The worstest thread.

[Zeke]

Their is lots of things to complain about. Its about time someone pointed out everybodie’s spelling and grammer. They’re seam’s to be a problem with education and writing. If folks would check there spelling and word useage, it would help us all understand english and it’s proper use. If your one of the people that don’t see anything wrong hear, I suggest you look more close at your own writeing.

Thanks for hereing me out.

(every bit of this was lifted from the 911 board!)

[pwd72s]

Most likely NOT from any post made by Jack... Bill Cosby has a point. I'm not talking racially though. I believe any parent sending his child through the government schools today is being robbed of his tax money. The saddest thing is that it's the students who are really being robbed.

[singpilot]

We wuz all robbed!

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by singpilot
We wuz all robbed!

YUP! Do a bit of research on the National Education (really EXTORTION) Association. They are the single largest campaign funds contributor in the USA... But ask the average Joe what he thinks the "National Education Association" is? He'll think it's some benign group interested in advancing education standards.

[GrindingGears]

"education and writing"...

you mean...righting write?

[bell]

fo shizzle my nizzle

[Z-man]

Who are you gonna blame?
The teachers who are forced to pass kids to the next grade despite their incompetency and lack of understanding?
OR
The parents who cry bloody murder if their little Johnny gets a grade less than a B+ despite him being a dumb kid? ? ?

Sorry, but you can't blame the NEA. My wife is a 6th grade teacher, and she's one heck of a great teacher. Truthfully, the parents are to blame more than the teachers for our education system. Why, you ask? This is why:

1. Parents don't spend any time helping their kids with school work. In our dual-income society, both the mother and the father are either working late or too tired to help a kid with his math or English or any other school work. Basically, the child is merely an annoyance to them.

2. Parents view school in a 'keeping up with the Jones' attitude. In our culture, status and prestige are highly valued. If my neighbor just bought a new BMW, I've got to go out and get the better Mercedes! As such, parents don't care how poorly a kid does in school, as long as he keeps moving onward. Similarly, people in our society don't care how much in debt they are, as long as the perception is that they are wealthy. So to them, it doesn't matter that their child is uneducated, as long as they keep moving on in the grades.

3. Parents will threaten teachers/principals/school boards if their little Johnny is treated 'unfairly.' Hey, your kid didn't cut the grade: he's not being treated unfairly, he's NOT WORTHY OF MOVING ON!

4. School systems don't want to deal with irate parents, so they would rather pass the stupid kids up another grade rather than have them get left back.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now,
-Z-man.

[lowyder993s]

1. Parents don't spend any time helping their kids with school work. In our dual-income society, both the mother and the father are either working late or too tired to help a kid with his math or English or any other school work. Basically, the child is merely an annoyance to them.

My wife's the exception...she helps the kids so I can be on this board all night

Both our kids are in a private christian school, and they avg. 4+ hrs of homework a night...plus 2 hrs of tutor a week ea. They're in 4th and 6th grade. Back in the day (30 yrs ago), we didn't have homework, save for the odd book to read and a country report.

I believe any parent sending his child through the government schools today is being robbed of his tax money.

I couldn't agree more, 'cept that I don't get any tax credit for keeping mine from burdening the state.

Do I sound like my folks???

[campbellcj]

Z-Man, frankly although I fully agree that there are some heroes in our public school system -- and your wife may well be one of them, for which I am appreciative -- I believe they are few and far between.

I also question that the parents are to blame for the failure of our schools. A parent has the ultimate responsibility for the child's welfare, of course, but our entire system is based on the concept of having the parent(s) work during the day, while the kids are in school in the care of the pros!

Your average parent in a metropolitan area is struggling to keep food on the table, and the lights and heater running. Note that I said "parent" singular, as this is all too often the situation. At the end of the day, everyone is exhausted, and so the TV comes on and the brains switch off.

One of the core issues is that Americans talk a whole lot about improving the educational system, and its value and crucial importance to the future of our nation, but we do not want to pay the price.

This is largely due to the way our social and tax systems are structured; i.e., those of us fortunate enough to fall into the higher income brackets are obligated to subsidize education and other services for those "under" the curve. Therefore, everyone lives in a "least common denominator" environment.

So, our schools are trailers rented from GE Capital, with textbooks and materials that are tattered and obsolete and not plentiful enough to equip every student. We give young teachers "emergency credentials" to guide classrooms right out of undergraduate programs, with minimal practical training, because too few highly qualified professionals will work in such depressing and dangerous conditions for near-poverty level salaries.

