[Rhodes22-list] Slim's issues

[Jim White]

I just wanted to chime in my two pesos worth. My wife taught 5th grade 
bilingual education here in deep south Texas - of course a certain amount 
of two-language education is a necessity here, being so close to the 
border. In their omniscient wisdom though,the public education system here, 
instead of immersing children from the get-go in English, allows Spanish 
language education through high school. Seems like this protocol boosts 
flagging all-important test scores, giving the almighty bureaucracy 
justification in mandating standardized test-oriented education. Heck, if 
you can pass the test in whatever language, you're good to go!



As undergraduates and graduates, both my wife and myself taught college 
level biology courses, and by far and away the most problematic, least 
capable students that we had to deal with were the education majors. At 
least here in the forgotten third world of the U.S. (and we're both 
University of Texas system grads), it appears that the education program is 
the most watered down of all curriculum.... so it's little wonder that 
mediocrity is breeding mediocrity. Of all endeavors, education should be 
one of the most stringent disciplines. Maybe that's different elsewhere, 
and my viewpoint is a bit myopic.


It's my personal opinion that the public education policy makers are 
responsible for the vast majority of the malfeasance that has become the 
public education system. No longer are they concerned with the "readin', 
writin' and 'rithmitic, that Brad talks of in the parochial schools, but 
rather whom they must kowtow to in order to keep themselves in power. It is 
no longer an educational issue, but rather a political one. The resultant 
extraction is a watered down education for our kids (no real surprise / 
revelation here)

My wife no longer teaches, instead opting to help me run our consulting 
business (you didn't think I make any money working for a University 
didja?), and in my opinion the system (read: adults of tomorrow) have lost 
a true gem of a teacher. Instead of going the education route, she too is a 
biologist, and a stickler for teaching....because she is a scientist, she 
understands the fact that competition is not only healthy, it is essential 
to existence. When the school system mandated against that, and began to 
encourage "survival of the mediocre", she knew her days were numbered......

BTW My mother was also a teacher, having a masters degree in english, and 
early childhood development. But the 50's and 60's were a different time! 
Articulate and elegant, I'm sure she helped mold many young skulls full of 
mush in a manner unencumbered by the latest buzz-methods and politically 
correct rhetoric. So where did it go wrong?

