Agreed. You take monetary payments to individuals out of the equation and fix what is really wrong and causing today's inequities. The Federal government is already all up in public schools. True the states run them, but that's about it. Much funding comes from Washington, and the states must comply with the Federal mandates of the day in order to get the money. This happened when Clinton took office and the bad thing is that schools haven't gotten any better. The states with the worst schools (ie Arkansas) have stayed abysmal...the states with better schools are worse off now because of the Federal mandates. All it did was lower the bar. I am firmly of the opinion that a bunch of guys in Washington cannot fully understand how kids learn better in Arkansas, or New York...or wherever. The mandates sent down from Washington have a cookie cutter approach to education. That simply does not work. Kids from different places view the world differently and thus that impacts the way they take in information...regional differences are huge in this regard. Another thing. I would abolish the education major at all universities (with the exception of elementary ed). When you have an interdisciplinary major, you MASTER none of the disciplines, not because you can't but because the subjects are given extremely short shrift. You wind up with academically weak kids that have a teacher that does not know the subject well enough to help them understand. This leads to a sense of hopelessness and they lose interest in education. On the other hand you have gifted kids who may understand the subject better than the teacher and they get bored. Thus high school becomes a boring place with little value and they can't wait to graduate so they will be done with it. Bottom line...you want to teach chemistry? Get a chemistry degree? You want to teach English? Get an English degree...and so on. Not everybody wants to go or necessarily should go to college. The first thing is that if everybody went to college, those degrees would be totally worthless. We'd end up with bachelor's degrees commanding the same salaries and types of jobs currently available to those without the degree. More important than that is that there are MANY people who contribute to society in jobs which do not require a degree. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc perform work which has REAL value to all of us. If a kid has a desire to be a plumber then we shouldn't encourage him to get a degree just for the sake of having one. We should encourage him to hone that skill so that he can become the best plumber he can be. These are important occupations, and should not be overlooked. This is why public schools should also make available vocational training. Not in lieu of academic courses, but as a compliment to them. I realize a lot of high schools have these programs, but my understanding is that most of them are a joke. It needs to be taken seriously, because these are people who we all depend on and the entrepreneurs often reap great monetary benefit from their work. Bottom line again...we need to revamp the education system to set these kids up for success, rather than failure in whatever occupation they may choose to pursue.
LOL...dude I don't know. You could take that last post and turn it into a manifesto. That might get you on Nightline. I loved that post...seriously dude. ROFL...I can hear the 80s music now....Jenny don't lose my number 867-5309....LOL This badge is for ax handling....this one's for raping and pillaging...God I really hope that's not how it was. I can hardly pronounce what you do...you win. In all seriousness...great post. Very entertaining. Thanks for lightening things up.
point taken.... When I think of going to college....it becomes interchangable with technical/vocational training in my mind since I actually went to SJC straight outta HS to take vocational training as a mechanic. I actually thought that I was goin for some serious schoolin at that time. I forget that most of yall seem to have went to "serious" colleges for "serious" degrees and don't have the same frame of reference as I do.. I didn't go back for a serious degree till a couple of years ago...(working towards a BS in CIS) but still...Would it hurt any lower income folks to make a better living if they at least did that much? What harm could come to the world as we know it if at least 50% of the poor went to get training in a vocation that they could use to get out of minimum wage jobs or no jobs? Thats basically all I'm sayin..
An individual should decide what they want to be (doctor, engineer, mechanic...whatever) and then get the training they need to be the best (fill in the blank) they can be. I'm not saying that all of the training programs need to be governmental. There should be standards set be licensure boards, etc, but privately run orgs probably would do it better. But the student loan program should apply to these training grounds as well as traditional 4 year colleges. With all of the bright minds in this country a way could be worked out to make this a reality without being unduly burdensome on the tax rolls. Reallocation of existing funds is the key here folks. But part of reforming the high schools should be assisting students in figuring out what they want to be. I changed majors 3 times in college. But I knew I wanted to go to college. Many kids don't...so we need to have a mechanism in place to help them decide where their interests are and which vocation they'd want to do for a living. I'm not saying that everybody should go to college. That is an ignorant statement to make. What I AM saying is that money shouldn't be a barrier to college for a bright student who wants the education. I like the Georgia system best.
Thanks Refman! Hopefully I can goad rimbaud into telling me more... look how lazily he corrects me. I'm glad to see the thread survived my ignorant comments last night. I'm also glad that you looked for the good, to push past those complaints. Sorry for all of the pollyanna-ese, I'm just in good spirits right now. have a good night!
