In article <rK3Y8.33351$Q43.1013368 at nnrp1.ptd.net>, "Richard C. August"
<raugust at ptd.net> wrote:
> Dear Hope Munro Smith,
>> Mere books and uniforms do not account for the cost of SHEER STUPIDITY in
> the American Educational Systems.
>> My mother related this story to me last night. A gentleman she knows
> inquired of three teenage children on the streets of my hometown concerning
> who bombed Pearl Harbor at the beginning of US involvement in World War 2.
> One teen answered that US Forces bombed our own base under friendly fire.
> Another answered that Usama bin Laden bombed Pearl Harbor, when he wasn't
> born until c. 1959, since he was 12 in a photo featuring his family in
> Sweden in 1971. Yet another answered most intelligently, that he didn't
> know.
>> A former PA state Gubernatorial candidate, Peg Luksik, remarked in a
> campaign speech made to senior citizens in a senior center, that a girl who
> learned phonetic spelling could never figure out that "apple" was spelled
> a-p-p-l-e when she was told that phonetically, she could spell it any way
> she pleased, so she chose a-p-l.
>> Never mind that our kids never learn real American History or Spelling, or
> that they learn revisionist standards from highly paid but untrained
> professors who earned their degrees from diploma mills and were promoted by
> the Peter Principle. Our kids are rapidly becoming even more INCOMPETENT
> than are these professors, to the point that they can't even figure out the
> numbers on a calculator, much less work a slide rule.
>> Lastly, I was taking an evening walk last night, when I observed several
> teen girls rather provocatively dressed. Granted, it is summertime and they
> need to dress to be cool. But to wear clothes only a prostitute would wear
> would make one wonder where their brains really are. Can they read clothing
> labels, or bottles of hair colourant? Is it any wonder our American Schools
> are now wasting more money and talent with day care centers in our high
> schools whilst pregnant teenagers usurp our tax dollars ostensibly obtaining
> an education when they've been told flat out they can earn more money on
> their backs than they can on their feet?
>> Face it, Mrs. Smith, American Schools are a dungheap, and American Children
> are its fodder. Billions of American dollars are wasted educating the
> uneducable MTV generation, who care nothing about the real world other than
> watching "The Real World" on MTV. Talk to these kids, and find out how
> dumb, or how smart, they really are. "Beavis and Butthead" have met their
> progeny here.
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>> Richard C. August
Dear Mr. August,
I was not taking about the quality of education, I was merely
making an observation about the source of funds. More money
comes out of public funds for education in North America,
whereas in other countries parents assume a larger share
of the cost. However, we also guarantee universal education,
whereas in many parts of the world only those who can afford
to send their kids to school do so.
> "John Knight" <johnknight at usa.com> wrote in message
> news:qaMX8.49430$P%6.3485518 at news2.west.cox.net...> >
> > "Hope Munro Smith" <hopems at mail.utexas.edu> wrote in message
> > news:hopems-1207022039410001 at cs6625171-151.austin.rr.com...> > > In article <AhLX8.49083$P%6.3468866 at news2.west.cox.net>, "John Knight"
> > > <johnknight at usa.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > "Cary Kittrell" <cary at afone.as.arizona.edu> wrote in message
> > > > news:agn34f$hla$1 at oasis.ccit.arizona.edu...> > > > > In article <SZCX8.47920$P%6.3357792 at news2.west.cox.net>
> > > > > "John Knight" <johnknight at usa.com> writes:
> > > > > <
> > > > > <
> > > > > <"Shadow Dancer" <insomniac at winterslight.org> wrote in message
> > > > > <news:agm2br$mukqa$1 at ID-150265.news.dfncis.de...> > > > > <> Here are some I just dug up:
> > > > > <>
> > > > > {...}
> > > > > <>
> > > > > <> And yet another:
> > > > > <> http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/heshe.html> > > > > <>
> > > > > <> My terminology was wrong, I meant the corpus callosum. Either
> way,
> > > > women
> > > > > <> use their entire brains more efficiently than men do and, once
> > again,
> > > > size
> > > > > <> does NOT matter :P
> > > > > <>
> > > > > <>
> > > > > <
> > > > > <Not only was your terminology wrong, but so were your conclusions.
> > Here
> > > > are
> > > > > <some I just dug up. In the following 12 subjects, no country
> scored
> > > > lower
> > > > > <than American 12th Grade Girls who scored:
> > > > >
> > > > > What Johnny isn't telling you is that he "just" dug these up years
> > ago,
> > > > > and has been drawing erroneous conclusions ever since. For example
> > > > > he also is not telling you that:
> > > > >
> > > > > <
> > > > > <Zero percent of American 12th grade girls correctly solved TIMSS
> math
> > > > > <problems.
> > > > > <
> > > > > <Zero percent of American 12th grade girls correctly solved TIMSS
> > physics
> > > > > <problems.
