Honestly I think the saddest part has been reading the International reaction. Half of the opinions I've seen coming from the UK have been batshit crazy ramblings about Bin Laden already being dead.
It seems like there's a large demographic in the international community that jumps on any sensational news slant that prescribes to their preformulated assumption that America is a bunch of corrupt, capricious cowboys.
I got a chuckle out of Arctic Texas. And speaking of Texas:
Quote:
A Texas high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave following an incident where he allegedly told a 9th grade Muslim girl in his algebra class "I bet that you're grieving" on Monday following the death of Osama bin Laden.
According to one parent at Clear Brook High School in Houston who spoke about the incident to a local ABC affiliate, the teacher also said, "I heard about your uncle's death."
Quote:
"The student ended up crying over what was said to her by the teacher and the teacher asked her why she was crying and another student said it was because of what you said earlier," the parent told the station. "And his response was, oh, OK, and just kind of smirked and giggled and walked away."
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Re: Bin Laden Dead
This has gone kind of viral on facebook and twitter.
Quote:
I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
I also found Arctic Texas amusing.
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Last edited by Combine 017 : 05-04-2011 at 08:31 PM.
This has gone kind of viral on facebook and twitter.
I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
I also found Arctic Texas amusing.
The problem is that it was passed off as a MLK quote and it's not.
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Re: Bin Laden Dead
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond
If I go to UT for law school I hope you are performing at SXSW next year. Any plans to?
There's a good chance we'll be down there. We've been 4 out of the last 6 years, and we'll probably have a new album out, so there's always a reason to get down there.
Yeah I did find that the New Yorkers I've met in particular are some of the most automatically prejudice against Texans people I've met. Not all of course, but it did amaze me how many supposedly open-minded, non-judgmental people immediately assume you're a redneck racist asshole if you're from Texas. Broaden your horizons a bit before you immediately judge. I have found there are just about as many prejudice, racist assholes (including such people) everywhere you go.
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Originally Posted by The Germanator
Hell yeah. Austin is the best. The rest of Texas, not so much. It's truly an oasis. Probably one of the top 5 cities I've been to.
I abandoned this type of thinking several years ago, and I suggest you also broaden your horizons. There is a lot to love about every place on Earth.
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Re: Bin Laden Dead
Quote:
Originally Posted by manasecret
Yeah I did find that the New Yorkers I've met in particular are some of the most automatically prejudice against Texans people I've met. Not all of course, but it did amaze me how many supposedly open-minded, non-judgmental people immediately assume you're a redneck racist asshole if you're from Texas. Broaden your horizons a bit before you immediately judge. I have found there are just about as many prejudice, racist assholes (including such people) everywhere you go.
I abandoned this type of thinking several years ago, and I suggest you also broaden your horizons. There is a lot to love about every place on Earth.
Yeah, you're right. I guess from my experiences so far, that's been the case, but I know every place has it's charm.
Being in one city for only one night at times can give you weird perspective. I detested L.A after our first visit because I had a horrible experience there, but then we spent a month there and had a much better time. I definitely used to pass judgement on all cities based on one night (and honestly, more or less the one block near the venue, or how well the show went!)...
But yeah, I understand that's pretty foolish now. Didn't mean to dismiss the rest of Texas, I've just spent the equivalent of at least a month over the length of my life in Austin, so I know it the best. All I know from West Texas is weird rest stops, though.
Oh, and I refuse to believe that Ohio doesn't suck.
You hit the nail on the head. Thomas Sowell actually does a great job of explaining how events unfold to create subsidies for lowered expectations and performance (fast forward to 2:30, but the whole dialogue is good):
During the Great Depression families were paid more assistance if they did not have a male head of household. Also, the NRA sent workers to jobs far away from their families. Add to the this the endemic racism prevalent in the government at the time and you have your modern ghettos where black workers were housed in the worst areas and segregated. Meanwhile, at home, an entire generation of African American children were growing up without a father figure.
Ever wonder why white poverty is concentrated in the mid-west and black poverty is concentrated in urban areas? ITS NOT A MISTAKE. It's what happens when your government stops serving you and starts controlling you.