Hey man...last night was my fault. I posted something that conveyed a message I did not intend. All you did was react...probably the same way I would have. Anyway bro...we're cool. Have a great night.
My BBS posts are seriously monitered by those "in the know" and there will be a book forthcoming. I am very special. Oh now you're being pedantic. Thanks. BTW, in art school, did they tell you (1000 years * .25 (oppression)) > ( 300 years * .6 (oppression)). I want the 70 points of difference calculated by a multiplier (to be determined later) and deposited into my Zurich account #8675309.[/] For all of your "I'm so smart and am better than philosophy blah blah," you have never seemed to be able to understand that I am not an artist, nor am I in art school. I am an art historian. In art history school they tell us that your calculations are worthless. What was the specific reason the West Africans were kept together? Okra? Mmmm.... Seriously, heb, you are from the area. Climate mixed with rice and sissy whities who don't like skeeters goes a long way. Do you think the Moors were a bunch of boy scouts running around through Europe? Do you think they honored the cultures they assimilated? They went out of their way to maintain Greek and Roman works? Classical texts were entrenched throughout Europe. We're incredibly fortunate that the Moors couldn't read. ps, I don't know what I'm talking about, but that makes this all the more fun The only reason I am doing any of this is because it is you and, yes, this is fun. So to your really bad point...The Islamic invaders were generally nice guys. Other than the fact that they did not belong in Europe and killed a few hundred Euros, they were really very cool. They were the best scientists and poets in the world and they did indeed keep the Classical world alive (remember that medieval Christians thought that that stuff was evil and generally destroyed it all). Those thoughtful moors kept making copies. Oh yeah, the Islamic invaders were much nicer to the Jews, as well. Yeah, I forgot how they were just missionaries. No harm, no foul. Actually, that's not true. The Moors suck! They killed my people! Your people deserved it. Quit your whining and be glad that the sissie Euros did not win - then you would be in a city with no planning, sewage, and lots of book burnings. You misunderstand. I go to school to learn about 'science'. We scientists usually feel that we can figure out this cultural clutter stuff just by making stuff up, even when we don't really know the exact details. If we're wrong... noone really notices. We're scientists, so we can maintain jobs. You, meanwhile, will be a drunk trying to keep a job at Barnes & Noble. Who are people going to believe? Achebe the paleoecologist/evolutionary biologist or Rimbaud the artist? It is appropriate that you put science in quotes, since you are not really a scientist in training. In regards to my people vs. your people...my people are the people behind the curtain, driving culture and the way people think. Your people are a joke to be told at a real scientist coctail party. OK, in all seriousness, I really had to laugh at the Barnes & Noble bit...there are certainly horror stories about PhD's out there with meaningless jobs. That is a risk we all have to take - going into major debt over so many years of school with very little potential to ever earn a living wage. ancient DNA could help us determine the descendant groups of the Moors. We could make milllllllllllllllllions. Those sons of b****es. I, personally, have been wronged. Granted, it was a long time ago... and I happen to be doing okay right now. But what about those Euros that weren't able to keep their bloodlines going? Somebody should pay. Now you are just rambling. Euros have themselves to blame anyway in regards to bloodlines. If they weren't trying to stay pure by keeping it in the family (resulting in all sorts of nice deformities and mental illness) the were off raping native peoples and slaves around the world. Therefore the .001% that were raped by the Islamics in Sicily and Spain are insignificant. Apparently South Carolina (god what a beautiful pair of words) didn't have many problems w/ evolution in education when I was young. Either that, or all of my educators broke the law. That is pretty funny...you actually like S.C. Poor backwoods bumpkin. How big was your culture shock when you moved to the booming metropolis of SLC, UT? For my only serious point in this post, I will say my analogy is arguably poor... but my point was simply that people screw w/ other people. People that are negative and hold themselves down w/ invisible chains from the past are doing themselves a disservice. Things certainly sucked... things still occassionally suck. The biggest question anyone faces is, do I do it all again today? There are people of all income brackets that choose to do it all again, every single day, with a smile. Those people are winners. What is the point of arguing with your real points? What if you do it everyday buut not with a smile...more of a neutral gaze? Can't you still be a winner? I am not a smiling kind of guy...I guess I am damned.
