Lisa,

I admire your motivation and sincerity. I can tell you really care about the success of the kids. It should all be about them. However, as you say, the devil is in the details. The intention of this scheme is to get intelligent, well meaning folks like you behind the plan by emphasizing a few of the positive points of the plan and ignoring the real long term effects. The KNS does a pathetic job of informing the public with the real facts. The teacher merit pay plan is a proven failure in systems all across America. By just briefly glancing at some of the supporters of this plan, the public should figure out it is not about the kids. Their plan is about control and power. If you have control of the purse and teacher/administrator evaluations you can intimidate and control the teachers and administrators.
I am all for additional funds for the kids.The funds should be used for the right reasons, however. There should be no more wheel tax fiascos. Reducing class sizes should be a top priority. Attracting and keeping good teachers should be a top priority. Giving kids the technology they need and preparing students to be responsible citizens that have the skills needed to get good jobs and be lifelong learners should also be goals. Our School Board should realize that vocational education is important in preparing many students to get good jobs and earn a decent living and pay taxes. Vocational education should be an important part of the plan. Many students are never going to be college material.

I am disappointed that this effort is not about the kids. The plan has not been well explained. Knox County Schools does need additional funding, but we need a better plan to improve education for our kids. Most reliable studies indicate that the School Board's plan will be a failure. They have not done their homework!

OK, so we just stand back and do nothing? I agree that the teacher merit pay plan is not good and that there needs to be a better plan.

County Commission can force a better plan through requiring some meaningful accountability from the school board before granting the money. I know state law ties their hands to some extent, but it is unreasonable to expect funding without accountability and the School Board and Superintendent should be prepared to prove it---and be flexible and cooperative with regard to addressing concerns about the merit plan before they get the money.

I agree with many of your points and know that some are pushing the plan for the wrong reasons. I am conflicted about it because I know some of what you say is true, but I also know that if we don't at least try, there is no way we can move the schools forward. If this funding effort fails, I don't see how we can make the sea change that is needed.

Teaching without computers

The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard.

Seems to me the "community school" concept is what is being touted as the success to Pond Gap.

Thanks to a $323,850 gift to the University of Tennessee to support one professor's work in Knox County schools, Pond Gap will be the model for expanding current programs into a full-scale, full-service school to help students in every aspect of their lives.

Boyd has made the commitment to fund the community school program at Pond Gap for another three years at the price tag of $450,000.

district's efforts to expand the community school concept at Pond Gap and into other schools.

This districts school system has had my undivided attention since my grandson finished Pre-school and is entering Kindergarden. I have talked to teachers and the majority do not support this plan. A few of the things I have learned over the past few months:
1. Knoxville cannot be compared to Cincinnati. Cincinnati had a 86% dropout rate and is urban with a mass transit system that runs 340+ vehicles for the general public and schools. I applaud the results at Ponds Gap and UT's generous donation, however, the one on one time for 45 students does not equate to success for all.
2. If the parents do not care about after school homework and assignments the kids are going to show the same behavior. The current school budget has $10K set aside for parental/community involvement. We need to educate the parents about the importance of early childhood education first as it is fundamental to a child's success in later years of school.
3. Becoming the first school in the country to hand out I-Pads to all children should be researched further. The are many articles on the internet that show closing the digital divide has had some negative effects on after school assignments. A quote from one article: " In fact, the opposite might be true: School performance seems to decrease. The introduction of high-speed Internet service was associated with lower math and reading test scores in middle grades, and also less frequent self-reported computer use for homework. The researchers wrote in the report that broadband Internet access “appears to crowd out studying effort, presumably by introducing new options for recreational use by students and other family members.”
4. The school district has not reported the total expendatures of school system and continues to just post the General Purpose Fund" in their current and proposed budget. The total funding the school system receives should be posted and accounted for in each line item of the budget.
5. The most important point and one that teachers in the elementary grades agree on and that many administrators ignore, is that ever since spelling was taken off the required testing 14-15 years ago, we have done away with the core requirement to teach spelling in school. If you Google spelling and the correlation to reading scores the past 14 years you will see a decline in the reading scores in all states. If we want to be the first county in the country to do something, maybe we should be the first to put back spelling in the elementary schools as a course of instruction. If you can't spell how can you be expected to read well. Just because it is not a state graded subject is no excuse.