Wow....that is profound, and tragic.
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Originally Posted by Professor S
No child left behind changed it a bit, but yes, its generally how it works. I know if Philadelphia the highest dollar amount per child is spent in the worst districts.
This is how it is in Chicago.
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Originally Posted by Teuthida
Except there is a choice. At least there is here in NYC. I would hope it's the case in other urban areas as well. Though I can't see it working elsewhere where things are more spread out.
Basically you have your zoned high school, with access to pretty much every other public school in NYC depending on your grades and/or a specialty test. So if you're poor and live in a lousy neighborhood you can still go to your school of choice or at least one a bit better than what you might be stuck with. A lot of normal zoned schools offer advanced programs too so that if you're a good student you can get a better education than the average curriculum of that school. You can also easily transfer to another as I did if you aren't satisfied where you first end up. Believe Earl did as well. So there are actually a ton of opportunities to move around. No one is stuck unless they're apathetic.
This is hugely victim-blaming. But blaming the victim aside, if it was that easy then everyone would be getting straight As and getting out of their bad high school. There are family issues, lack of resources within the school district, and lack of speciality programs. The big issue these days is cutting extra-curriculars, like music or after-school programs. These have been shown to provide structure and support for youth, but in a fleeting economy these have been the first things to go. After-school programs aside, you still have the urban environment, the drugs, the lack of parental figures, the poverty, and a bunch of other issues that feed into the school environment. I believe in the "if you work hard good things will come for you" mentality, but the number of hurdles are astronomical and should be considered.
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Originally Posted by Vampyr
...and go after parents who aren't sending their kids to school. Requiring kids to go to the district that they live in means every kid is guaranteed to have transportation.
Sadly, neither of these things are true. Believe you me. The CPS doesn't give a shit if you attend school or not, and they sure aren't going after the parents if they don't take their kids to school. This applies to rural ghettos as well (I know via my internship) and I assume it applies to urban settings outside of Chicago. Furthermore, transportation is never a guarantee. I know kids in the CPS that have a 2-hour commute both ways across numerous bus and train transfers.
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Originally Posted by Vampyr
If you let parents and kids choose which school to go to, the good schools would be crowded and children with parents who didn't care or don't have the means to send them to the better school would be unfairly left out.
This already happens...and is a sad reality.
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Originally Posted by Vampyr
As for vocational schools, yeah. College isn't for everyone. Personally I think college is scam that we all pay too much money for. Most degrees aren't worth anything. Teens are indoctrinated into the mindset that they should major in something they "love" with no regard for their future.
You're paying a crap ton of money to a University so that you can ultimately get a degree that is supposed to help you get a decent job. Instead people pay Universities a crap ton of money to get a degree that won't help them with much of anything, and once they graduate they don't really know what to do with themselves because the only thing they've done their whole lives is go back to school. So what do they do? "Eh, I guess I'll just go for my Masters." This decision is made with seemingly no forethought put into what good that masters degree will actually do them in the long run. Instead they sink further and further into debt because of how easy it is to get loans to pay for something so expensive you'll be working for decades to pay it off.
College has me pretty jaded. I feel extremely fortunate that I got a scholarship and majored in something that allowed me to get a good job. I have a friend who was majoring in the same thing I was, dropped out after 2 years in, and is now making as much money as I do doing the same job I do. If I had actually payed for my college I'd be even more annoyed than I am at the idea I potentially wasted 4 years doing homework.
I think we should tell teens and future college students to major in something they -like-, not necessarily love, that has real world applications.
If you absolutely adore philosophy and can't imagine a life where you don't "do" philosophy, that's fine. Go to the library and check out books on philosophy. Read and study philosophy to your hearts desire. You don't need to pay a University an insane amount of money so that you can be bored in a classroom while a professor who doesn't really care about teaching drones on word-for-word on the same things you could have just read yourself.
I don't want to get too deeply into it, but here are my thoughts on college and the current school system. In bullet point/list form for easy consumption.