We also require our teachers in some areas to be bi or multi-lingual in order to cater to the local populations that refuse to teach or speak English at home.

I do not admit to knowing the answers, and I certainly am not volunteering to pay more taxes, but clearly something needs to change.

Until it does, I figure that my kid(s) are destined for private school.

[VINMAN]

I agree with everything Z-Man said. My wife is also a teacher in the NJ school system. while I'm not a fan of the NEA ( far from it!),
I pass most of the blame on parents. My wife tells me all her horror stories of having to deal with them . Parents want the schools to be babysitters for their kids. They feel that they can do no wrong, and are pissed when the schools say that the kid is failing.
CampbellCJ, you say that the average parent is struggling to put food on the table. That is a good point. But the parents that my wife deals with drop thier kids off in thier $60,000 SUVs , and the older kids drive to school in brand new Beemers, Most of the kids are spoiled brats who have no respect for the teachers , their elders , or society in general.
The parents are self absorbed, with themselves and their social lives, and have no time for thier kids. I agree there are parents who do care about what their kids are learning , but not enough of them do.

[RickM]

I related this story before.

While going to lunch with a friend I mentioned how well my daughter was doing in school.
He then spouts off about how pissed he is that the school his son is going to is doing a poor job of teaching. "They're not doing enough to teach my son"..."and the money I spend!"....Blah blah blah. What affected me the most was how he talked about his son's learning/schooling like he was purschasing a product.

I know for a fact he spends zero homework/teaching time with his son. I also suspect the same for his wife.

I had it with his bull and made it clear that my wife and I (mostly my wife) spend alot of time every night, weekends and days off reading and playing "learning" games.

So, I agree, parents are critical to a childs success. Not 100% of the equation but the foundation and some of the tools. I personally find it rewarding when I can interest my daughter in a subject that she would otherwise find boring.


What was this thread about? Oh yeah, my Pet Peeve is when Concourse is used as opposed to Concours (d'Elegance).

[Rot 911]

All tv is not evil. My daughter is almost 4 now. I spend an hour or so every night with reading, drawing, etc., but an hour is about all a 4 year old has patience for. She then takes her bath and I let her watch this goofy show called "Full House" which while on our level is quite silly, there is always a lesson in it. At the end of the show we always talk about the lesson learned.

[RickM]

My daughter loves that show too...

[Superman]

Hoo, boy. Don't get me started. Three of my four sisters are school teachers, and I can tell you that they are not in that profession because of the obscene salaries, or the community respect.

My cut on this, as the token Flaming Liberal in these discussions, is that Z-man is correct in his Point #1. We've got more than just a dysfunctional education system. Track nearly any illness related to our children backwards (teen pregnancy, drugs, poor work ethic, etc.) and you'll eventually ask "Why aren't these kids learning values?" The answer is darned simple:

Kids watch grownups like a hawk. That's how they learn. It's not "quality time," itis just TIME that counts. "Quality time" is a term to make parents feel less guilty. Fact is, a modern familial success story goes like this: Mom and Dad get up at five thirty, shower, shave, dress and dash to work. Kids go to school. Three thirty the kids return to an empty home. Hour or two later, the first parent arrives on the scene and begins the mad dash to prepare dinner, other daily chores, direct showers, homework, reading, a little TV and then it's bedtime. Total "family time" is minimal. Total "TV time" for the kids is a larger number. And here's the frightening part: The above is a "success" story. They get worse. Single-parent families are not this lucky. So, kids are learning values more from TV than from actual adults. Watch TV if you want more information about the kinds of values they're getting.

TV is irresponsible, but it's a major part of our glorious, hallowed economic system, which of course outstrips all other values we should be pursuing. Propose any limitations on commercial tactics, even in the name of families and values, and you'll get pissed on in our society. Capitalism is KING/EMPEROR. An economic system that encourages or requires double-income families is twisted. And we wonder why our nation seems to be spiraling downward.....

And the really really twisted thing about all this is that the conservatives, the mindless promoters of this saturated level of capitalism, have successfully tortured the story so it looks like they have the market cornered on "family values." Warner Brothers cartoons are more reality-based and more serious than our nation's political system.

[RickM]

You had me there until the last paragraph. So, I suppose Kerry couldn't care less if I over-consume A1 steak sauce.

