stars. And, as he puts it,
for the first year he was overseas, he was part of "Beach Party Number One". That is the most telling fact of all. It means that even as his high school
classmates were finishing their senior year in Los Angeles, and tossing their caps in the joyous peacetime right-of-passage of graduation, 18-year-old
Claude Chastain was wading ashore under murderous fire with the first wave of Marines, scouting for a good piece of beach for landing craft to use.

After the war, Mr. Chastain made his living in the oil fields, in production and drilling. He made a successful life. But almost 70 years later, he still
wanted that diploma. As Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, I'm honored to have the chance to meet with veterans like Claude Chastain
every year at Operation Recognition. I'm grateful to be able to shake their hands and say thanks. And I'm proud to be able to finally declare them
full-fledged high school graduates. It gives me the opportunity to see in their eyes the meaning this American touchstone of education still holds for
them.

For a look at this year's Operation Recognition, and a chance to meet some of these vets yourself, visit our website at www.rcoe.us.

Regards,

Kenneth M. Young
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools

Office of the Public Information Officer, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
3939 13th Street
Riverside, CA 92501
(951) 826-6642

The Inaugural U.S. Peace Index
See where your state ranks & urge elected officials to read the report...

I thought you would be interested to learn about the inaugural United States Peace Index, created by the
international think tank, the Institute for Economics and Peace. It is the first-ever ranking of the fifty U.S. States
based on their levels of peace.

Tell Members of Congress and the President to read the Peace Index report and make peace investment a national
priority.

The aim of the U.S. Peace Index is "to further the understanding of the types of environments that are associated
with peace and to help quantify the economic benefits that could result from increases in peace."

This study estimates that "if the U.S. had the same levels of peacefulness as Canada then over 2.7 million
additional jobs could be created while also reducing state and federal government expenditures. This improved
state of peacefulness would have a positive economic effect of around $361 billion per year."

With budgets across the country tightening and the national conversation shifting to big fiscal cuts, it's an important
time to make the case to our elected officials that investments in peace are economically advantageous (not to
mention morally imperative). We must work to treat the underlying causes of violence and invest in stronger peace-
building infrastructure. This report makes a strong case for the economics of peace and the information provides
much fuel for our advocacy work.

"Peace translates into dollars and cents," says IEP Founder Steve Killelea. "By increasing peace, the United States
can ensure that these unrealized billions are available to reduce taxes, stimulate the economy or invest in the
nation's infrastructure, schools, communities, and small businesses."

Download the full report and watch a highlight video.

U.S. Peace Index Highlights:
(All the following information is from their report)

First-ever ranking of peace in the U.S. shows the nation has become more peaceful since 1995.
New York, California and Texas record highest increases in peace since 1991, while North Dakota, South Dakota
and Montana see largest declines.
If the U.S. could reduce its incarceration rate to the same level as Canada (138 per 100,000) the total correctional
population would fall to 424,590 persons. This would mean that total costs of incarceration would fall to around 10
billion dollars meaning total potential savings would exceed $64 billion per annum.
The total violent crime rate in the U.S. is 424 incidents per 100,000 people. A reduction in this rate to the same
level as Canada, which is just over 300 per 100,000 people, would have an economic impact of approximately $27
billion.
It is assumed that the total judicial and legal costs associated to related crimes is in the region of $16 billion. A
reduction in judicial expenditure to bring the U.S. in line with Canada would yield $5.8 billion in savings.
Peace is politically neutral – neither Republican nor Democratic states have an advantage

State Rankings:

The ten most peaceful states as identified by the USPI are (from 1 to 10) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Iowa and Washington.
Maine was ranked first overall because it topped the list of states on three of the five USPI indicators: number of
violent crimes, number of police officers and the incarceration rate.
The ten least peaceful states are (from 50 to 40) Louisiana, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, Alabama, Texas,
Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Maryland, respectively.
Regionally, southern states were identified as being the least peaceful, while states in the northeast were most
peaceful. The peacefulness of states in the Midwest and West was about equal, with Midwest states being slightly
more peaceful.
The total cost of violence per person in a state ranges from $656 in Maine to $2,458 in Louisiana. The USPI
estimates that the economic effect of decreasing violence in states by 25 percent ranges from $126 million in
Vermont to $16 billion in California.
New York experienced the most significant increase in peace as a result of decreases in violent crime and the
homicide rate.
Conversely, South Dakota saw the largest decline due to a steady rise in incarcerations and the number of police
without a fall in the incidence of homicide or violent crime.
Education and health outcomes correlate strongly with peace

The USPI also finds that a state’s ranking is strongly correlated with various socio-economic factors including the
high school graduation rate, access to health insurance and the rate of infant mortality. Significant economic
correlants included the degree of income inequality and the rate of participation in the labor force. Meanwhile,
factors such as median income and a state’s political affiliation had no discernible impact on a state’s level of peace.

We hope you found this information informative. Please send a quick note today.

Gratitude,

Matthew Albracht
Director, The Peace Alliance

TURN UP YOUR VOLUME AND LISTEN . . . .

A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video
reads the exact opposite backwards as forward. Not only does it
read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite. This is only a
1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant. Make sure you
read as well as listen...forward and backward.

This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old.
The contest was titled "u @ 50" by AARP. This video won second
place. When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck
and broke into spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so
brilliant.
Take a minute and watch it.

Click here >>>>>>>>Lost Generation

!! AND ON A LIGHTER NOTE !!

Bathtub Test

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the director what
the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be
institutionalized.

"Well," said the director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a
teaspoon,
a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the
bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the
bucket
because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No," said the director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you
want a bed near the window?"