Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Education of the Masses

Public education is in hot water.  There are never enough funds to provide the levels of education that we have been led to expect.  Teachers are being laid off.  Schools are being closed.  The sky is falling......

The school paradigm that we have today is essentially that same one we've had for nearly two hundred years - Kindergarten to Grade Twelve.  Most districts have three grade levels, classrooms are self-contained, and, by law, kids have to attend - at least until they drop out.

Essentially, students learn all the basics (or should have learned) by the end of grade three.  After that, teachers build onto the basic skills.  If a child fails to adequately master basic skills by grade three, they are destined to the hard road and usually do not succeed without some interventions. 

By the time a student is in about grade 10, every class is a repetation (basic subjects) of past studies.  The result is a high drop out rate.

Additionally, school rapidly becomes irrelevent to students in the poorer sectors of our society when they approach high school when they notice that their peers with the greatest power and wealth get these things from the narcotics trade or other criminal activities. 

Couple these phenomena with the fact that many kids are already behind the educational eight-ball before they go to school.  Absent parents, gang activities, poverty - all make the transition to a closed school environment nearly insurmountable.

So - what to do.  Since the school system has become the adhoc parent, health provider, food provider, etc., maybe we should start earlier.  A kid should start school when toilet trained and reasonably socialized (can get along without mom for a reasonable length of time and can play with others).

Stop the notion that all kids should go to college.  Only a minority of students will benefit from a four-year education at a college or university.  Get more vocational training.  Also, get some life skills training on how to get up and get ready for work, how to manage finances, and how to work with others. 

Stop blaming the teachers.  They are doing what they are told.

Don't Ask; Don't Tell

As a libertarian, I'd be likely to not really care about a person's sexual persuasion as long as they didn't want to make it an issue.  What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.....etc.  I served over twenty years in the U.S. Air Force and, although we suspected some of our own may be homosexual (this was before the term "gay" was coined).  Why gay?  Are heterosexuals sad?  Anyway, nobody brought it up.  In fact, although sexual matters were readily discussed, nobody ever had a problem if they opted out of the discussion.  As an officer, I had to ride herd on the younger military members so that harmones didn't get in the way of good military order.

Now, my successors are going to be ordered to accept openly gay persons into the ranks.  Time will tell how this will work in combat.  We can only hope.

The second concern I have is that we continue to approach the precipice edge atop the slippery slope.  Point one is that sexual behavior, from a biological standpoint, is designed to ensure that the species will survive through production of progeny.  Nature, or whoever designed the system, made the act feel real good to encourage the participants.  In and of itself, the act is most to satisfy the physical.  The majority of humans are attracted to the opposite sex by reasons of biology.  If attracted to the same sex, the reason seems to be physical pleasure and is really a conscious adaption.  No one has ever discovered a "gay gene." 

Point two is by tacit approval or by giving legitimacy to this life style, it's only a short hop to accepting other lifestyles.  Some that come to mind include incest, polygamy, polyandry, pedophelia, bestiality, necrophelia - to name a few.  Over the centuries, we've sort of agreed as a species that these things were contrary to the safety and progression of society and should not be condoned. 

The question that I am left with is this - how far are we willing to go in our pursuit of pleasure before we lose our humanity.  Although many of these practices may be shown to be "victimless," the purpetrator may just be victimizing himself.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Celebrations

As holidays and events go, I'm sort of negative on the celebration of such.  Most of our holidays have been reduced to excuses to go to excess, whether it is the actual celebratory activities or the spending of money for no other use except to enhance our economy.  Thanksgiving, for example, is no longer a day to get together with friends and family to enjoy the simple act of being thankful for friends, family and the great bounty that we enjoy.  Rather, it is the precursor to the gluttonous four or so weeks of shopping to support another holiday which has lots much of its meaning - Christmas.  You noticed, I said Christmas, not the Winter Holiday (italics mine). 

New Years is another event for indulging in excess and the days such as St. Valentine's Day (note the religious prefix), Easter, Mothers & Fathers Days have become opportunities for the greeting card industries although email cards are rapidly taking over this event.  The Fourth of July, even, has become a time to spend a small fortune on booze, food and fireworks.  Most of the historical significance has been all but forgotten. 

One day, however, has remained much as it has always been.  Formerly known as Armistice Day, November 11th was changed by congress to Veterans Day a few decades back.  Seems that folks still take the opportunity to pause and remember the great wars our country has fought and the young men and women who did the fighting.  Here in Lincoln, we had two observances, both of which were to the point and appropriate. 

But, the most enjoyable for me and a few fellow vets was the student assembly at Twelve Bridges Elementary School, here in Lincoln  although they celebrated on November 12th (no school on the 11th).  For the third year running, the hundreds of kids at the school honored vets with music, laughter, smiles and homemade cards.  The parent club provided refreshments and, as well, lots of "thank yous" to those who attended.  Good show Twelve Bridges. 

Some things give you hope that we are not all lost.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Differences Between Cultures

Sixty Minutes did two segments this evening; the first being a report on Haiti and the continuing misery going on there which includes earthquakes, hurricanes and a cholera epidemic.  The second was the story of the U.S. Army soldier who will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in ceremonies later this week.  How could there be any parallels between these stories?

Tangents possibility; however, no parallels.  Haiti is one of those perpetual third world countries which, no matter how much the rest of humanity tries, never seems to even approach the prosperity of other countries, even of those close neighbors in the Carribean.  There are many reasons for these failures.  One of the more obvious is that of having centuries of ineffectual and often criminal governments with the accompanying numerous bureaucrats and officials who each take a share of whatever comes into the country.  This was manifested by the inability of dedicated recovery materials, donated free to Haiti for the benefit of the earthquate refugees, to clear the port and be utilized to help folks recover some semblance of comfort.  It wasn't until the CBS news crew mentioned this to the Haitian president that the materials moved.  Until that time, no Haitian had the gumption to do the right thing.

Our young soldier, on the other hand, comes from a country and an army which recognize the need for people to take the initiative.  In countless episodes, our military members, realizing a necessity, have done the right, and often heroic, thing without having to run the decision through the bureaucracy and make the right payoffs.  A great example of this occurred during the Normandy Invasion of World War II when, paratroops, scattered about northern France, regrouped into small fighting units and went about accomplishing the mission - to free Europe.

Two things come to mind:  I am constantly amazed at the quality of our military forces, especially the young men and women who carry the cause in Afghanistan and Iraq and I'm worried that our country may become like Haiti, at constant loggerheads where nothing can ever get done because we have constructed too many roadblocks in an ever increasing governmental bureaucracy.