[slope-nz]

Zeke, I have mixed feelings replying to this post. I feel that I'm one of those posters who dosen't spell very well.I do try hard to make sense and try to offer my thoughs in a logical order. I would ask those of you that have a better education than me to do your best to muddle through my questions and thoughs. On the other hand I will try harder to spell and type better. As a after thought, Wayne is there any way you might add a spell check? I find this BBS very intresting and would hate to feel that that my posts are not welcome. Thanks for hearing my thoughs, Randy

[Z-man]

Originally posted by Kurt V
All tv is not evil. My daughter is almost 4 now. I spend an hour or so every night with reading, drawing, etc., but an hour is about all a 4 year old has patience for. She then takes her bath and I let her watch this goofy show called "Full House" which while on our level is quite silly, there is always a lesson in it. At the end of the show we always talk about the lesson learned.

Kurt: I think it is fantastic that you spend time with your daughter every night!

Unfortunately, too many parents let TV babysit their kids. And they don't pay attention to what their kids are watching. (My wife's students watch just about everything out there: Sopranos, CSI: to name a couple) Have you seen what's on the air before 10pm on the networks? (BTW: how many kids these days get to bed before 10pm anyway?) If TV has such a great influence on children, how can you blame the educational system for NOT teaching them the right things, when they are watching TV at HOME and not in school?

Now onto another subject (pun intended) near and dear to our lives: THE INTERNET. I believe that even surfing 'safe' places on the 'net lowers a child's potential for learning. Why? While there are great websites out there (discovery.com comes to mind), most of the kids aren't surfing these educational sites, unless there's a school project to be written! I have to believe that most of the time they are "IM-ing" their friends and speaking that "internet-slang" (How R U? LOL 4EVR! ...etc). Sure, they know how to read works like "CLICK HERE" and "BACK" and they know how to make a smilie out of a : and a ) , but they aren't learning much more than that! (And dont' even mention inappropriate websites!)

Whatever happened to:
-READING A BOOK just for the fun of it?! I grew up on Hardy Boys novels. There were no special effects, maybe a picture or two. But reading these books allowed my mind to develop creativity and imagination.
-Playing outside? I used to play outside with my friends until it got dark. Nowadays, nobody wants to swing on a swingset or play catch: they'd rather be on the 'net wasting time.
-Interacting with friends in REAL LIFE? There was no instant messenger when I was a kid. E-mail? Heck, there weren't even computers at homes! How the heck did we survive without these in our homes?!? Question is: how will we survive WITH them today?
-Spending time with your family together - talking about what happened during the day?

No, I don't think the education system is to blame for the lack of intellect in our society today. Sure, they are to blame for some of it, but not all....

But I digress... (Sorry for the long post)
-Z-man.

[juanbenae]

the 1st part of what randy said, up to where he writes "on the other hand".

zeke is this a crack on our education system or guys like me who have become so accustom to computer aided writing (word program) that our spelling has suffered? its also laziness i suppose, i save my intelligent writing for my special documents, and when it pays to provide my vast inteligence.

just looking to see if i should be offended, laugh, or figure its just more of angry, lonely, mad at the world, and especially tabs, zeke. cant wait until tabs awakes from his mid-week slumber till noon and chimes in. i really have no idea which way tabby will lean on this, but if i know him, it will be anti-zeke.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by slope-nz
Zeke, I have mixed feelings replying to this post. I feel that I'm one of those posters who dosen't spell very well.I do try hard to make sense and try to offer my thoughs in a logical order. I would ask those of you that have a better education than me to do your best to muddle through my questions and thoughs. On the other hand I will try harder to spell and type better. As a after thought, Wayne is there any way you might add a spell check? I find this BBS very intresting and would hate to feel that that my posts are not welcome. Thanks for hearing my thoughs, Randy

I make mistakes and I try to catch them. Sometimes I don't. Your response is well written, save for a couple of commas.

What bugs me is the obvious confusion between the 3 "theres." Or 4, if you cound the contraction, "there's." This is not an oversight or a spelling error. This is ignorance of the language. Another one is the use of your for you're. Some might be doing this on purpose as a form of shorthand. That's being charitable.

Are you guys telling me that the schools/parnets are not differentiating on these grammarical rules?

I hate to sound pedantic, but I'm afraid that's how this is turning out.

[lowyder993s]

Wayne is there any way you might add a spell check?

Check below your posting box...button on the right