[updated:LAST EDITED ON 05-Dec-02 AT 02:52 PM (EST)]Okay, it's that time of year, everyone has their hand out and in your face. Santa was blocking the door to Wal-Mart long before Thanksgiving and they are working it on shifts. I expect that at Christmas.

I go into a fast food joint and they are pushing a cheesy Christmas Ornament for $15. with the proceeds to go to the Tri-County Literacy Association (I changed the name slightly so their lawyers will shut up and not call me) and the thing looks like a piece of brass shim stock that was punched out with a fancy paper punch bought at Michael’s.

I'm thinking now, they have had laws in this country (USA) requiring parents to send your kids to school or be arrested for over fifty years so that covers all of our workforce. They must stay in school until the age of reason (at eighteen they can decide to quit) or quit earlier with their parents permission.

So now they can't read? Did they forget? Did Mommy sign the paper before they completed the forth grade? I remember back in 1954 (forth grade) that we had to spell correctly and write neatly before we got the privilege of using a inkpen. (Like the predecessor to the ballpoint for you young'ens)

Who are these people that can't read and write and why should I (and all you working people) be on the hook for paying for their education again? Do you really think they will get a good job (above minimum wage) and pay a lot of taxes, help us out? Are they our drop-outs or aliens? Does it matter to you?

Don't you think they could walk down to the library and check out a 'Think & Do' book and make some effort themselves? Will my fifteen bucks be any more successful in stuffing an education down their (collective/reluctant) throats?

Go ahead, all the bleeding heart liberals among you, let me have it.

 

>Go ahead, all the bleeding heart liberals among you, let me
>have it.

Okay, you cold hearted conservative.....Oh wait I agree with you! Never mind.

 

>So now they can't read? Did they forget? Did Mommy sign
>the paper before they completed the forth grade? I remember
>back in 1954 (forth grade) that we had to spell correctly
>and write neatly before we got the privilege of using a
>inkpen. (Like the predecessor to the ballpoint for you
>young'ens)
>

You mean fourth grade?

Its been said that the "3 R's" nowadays are "Racism, Recycling, and Reproduction." They certainly aren't focusing on the fundamentals anymore. One Big Big problem is that they replaced "reading by phonics" (i.e. learning to sound out words syllable by syllable) with "whole language learning" which is essentially memorizing the appearance of whole words. The public education industry took the best primary and secondary school systems in the history of the world and turned them into a joke. Sadly, there is a need for adult literacy training; partly for young folks, but partly for adults.

It all started downhill during the 1960s (of course). The main goal of public schools got away from learning important skills (like math, reading, writing, and most importantly learning to think), and got into social engineering. Heaven forbid you give a kid a bad grade and risk a bruised ego. Its all about self esteem. The flip side of the coin is that elementary schools now have to spend a lot of their time doing basic parenting, because the kids coming into 1st grade often have behavioral problems (and apparently health and hygiene problems as well).

It all boils down to our society no longer valuing personal responsibility. Nobody has a problem with a 32 year old grandmother, an 18 year old with 3 kids from 3 different fathers, fathers having 2 or 3 criminal convictions, etc. When people develop some personal responsibility before parenthood, their kids will be ready for school at 6, their progress will be monitored at home, and the parents will fight the school boards to make sure their kids get a useful education.

 

>
>>So now they can't read? Did they forget? Did Mommy sign
>>the paper before they completed the forth grade? I remember
>>back in 1954 (forth grade) that we had to spell correctly
>>and write neatly before we got the privilege of using a
>>inkpen. (Like the predecessor to the ballpoint for you
>>young'ens)
>>
>
>You mean fourth grade?


Brutal shot. Ouch.


I do agree with you though. I think it started more in the 70's though. I seem to remember getting bruised for bad grades back in the 60's!

 

In Western Canada it started in 1975,Long after I had Graduated.

We have had a few discussions about Phonics on F.T.E.



Dennis

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I know, I know. It's tough waking up in the morning and greeting the day knowing you're surrounded by illiterate embiciles. We all know, however, that the cure for all this is throw huge amounts of money at the problem! It doesn't cure the problem, but it allows state and private agencies to HIRE illiterate morons so that they are gainfully employed. Those that aren't "qualified" for these "make work" programs are automatically qualified to receive a free food account card (S.C. EBT) so they can spend whatever money they DO have on drugs, beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets and not have to inconvenience themselves with worrying about how to feed the next generation of little democrats. What's the solution? Don't allow people who live off the public dole to vote!

 

>>
>
>You mean fourth grade?
>

Yes I sure do, my spellcheck is doing that automatically and I couldn't stop it.

I finally found that someone added or accidentally hit (hope it wasn't me) the 'auto-correct' button. A tech walked me through the edit dictionary routine. Thanks for telling me. There are a few other "MIS-STEAKS" (sp) in there too.

 

I agree with you. I live just outside a large big ten University town, and the local school board is trying to find money to hire teachers. Just like everywhere else, but the teachers they are looking for is to teach the non-english speaking children in their native language. I.E. Japanese, mexican, etc... We have a very diverse community because of the school, which the politicians tell us is good. Well that's fine, but here is my input. If you want to live in my country, get the best education my tax-dollars are buying you, speak my language. Is that too much to ask, I am paying for your childrens education, and now they want to raise the tax level to hire teachers to teach students in foreign languages, not a foreign language, in a foreign language. That infuriates me, welcome to America, now learn English or leave. P.S. you can add that phrase to the bumper sticker post.
T. Roberts
UFD Local 1147

 

Its been shown that the best thing to do with foreign kids is to hold them back a year and do immersion teaching of English. Once they are truly fluent in English, then they can go on to the normal subjects and absorb the classwork and textbook efficiently, but if they are "dropped in the deep end of the pool" before they are comfortable with English, they frequently never catch up.

A former colleague of mine, an engineer, looked into teaching math in the local public school system as a 2nd career (after 30 years in industry). The local school board was happy to have him, as long as he took a two year certification course, interned another year or two, passed a variety of exams, etc. All for $26,000 starting, which for him was about 35% of his current salary. Yeah right.

 

Out here in California all the liberals that run the schools think lack of funding is causing poor grades and high drop out rates (never mind the fact that over 50% of the state budget goes to public schools). But every time they manage to get more money and pass new bond issues, the grades never seem to go up. Oh wait, California did go from 49th to 48th in the last few years so I guess we have made some progress.

 

Tell me about Moon Daddy and all the other wacko teachers in California. When I was in the Service, my daughter went to school in lala land. They taught her the ITA.

That is the Initial Teaching Alphabet, it doesn't contain the 26 character alphabet that we all know, it has 44 characters. It was supposed to be a smooth transition from wackiness to normalcy but we were Military, got transferred and she has suffered every since.

Thanks...