if you want to improve education, improve the society.

[ulysses]

I can take a child who has never had any trusted and loved adult read to him outside school, never seen an adult read for long stretches, never been taught to count things at home, never encouraged to build towers out of blocks or other random objects, never been taught what "measuring" is through making cookies, never been told outside the classroom that she's smart, never been told that being smart is even a good thing, much less not a bad thing to be ridiculed, and teach him or her something.

But I can't teach them at grade level, usually.

Education begins at birth and ends at death. Not enough folks of your intellectual caliber around? Give them a book. Give their kids a book.

[JuniperLea]

1. Improving education also improves society

"I don't want to pay taxes for public school purposes! I don't even have any kids!"

How many times have you heard that one? Well, I say if you educate children well, and discipline them (which shows you care about them), you will have far fewer gangsters, car thieves, etc. You'll have fewer hoodlums and homeless, fewer prisoners, fewer welfare recipients... the list just keeps on going.

It goes both ways. One hand washes the other. When both keep getting better, both keep getting EVEN BETTER!

[undertheboardwalk]

5. indeed - society/education go hand in hand

Quality of life improves with a countries literacy rates! That's been proven time and time again.

On the other hand, parents cannot send their children to schools that discipline unfairly and innapropriately. Recently ACLU did a monumental report on corporal punishment in U.S. Public schools..which is leading children to fail.

I am new in this blog forum and will post a journal on the ACLU's findings, which are disturbing.

[No.23]

7. I would LOVE to read that.

And look forward to it.

Welcome too.

From one newbie to another.

:hi:

P.S. Is your boardwalk at Coney Island? An old stomping ground of mine.

[undertheboardwalk]

9. to get you started

I will get ya started...They won't let me post a journal here yet since I am so new, but check out this report. It was featured on CNN.: http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62078/section/1

[No.23]

10. "Not found (error to origin)"

:(

[undertheboardwalk]

11. question

Not sure what this means.........?

[undertheboardwalk]

14. my new journal

http://journals.democraticunderground.com:80/undertheboardwalk/1

[MedleyMisty]

2. Frederick Douglass said that reading was the path to freedom

And I know that I don't have the patience or ability to teach people how to read, so I'm still trying to think of different ways to help. But people who can and do teach others to read are definitely my heroes and role models. They're the people who are really changing the world.

I am trying in one small insignificant way - I lend my mother books. Like My Bondage and My Freedom, to reference the subject line. I figure that she's a total extrovert who talks to a lot of people so maybe she'll talk to people about the books I lend her and the ideas will ripple outward.

[Horse with no Name]

3. I live in a failing town

and I am presently working on a proposal to help lift my town up...to get people involved and to use these tough times to take the town in a different direction.
Will it work? I don't know...but I am damned sure going to try. I think I have stumbled upon a decent and attainable plan.
Luckily I live in a town that I can catch the Mayor in local grocery store and schedule a meeting.
Part of my plan includes consolidating four small school districts in order to maximize tax dollars and to give our students a better education...because one thing is for certain, a town with a failing school district will NOT attract people.
Good schools are paramount in the survival of our society.
And it all starts with a book.

[havocmom]

13. me too horse. They have no problem being taxed to support sports

but education? nope.

Yet, I keep on trying.

[rwheeler31]

4. You get it, My grand son was going over to a new neighbor to

play with a younger boy, he collected toys and came to me and said I must be prepared.

[BlooInBloo]

6. I've never agreed with you more. And since teachers are a PART of society...

I take it you have no objection to fixing *them*, along with the rest of what's broken?

[sampsonblk]

8. Gotta do both at the same time

Can't address one problem without the other.

[havocmom]

12. and vice versa

[LWolf]

15. .

This topic is never as sexy as whatever the latest talking media head said on ________________.

And it never makes the few conversations that do happen about public education in the media.

No surprise.


:(