ballou

Private equity is everywhere: emergency rooms, nursing homes, veterinarians, your favorite retailers, and maybe some day your retirement plan. Yet, according to our guest Brendan Ballou, author of Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, few understand what these firms are or how they work.

• Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America 
• Learned by Being Burned (teachers share how they were burned by sales agents and "trusted" advisors and how they got wise to the 403(b) plan)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Karen Ballou has been a leader and innovator in the skincare and wellness space her entire career. Most recently, she is the founder and CEO of Immunocologie, an all-natural skincare brand focused on skin health and immune protection as well as co-founder of LB Equity, a growth equity fund investing in emerging brands in beauty, wellness and personal care. She is also a licensed esthetician, has founded and owned day spas around the country and authored curriculum for the American Esthetician Association.

My guest, Linda Ballou, is an accomplished travel and adventure writer - about whom world-wide explorer, Jim Dorsey, says: "Ballou takes the reader out of their armchair into the vast world as few travel writers can. Her eye for detail, combined with intimate knowledge of her surroundings, sets Ms. Ballou heads above most of the travel writing pack. In this age when everyone with a back pack proclaims him or herself a travel writer, it takes books like Linda's- to re-define the genre. This is just plain, great, travel writing.” Listen and enjoy.

https://erictrules.com/episode41

Show Notes:

During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment:

• From the Washington Post, we discuss the previously lauded Ballou High School where it was just discovered that many students who received a diploma missed an extensive amount of school (so much so that they probably shouldn't have graduated by traditional metrics). 

• More than 1 of every 10 students receiving a diploma from a D.C. public high school last year missed most of the academic year, according to an investigation released Tuesday that casts a shadow on a district that has trumpeted improvements in graduation rates.

• What does it mean to receive a diploma? Why is there doubt cast upon the students, when in reality it is an adult-created / system-created problem?

In our second segment, we bring back Hot Takes! and talk about school awards, teacher evaluations, tracking students to specific careers, and extracurricular activities. 

In our final segment, we bring back another beloved segment all about #DearBetsy! During #DearBetsy, we discuss Devos' most recent speech that posits that Bush 2 and Obama's respective education reforms have done little to impact students.

Resources Mentioned/Referenced:

Devos: Nothing Presidents Barack Obama or George W. Bush did in Education Reform Really Worked

No More School Awards!

What to do with extracurricular activities?

Article about just Ballou High School (WaPost)

DC Graduating Chronically Absent Students (WaPost)

Ask the Right Questions and Learn Something (WaPost Op-Ed)

Not Ballou's Fault (WaPost Op-Ed from Valedictorian)

Episode 103 features some heavy-hitting segments and #Edulution awesomeness!

• Investigative Article Review: What Happened at Ballou High School?
  • A DCPS goes from a 57% graduation rate to 100% with 100% college acceptance in one year? Sound to good to be true? It is.
  • Link to Full Article
• A Word from Our Fake Sponsors: Dreamworks' Trolls Holiday Special
• Article Review: What if Principals Were Treated Like CEOs?
  • Link to Full Article
• A Word from Our Fake Sponsors: As Seen On TV Star Showers
• The Great Debate Round 1: Jon and Nick debate the biggest issues facing the entire universe!

An in depth conversation with Kurt Ballou and J. Bannon about the making of “You Fail Me: Redux” album. We discuss the story behind the original recording, the remix/remastering process and what went into updating the physical packaging.

Order Converge “You Fail Me: Redux” CD/LP/Digital:

Deathwish Store
Deathwish Europe Store
Converge Store
iTunes
Amazon

Converge Official Website