Disclaimer : Typec on my I-Pad, not responsible for typos!

The school system has not determined what type of devices they plan to use if they get the funding. People assume they have decided to use iPads, but that decision won't be made until they actually begin the project.

I only stated I-Pad's because the district spokeswoman stated in the small computer repair startup article she said they were researching the maintenance of I-Pad's and did not mention tablets.
One other point in this digital divide problem I see IMO is that there were a few references WRT the access to the Internet instead of the % of people who have home access according to the Pew Internet and America Life Project. The facts for home access not access to are:
No High School-22%
High School-52%
Some College-73%
College-85%
I hope this is being considered by the school district. I for one would hope it is Tablets or something similar. However if you look at the results of the home access survey, it just reinforces my belief that the parents need to be educated about the importance of after school assignments and early childhood education. Only 1/3rd of the population in Knox County has a college degree or higher. IMO that equates to the 1/3rd of the students that passed the 3rd grade reading proficiency test plus or minus a few % points. The rest are being left behind.

This can be destructive and political. Who does the Evaluations? From talking to several teachers, not one approved of the way this is going forward. However, most when asked about continued education, said the current central office is not doing enough. A recent site prospective teachers frequent when looking for their next career opportunity stated:

"Educators who are looking for more bang for their buck might want to consider teaching in Tennessee. While Tennessee teacher salaries averaged $46,290 in 2009-10—below the national average—Tennessee's cost of living was the lowest in the nation during the third quarter of 2010. (1). Not only that, teachers in Tennessee earned nearly $9,000 more than the average wage for all occupations in the state. (2) Tennessee definitely values its educators."

It went on to list four counties, Knox being one. We can attract the very best teachers if we don't mess it up!

One of the things that has puzzled me about this whole debate is that everyone, on both sides, has made this an all-or-nothing proposition. To my knowledge, no commissioner has publicly asked the school system what they would do with $15 million or $20 million or $25 million instead of $35 million. No commissioner has publicly suggested paying for the renovation and technology components through a bond issue, which, while it would add to the debt and the additional debt service would have to be factored into the budget, would certainly lower the amount needed for the rest of the plan on a yearly basis (and, therefore, the size of a property tax increase).

(link...)

Sometimes I feel like people spend so much time arguing about the hypotheticals of education, that we lose sight of what really is happening and what is really effective teaching. This P.E. teacher gets it.

I've also wondered the same but it seems we have the ones that say no tax increases period, the ones that say we need $35M annual recurring to fix education period and the ones who say an increase is necessary for our schools but do not see substance or accountability in the proposed plan. I for one am part of the last group that believes the current administration does not listen to their teachers, needs more time to explain their "total expenditure" budget request and how it is going to make the K-3rd graders more proficient in reading and math. IMO it should come about by a vote from the citizens. This way more research can be done and the schools central office can better explain just what they intend to do.
Just a couple of side notes:
1. The Ponds Gap project did not originate from the central office. Getting the basic daily necessities of life translating into better grades is from UT.
2. Alabama and South Carolina have had literacy coaches for several years along with 12 other states as part of a program to get better efficient in reading and the other core subjects.
3. This current central office needs to come up with some of their own ideas about Knox county education and proven concepts that work.

I think there's going to be a move tomorrow to pull out the capital improvements and the tech, which is cap improvements at this point, as a bond issue, which might require a referendum. Not completely clear on that, but might require a referendum. The total would be $28 million or so. The rest would come out of cash reserves, which, as I understand it would be a reasonable amount because it's been a good year and the county is actually expected to turn some funds back to the reserves from the current budget. The idea is Hammond's.

This despite the fact that Briggs and Shouse want to put a sales tax referendum to the voters, which is the craziest thing I've heard yet.

Kincannon recently sent out an email where she explained this 14%+ tax hike on Knox County citizens in the middle of a double dip recession was to fund 60 new jobs in the downtown AJ administrative building. So you guys are all giddy about growing a central office bureaucracy on the backs of hurting people in the middle of a recession? And you want to give kids an iPod when the teachers are still failing at teaching them to read and do simple math? In addition you do realize how quickly these iPods will be antiquated? How many of these said iPods will be sold off eh? This is the epitome of throwing money away and giving an institution more money as a reward for inferior results. I will certainly be part of the group who seeks retribution at the ballot booth for all the short sided politicians who voted for this increase just because it sounded good, not because it had true sound and wise merit. I will be encouraging the county government to de-fund the Chamber for participating in an aggressive campaign to raise our taxes so highly in an era of economic devastation.

