On Jun 17, 2007, at 10:01 AM, Gerhard Fiedler wrote: > Rich wrote: > >> I don't know about the US having the worst education system in the >> world. > > Definitely not. I also think that this trend is not so much related > to the > educational system than to the culture as a whole. If parents make sure their children are educated (and there are MANY stories of "uneducated" parents making sure their children get a better education than they did), the system and its problems don't matter. It's all a reflection of the parent's priorities they set for themselves, their family, and the expectations they have of their children. Most "soccer moms" in my area are the typical suburbanites who want two brand new SUV's in the driveway (usually Lexus) and a brand new (made out of cardboard-thin plywood and fake brick siding) house, with the perfect lawn in a "Covenant Controlled" (key word being CONTROL there...) so-called "Community". They think this is "normal" life. That's how stupid THEY are. The parent's "needs" far outweigh the priority of education of the children. That 50" plasma TV, and the 2nd or 3rd mortgage that goes with it, and mom or dad on the road traveling at least three or four days a week so they can afford all this "stuff" is more important than dad or mom staying home for a few years and teaching the children about life, themselves. The children spend hours a day unsupervised in front of the PlayStation or TV, with no expectation of mom or dad really caring enough to take away their privileged little lives, if they don't do their homework. Then the parents show up at parent/teacher conferences and make no changes with Johnny and Janey start showing signs of having bad grades. Downgrade the house? Have a parent stay home? Spent more time with the kids on homework? But that means I can't have my Lexus! My brother-in-law and his wife chose to have his wife stay home with the kids, and he owns his own home on a middle-school teacher's salary. The house is small in a 40 year old quiet low-crime neighborhood with real trees for a treehouse that dad built with the boys, the only TV (which is only allowed on for the news and one show a week, and a few videos once in a while as a "treat") is about 19" big, there's one five year old minivan and a ten year old Honda Civic in the driveway (both taken good care of), and eating out is a huge treat only done once a quarter or so. The boys also saved money and pooled it TOGETHER from their allowances to buy an older gaming machine (I forget which, probably a PS1 or PS2?), and mom and dad allow 1 hour a day of either that or any other "entertainment" type of activity, like TV or a movie. They have to CHOOSE what they want to do. They gain their allowances by helping dad out around the house, which is getting better for dad as they get older, of course. His three boys are smart, well-mannered, well-rounded, and already are showing signs of academic excellence. They're just old enough that gaining the privilege of playing in sports is highly motivating to them, so they shoot for straight "A"'s so mom and dad will let them play. I'm highly impressed with their kids. I wish more parents took the time and care that they have -- instead of bitching about how the "system" is failing them. In reality, they're failing their kids. As a minority (a married adult without kids) I also get pretty damn annoyed that the majority get a tax BREAK for having multiple ankle- biters running around. It's your choice to have "dependents", you should be able to handle paying for them AND taxes, or you shouldn't have had the ankle-biters. I read the local school district's financial plan and consider carefully where they're spending my tax money, but perhaps that's because they get so much of it. Do any of the parents? Oh wait... forgot... dad has two jobs to pay the 2nd mortgage and mom's a professional too. And the kids need new designer jeans from the Gap this weekend. Take away the B.S. "dependent" tax write-offs, and watch how fast parents will want some real accountability on where all that money goes. (And around here, most of it goes to the school district ADMINISTRATORS from all the public documents about their budget that I've read... I'd be furious if I were a parent here.) -- Nate Duehr nate@natetech.com -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist