tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post4812257645640264259..comments2024-03-18T02:14:50.959-07:00Comments on ADORED BY HORDES: MarcLordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-67528194861234870512007-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:002007-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00It's a tough choice if you want to stay in the cit...It's a tough choice if you want to stay in the city. We're not real aggressive people, and the idea of having to participate in the constant finagling and subterfuge to negotiate the shifting sands of "magnet" this and "gifted" that that is required to be in the public school system dismayed us. <BR/><BR/>Catholic school tuition was relatively cheap, but I couldn't place my kid in an environment that I myself would have shunned just to save money, so we did the secular private school thing and started writing checks.<BR/><BR/>You're right, it was a lot like my suburban public school in Ohio. And sometimes they were so precious it made my teeth ache. <BR/><BR/>Wish the kid had gotten more out of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-11754545867550085302007-09-05T16:51:00.000-07:002007-09-05T16:51:00.000-07:00Charter schools are a forced option now, that's my...Charter schools are a forced option now, that's my problem with them. Yes, I'd rather our kids go to them vs. most public schools! I'm just saying charter schools were a step along an intentional continuum to turning our public schools into a dumpster.MarcLordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-26431632806918312242007-09-05T11:50:00.000-07:002007-09-05T11:50:00.000-07:00Dude,Don't be so negative on Charter schools. Yes...Dude,<BR/><BR/>Don't be so negative on Charter schools. Yes they can be abused by fundies and free-wheeling opportunistics corporate types. Nevertheless, they do create a great opportunity for meaningful parental involvement.<BR/><BR/>Yes, when I lived in Seattle, I voted against charter schools. But now in LA, if I had to rely on regular public schools, my children would have to go to school with a full dose of Ritalin and Zoloft...unless they got into a "magnet" school. Yes, you generally apply in kindergarten, because there are so many 5 year olds who have already tested off the charts in terms of special/brilliant performance skills (they can perform the insane pieces of Hamlet and are toilet trained). So public schools are for the parents who can negotiate getting into a preferential magnet school or the schools that focus on preparing your children to sheepishly accept bureacracy and complacency in servicing the privilged overlords.<BR/><BR/>If you wonder why people don't give a shit about Bush/Cheney/ healthcare/democracy/thinking for themselves/etc., just look to see how they were trained. Look at the asphalt playgrounds and the Guantanamo-type fences (some with concertina wiring). What have we killed in their souls? There is no nature, no freedom. The primary lessons are fear, behavior indoctrination, and social ordering. <BR/><BR/>There was a study last year that showed most second-graders in California are burned out. My daughter's "local" school was privileged because it had received an "art grant." The benefit? 20 minutes of art instruction per week. (Let's see, 5 minutes passing out materials, 5 minutes for clean up, 5 minutes helping the kids open bottles of paste, 3 minutes of behavior modification...). And people actually wonder why the US television, music, and movie industry has a disproportionate number of Canadians in high profile rolls? <BR/><BR/>Americans no longer are creative. We no longer know how to gerry-rig a car, tractor, or windmill. We do know how to force companies into promising and delivering 35% rates of return (even if it is only on paper). We know how to force people into indentured servitude and call it something else. We know how to sell our birthright for a mess of pottage. And we know how to pray.<BR/><BR/>Hallefuckinlujah!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com