On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 14:42:03 -0700, Don Bruder
wrote:

In article ,
Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 13:28:28 -0700, Don Bruder
wrote:

In article ,
Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:37:25 -0400, Cliff wrote:

60% have never read even one book.
Only about 6% read a book a year.
63% think man & the dinosaurs were living together.
70% believe in the existence of angels.
40% of American adults did not know that Germany was our enemy in
World War II.
50% of seventeen year olds could not express 9/100 as a percentage.
53% said the earth revolves around the sun in either a day or a month.
21% believed the sun revolved around the earth (don't ask them to
add 21 & 53).
91% were unable to state what a molecule was.
12% of Amercians, asked who the wife of the biblical Noah was, said
"Joan of Arc".
Motorola Corporation reported that 80 percent of all applicants screened
nationally failed a test of seventh-grade English and fifth-grade math.
56% said electrons were larger than atoms.
Almost half the population reads at a fifth-grade level or less.
42% of Americans can,t locate Japan on a world map.

Of the 158 countries in the United Nations, the United States ranks
forty-ninth in literacy.

The republican answer?
Tax cuts for the already wealthy, cuts in education.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs...19new_prod.asp

Educators can only offer education and try to motivate. Parents,
regardless of political affiliation, aid and abet their children's
attempts to "get a break" by reduced standards for performance.

The answer is not political nor does it lie in politics; it lies in
leadership and responsible parenting.

Amen to that... The whole "no child left behind" bull**** is just that:
bull****. Passing little Johnny despite the fact tha he can't read so
that he doesn't get "left behind" is criminal. Wasting school dollars on
crap like football uniforms, basketball jerseys, and similar is equally
criminal. Kids are in school to LEARN, not to play sports. ONce they've
actually learned enough to be functional adults, *THEN* they can play
sports. Until then, nail their asses to the seat and teach 'em until it
sinks in, whether they enjoy it or not. It isn't about enjoyment, it's
about learning.

There have been effective
leaders from both parties in the past, and damned few if any from
either party in recent years.

Agreed, on both scores.

Citing statistics indicating a problem and immediately blaming a
political party for the problem is an excellent example of
unwillingness to address a problem and deal with it effectively.

Even when, as in this case, the political party in questin is, indeed, a
big chunk of (No, not the root cause, just a big chunk) of the problem
being addressed?

Yes, because without a proposed agenda for improvement or change
(other than put a different party in power) it accomplishes nothing
but blame assignment. It uses inflammatory rhetoric to advance an
unstated but obvioius political agenda, rather than accomplish or
even address any resolution of the problem or situation cited.

If/when a different party is in office, the yowling and bleating
continues though from different sources. If ya really want to fix
the problem, then address the goddamned problem with proposed
solutions. God forbid that the problem might be us because someone
else isn't doing our job of setting standards for and motivating our
kids. Geez, if they learn critical thinking and logic, they might
even disagree with us!

Point 1: I'm childfree, and unless I have a *MASSIVE* change in attitude
on that topic - about as likely as seeing pigs on the wing - will remain
so.

Point 2: You do raise a valid point: Namely, the lack of anything that
even remotely resembles parenting by the vast majority of "parents" in
this country.

Point 3: Quite bluntly, I don't give a damn who the party in power is -
They all suck pretty much equally. So don't "put an agenda in my mouth",
please...

I certainly did not intend to, Don. I think we all know who has the agenda.