The Humour Club discussion
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Politically Incorrect
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And while I'm dubious about movies as texts to decode (kids do enough movies on their own), using the text to understand something is pretty basic and important. When I taught college english classes, I had to constant remind kids that if you can't find support for your idea in the text, you're just making stuff up. This got me in trouble as a TA when a student asked, about something the prof had said in lecture, "Where is that in the text?" I had to admit I had no idea; I couldn't see it at all. The prof accused me of undercutting his authority. I managed to refrain from accusing him of spouting bull---- from the lectern. Barely.
Lisa wrote: "Book reports! Oy! (Pause for me to take a sip/gulp.)My son recently took an extra-credit class AFTER school hours where he learned to do an "adult book report." I asked him if they were reading "..."
When you say write an essay do you mean hand-written or emailed to the teacher? Or do they just copy and paste the question into Google search, then copy, paste and email it to the teacher?
BTW, Jersey lady, are you a fan of the G Men also?
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Nonsense! I just think people should be informed of all of life's incongruities. :)
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My son recently took an extra-credit class AFTER school hours where he learned to do an "adult book report." I asked him if they w..."
Better not be any copying and pasting from Google in my household. Typed, yes. Emailed to the teacher, fine (though I think their teachers still require paper). But plagiarized, no.
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Actually, schools move very slowly with regard to technology. This is partly because large organizations are inherently conservative, but also because schools lack the funds to get all techy in a hurry. At least around here they do.
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Maybe not. It may just be a question of resource allocation.
What I find interesting, is that:
-Funding increases for schools is a topic during every election campaign.
-Property taxes, the primary source of most school funding, will go down only if the voters revolt. [As in California.]
-Studies show that the majority of school districts are spending more than ever on administration even when there are drops in enrollment.
Maybe we should stop asking for classroom improvements. Maybe, we should just be asking for our money's worth.
Ah, look! Yet another property tax bill.
CartoonistAndre wrote: "When you say write an essay do you mean hand-written or emailed to the teacher? Or do they just copy and paste the question into Google search, then copy, paste and email it to the teacher? BTW, Jersey lady, are you a fan of the G Men also?"
Nothing is hand-written. It's all done on computer or iPad and submitted via edmodo or another app. And if it by chance was ever hand-written, it would be printed. My son was never taught cursive writing. He's 15 and has trouble reading the messages his grandparents write in greeting cards. My daughter, who's now 14, learned cursive enough to write her signature. Her 4th grade teacher taught her class during the last week of school.
And I'm embarassed to say I don't know what the G Men are. I am a transplant here -- I'm a Florida cracker living north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Rebecca wrote: "Better not be any copying and pasting from Google in my household. Typed, yes. Emailed to the teacher, fine (though I think their teachers still require paper). But plagiarized, no. "Everything the kids hand in is run through a program that scours the web. It's really quite difficult to plagiarize these days and get away with it. However, you can still probably pay kids to write you papers for you . . .
Rebecca wrote: "Actually, schools move very slowly with regard to technology. This is partly because large organizations are inherently conservative, but also because schools lack the funds to get all techy in a hurry. At least around here they do. "We're at the opposite end of that. Our middle school hasn't used textbooks in 3 years -- everything has been online. The high school is still switching over. The thing holding it all back hasn't been funding, but the teachers being reluctant to make the change.
I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I love that my organizationally-challenged daughter has no possibility of losing her homework. On the other, I kind of think my kids are guinea pigs. No one really knows if they're learning as much as they used to or if they're learning what they need no. Along with the technology came massive changes to the curriculum. Granted, the kids graduating from our high school pretty much have their pick of colleges to attend and they only need 2 years of schooling there to get their 4-year degree because of the strenuous demands made on them academically during high school. But, that means they start planning their careers when they are 15. Can they really handle that? Or are we going to see a generation of adults going back to college in their 30s in the future? I'm not paying for college round 2!
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So maybe if your area's schools are spending more on admin every year, you should look at a few things: what filing requirements are they trying to meet? Are they overpaying their administrators, hiring too many, or just desperately trying to get some good people who could otherwise be earning a lot more out in the business world (do you know how hard it is to find a truly competent CFO who can handle a budget for even a small district like ours? I can't imagine what they need for, say, LA Unified). Or are those "statistics" in fact a fiction?
California's tax revolt (Prop. 13, which basically froze corporate property taxes as 1974 levels while leaving homeowners to pay an ever-larger proportion of the bill as homes change hands) eviscerated school funding. At the worst point in the recession, we were down to deciding between having librarians and PE teachers, or 30 kindergarteners in a classroom. Because you still have to have a few clerks and secretaries (and yes, that school secretary who runs your school is probably being counted as "administration").
All of which is a long rant to say, really: most school districts are doing the best they can. The system is, to some extent, broken, with too many chefs (many of them at a very long distance from the classroom, like clear across the country in DC). At least you aren't (don't appear to be) blaming the teachers, most of whom are doing their damnedest.
Rebecca wrote: " (and probably largely fake history at that)"This is a topic that has angered me ever since a teacher informed me that someone "discovered" an already populated area. (you can find further examples of imaginary history in the book http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/lies... ) This was a problem when I was in school and is only one piece of the further degradation of our education system. You would not believe the number of people that came into my office when I was a recruiter for the Navy. All of them had authentic High School Diplomas, but many were unable to tell me how many nickels were in fifteen cents. A number were unable to accomplish more than a memorized spelling of their own name. Apparently the big push to "Not make them feel bad about themselves" does not take into account how they feel when they can't do the job of a simple convenience store clerk. Once again, this is not the fault of the teachers who as Rebecca says "are doing their damnedest" but the fact the politicians who can send their kids to private school have handcuffed them.
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I never said that a school district could run without administration. Nor did I say that the teachers are at fault.
What I said is that the American taxpayer is paying for a system that graduates students who need pictures on their cash register because they can't do the simple math required to ring up a sale and make proper change for a customer!
How many colleges offer remedial classes for freshmen? --Currently, nearly all.
How many high school graduates can't read? --Does it matter. If there's only one, there's something very, very wrong.
Yes, I'm fully aware that there are very dedicated teachers and underpaid administrators caught up in the political demands of the day. However, they're adults. I expect them to find a way to deal with their problems.
On the other hand, a child who can't write his own name... Is the child at fault?
I don't know the answer. I really wish I did. But, how can anyone say that we can't do better than pushing functional illiterates through the system? And, why should any taxpayer feel good about paying for that?!!
Lisa wrote: "CartoonistAndre wrote: "And I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what the G Men are. I am a transplant here -- I'm a Florida cracker living north of the Mason-Dixon line."You'd mentioned being a proud Lady Gamecock (did I get that right?) I assumed you and your family were into football. In the NFL the NYGiants are called the G men, Big Blue, and Major F**king Assholes, among other choice names. They play their home games at the Meadowlands so they are, currently, considered to be New Jersey's team as well. Not by all, of course!
So back to schooling- It sounds like many subjects like penmanship and spelling may soon become obsolete, possibly in this millennium, and individuality less common, many old tasks automated. But it’s all part of our evolution from hunters and gatherers to the present technological age. I’m sure there’s some old cowboy lamenting the old days when swinging a lariat and taking down a bull was an ability to be proud of, while his grandson just sits and taps on an iPad all day. Probably already entertaining himself with some amusing little quantum physics theory.
Education starts at home. Teachers are doing, all day, what the parents, hopefully, continue at home.
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I'm so glad you commented, Andre. Six hours without a reply, I was afraid I bummed everyone out!
Actually, my concern is exactly the opposite. The basic skills that will allow our youth to live and prosper in a technological age are the same basic skill set that allows success in every profession - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. All vital communication skills.
Understanding cannot be automated.
And I agree, quantum physics is hugely entertaining! :-}
Sorry, if I brought everybody down.
Jay wrote: "CartoonistAndre wrote: "I’m sure there’s some old cowboy lamenting the old days when swinging a lariat and taking down a bull was an ability to be proud of, while his grandson just sits and taps on..."No doubt! There are some awesome children out there, wonderful minds, and providing, of course, we start taking better care of the earth, mankind will adapt and we'll still be talking about the lousy education kids are getting well into the future.
Well now that you've bummed everybody out, Jay, what do you plan to do about it? Going on 24 hours now. I think everybody's, just like Bernie Sanders, damned tired of emails and politics in general.
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Going on 24 hours now. I think everybody's, just like Bernie Sanders, damned tired of emails and politics in general."
Well, to start, I've decided to never have an opinion again. :>
As to Bernie, it's entirely possible at his age that he thinks he's running for president of his bridge club, and either way, he'd prefer no Trump.
The polls are all over the place and I can't believe any of them. They're all tied, as much as I can read into it, and will be for the next 9-10 months, unless Trump finally insults the wrong person or party, or the FBI slaps Hillary with charges, which I seriously doubt the state department and the present administration would allow, considering how slowly they're releasing those emails. Oops! I said emails! Sorry.
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And, we'll forgive you for mentioning Hilary's emails. They were boring anyway. It's Bill's private emails that we wanted a look at.
Jay wrote: "Now, you've confused me. Is there someone left that Trump hasn't insulted?And, we'll forgive you for mentioning Hilary's emails. They were boring anyway. It's Bill's private emails that we wanted..."
He's just getting warmed up. He's dumping on Carson now but when will he wise up and stop the mud-slinging? Maybe about the same time that Bush, Rubio, Cruz, Fiorina, Huckabee, Paul, and Christie realize that they are polling at just under 10%.
Bill's emails? The FBI and State can't even get their hands on all the emails from, and to, the former SoS that should've been theirs alone to begin with, and not stored on a private server. But I digress yet again.
CartoonistAndre wrote: "You'd mentioned being a proud Lady Gamecock (did I get that right?) I assumed you and your family were into football. In the NFL the NYGiants are called the G men, "Lady Gamecock, yes, Giants fan, no. I'm in South Jersey where the New Jersey team is the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Makes sense. I heard the only thing home-grown in New Jersey was commuters.
Jay wrote: "Makes sense. I heard the only thing home-grown in New Jersey was commuters..."That's so not true. We also have tomatoes.
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Garden variety or voluptuous?
Jay wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Lady Gamecock, yes, Giants fan, no. I'm in South Jersey where the New Jersey team is the Philadelphia Eagles..."Makes sense. I heard the only thing home-grown in New Jersey was commu..."
And I can vouch for those NJ tomatoes, but not for those NJ Eagles!
Lisa wrote: "Jay wrote: "Makes sense. I heard the only thing home-grown in New Jersey was commuters..."That's so not true. We also have tomatoes."
You must have house mice, too - that can't just be a Canadian blight
Brenda wrote: "You must have house mice, too - that can't just be a Canadian blight"I haven't seen any but I seem to have just about every other kind of animal running through my yard, terrorizing the dog: deer, wild turkeys, ground hogs, chipmunks, squirrels, oppossums, skunks, raccoons, feral cats, etc. It's crazy to think that my house is only 12 miles from center city Philadelphia!
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I get the possibility of skunks, raccoons and feral cats terrorizing a small dog, but chipmunks? Squirrels?
What breed is this dog? Miniature Wuss-Hound?
Hey, wait a minute, those little ankle biters can be fierce and raise a mighty ruckus! Damn. Thinking about those tasty NY tomatoes got me to salivating making me think of that Ren character from the Ren and Stimpy cartoon. Why? I don't know.
We had our own little cuff clamper in the yard in upstate NY, off the Appalachian trail, and yes, even the chipmunks made her jump. Another friend said she reminded him of Pee Wee Herman's dog! Yeah, a real Wussie.
