muffy@lll-crg.ARPA (Muffy Barkocy) (05/05/85)
Hmm...first a comment on *long* articles, which are included in longer
articles...
A suggestion: when following up an article, sometimes it makes sense to
include part or all of an article you wish to refer to. Other times, it
seems to me that summarizing what you are commenting on is a good idea, as
it takes less space, and it also gives people a chance to see whether they
and you understood the originial article in the same way.
(Of course, I'm crazy, but...)
As for education...
Yes, education is a good thing. I don't know that it should be paid for by
goverment, but it does seem to me that if someone can't afford to have their
children educated, this is no reason to penalize those children. Also, it
may be that the education will help the children to make enough money to
send *their* children to school.
However, about education in general: I think it is badly done. I saw an
article in the local paper today about two "geniuses" (brothers) who will be
entering college at a very young age. I entered college at a young age as
well, although not as young as these two. I think it is good that people
can do so if they have reached that level of education, but unfortunately,
our current society is not well-geared for this sort of thing, and they'll
probably get badly messed-up socially.
It seems to me that the concern should not be over how much is *spent* on
education, but how much is *wasted* because no one really seems to know
*how* to teach people properly. A lot of time seems to me to be wasted in
school which is pre-high-school, and indeed, a good deal is wasted in high
school as well.
Some things children should be taught, instead of spending time making them
take endless spelling tests (while few of them really learn to spell), etc:
(as has been mentioned here) proper handling of guns.
reasonable sex education.
some unbiased surveys of religious and political systems (I wish I
had learned a lot more about these things earlier)
some nutrition and health information
practical cooking
I'm sure there are other things, as well...
Several of these things were touched briefly in some of the many, many
schools I attended. None were well-covered, and often I was given
information which was actually false.
I realize this is not first-grade level stuff, but is it really necessary
for children to spend ~6 years of school learning about basic arithmetic,
spelling, and grammar? (With music, art, and recess thrown in?)
Muffy