ù Quoting Rd Thompson from a message to Ryan Bagueros  ù 
RT> Why do you think the system "......keeps grinding more and more to a 
RT> complete halt"? I see you bitching, but I don't see any 
RT> *constructive* criticism from you. What do you feel should be fixed?  
RT> How would you do it?  What do you feel the monies should be spent on?
The problem is that schools too badly need money, and they are too much a 
political entity. For instance, take standardized testing. So the legislature 
imposes new restrictions on kids to graduate, but they do nothing to improve 
the quality of education being received, which means that many kids are set 
up 
to fail. 
The other problem is that schools are turning over their curriculum to 
corporations, in their pursuit of money. Maybe you heard the news that a kid 
was suspended from high school for wearing a Pepsi shirt on 'Coke Day' at the 
school, where Coca-Cola came in and threw a bunch of money and PR around. 
This 
is symbolic of the commercialization of school, including things like Channel 
One.
The final problem I see is that school is not for education, school is a 
vocational training ground, period. Its the bottom line, whether you are 
there 
for pre-college training, or flat-out job training. How can you expect kids 
to 
ever care about history or advanced math when that conflicts with everything 
else you're teaching them? This is why you hear so many kids say, "why do we 
have to know this stuff, we'll never use it in real life." 
And, of course, the overwhelming problem is that schools are run like 
miniature
dictatorships, with, as I said, police dogs, police officers with guns, metal 
detectors, etc. The rights granted students in the Tinker case have all but 
been totally eroded, and kids are taught exactly what kind of democracy we 
live
in: one in which most people don't count.
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