This was taken from an KNS article from this morning:

More than 90 percent of those polled said they do not favor a sales tax increase, something Knox County Commission Chairman Mike Hammond at one point thought about asking fellow commissioners to put on a ballot.

"Just under 65 percent of those polled said they'd vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama. About 86 percent of registered voters said they wanted to continue electing the county law director and fee officers.

And more than 71 percent said they would rather elect than appoint the county's school superintendent.

In another poll, 74 percent of participants said they do not support a tax increase of 35 cents per $100 of assessed value to pay for the school system's proposal to better education.
Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre said Friday in a statement he wasn't familiar with the poll on the school spending plan, the poll's methodology or results, "so it would be extremely difficult to offer insight, but I continue to believe that the School Board's budget represents an important investment in our children and in the future of our community."

And WATE:
WATE-TV on Thursday released the results of a similar poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, in which 64 percent of the respondents said they opposed a 31-cent property tax increase. Knoxville Chamber representatives, however, say the poll was imbalanced in the age groups questioned.

I wonder if this will have an impact on tomorrow's vote?

Good article, could be good or bad for Romney. Like it said, younger generation with cell phones, younger the voter, the less likely they are actually going to the polls. I do not know when during the day the polls were taken and can not assume that it was during the day. I get Harris polls about once a month and they are at night on my landline.

I for one want the best for our kids and believe that this area will benefit if the students scores dramatically improve. You will not get it IMO with the current superintendent no matter how much money is thrown into the district. A leader and his staff has to have the respect of their employees and also a vision for progress. This central office still has that 2008 5 star "excellence for all children" brief on their web site but continues to look outside of Knox county for answers. Not sure now who put that brief together because it has not worked after 3 solid years. The political machine in this county just does not want to admit that they made a mistake in the hiring of the super. So, remember this next year when the scores stay the same and the excuses stay the same-we need more money.

What's wrong with looking for answers outside Knox County? Other school systems both inside and outside Tennessee have valuable lessons for us. High-performing school systems can be an invaluable resource, especially when combined with local talent. For example, the Cincinnati model for community schools has improved community and parental involvement, which has helped lead to improved student performance. A UT professor and a local philanthropist have shown it can work here, too, in the Pond Gap pilot program. Expanding that concept system-wide requires an investment from the community as a whole. It's one of the best aspects of the plan.

Listen, I understand people have problems with portions of this plan. Some are adamantly opposed to merit pay (though they have a year before implementation to persuade to school board -- which has the authority to decide, regardless of McIntyre's position -- that across-the-board raises are a better idea). Some are skeptical about the efficacy of the technology component. Others just plain don't like McIntyre and would oppose him no matter what. But in the end, the school system is underfunded compared to high-performing school systems and this plan has much to recommend it: More money for teacher support, for intervention for struggling students, for renovation of crumbling schools, for generating more community and parental involvement. Taken as a whole, it's a positive for Knox County students.

Trying to sell taxes to the public during bad times is not a wise move, even if it is for a proven good performer. KCS needs to show first that they can deliver. No more smoke and mirrors please.

KCS actually spends more than $10K per student when one counts in building and interest expenses, and legal expenses for the school system. Even $8.5K/student is much higher than the top 20 education systems worldwide above ours, and they are in a higher cost of living area, so their cost should be higher if KCS is not wasting money. We have slipped to 52nd position internationally as a nation last year, and TN is in the bottom of the US pack.

According to the TN Report Card and the ACT report, today 86% of the 9th graders will leave high school NOT READY TO BE TRAINED FOR A JOB! Do you have any idea how devastating that will be to these kids' life and our economy?

YOU WANT TO THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD? Give a poor performer more money. DO YOU WANT TO INVEST IN SOMETHING THAT PRODUCES 86% "REJECTS" BY THE CUSTOMER (EMPLOYERS)? I wonder if anyone is that crazy. Especially in bad times.