But, after being told by the shelter that she'd been rescued from a burning building and slowly choking from a plastic flea collar imbedded in her skin, which she'd grown into, well, she earned the right to be as wussy as she wanted to be and I, we, were happy to oblige!
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Damn. Thinking about those tasty NY tomatoes got me to salivating making me think of that Ren character from..."
Good going on the rescue, Andre!
I've also had really good luck with rescues. However, I prefer mutts to purebreds and inbreds. Personal opinion, of course, but I think mutts are less temperamental; better personalities.
However, I can't say I've ever seen any dog, no matter what size, that was afraid of a chipmunk. That's like a cat being afraid of mice...it just doesn't follow.
But, I guess pet shrinks have to make a living, too.
Jay wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I seem to have just about every other kind of animal running through my yard, terrorizing the dog: deer, wild turkeys, ground hogs, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums, skunks, raccoons, fe..."Perhaps a Border Cower-ie? or a Basset Hounded?
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I once stopped at a 7-11 with my dogs (both mutts) in the car. A lady exiting the store said, "Oh, what a pretty dog. What breed is that?"
I wasn't even sure which dog she was referring to, but the comedy writer kicked in and I answered, "Purebred Scum-Weiner."
Completely deadpan serious, she says, "Really? I never heard of that breed."
Sometimes a tough crowd only numbers one.
Jay wrote: "I get the possibility of skunks, raccoons and feral cats terrorizing a small dog, but chipmunks? Squirrels?What breed is this dog? Miniature Wuss-Hound? "
I chose the wrong word -- not terrorizing so much as he thinks they're all threats. Threats he MUST confront the very second he suspects they're on the property, which is constant.
I can't complain too much. I guess getting up and walking to and from the door several times a day to let him in and out could count as exercise, but it does get annoying. And it's even more annoying when I ignore his bell ringing (I trained him to ring a bell when he wants to go outside). Because when I ignore him, he runs to my desk, slaps my leg with a paw and then runs back to the door and barks. He's persistent and is willing to slap and run for what seems like hundreds of times in one afternoon. I swear he thinks the squirrels are storing bombs in their cheeks.
And we've been told he's a bichon-poodle mix. But he's about 40 pounds so there's probably something else mixed in.
Joel wrote: "You have to read Lisa's "Hitting the Sauce". The tomatoes really hit the fan!"Goodness, Joel, I missed this earlier! I didn't mean to be rude. Thank you for the plug.
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A bitchin' poodle mix! That sounds impressive!
Isn't that where we got the word bitchin from? yap, yap yap...
You know those frenchy mixed breeds- "Parlez-vous humma-humma?"
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Jay wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Perhaps a Border Cower-ie? or a Basset Hounded?..."I once stopped at a 7-11 with my dogs (both mutts) in the car. A lady exiting the store said, "Oh, what a pretty dog. What breed ..."
That's hilarious! My dog is a "sort of rescue dog" (a breeder was getting rid of it because it needed a leg amputated). One day a group of kids saw me with Percy and asked what he was. I told them it was a newer breed - a Three-Legged Great Dane. Most of the group figured out pretty quickly that it was a joke. One of the boys looked baffled, though. I'm assuming he now works at McDonalds.
Joel wrote: "Nothing like a little Cheech and Chong!"I thought that was french? That Cheech was a rude little bastard!
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Let's hope he's not the one wearing the clown costume.
I'm leaning toward Deep Fryer Cleaner for that guy :-)
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This morning I asked him if he knows who he's voting for. He said, "The people with the funniest names."
We get to vote by mail in Jersey if we want to. It makes voting very convenient so really no one has an excuse for not voting. It's just unfortunate that we don't seem to have many I truly want to give power to.
Lisa wrote: "It's just unfortunate that we don't seem to have many I truly want to give power to. "
I think I'll vote for Kodos, but Kang brings up some pretty good points.
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