Re: If King George III had had a market analyst

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Subject : 

Comments:
: ~~~~~~~~
: Hello Seamus!  Good to hear from you!

: This sounds like some of the crap we have to deal with at the end of the school year: evaluations, rankings,SAT results, etc. If they would only let us teach our students and not overwhelm us with mounds of paperwork, then our kids would be better off.

: Speaking of, did anyone see the report from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation?  Interesting, indeed, as it states that more than one in five American teenagers don't understand the true meaning of Independence Day.  Twenty-two percent of teens who responded to the survey commissioned by the Foundation didn't know that America declared independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary Way.  Fourteen percent thought the correct answer was France.

: In addition, seventeen percent didn't know there were 13 original colonies and fifteen percent didn't know that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  

: But wait!  There's more!  One in ten didn't know George Washington was the country's first president.  Nearly one in four didn't know who fought the in the Civil War; thirteen percent thought it was the United States and Great Britain.  Nineteen percent couldn't identify the three branches of government.  Thirty-one percent didn't know that Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem.

: All questions on the survey were basic fourth-grade level history questions.

: So leave us alone with the paper work, let us teach these students, and then let's do another survey.

: Theresa

: P.S.  Thanks, Seamus, for the use of your great coat!
: ~~~~~~~~~~~~`


: : Greetings, friends--

: : I got the following from a friend who got it from a friend, etc.....the source is unknown. Since we, here in the Colonies, are about to celebrate our 225th year of Independence from the Crown tomorrow, I thought it appropos....

: : Pax aye!

: : Seamus
: : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

: : The Court of King George III
: :  London, England

: : 
: :  July 10, 1776

: : 
: :  Mr. Thomas Jefferson
: :  c/o The Continental Congress
: :  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

: : 
: :  Dear Mr. Jefferson:

: :  We have read your "Declaration of Independence" with great interest.
: :  Certainly, it represents a considerable undertaking, and many of your
: : statements
: :  do merit serious consideration. Unfortunately, the Declaration as a whole
: :  fails to meet recently adopted specifications for proposals to the Crown,
: : so we
: :  must return the document to you for further refinement. The questions
: : which
: :  follow might assist you in your process of revision:

: :  1.   In your opening paragraph you use the phrase "the Laws of Nature
: :  and Nature's God." What are these laws? In what way are they the
: :  criteria on which you base your central arguments? Please document with
: : citations
: :  from the recent literature.

: :  2.   In the same paragraph you refer to the "opinions of mankind."
: :  Whose polling data are you using? Without specific evidence, it seems to
: : us the
: :  "opinions of mankind" are a matter of opinion.

: :  3.   You hold certain truths to be "self-evident." Could you please
: :  elaborate? If they are as evident as you claim then it should not be
: : difficult
: :  for you to locate the appropriate supporting statistics.

: :  4.   "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" seem to be the
: :  goals of your proposal. These are not measurable goals. If you were to say
: : that
: :  "among these is the ability to sustain an average life expectancy in six
: : of the
: :  13 colonies of at least 55 years, and to enable newspapers in the colonies
: : to
: :  print news without outside interference, and to raise the average income
: : of
: :  the colonists by 10 percent in the next 10 years," these could be
: : measurable
: :  goals. Please clarify.

: :  5.   You state that "Whenever any Form of Government becomes
: :  destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
: : abolish
: :  it, and to institute a new Government...." Have you weighed this assertion
: :  against all the alternatives? What are the trade-off considerations?

: :  6.   Your description of the existing situation is quite extensive.
: :  Such a long list of grievances should precede the statement of goals, not
: :  follow it. Your problem statement needs improvement.

: :  7.   Your strategy for achieving your goal is not developed at all.
: :  You state that the colonies "ought to be Free and Independent States," and
: :  that they are "Absolved from All Allegiance to the British Crown." Who or
: : what
: :  must change to achieve this objective? In what way must they change? What
: :  specific steps will you take to overcome the resistance? How long will it
: : take? We
: :  have found that a little foresight in these areas helps to prevent
: : careless
: :  errors later on. How cost-effective are your strategies?

: :  8.   Who among the list of signatories will be responsible for
: :  implementing your strategy? Who conceived it? Who provided the theoretical
: : research?
: :  Who will constitute the advisory committee? Please submit an organization
: :  chart and vitas of the principal investigators.

: :  9.   You must include an evaluation design. We have been requiring
: :  this since Queen Anne's War. What impact will your problem have? Your
: : failure
: :  to include any assessment of this inspires little confidence in the
: : long-range
: :  prospects of your undertaking.

: :  10.Please submit a PERT diagram, an activity chart, itemized budget,
: :  and manpower utilization matrix.

: :  We hope that these comments prove useful in revising your
: :  "Declaration of Independence." We welcome the submission of your revised
: : proposal.
: :  Our due date for unsolicited proposals is July 31, 1776. Ten copies with
: : original
: :  signatures will be required.

: :  Sincerely,
: :  Management Analyst to the British Crown


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