Am_Fear_Liath_Mor:

I read only two of your list in school: MacBeth and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

I read all the rest on my own, with the exception of
The Merchant of Venice,
Death of a Salesman,
The Catcher in the Rye,
Gregory's Girl.

(But I had to look up The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui)

Sue

Lots of Shakespeare, but no Ayn Rand. We had a different list.

"It works on paper but not in practice."
This is true of many things, particularly education, but those on the school boards seem unable to grasp this concept. The recently imposed No Child Left Behind act is a perfect example of this. It's all well and good to say we're going to get all students performing at grade level. But that literally means ALL students. That means that the children with a genuine learning disability, or those who DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH are expected to be performing at the same level as their peers, and if they don't, it's because the teachers aren't following the approved teaching method, not because the child has a mental defect that prevents him or her from learning at the same rate, or doesn't speak the same language as the teacher.

Another problem is the standardization of the teaching process. It's true that the same thing isn't going to work for everybody, but teachers are REQUIRED to follow a curriculum set by the higher-ups, regardless of whether that method is working or not.

And then you occasionally get a teacher who really shouldn't be in charge of the subject because they've got quite enough to do already. This is a problem i've experienced first hand many times. For example: my senior year in high school, my English teacher was also the my teacher for art and film appreciation, and also happened to be the head of the cheerleading squad. When the same person is instructing the pom pom shakers on how to do a mid-air somersault, grading my term paper on Moby Dick, and judging the accuracy of my woodcut reproduction, there needs to be some reconsideration regarding staff appointment.

Up until I read 1984 a few years ago I thought that quote was from the song "Testify" by Rage Against the Machine.


As to required reading, there has definitely been a "dumbing down" of the required reading in my area. When I was in fourth grade "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen was required reading. For my brother it was sixth grade required reading. I wonder if that means kids are, on average, two years behind where I was at their age academically (at least in that school system).

I really like how teachers are now being forced to teach the various achievement tests instead of the entire course. Kids get a few facts, but no thinking for themselves with the complete information.

It hastens the conversion process from Human to zombie!!! Easily manipulated populace, through ignorance!!!

"When the same person is instructing the pom pom shakers on how to do a mid-air somersault, grading my term paper on Moby Dick, and judging the accuracy of my woodcut reproduction, there needs to be some reconsideration regarding staff appointment."

It's a common practice for many teachers to hire senior students to grade the papers of the kids in their classes.

Sue

RE side of the highway parking - there are 1-2 times I've been so tired I needed to stop on the side of the road - I decided the best way to handle it was find an overpass, pull off, and get the car totally behind the nice concrete bridge abutment - I figure if whatever is going to hit me can make it through 66+ feet of dirt and concrete, it was meant to be

Good plan. Still illegal (at least in CA), but safe. And that overpowers legal in my book...

Yeah - funny thing, when I find I'm dead tired (the 2 times this happened), I've found even 15 minutes with the eyes closed helps. It's usually on a LONG drive home, into the sun - I'm not sure if the 15 minutes is rest, the sun moving, or what. Thankfully, I tend to know where the legal rest areas are, and I'm not so stupid as to insist on driving if I'm tired - I will pull over to rest