[ale] Palladium/MS: ideas for retaliation - WAY OT now!!!

[Thompson Freeman]

On 27 Jun 2002, James P. Kinney III wrote:

> On Thu, 2002-06-27 at 19:21, Greg wrote:
> 
> > As it would not change anything I refrain from any other comments, though I
> > would like it if, considering I have no kids, not to be taxed mightily on my
> > property for money to be spent on those who do have kids, though I suppose
> > if I had a large family (family > 12)  it would be a bargain ... again,
> 
> <salty-wound, raw-nerve rant>
> 
> The kid who is educated today at the expense of every taxpayer,
> childless or not, may be the genius who discovers the cure for
<<snip>>
> </end salty-wound, raw-nerve rant>

You must be working from emotions and not from data here. You wound down
before I ran out of electrons 8-)

Your rant ran down far too soon. Not only is there a lack of funding in
most school systems in the US, there is also an excess of meddling and
interference. Recent case in point - the Bio teacher who told the class
that caught plagerism on a paper would result in a zero. The school board
over-ruled her. The next day she was greeted in class with students saying
"We don't have to do what you tell us". That district is now looking for a
passel of teachers in the sciences.

Some years back, National Geographic ran a piece on some of the retirement
areas of the Southwest. Granny gets a social hall, brand spanking
new. Jr. gets a desert dirt field for marching band. Granny gets carted to
bingo. The brass complain about the cost of just getting Jr. to
school. Granpa complains about the cost of drugs. Jr. doesn't see a doctor
at all.

Up I85 a ways, here in Charlotte, it looks like the system will see an
increase in enrollment of 5-6% this fall. It sort of looks like the
school's total budget will be cut (both state and local contributions are
going down), but by how much isn't really known yet. 

I hate sounding trite, but damnit it takes the whole community to raise
children to some semblence of a standard. Since we can not afford the room
to waste half the children born, we need to do better with each
child. And, like it or not, that takes money, and committement.

Of course, if children are the future, maybe we don't deserve a future as
a country. 

(And for another element - I am told that the city of New York has more
educational staffers, ie. support staff, than the entire country of
France. And France is supposed to know how to develop a sprawling
buerocracy (sp?) Not only are we cheap in the US, but we are hideously
inefficient.)

There are still some electrons here - although the innocent bystanders
might appreciate some quiet.

> 
> 

-- 
===========================================
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
                    Lee Iacocca
===========================================
Thompson Freeman          tfreeman at intel.digichem.net


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