Posted on 08/03/2006 11:38:51 AM PDT by neverdem
O, for the good old days, when all (white) men had to do to do well was show up with clean fingernails, and all the women who applied were asked when they planned to have children. What a perfect world that was...all the talent chucked to the side could type or be Pullman porters, right?
Any parent who fails to convince their progeny that the world is a competitive place, and that they had better be prepared to COMPETE, be they male or female, no matter where granpa came from, has short-changed their kids.
I don't recall the males I competed against academically having either a lack of testosterone or the ability to focus and work, and this was decades before ADD. I don't recall teachers or professors making things easy for women, either--but if you were ***motivated***, a woman could overcome a lot. My guess is that a smart, motivated male still does well in the system, and that spoiled, LAZY, cossetted brats get left behind.
Probably because they're taught the value of obeying orders for the success of the mission and the potential to save lives through teamwork. Maybe some other freeper could help.
BTW, I totally agree about boys needing to burn it off. I've seen that with my son. If he's active, he's fine. A week with no activity and I want to .... well he's less pleasant to be around let's say. He gets contentious and picks on his sisters and all kinds of lovely stuff.
Juan Williams: Mugged by Reality-outspoken left-wing commentator is being called a race traitor
The New Left, Cultural Marxism, and Psychopolitics Disguised as Multiculturalism
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Ummm, no ... my concern is for little guys (i.e. K-6) who are stuck in a system that continually implicitly and explicitly runs contrary to their wiring them. Or worse, stuck also with an angry feminist teacher who rarely misses a chance to demean them. that kind of damage is lasting.
We've avoided that by homeschooling, BTW.
I have two kids who are like night and day. One is a girl, very scholarly, very quiet -- your typical organized hardworking girl. My boy is just as bright, but he is ADHD (and he really has it -- believe me when you have a kid with a severe case, there is no mistaking it at all.) The public schools around here are useless for both of them, for different reasons - they wound up in different private schools with different focus.
After a brief brush with the public schools for my son (which did not work out well AT ALL - I agree with what is said here about the feminized public schools and how many female teachers just can't deal with boys -- not to mention the totally whipped metrosexual male teacher who couldn't deal with them either), we got him into a private school that specializes in dealing with kids with ADHD. They have got his number, and he's doing very well, making mostly As and some Bs. As he starts his sophomore year, he is completely off medication, he's a little loopy without it but he's learning to manage himself without that help.
Most of his teachers are men, and they deal well with these impulsive, critical, practical minded boys. (I would say there are significantly more boys than girls in this school.)
The interesting thing is that in my daughter's private high school, which is a good college prep school, she too had mostly male teachers. She loved the male teachers, thought they were "more serious" than most of the females (although her Calculus teacher was an exception - a very serious lady!)
I am glad there are still folks like you teaching english.
My brother in law majored in "english", yet avoided all the classics and ended up with an entire library filled with postmodernist nonsense about transexuals and queer theory (whetever *that* is). I have also never seen anyone so young, become so angry and bitter.
Which is what I meant. If you are going to college to become more well rounded, save your money and go to the library and get a job. That diploma will open up some doors, but you had better plan an what you are going to do after school first.
I sincerely doubt that most subadults have a clue about what's good for them. Parental guidance is needed or else, if left to the whims of teenage boys, the reading curriculum might look like something out of Hustler magazine
No, I haven't. My children have all, so far, been subject to a variety of enthusiasms, whether it's wanting to learn about a subject, or wanting to learn a skill, or holding an opinion very strongly.
I think they must have just picked up some of this from my husband and me, because both of us are that way, although about different things. "Why are you yelling at Daddy about the Civil War?" "Because he's a danged Yankee, that's why!"
Excellent point. Also, the reason you need to know cursive is so that you can sign your name!
I have sometimes found us spending time and effort on something none of us enjoyed, and that none of us felt strongly about the value of. When that happens, I say, "Oh, forget about it!"
I'm continually having assumptions challenged. It's fun and exciting, as well as sometimes being a pain :-).
Why does a child need to know about Ancient Egypt, and not about Medieval Serbia? True, Ancient Egypt is cool, but so is Medieval Serbia - the clothes on those folks were amazing! So why does everybody have to learn one, and nobody learns (except Serbs) about the other?
Androphobic: Fear of men
Homophobic: Fear of Mankind (the real meaning)
Misanthrope: Hater of people
misandronist: Hater of men
Misogynist: Hater of women
"I have sometimes found us spending time and effort on something none of us enjoyed, and that none of us felt strongly about the value of."
Like... not ending sentences with prepositions? ;-D (couldn't resist...)
If you are referring to Larry Summers, that is NOT what he said about women. He merely dared to raise a valid question for consideration; did not render a personal definitive judgement on any person or group.
Because the Serbs are bad (European, Slavic, not PC or Anglo), and the Egyptians are not (non European, etc).
Simple as that. /sarcasm.
What ? That's plain BS. Females may have fewer REAL learning disorders but there are sure a lot of females in special ed "diagnosed" with ADHD and LD.
Special ed is no better for female students than it is for males. It's primary purpose today is to get more money for the schools.
If you had a son or daughter in such a school, how would you determine whether or not you're getting your money's worth?
I'm just posing the question as to whom (or what body) would judge whether or not educational standards are being met, and to what degree.
Second, how would people with low incomes fare in such an environment? Would they be able to afford a "Kia" education, while their neighbors across the tracks can buy a "Lexus" education?
In answer to your first question: by using my own years of education and experience to know whether or not the kid is learning math, English, history, science, etc. Teachers do not have a monopoly on knowledge - parents are very smart. The public makes excellent purchasing decisions already, and that's why we have the highest standard of living anywhere. The customers of the education business are themselves mature, educated adults, but right now they have limited ability to change public schools.
In answer to your second question: no system will ever result in "equal outcomes" (unless we are all slaves). The current public system certainly doesn't result in equal outcomes, nor should it. We have some public schools which are pretty good, most mediocre, and some horrible. We have those who go to the Ivy League and other expensive schools and those who can't afford it. That's the way capitalism works - everyone will not have a Mercedes.
Currently private schools offer scholarships and loans based on need, and I expect that will continue.
A certain percentage of parents don't care about their children's education, health, etc., and that unfortunately will continue.
Brandon’s current problem began because Ms. Waverly, his social studies teacher, failed to answer one critical question: What was the point of the lesson she was teaching? One of the first observations I made as a teacher was that boys invariably ask this question, while girls seldom do. When a teacher assigns a paper or a project, girls will obediently flip their notebooks open and jot down the due date. Teachers love them. God loves them. Girls are calm and pleasant. They succeed through cooperation.
Boys will pin you to the wall like a moth. They want a rational explanation for everything. If unconvinced by your reasons—or if you don’t bother to offer any—they slouch contemptuously in their chairs, beat their pencils, or watch the squirrels outside the window........
Well over 50 years ago during my academic career I was very much a "boy" as described above.
I was never admonished for my behavior. The attitude was boys will be boys.
We were in school to learn. To Learn How to Think was very important. Asking questions was the normal part of that process.
I remember a saying I grew up with........
He who asks a question may become a fool for 5 minutes, he who doesn't ask will remain a fool all his life.
I thank God I'm not a youngster in todays schools. I'd never make it. Who knows what would become of me.
I remember something else. There was a bronze plaque in the principals office. On it were the words:
Always Remember
All Education is Self Education
All Discipline is Self Discipline.
That's how I grew up.
That was then. This is now.
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