After its history, I would think that KCS would need to demonstrate that they can develop students who can achieve much better ACT scores. The ACT shows what students have learned from grade one to twelve. In my opinion, that will not happen until we see KCS with an ACT score goal commitment, like 21.0 (the last one being 20.4 on a declining trend), and a real operating plan with measurable academic performance goals in every school to provide some resemblance of management control over achieving the ACT goal for the district.

Under these conditions, without a sound goal and operating plan, the question of high tech tools would have virtually no impact on performance.

I heard from a KCS insider that they ALREADY PURCHASED THE IPADS! It is in their warehouse.

It is absolutely amazing how these people, who have done a very poor job, can pick the worst timing, a huge increase request, and demonstrate incompetence without building credibility first, by pushing so hard something that has no chance of being approved by people who have any sense.

We need some big people changes in the school system here in Knox County as well as statewide.

I don't appreciate the News Sentinel announcing most people don't want a property tax increase. Although I think we CAN afford a property tax increase, the paper could have followed up with, "Do you want to improve public schools?"

I also don't like the County Mayor calling my phone and telling me to call my Commissioner and only talking about a tax increase and not mentioning it is for the schools. I feel sorry for the commissioners he bullies by giving out their phone number so the public can harass them.

Yes, teacher morale is an important thing and McIntyre could certainly do better in that respect. But smaller class sizes, help with technology, and a pay raise would certainly help morale. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. This proposal is not perfect but as noted, it's now or never.

"for generating more community and parental involvement". This is very much needed, however, my comment was intended to show that the central office has to have a clue first. The UT project is great for the 45 participants at Ponds Gap, however the boondoggle to Cincinnati? This was an urban school system with a 86% dropout rate, 340+ buses and 45+ special use vehicles. The students also use this transportation system to get to school. We are not a mass transit urban county.
While anyone would not disagree that if a students basic quality of life issues are not met, they will not do well in school. IMO a much needed increase in the school budget is needed for community and parental involvement, but get the solutions that best fit the county.
The central office should have realized that literacy coaches were needed two years ago but are just now in the pilot stages.
Getting answers from outside the county can be good if and only if they can be applied to the demographic area.

I am not a strong believer that the schools should be going so far as doing laundry after school.

(link...)

If you google Cincinnati school system with reference to this $1 Billion dollar project you will see additional information.
It is relevant in that this trip was taken, to Cincinnati, an Urban community project, $1B dollar project, and we have 400K+ people spread out over how many miles? With what kind of transportation system?
The Ponds Gap project with the "45" participating students had already started.

We only have 2 cells, two voters, one land line, but I have an I-Pad with Skype. I must not be on the Knox Election Commission database.

Support our schools sends 500 apples to the commission today and each of the 500 "Apples for Education" was labeled with stickers that read: "The Community with the Best Schools Wins." I wish I would have thought of something like that:
"The Community with the Best Superintendant Wins."
I wonder if the apples were a reference to I-Pads. I thought Tablets would be better.

Right now it is in the hands of the commissioners, however, I would like to know where I can find the budget that represents the $454M spent. The only budget listed on web sites is $393M and change.

(link...)

How was this extra money spent? There is a big difference in the two numbers.

R. Larry Smith's genius Solutions to All Our Problems: Dr. McIntyre and School Board: take your requested budget increase and cut your budget by that amount. Then you can do everything you wanted to do under the new proposal, but it won't cost anybody anything!

Proof that we need better math education.

"The $7 million will be used to fund the reading program. It will also go to hiring new teachers and some community schools initiatives and other educational programs."

I will give it a year, then mark my words, the scores will not go up by much if any. Unless you put spelling back into the curriculum they will not be able to understand the words they are reading. But we do not test that so it is not important. Statistics show that for the last 15 years, since spelling was taken off the states testing, most all states have had a dramatic drop in reading tests. Educators are teaching to the tests and have gotten away from the basics.
Also, parental and community involvement needs slot of attention. The vast amount of information from the school district to the parent lies on the Internet. The central office seems to be ignorant to the fact that there "are" people who do not have home Internet.
No high school-22%
High school-52%
Some college-73%
College or higher-85%
This is "home access" vs what I've seen posted-"access to Internet" (as in work,coffee shops)
Next year I hope the discussions around this time will be who is going to be the next superintendent.