Jim White


At 10:37 AM 10/05/2004 -0700, you wrote:
>Bob,
>
>My hometown, Brownstown, is about 30 miles northeast
>of your boat.  When I started college at
>SIU-Carbondale I was worried about competing with all
>the kids from the Chicago area suburbs. It didn't take
>long to figure that the public education recieved in
>most of the little "hick" towns in Southern Illinois
>is pretty good.  They run  much the same way the
>private schools do.  You co-operate and graduate and
>the last thing you want is for word of anything
>negative to get back to your parents.
>
>The school system here in Memphis is completely
>dysfunctional.  The county school system is much
>better, so what do the local political types want to
>do?, merge them and make the whole thing better!  Yeah
>right!  One of the local newspaper columnists torqued
>me off so badly I responded with a letter to the
>editor a couple of months ago and it got published.
>Several friends of mine said they wrote too but didn't
>get published.  I explained that my article made it to
>the paper because I didn't start drinking until I was
>finished and kept editing to sneak it under the
>"racial radar" that is always on high at the
>Commercial Appeal.  The link to it is dead so here it
>is.
>
>Brad
>
>___________________________________________________
>
>
>  Once again Wendi Thomas has sought and found racism
>from her well- balanced perspective (she has a chip on
>both shoulders).  Ms. Thomas finds racism in the
>Germantown decision to leave the county library
>system.  Opposing a Memphis City payroll tax is
>racist, as well as moving to a suburb of Shelby
>County, or, God forbid, a neighboring county,
>according to Ms. Thomas. (Black folks tiring of racist
>lingo, July 27 2004 Commercial Appeal)
>
>She is right about one thing; it is about color.
>GREEN!  If throwing more money at a broken education
>system fixed the problems, the Washington DC district
>schools would be leading the nation.  If people choose
>to move outside the city of Memphis where taxes are
>lower and services are better, that makes good common
>sense.  A lot of people who value their hard-earned
>wages feel that way, and they come in all colors,
>races, and ethnic backgrounds.
>
>Wendi, it's not all black and white.  Sometimes it's
>just GREEN.
>
>Brad Haslett, Collierville, TN
>
>--- Bob Weber <ruba1811 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Brad, after 16 years of catholic education, 8 with
> > the Jesuits, I can
> > confirm your story and agree whole heartly.  I have
> > already started saving
> > for little Miss Carolines highschool and dropping
> > money in the basket for
> > her grade school.  I will still pay my taxes and
> > send someone elses kid to
> > public school even if we do have to pay 1/2 of the
> > kids' cab fare to get
> > from the inner city to the better funded county
> > schools.  This is a hot
> > issue this election season in my town.  There is so
> > much waste and
> > corruption.  The people who can fix it cannot do
> > anything that is required
> > because commonsense and fiscal responsibility will
> > never get someone
> > elected.  That is the extent of my political
> > diatribe.  If my daughter needs
> > a soap bar put in her mouth (I will never forget my
> > darn experience of it)
> > then that is what they should do.  Education is the
> > foundation of my
> > daughter's experience of her life, there is no room
> > for "touchy-feely /
> > please everone" policies while providing the
> > information to enter a world
> > which is otherwise.  Enough of that - GO CARDS.  We
> > will see the twins in a
> > couple weeks.
> >
> > Bob Weber
> >
> > >From: brad haslett <flybrad at yahoo.com>
> > >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> > <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > >To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> > <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > >Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Slim's issues
> > >Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2004 09:09:16 -0700 (PDT)
> > >
> > >To All,
> > >
> > >This discussion about education reminds me of a
> > >lecture I listened to a few years ago.  Both of my
> > >boys attended all-boys Catholic high schools.  My
> > >oldest, Spencer, attended Little Rock Boys Catholic
> > >High which was run by Father Tribou for over forty
> > >years.  The non-Catholic parents (his mother and I
> > for
> > >example) had to attend a special orientation.
> > Father
> > >Tribou's lecture to the parents was so memorable I
> > can
> > >almost quote it verbatum.  It went something like
> > >this:
> > >
> > >"Welcome.  Most of you are familiar with our school
> > or
> > >you wouldn't be sending your child here but in case
> > >you're not, here's how we work.  This is a meat and
> > >potatoes school - no spices, no dessert, nothing
> > >fancy.  Four years of science, english, and math -
> > >meat and potatoes.  Our textbooks are old, when
> > they
> > >have completely fallen apart we'll change them.
> > It's
> > >been our experience that the boys have enough
> > trouble
> > >learning the basics without worrying about what
> > >changed in the last five years.  We don't have
> > metal
> > >detectors like some of the public schools.  If guns
> > >and knives became a problem, metal detectors would
> > be
> > >of no value anyway because all the lead in your
> > boy's
> > >ass would constantly set them off anyway.  Now I'm
> > >sure some of you have boys with learning
> > disabilities.
> > >  Frankly we never heard of ADD and some of these
> > other
> > >"challenges" until recently and haven't done
> > anything
> > >to address these issues.  If your boy has a
> > handicap,
> > >chances are he'll have to deal with it for life so
> > >he'll just have to learn to overcome it here.
> > Study
> > >harder or accept lower grades, we have no intention
> > in
> > >changing our methods that have worked so well for
> > us
> > >for over a hundred years.  I'm sure a lot of you
> > have
> > >kept up with all the new science and theories
> > >associated with education, we haven't.  If you
> > insist
> > >on sharing them with us, Father David will refund
> > your
> > >money as you leave. ... One last thing, no doubt
> > your
> > >son will come home and say things about his
> > teachers.
> > >Ignore them and we'll ignore all the things your
> > son
> > >tells us about you."
> > >
> > >Father Tribou had cancer his last several years but
> > >wanted to live long enough to see the Class of
> > 2000,
> > >Spencer's class, graduate.  He died in 2001.  The
> > >public school system in most parts of the country
> > >could use some of his wisdom.
> > >
> > >Brad Haslett
> > >"CoraShen"
> > >
> > >
> > >--- R22RumRunner at aol.com wrote:
> > >
> > > > Slim,
> > > > You have to understand where Ed is coming from.
> > In
> > > > SC, the SAT test scores
> > > > are the worst in the nation and have been for
> > ever.
> > > > 1/2 of all 9th grade
> > > > students today, will not graduate from high
> > school.
> > > > Now, the state is throwing
> > > > millions of dollars into constructing new
> > schools
> > > > and getting rid of the
> > > > portable classrooms. They are also at the same
> > time
> > > > making the requirements  tougher
> > > > on the teachers. Property taxes have gone up
> > some
> > > > since I moved here,  but
> > > > they are still ridiculously low compared to
> > taxes in
> > > > Wisconsin. About 1/5th  of
> > > > what I would pay in WS for the same house.
> > > > Since all this money has been thrown at
> > education
> > > > (the past four years)
> > > > everybody is expecting the test scores to come
> > up
> > > > proportionally with the  level
> > > > of spending. I'm afraid it's going to take a few
> > > > generations to do  that.
> > > >
> > > > Rummy
> > > >
> > __________________________________________________
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> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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