-Job/Work experience has been devalued by the perpetuated belief (which comes from the academic world) that you _NEED_ a college degree to be useful in the work environment
-The belief that Intelligence = "Good Grades/Success in school" has also been falsely perpetuated by the current academic world. Standardized tests, GPA, success in school = bullshit for being the "end all be all" determinant of intelligence.
-You should go to college because you are passionate about learning. This is where I disagree with the popular Internet sentiments. If you want to get a philosophy degree, or art degree, or music degree, then do it! This belief that only engineering degrees or business degrees are useful is total bullshit.
-Happiness is not measured by how much money you make. Many happy people went to college and got philosophy or art degrees. Likewise, success is not measured by your engineering degree. Look at most business tycoons, millionaires, entrepreneurs, or genius-to-CEO types. Most of them are college dropouts, didn't go to college, or took alternative education paths.
-The Administrators and Teachers in the world of academia KNOW THAT DEGREES DO NOT EQUAL JOBS. Colleges NEED to recruit kids. High school kids pay for colleges to fund research. It is no coincidence that colleges open their doors to just about anyone these days.
-Most people SHOULD NOT GO TO COLLEGE
-At one point, jobs like: cooking, interior design, and other craft jobs were highly valued without the attached BA or MA or whatever
-The market is flooded with people with college degrees, this is a problem.
-Academia is largely full of itself.
-It is hugely unfair to ask an 18 year old to map out their life, their passion, and their future career. Most 18 year olds should work for a few years, get some life experience, and then decide if they want to go to college. High schools push kids to pick a college because it is the expectation...this relationship is symbiotic. I believe that people who run the colleges encourage policy or advocacy that perpetuates the belief that high schools need to push kids into college. The net result is a cycle driven largely by money.
I regret going to college at 18. I'm glad I did in the long run, and I think ultimately I would have decided to attend, but I could have gained some valuable life experience working for 2 years instead of failing out of and hating engineering. I would guess-timate that about 3 out of 4 of my friends ended up altering their path during college. I would guess that about 2 out of 4 of my friends made DRAMATIC life changes. By dramatic I mean: dropping out of college, doing a total major change, doing a total college change.
That's like....75% of the people I know altered their course...
50% did so dramatically
I would also say that a lot of my friends who are graduating are in the position of: "I have a degree...now what the fuck do I do."
I happen to be in that boat too, with a largely useless (due to flooded market) psychology degree. Fortunately, I am passionate about psychology, and am passionate enough about what I learned in college to feel like I got something meaningful out of my education. I was also lucky enough to work at two real jobs during my college years, so I have real world work experience.
Instead of rushing off to the next degree mill, I am taking a year or two off to work and research graduate school. I intend to pursue a masters and possibly a PhD, but right now I am a bit burned out and want to get some more work experience, save some money, and enjoy being out of academia for a bit. By fall of 2012 I plan to be applying for grad school, but in the meantime I am applying the brakes.
This is turning into one of my most pointless, rambling posts yet...but I think the points I want to hit home are:
-We have devalued non-college jobs and non-college success
-College is not for everyone and academia is exploiting this
-The current structure for education has created degree mills, which in turn has devalued the arts
I, personally, would never tell someone who is very passionate about philosophy or art to avoid college. The reality is that some of the brightest, most interesting, and most seasoned people reside within academia. I have met some professors who have life-wisdom as well as field experience that is unparalleled. Books can certainly be enlightening, but your local library cannot rival the life story's or the experience of a seasoned faculty member. There was a point in time where it was understood that you go to college to get a degree because you are interested in learning more about that field of study. Nowadays people are no longer interested in learning, the new belief is that you get a degree because a degree=jobs. This is why we see a devaluing of the arts. Philosophy can be just as hard as engineering or physics, but the average Joe-slacker will have a much easier time doing minimal work in philosophy than engineering. This is just due to the nature of the redundancy checks built into the respective degrees. Engineering at face-value is much harder than philosophy. To say that someone who majored in philosophy could not invest as much time and work as someone who majored in engineering is fallacious.
At any rate, I make sleep now.
Last edited by KillerGremlin : 05-05-2011 at 05:57 AM.
Re: Bin Laden Dead
Hybrid Mode
