Midnite Zephyr
Platinum Member
Mediocrity should be rewarded. Complacency should be encouraged. And being average should be celebrated. We are evolving and every child is special (according to their parents).
Wow, I couldn't disagree more with some of these posts. Children are not objects to be ordered around and controlled the family dog...I know that bucks the trend of the modern family life and outlook. A lot of the "pussification of America" comes from the standardization and one-size-fits-all kids being manufactured through the schools.
Ship them off to prison schooling for 12 years, 8 hours a day, and then tell them you're not their friend , you're their boss and master when push comes to shove...pretty heartless upbringing!
Pussification seems to be more of a standardizing, conformist issue for me, rather than it being a giveaway to lazy or low performers.
Truth is every kid IS special.
I got into a huge fight with my ex-fiancé over this exact thing. I think that was the beginning of the end. She was 40 at the time. I totally believe it was her parents that manifested this standing on faux pedestal and claiming “I’m Special”. This view was totally new to this me and this relationship.
....
Fast forward to the weekend with dinner with her folks. Dad.. and Mom then proceeded to lecture me on how special her child is. Pretty much reiterating what she said earlier. Besides being dumbfounded, I respectfully remained quiet, then left.
This reminds me of something I read from a comedian many years ago: "Never marry a woman whose father calls her 'Princess'. She's heard it so often that she believes it."
Same thing can be said of sons, of course.
Same thing can be said of sons, of course.
If my old man starts calling me princess, I'll crack him one fair and square on the jaw.
Wellll...
I'd agree if we change "special" to "unique." If you believe that humanity was created by a higher power, then we are all special in that respect, and I have no argument from that standpoint.
But, if we use "special" as a qualifier, we need to delineate the bounds of "special." If "special" = MENSA, then we don't all qualify - same as if "special" = intellectually disabled.
One definition of special is: better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.
In 1977, I graduated in the top 95% of my class - does that make me special?
If we're ALL special, what happens to "special?"
Right, but since you're probably hitting like a princess, I doubt he'd have much to worry about.
The U.S.'s reputation is terrible concerning both state schooling as well as the prison-industrial complex.You're NOT their friend.Being a responsible Parent is VERY different then trying to be on the same level as a peer group friend.Schooling for 12 years...how about 16 ,counting college and a bachelors degree.
Nobodys talking about raising a family dog,but children need rules structure and conditions to live by,and consequences if they choose to break those rules.While I agee most schools do follow the one size fits all rule,that's because of the dumbing down of our education system,an less and less public funds from taxes,being spent on public education in not just in the US.Numbers are more important that children,and no parent wants to hear THEIR child is a loser at anything.Parenting is now the number ONE individual sport in the US,and the world.If you don't believe that ,go to a parent teach conference or a little league game.It WILL open your eyes.
Our schools should be palaces,and our teachers the very best and highly motivated that we can afford.They should also make lots more money to do one of the most important jobs on the planet.
If you're trying to be a friend to your child,and avoid the tough decisions that a great parent be it mom or dad has to make,then you're just kidding yourself,and setting both you and your kid up to fail.The world is full of rules and laws,that can have terrible consequences if not followed.
I worked on Rikers Island as correction officer for 3 years,before becoming an NYPD officer/detective for over 20 years.I can tell you first hand about people that think rules and consequences, don't apply to them.
Steve B
The U.S.'s reputation is terrible concerning both state schooling as well as the prison-industrial complex.
Yes, I am a socialist and I believe that with self-determination comes the responsibility to allow others to be self-determining.
I don't think that defines you as a socialist. I think it defines you as a thinking and caring human being.
I get queasy when I think of all of the things in the world that retard or prevent self-determination. In some countries, seeking such is a criminal offense (particularly for women or people going against the established religion- in some places the penalty is death).
My own rating of public ed would depend upon the definition of "good" education. Woodrow Wilson would approve.No argument on the prison-industrial complex. Although the US reputation is terrible concerning public education, according to at least one analysis it turns out that students in well-funded schools in high socio-economic areas in the US do as well as students in virtually any other country.
This is why I'm a scientist. I love good experiments. They slap you in the face with reality. We actually have a pretty good idea of what works in terms of schooling. The problem is we don't want to do it. We think (or have been told) that it's too difficult or too expensive. We'd rather listen to the latest dogmatically driven assertion that claims we can improve everything overnight and do it cheaply.
My own rating of public ed would depend upon the definition of "good" education. Woodrow Wilson would approve.
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"We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class, of necessity, in every society, to forego the privileges of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks" Woodrow Wilson,
“Our schools are, in a sense, factories in which the raw products (children) are to be shaped and fashioned into products to meet the various demands of life.” (Cubberley, 1917)
I don't disagree with anything you said. Though it pains me to hear people say "raise taxes!" to improve public education, when it's already a fail. I am not speaking on terms of a statistical fail, though. Because the standardization of it all is one of the easy examples of why public education wasn't meant to educate, how to think critically and problem solve - but surely it teaches kids how to memorize acronyms and recite. Hmm, care to guess who profits from this added behavior trait?Are you being sarcastic or do you actually concur with those quotes? It seems to me, sadly, that this is what a number of voices are clamoring for these days (training over education).
And just to be clear, what I was referring to in the prior post is that those US students have equivalent mastery of subjects such as math, science, language, etc. as students in other countries. That is, an apples to apples comparison.
Though it pains me to hear people say "raise taxes!" to improve public education, when it's already a fail.