Saturday, February 20, 2010

Teachers have it SO EASY!

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"Teachers are very well paid and compensated relative to actual time spent in the classroom." You try teaching and grading papers and holding parent conferences at the same time. That's multi-tasking I'd lie to see. Now let's see you get it all done in 8 hours, so you can head for a brewski.


Summer the season and the portion of summer that teachers get are two entirely different animals. Add in in service training days, and summer can be less than 9 weeks long for a teacher. The unpaid overtime of grading papers and after school meetings more than makes up for any lost "summertime." Plus, to have a decent salary, worthy of other professionals, you need to teach. "Summer School." Whoopido!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Engineers vs Social Scientists

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There's been quite an interesting battle going on at The Union newspaper in the commenting area, working the gay vs. Fundy angle. This is my last post in that area.

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It is entirely possible the critter known as Mom of Four is actually an engineer of a rightish persuasion who feels that his areas of expertise are God's highest gifts to humanity, and that he has been entertaining himself by pretending to be a halfwit social scientist.

While exploring the root sources of existence itself are notable endeavors, and you can always get reportable results of some kind when smashing sub atomic pumpkins together with the extreme expenditures of energy and resources, I wish to note here that looking for the root sources of human conflict and ways to ameliorate them is actually an even higher calling, precisely because the problems are more difficult and the answers are more elusive.

More on this concept later.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Why We've had a 1/3rd Dropout Rate for 80 + Years

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From a psychological point of view, it is not hard to understand the 1/3rd dropout rate that never goes away. From the beginning, 1st grade and up, kids are "graded." Not surprisingly, those at the top of the scale, tend to stay there, and so on.

After 8 to 10 years of humiliation at being on the bottom, those kids say, "enough is enough, I'm out of here." Classes where they can be rewarded for achievements outside the reading, writing, and math skills sets, sadly seem to be the first to be chopped. Art, music, and voc ed cost more money, but pay back by generating islands of success for the kids at the bottom, and give them reason to live, and a chance to rub shoulders and even surpass the academic breadwinners. Overall, they raise all boats, and allow for for more than just the high SAT performers to feel good about themselves, and to go on to serve themselves and society better

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Difference Between Rush Limbaugh & Dr. Dean Edell

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Given a choice between Rush and Dr. Edell, for an emergency appendectomy, who do you pick? Who do you think will live longer? Exactly what is it about Dr Edell's show that you find, "political?" Even with the very best MRI, X-ray, CAT Scans, and blood tests, it is very difficult to tell the difference between a liberal and a conservative. Someday, however, they may be able to detect the hardening of the neurons in the latter...rimshot!

Friday, February 05, 2010

Foothill Snobbery Club

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(A Response to a poster who complained about "flatlander bicyclists" riding in pairs.)

I have never encountered a pair of bicyclists who did not promptly single file themselves, allowing me to get by easily. Seems to me that in terms of being, "down to earth," those closer to the center of the planet would have an edge over those who place themselves on high pedestals, raised SUV's, etc..

By the very act of proclaiming themselves "better" because they were "born" here, the members of the Foothills Snobbery Club display their lack of maturity. Just because I was born in San Francisco, and just because it was founded 50 plus years before Grass Valley even saw the white man, and just because we are world class famous, and have more spectacular earthquakes, and a rapid transit that works, it doesn't make me any better than members of the fussy FSC's.