Expect more think-tank type proposals

In 2008 the 5 star plan "excellence for all children" was pitched to the community. Four years later we have another increase in funding but have to wait another 4 years to see if it is working for the students? Someone had better start coming up with proven ways to help the kids learn in Knox County or the blame will be on the ones that insist the current system works if only more $$. Sad thing is that the Kids are the ones missing out because of right wing vs left wing see who wins mentality. If someone could just get the central office to start listening to the teachers, getting their input, it could IMO make a difference. Just an idea!

I'm w/ Barker on this one. You can't expect dramatic improvements in one year. Education is incremental. Whoever thought that something could be determined in a single year clearly wasn't an educator.

I think what's bothering me the most about this is that everybody has talked about this and was seemingly in agreement, but then let one person torpedo it -- Burchett.

And the point being is that 4 years from now you will see very little change. This comment was taken from your KNS site this morning: Thank you, Rebecca Fogerty! You have just stated what every teacher in Knox County already knows is the real problem. As a teacher, I can tell you, you are right on. If the parents don't care, their children won't care.

Now that you've identified the real problem, what should we do about it? I'm up for anything at this point, to help my classroom babies succeed!

See my previous post on here. 1. There seems to be those who will blindly follow the central office advice that things will get better. 2. There are those who would like to see some real meaningful change take place before it is too late.

The National Association of School Boards released their survey of the nations board members: 88% of the nations school board members reported that they rely on the schools superintendent for guidance and budget advice. Unless our members are in the 12% I would say they are in the first category.

I am also up for suggestions. They teach you in your first few Engineering classes that you have to identify and analyze the problem before you can attempt a solution.

Yes, parental involvement is a big factor in academic achievement. Everyone knows that. At least the school system plan tries to address that through the community schools initiative that you have criticized in previous posts. So, if the community schools initiative is so poor, what do YOU propose doing about it aside from merely criticizing?

Well I can see you are part of the group in #1.LOL Here it is again:
1. "Get the support and advice/recommendation from the teachers that are with the students 5 days a week." I have always stated that the UT professor is right in his theory that unless the kids basic quality of life needs are met, success in school will be poor. What I objected to was comparing Knoxville county with success in Cincinnati. Urban vs suburban. IMO we do not have the resources to provide the type of needs he describes that are required. The battle for increased funding of $35M generated more vocal responses since I moved here in 2006. The cost to implement the community initiative to all area needing schools would be astronomical compared to the $35M and IMO will not pass.
2. I would like to see a committee formed to analyze and determine how to get more parental involvement. The central office relies on the Internet, but there has to be a better way. This could be done with central office guidance. I am not opposed to finding solutions with their assistance but also understand that running a school system of 56,000+ students takes up most of their time.
3. Look at ways to get spelling back into the classroom even if it is not tested. There is sufficient information about this on the internet and a book written on the subject.
4. The same committee could also put together a budget request brief for the commissioners and citizens to review. This needs to happen prior to December 2012 so that alternatives and such can be
worked out. If you emphasize spelling in the classroom, accountability and parental involvement IMO there would not be such a negative response from the community WRT a tax increase.

Bottom line, there are several ways to go about this and IMO the central office rushed this budget without providing sufficient data to support a tax increase.

Just a few suggestions.

4. We

Speaking of which (solutions that is) if the central office is so dead set on these evaluations and bringing in folks who are not formally trained in education, why not raise the pay of certified teachers and put the less than qualified in a teachers assistant position? This will provide extra one on one time for students, allow mentoring opportunities for retirees/part-timers, as well as the teachers and provide a cost effective means of dealing with kids that are struggling to keep up.

The key to teaching is putting the right people in place to interact with and inspire kids. This whole systemic beat down and starting a war between parents and teachers is extremely counterproductive.

Here is a link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527123852.htm and if you just google "parental involvement and student achievement" there are more positive articles WRT this subject than you have time to read today. There are good teachers and bad just like parents, sorry if your children have some of the bad. At parent meetings I would expect the ones that show up to support the increase. The parents that do not show up and do not get involved with their kids education is the problem but if you do not see it that way so be it.

Is a six hundred word essay the result of committees formed in East TN or is that in general?

My last tour in the Navy was as the CNO's enlisted training officer for Command, Control, Communications and Computers. $175M budget and just a 3 star Admiral, contractor and myself. Committees were formed to get solutions so that the Navy could advance into the 21st century. From those working groups we were able the get sailors trained as system administrators, network administrators and network security. This came about in one years time and it was only 12 years ago. The other services followed our example after a brief to the JCS. I am not sure what you are familiar
with WRT committees but call it a working group if you prefer. I'm just offering my opinion on what I have seen work to solve major problems and possible solutions as asked.

Having read through my posts I never said Bob' work was not effective and beneficial. If you could find a way to convince a majority to favor a tax increase it would do wonders for the needy schools. I do not see doing laundry, 3 meals a day and providing the transportation something that will pass. Knoxville county is not Cincinnati. Someone had better come up with a different angle for the brief if we are to get more $$ for the community initiative in the form of a tax increase.

And yes before it is said, I'm not an expert on public education. I do have 4 degrees, 3 are in Engineering not education, which is why there are so many typos. I have been doing way too much research on this since looking at the last two years school budget, proposed plan and different views. If I've offended anyone with my posts critical of the way things are going I apologize now.

I wish all luck with the many perceived problems WRT the school system. That's it, perceived! Maybe
there isn't one and time will tell. My Grandson enters Kindergarden next year and you can bet papa will be at those meetings after school. Better arrive early because from what I've been told it is hard to find a seat at this school.

"if you just google "parental involvement and student achievement" there are more positive articles WRT this subject than you have time to read today" once again:

If you type "parental involvement and student achievement" in the search box you will find plenty of papers, articles and more that support. What I gave you was a link to the first article. There are Universities that have studies out that discuss the subject.

WRT Alan's statement. He is correct. The actual budget as reported on all KCS web sites and BOE is around $393M. From what I've been told the mayor has the figures for the $453M. That total spending is not on the public web site. If you have connections, I would love to do a line by line comparison of the total expenditure for 2011-2012 year. I've gone through the "General Fund". A think a cross check between the two would keep me busy for the summer. I hate yard work!

Alan is stupid.

For a liberal website, there sure seems like a lot of folks that just have there mind made up without even considering relevant information whether right or wrong. Kind of reminds me of the Good Ole Boy network people told me about when I moved here. My way or the highway mentality. There seems to be a different liberal attitude on the East Coast. They try to look at all sides of things and consider all facts before running there mouth. However, you know what they say about "diarrhea of the mouth" (The ones that are always right, never taking a minute to look at things from a different perspective and always, always having to have the last word) - the analogy is "shit for brains".

"How much are they paying you guys to troll our obscure little liberal website? If we take up a collection can we pay you the same to go away?"

Donate it to the Knox Chamber and the Haslam's favorite charity.

Obscure website but not liberal at all.

I won't troll on this website Ryan. Talk about shit for brains LOL Getting old

The differences between liberals and conservatives run wide and deep, and a new study suggests they may even be reflected in the very structure of their brains.

In the study, led by Ryota Kanai of the University College London, people who identified themselves as liberals generally had a larger anterior cingulate cortex — a comma-shaped region near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making. By contrast, those who identified as conservatives had larger amygdalas — almond-shaped structures that are linked with emotional learning and the processing of fear. (More on TIME.com: In Politics, It’s Survival of the Fittest, Literally)

These structural differences, the authors suggest, support previous reports of differences in personality: liberals tend to be better at managing conflicting information, while conservatives are though to be better at recognizing threats, researchers said. “Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual’s political orientation,” said Kanai in a press release. “Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure.”

Perhaps most important, liberals consistently score higher on a personality measure called “openness to experience,” one of the “Big Five” personality traits, which are easily assessed through standard questionnaires. That means liberals tend to be the kind of people who want to try new things, including new music, books, restaurants and vacation spots — and new ideas.

“Open people everywhere tend to have more liberal values,” said psychologist Robert McCrae, who conducted voluminous studies on personality while at the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

Conservatives, in contrast, tend to be less open — less exploratory, less in need of change — and more “conscientious,” a trait that indicates they appreciate order and structure in their lives. This gels nicely with the standard definition of conservatism as resistance to change — in the famous words of William F. Buckley Jr., a desire to stand “athwart history, yelling ‘Stop!’ ”