On 2003-12-18 09:00:00, Carmel wrote:
I will briefly mention the horrific damage we are doing to our own country by practically eliminating the possibility of decent public education.....gotta fund Saddams retirement pension. Teachers are being cut, supplies being cut, school food is horrendous....what about our children? And their children? What legacy are we gonna leave them besides reels and reels of live news coverage?
Carmel, ya' know how much I like you, right? So much I'm looking forward to hashing this one out with you cause I know you'll cus me, you know I'll let it roll off and we both know we'll still be friends afterward, right?
Awright.
I don't think we could have reached this state of affairs without compulsory public schooling. Before such a thing was widespread in our society, America was one of the most literate countries on the planet. On paper, we still are. But they've moved the bar. 100% literacy, by the new math, means you can read and understand a TV guide. By the old standard, some yokel in Kenya is a lot more literate than most of us are. They may not be able to read and write about it. But they can discuss world issues as they effect them in at least 2 or three languages and several dialects and do it comfortably and intelligently.
Just check out the distinguished James Shikwati
http://isil.org/resources/fnn/2003summe ... talks.htmlI'm not suggesting, above, that Mr. Shikwati is a yokel. I was actually thinking of a kid I've known for a few years who landed here at age 14 from Kenya, where he had been regarded as an adult. That was about 6 or 8 years ago. Tonight, we were just discussing debugging C code and his and my daughter's turbulant past. I'm sending him a copy of
http://www.libertybookshop.us/mall/Unde ... istory.htm I've read articles, essays, reviews and quotes from it for years now. If someone wanted to send me a Christmas gift, I wouldn't return it. I'd read it and then release it into the wild via
http://bookcrossing.com/Anyway, I don't think our public schools are really failing. I think they're succeeding splendidly at their purpose. That's why my kids don't have to go. I like them wild and unschooled, just as they are.
The hypothalamus is one of the most important parts of the brain, involved in many kinds of motivation, among other functions. The hypothalamus controls the "Four F's": 1. fighting; 2. fleeing; 3.feeding; and 4. mating.
-- Psychology professor in neuropsychology intro course