SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2011

[Amigo]

Quote:
Thats why the government shouldn't get hold of education.

?? Government shouldn't be involved in education because teachers are human?

We could always go with robots, of course...

No, because it would prevent any schools from having their own rules.

 

[dainerra]

if there was no "central system" for schools, then EVERY school would have it's own rules, wouldn't they??

 

[Amigo]

Correct!

 

[Q9]

Quote:
Because no one in the 1950's was paranoid about anything, ever.

Cold War, McCarthy, Communism, 'The Bomb', Racial Integration.
Every generation has it's paranoia. Every generation has it's idiots. Every generation has it's conspiracies.
And you know what? Most people turn out alright and the country keeps going.

Well, considering that McCarthy was right, the Soviets had a huge nuclear arsenal and was decidedly hostile towards the US of A, and Communists had a pretty big influence in academia, I'd say most of that "paranoia" was pretty justified. It's not paranoia if you're right.

People NOW totally overreact to minor things - I recall one kid who got in trouble for wearing a patriotic cap with toy soldiers attached, because, GASP, said toy soldiers had guns. Last time I checked, the stuff mentioned in the OP's list couldn't annihilate Western civilization in great balls of fire, nor could it plunge the vast majority of the population into poverty and permanent economic depression with no hope of improvement.

 

[Q9]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

Here's the book and author

http://www.amazon.com/Way-We-Never-Were-Nostalgia/dp/0465090974

And Q9 you'd do great in most public schools. As I have pointed out and others have as well, schools vary widely because school districts are allowed to interpret rules according to local wishes. Most districts reflect their population pretty well. The problem is when they reflect the squeaky wheels and not the true majority. When that happens the true majority needs to step up and fix it.

Schools are not static institutions. They are reflections of the people and the times in which they exist. The grow and learn. They get things wrong and then usually swing around again as people protest.

THAT is what is the true beauty of this country. We get things wrong at all levels of our society all of the time. But, we are a self correcting system and we usually swing back toward stability and sanity before jetting off in yet another wrong direction!

There are LOTS of things wrong with this country right this minute. Truly. We're in some dire straits.

But, did you see the other day at the 9/11 memorial? The current sitting president was sitting next to the last president!!! WOW! Really truly think about how amazing and fragile that is!!!!

One person had power over this nation. Lots of power. He lost the election and he stepped down! He's not in prison, in exile or dead. He's sitting right next to the new guy holding the union together.

Don't you see what an amazing miracle that is?

This country is screwed up! I cannot stand our current president. Hated the last guy too. There. I said it. In writing. On a public forum and I am not afraid. Amazing.

This country is screwed up. But it is fixable. And we can fix it.

Yeah, it was pointed out to me that a lot of it depends on the teacher - the ones that DON'T tolerate dissent are the only ones that ever get mentioned. That said, some of the stuff my buddies and I discuss would get us in trouble in quite a few places, not just schools.

Discussing how to deal with martial law would probably not be an acceptable topic in a government-funded institution. Probably also unacceptable would be a conversation on finding loopholes in gun laws.

I must disagree with your last two sentences - I'm pretty convinced that it's unfixable unless we Americans finally snap out of our stupor and elect people who will actually do the right thing. However, at the very least, we'll be able to pick up the pieces.​

 

[dainerra]

No, the cure for the "dissenting" teachers is involved parents.

My DD ran into one of those in middle school. It ended with a censure for the teacher and a lesson for DD about disagreeing and arguing with respect.

That said, when I was in high school our trig/geometry/advanced math teacher would get mad and tell us we were "too stupid to shovel *poop*" very loudly. People in other classes would laugh because they knew it was test day. He was a brillant mathematician, though his patience with high schoolers was a bit thin. I think I learned more about EVERYTHING fron that man than any of my other teachers.

He was an older redneck farmer who sometimes had to leave in the middle of class because the cattle got out. He was a big proponent,though, that students should be free to speak their mind and argue with their teachers - as long as they had the proof to back them up.

He did have a problem with authority and mindless rules himself th ough. He was on Oprah after sueing the school board over the dress code. Dress code said male teachers must wear a tie, so he used it as a belt for his blue jeans. He won and got his job back!

He always told students "never do or believe anything just because someone in authority tells you"

 

[mom'sfolly]

Q9, with your firm beliefs on the Constitution, I'm surprised to that you see Joe McCarthy in a positive light. The whole communist hunt that McCarthy initiated is in direct conflict with the First Amendment protections of speech and association. In this country you can have any political affiliation you want, and they can't keep you out of government or academic jobs. McCarthy specifically targeted State Department employees, and scientists, with lies and innuendo, not facts. He also wasn't talking much about Soviet nuclear proliferation.

 

[chickened]

Well... the way things are going in our country and if the trend holds the public schools will be a minority full of the poor. The middle class and wealthy will be in private schools of their choosing where whether or not God is wanted there will be a choice.

Whether or not myself or anyone believes in the Christian God or not I can say with reasonable confidence that the world would seem to be a better place by most peoples standards if we did live by the ten commandments at the minimum.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:

 

[KristyHall]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

I hate to repeat myself but:

Societies swing like pendulums. Sanity is in the balance. The pendulum goes too far in one direction then too far the other way. There will ALWAYS be government going too far and government not going far enough.

Schools frequently make mistakes. They are made up of people who are often a mix of "professionals" and volunteers like school board members and PTOs. If YOUR school is doing something you don't like YOU join the PTO. The whole lot of people who complain about schools need to get off the computer and attend a PTO meeting. Quit blaming other people. Quit blaming the "government" which is an all-purpose word people don't even understand half the time. Look in the mirror.

This is your country. It has an awesome system BUT it only works if the people remain educated and involved.

Two years ago my non-christian daughter was cornered by some christian girls trying to save her soul by baptizing her against her will. The school stepped in a prevented the bullying and affirming my daughter's right to believe whatever she wishes to believe. This past year same daughter stands up to bullies to defend a mormon child who was being bullied for being different. You know what she said? She told them they were not behaving in a very Christ-like manner.

Freedom means freedom to worship as you wish. It also means freedom from other people telling you what and how to worship.

The whole lot of you need to g read the book The Way We Never Were about how the US has sanitized and romanticized the 50s into being something it was not......​