On Fridays we bring you the week’s best from around the web. This week’s collection includes a new take on summer school, a discussion on the rise of religion in China, and more.
1. “Summer School? Teens Trade Classes for Factory Jobs” by Jonathan House, Wall Street Journal
At a factory on the outskirts of Carrollton, about 250 teens don protective goggles each day and package electricity cables of varying lengths and diameters for sale at retail outlets like Home Depot and Lowe’s. The program pays them up to $9 an hour and offers guidance on developing positive attitudes toward work and school.
Southwire worked with the local school district to recruit students and to design an academic curriculum that complements what they learn on the factory floor. The idea is to bring abstract concepts to life to make them easier to understand.
2. “Here’s How the Faith and Work Message Can Help Close the Unemployment Gap” by Anne Bradley, Institute for Faith, Work & Economics
In an opportunity society, all kinds of work are essential. This includes full- and part-time work and covers the spectrum from urban to agricultural, homemaking to corporate, artistic to technical. Let us work toward a society that embraces and employs every kind of gift, skill, and talent.
3. “As Marriage Goes, So Goes the American Dream” by Brad Wilcox, American Enterprise Institute
Rebuilding a marriage culture should not be a matter of nostalgia for a bygone era. If policymakers and Americans generally are concerned about boosting the welfare of children, bridging this nation’s social and economic divides, and renewing the American Dream, they should think long and hard about public policies that would increase the odds that ordinary Americans recognize marriage as a key to their—and their country’s—future.
4. “Why Christ, Mao And The Buddha Are Making A Comeback In China” by Matt Sheehan, The World Post
The dominant political narrative in China today is one of resounding triumph: targets for economic growth achieved, rival countries overtaken, an Olympics successfully hosted. Yet in the telling of a philosophy professor at a prominent Shanghai university, many of these supposed victories have proven hollow for the Chinese people.
5. “A Bipartisan Consensus on How to Fight Poverty?” by Arnold Kling, The American
Two recent comprehensive policy proposals for reforming the government’s approach to fighting poverty—one from a center-left think tank, the other from Republican Congressman Paul Ryan—seem to share some core ideas. Does this represent an opening for some rare bipartisanship?