> > > > > <
> > > > >
> > > > > that I have twice in the past demonstrated that his "method" of
> > > > "analysis"
> > > > > which "led" to the above "conclusions" would also "lead" to the
> > > > "conclusions"
> > > > > that:
> > > > >
> > > > > a. anyone answering all questions correctly should receive a
> > > > > mark of only 80%, and
> > > > >
> > > > > b. five out of every four girls got one question wrong. Can
> > > > > you say reduction ad absurdem?
> > > > >
> > > > > It's not the girls who can't apply math correctly.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Google has it.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > -- cary
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Let's use a simple example of how wrong you are, cary.
> > > >
> > > > Question K09 on the 12th Grade TIMSS Math test given to 12th graders
> > around
> > > > the world in 1995 reveals an astounding difference in math skills
> > between
> > > > the sexes in all the countries who participated. The average
> difference
> > in
> > > > all countries was 10.5%, with 47.3% of boys and 36.8% of girls
> answering
> > > > correctly, but the difference in the US was 22.1% (28.6% of girls and
> > 50.7%
> > > > of boys). In countries like Cyprus where 60.1% of the boys answered
> > > > correctly, guesses on the test would not have influenced the scores by
> > that
> > > > much, but where only 28.6% of American girls answered correctly,
> guesses
> > > > must be taken into account.
> > > >
> > > > Since this was a multiple choice question with four possible choices,
> > the
> > > > probability of getting the correct answer just by guessing is 25%. In
> > other
> > > > words, for every four students who guessed, one of them would have
> > gotten
> > > > the correct answer by chance. The maximum score would have been
> > achieved
> > > > had all the students who didn't understand the problem guessed at the
> > > > answer, so where 28.6% of American girls answered the problem
> correctly,
> > > > 23.8% of them got the correct answer by guessing, and 4.8% indicated
> > that
> > > > they understood the problem [x = total guesses, 0.25x = correct
> guesses,
> > > > 0.75x = incorrect guesses = 71.4%, x = 95.2%, 0.25x = 23.8%, 28.6% got
> > the
> > > > correct answer - 23.8% guessed the correct answer = 4.8% understood
> the
> > > > problem]. However, with an estimated error of plus or minus 3%, only
> > 1.8%
> > > > are known with certainty to have understood the problem.
> > > >
> > > > American boys didn't do that much better, since [prior to the
> adjustment
> > for
> > > > the 3% error] just 34.3% of them got the correct answer because they
> > > > understood the problem, 16.4% got the correct answer because they
> > guessed,
> > > > and 49.3% guessed incorrectly. Thus only 31.3% are known with
> certainty
> > to
> > > > have understood the problem.
> > > >
> > > > Prior to adjustment for the 3% error, 53.2% of the boys in Cyprus
> > guessed,
> > > > 39.9% guessed incorrectly, 13.3% guessed correctly, and 46.8%
> understood
> > the
> > > > problem [x = total guesses, 0.25x = correct guesses, 0.75x = incorrect
> > > > guesses = 39.9%, x = 53.2%, 0.25x = 13.3%, and 60.1% correct answers -
> > 13.3%
> > > > correct guesses = 46.8% who understood the problem]. Only 43.8% are
> > known
> > > > with certainty to have understood the problem, so per capita, compared
> > to
> > > > American boys 40% more boys in Cyprus are known to have understood the
> > > > problem, and compared to American girls, 24 times as many were.
> > Compared to
> > > > American girls, 17 times as many American boys are known to have
> > understood
> > > > the problem.
> > > >
> > > > Is this adequate proof that our attempt to establish "gender equality"
> > is a
> > > > failure? Yes. To achieve that ephemeral goal, our "educators began
> an
> > > > unnecessary and destructive "gender war" of unprecedented proportions,
> > more
> > > > than doubled education spending as a percent of GDP, and out-spent by
> > more
> > > > than three times countries whose students far outperformed ours.
> Japan,
> > > > whose 8th graders scored 105 points higher than ours, spends half as
> > much
> > > > for education. Korea, whose 8th graders scored 107 points higher than
> > ours,
> > > > spends even less per student than Japan.
> > > > http://christianparty.net/timssgeometry.htm> > > >
> >
> > The link on that page might be hard to find, so you can go directly to it
> at
> > http://christianparty.net/timssk09.htm> >
> > > >
> > >
> > > This is because parents assume a larger portion of the
> > > cost of education than they do in the United States.
> > > In most other countries, parents have to buy
> > > all their children's school books, supplies, uniforms,
> > > plus pay for transportation to and from school. No school
> > > buses subsidized by the community or free lunch
> > > programs. There goes part of your theory. Anyone else
> > > want to trash the rest of it?
> >
> > Do you REALLY think this would double the cost of "education"?
> >
> > John Knight
> >
> >