I know that you're an art historian, I've always known (well, not always). I try to be cute. Aren't I cute? btw, for all of your "I'm so smart", I wish that you wouldn't mix your quoting and bold tags... arghgh Do you think it has something to do with the West African toleration to malaria? But this concerns the most basic gene frequency example ever. South Carolinians don't understand evolution, and they certainly don't understand gene frequencies. Maybe they just thought God liked W. Africans a bunch. Or maybe the shortest distance between two points is... How romantic. You know science is the root of all evil. I blame the Berber invaders, spreading Berber carpet all over the place. What are you talking about Willis? I'll accidentally have four bachelor degrees in the winter of 2003 (phil/geo/anthro/bio... I have phil/geo/anthro right now). In the meantime, I have taken and will have taken many of the bio/master requirements. Maybe if I do a PhD in primatology/evolutionary ecology at Duke, we can be friends. But sorry though that my schedule is slower than yours, you know *ahem*, I had to go and make all of that money in industry for a few years. Definitely. The point is, of course, to do what you want to do. I, personally, appreciate all knowledge. I joke that my opinions are otherwise, but that's just b/c I have to retain a focus to be successful. The people that are where I want to be now, don't waste time taking every course possible. They certainly don't end up w/ 5000 posts on a basketball bbs. Now you're being mean, which fits the pattern of the misanthropic, sophomoric, self-loathing bull**** that you put in front of us all of the time, rimbaud, if that's your real name. btw, bumpkin... there are fan fares from Atl to SLC for $240~. You should come out and snowboard with us sometime.
This probably should be its own thread and be in the Feedback Forum, but can we have a forum that is just posts by Achebe, rimmy, with some Smeggy and Crisco splashed in?? I mean sometimes I think that this is their BBS and we are all just living in it.
I honestly was not sure if you knew or were serious, but I still like to insult you for no reason. Get over my mixing. Do you think it has something to do with the West African toleration to malaria? But this concerns the most basic gene frequency example ever. South Carolinians don't understand evolution, and they certainly don't understand gene frequencies. Maybe they just thought God liked W. Africans a bunch. Or maybe the shortest distance between two points is... Euros were such sissies they couldn't tolerate the climate. Amazing how few actually lived here when all of those slaves were working on the rice plantations. You would have been exposed t this much more growing up...was it still generally accepted when you were a yungin that the gullah were stupid and simply cannot speak "proper English" (because their tongues were too big) or was it accepted by then that it was a cultural/ancestral thing? I the discoveries started early in 30's, I think...but that probably wasn't real common knowledge. The first interaction was in the late 80's. People in SC don't understand much, do they? How romantic. You know science is the root of all evil. I blame the Berber invaders, spreading Berber carpet all over the place. Isn't berber the most curable carpet, though? I know it was the higher price end when we bought our house that we don't live in... What are you talking about Willis? I'll accidentally have four bachelor degrees in the winter of 2003 (phil/geo/anthro/bio... I have phil/geo/anthro right now). In the meantime, I have taken and will have taken many of the bio/master requirements. Maybe if I do a PhD in primatology/evolutionary ecology at Duke, we can be friends. I actually might end up at Duke as well. Not sure. Wouldn't Emory be better for primates, though, since they have the big primate study center (apparently it is evil, btw)? I'll be generous and say that we can be friends while you get your PhD. But sorry though that my schedule is slower than yours, you know *ahem*, I had to go and make all of that money in industry for a few years. I took time off and made very little money. Now I go for free and have a sugar-momma. I am sorry you are not so fortunate. Besides, didn't you need that period of making "all that money" to boost your self esteem? Definitely. The point is, of course, to do what you want to do. I, personally, appreciate all knowledge. I joke that my opinions are otherwise, but that's just b/c I have to retain a focus to be successful. The people that are where I want to be now, don't waste time taking every course possible. They certainly don't end up w/ 5000 posts on a basketball bbs. My wife often makes comments about how graduate students don't spend so much time on a basketball bbs because they are more dedicated. I tell her that I am just smarter than they are and do not need as much time as they. Now you're being mean, which fits the pattern of the misanthropic, sophomoric, self-loathing bull**** that you put in front of us all of the time, rimbaud, if that's your real name. btw, bumpkin... there are fan fares from Atl to SLC for $240~. You should come out and snowboard with us sometime. I bring truth, you bring childish retorts. Typical. I, unfortunately, do not know how to snowboard. I would most likely kill myself. That is a drawback of practically never seeing snow...and certainly none deeper than 3 inches. Manny, Don't kid yourself. At best you only rent here and your payment is way overdue.
I know, I know, but I keep forgetting your address, rimmy. What is it again so I can mail my rent payment??
