A nugget from my past

Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Daß ich so traurig bin,
Ein Märchen aus uralten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt,
Im Abendsonnenschein.

2. Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr gold'nes Geschmeide blitzet,
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar,
Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme,
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame,
Gewalt'ge Melodei.

3. Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe,
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh'.
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn,
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen,
Die Loreley getan.

Die Loreley
Heinrich Heine, 1822 (1799-1856)


http://ingeb.org/Lieder/ichweiss.html

Affirmative Action: Too Little Too Late

I'm a proponent of equal opportunity
Current Affirmative action fails because it enables the idea that minorities/women are not good enough to have a job based on merit
Standards are lowered to meet a quota.
What companies actually took time out to recruit the best and brightest minorities/women?

And they hire people with supposedly lower standards and say "I didn't want to, the government made me do it." Bullshit.
"The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin." -Executive Orders 10925 & 11246
The only thing the government ordered them do is stop discriminating.
I propose they didn't hire minorities because they were told, they hired them because they could pay them less. Which is still happening.

Real equal opportunity starts with making sure every child has access to adequate shelter, education, nutrition, health care.

Making sure every child has all they need to strive and excel. Encouraging every child to pursue their interests. Instilling in them the belief that they can achieve anything if they work hard, are tenacious, are not afraid of failure, have some serenity, and have a support system

Example
Military standards. women, lower scores.
Look at high school and college age track athletes. Women's times surpass the male standards in military guidelines
Look at strength. boys and girls are at same level until puberty. Is it that women are unable to push/pull a certain percentage of their own body weight or are they discouraged?

Be aware that I understand talent and predisposition. I also understand hard work and hard work can overcome both. You may not make it to the top as fast or as easy; but you can still achieve your goal.

Abolish legislation that prohibits women from determining when they are ready to have a child

Ensure everyone has access to jobs with a wage that can provide secure shelter, healthy food, reliable transportation, continuous education, and adequate health care.

9/16/08
updated

18 oct 12
updates

Deep Thought

"The objects of this primary eduction [university education] determine its character and limits. These objects are To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business; To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts and accounts, in writing; To improve by reading, his morals and faculties; To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either; To know his rights; to exercise with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor and judgement; And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed. To instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests and duties, as men and citizens, being then the objects of education in the primary schools, whether privet or public, in them should be taught reading, writing and numerical arithmetic, the elements of mensuration...and the outlines of geography and history."

Attributed to Thomas Jefferson
(you never know anymore)

Disenfranchise

Word of the day


verb
deprive (someone) of the right to vote:
• (as adj. disenfranchised) deprived of power; marginalized:
• deprive (someone) of a right or privilege:
• archaic deprive (someone) of the rights and privileges of a free inhabitant of a borough, city, or country.

Oxford American Dictionary



Longing for a time When elections were decided by informed voters
Actually equating male white landowners with those who are informed
Not acknowledge historic systematic efforts to deny education to women and people of color

Emperor of the U.S.A: Education

The foundation of my Empire would be education.
Reading, writing, and arithmetic for everyone

The focus would be autonomy, self-sufficiency, charity, and critical thinking
Focus on knowledge and skills needed to take care of yourself and your community.

Businesses take responsibility for training their people.
On the Job training and apprenticeships

Tuition reimbursement


Turn schools into library/learning centers
With all media and tools needed for learning

Children/parents would determine what they wanted to learn. When they wanted to learn it.

Teachers would become facilitators.
Showing people where to get information.
How to research.
How to use the scientific method.
How to discern information.
How to present information through writing, speaking, art and other mediums.
How to resolve conflicts

*originally posted Nov 2011

The Purpose of Education

To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.

The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.

Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.


Martin Luther King, Jr., The Purpose of Education

Old School to New School

Time to get back to the basics: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Then teach the kids how to navigate through the world and make informed decisions. I'll call it the 4 R's: reading, writing, arithmetic, and research.

Instead of giving the schools the money for each child; give the parents the money.

using critical thinking.
gathering information in their community (including internet)

Teachers are facilitators
Helping children present their findings through written and oral presentation. Also using art.

Using popular education
education that centers on the learner's life and community, making education relevant to the individual
A sort of functional education

Teach them conflict resolution skills

Research Based on intelligence cycle
planning
collecting data
processing data
producing presentation
dissemination

For job skills, more apprenticeships and OJT