JUST SO NO ONE WORRIES: We’re fine, but I’ve caught a cold and I’m going to bed.

LEADERSHIP ACTUALLY DOES MATTER:

OPEN THREAD: Happy Thursday.

WHY THE GOP NEEDS WORK:

GREENLAND:

OUCH: Extreme winter storm threat sparks historic natural gas spike. “The contracts for near-term US natural gas futures have skyrocketed more than 70% so far this week, according to FactSet data. That leaves natural gas on track for the biggest weekly increase since 1990 and at the highest price since 2022, according to Bloomberg.”

PARTISAN BIAS AT CENSUS BUREAU: It’s no secret that the vast majority of federal workers are Democrats, but the results of this review by The Washington Stand of contributions by U.S. Census Bureau workers are stark.

A VERY PUBLIC EDUCATION: ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ is lite on academics: They can’t read, but they have ‘global empathy.’

By the time I got my high school diploma, I could read, write and calculate, dissect a frog and analyze the causes of the Civil War. But that was the last millennium.

Today’s students need more, say educators. The national superintendents’ association urges schools to “establish a high-impact ecosystem by building clarity and conviction for a shared vision of learning. The newly trendy “Portrait of a Graduate” goes beyond academics to identify what “children in your community need to succeed in this rapidly changing, complex world.”

In Columbus, Ohio, for example, the portrait includes “global empathy,” ability to use technology, creativity, adaptability, communications and “critical thinking.”

“As of 2024, at least 20 states and countless districts had initiated ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ reforms, writes Daniel Buck, who directs the Conservative Education Reform Network, in Education Next. Educating the “whole child” is an old idea, he writes. This could be just another fad. However, the Education Testing Service and the Carnegie Foundation are working on tests to measure the unmeasurable. Is Caleb achieving the desired level of good citizenship? Is Emma sufficiently creative and collaborative?

Johnny’s failing algebra but he got an A in Groupthink.

DEMOCRATS SURE GOT IT GOOD: