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2010-05-10 Home Front: Politix

Obama: Education a responsibility of all Americans

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Posted by gorb 2010-05-10 04:24|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1

POTENTIAL

Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up.

Posted by BrerRabbit 2010-05-10 06:44|| 2010-05-10 06:44|| Front Page Top

#2 President Barack Obama, addressing graduates at historically black Hampton University on Sunday, said that it is the responsibility of all Americans

"All Americans" = Non-African American

When will the lecturing end?

Posted by Besoeker 2010-05-10 07:54|| 2010-05-10 07:54|| Front Page Top

#3 Human freewill ignoring opportunity. The old 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink' concept.

Sloth (deadly sin)

Gradually, the focus came to be on the consequences of acedia, rather than the cause, and so, by the 17th century, the exact deadly sin referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts. In practice, it came to be closer to sloth (Latin, Socordia) than acedia. Even in Dante's time there were signs of this change; in his Purgatorio he had portrayed the penance for acedia as running continuously at top speed.

The modern view goes further, regarding laziness and indifference as the sin at the heart of the matter. Since this contrasts with a more willful failure to, for example, love God and his works, sloth is often seen as being considerably less serious than the other sins, more a sin of omission than of commission.

We've known what the real issue is. We just don't have the 'will' to allow the consequences take hold. All the education opportunity in the world is useless unless the individual motivates him/herself to take advantage of it. As a society we've provided the means, but have absolved the individual of the responsibility to employ it.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-05-10 09:04|| 2010-05-10 09:04|| Front Page Top

#4 Just thought I should say , there has never been so many degree qualified people on the dole in the UK . I suspect a few actually wish they hadnt done it and are now stuck with a mountain of debt. You cant be competitive in an economy if there isnt an economy.

That being said , some of the degrees on offer nowadays is ludicrous.

Posted by Oscar 2010-05-10 09:36|| 2010-05-10 09:36|| Front Page Top

#5 Every day I'm happier and happier I never received a collage degree. Hard work and showing initiative have brought my salary up past what my friends make and they all have 4-6 year degrees.

Posted by DarthVader 2010-05-10 09:40|| 2010-05-10 09:40|| Front Page Top

#6 That being said , some of the degrees on offer nowadays is ludicrous.

Except to the 'institutes of higher learning' who've become paper mills with routines and rituals to generate money. It's a business today. They exist to make money. Helped in large measure by ineffective, lazy, and hidebound business and government personnel departments that just want to 'see the paper'.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-05-10 09:42|| 2010-05-10 09:42|| Front Page Top

#7 Here.

Education is already free. It is also an individual responsibility as proc stated above.

Posted by newc 2010-05-10 09:49|| 2010-05-10 09:49|| Front Page Top

#8 public eduation aka indoctrination, another one of Marx's tenets that the tories (aka current American Democratic party) like to run with.

Posted by Broadhead6 2010-05-10 11:27|| 2010-05-10 11:27|| Front Page Top

#9 Besoeker : well he gave yet another speech on CNN about an hour ago so probably nver. Is it usual custom for a president too give a speech every morning on TV?

Posted by chris 2010-05-10 11:28|| 2010-05-10 11:28|| Front Page Top

#10 Yes, it's normal, and the TV show is called "Allo Presidente."

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2010-05-10 11:35|| 2010-05-10 11:35|| Front Page Top

#11 Some degrees are worth something. Some aren't.

Hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, math) generally are worth something, because you learn things that let you do a job that you likely couldn't have done before.

Ditto for hard applied sciences (engineering) and hard-core business (accounting).

Certain other degrees are useful if you're diligent, apply yourself and then do something with it. A degree in psychology, if you then go on and use it to help people. A degree in education if you actually become an effective teacher.

There are the degrees that one does for one's own sake, because they just aren't very useful. Literature -- sure, nice to be able to read French romance literature critically, but I sure hope you aren't planning to do something with it other than teach literature. Art -- if you have the talent perhaps you don't need the degree. Ditto music -- maybe useful, but you might be better off in a conservatory, or a blues bar. A history or philosophy degree is great, but you ought to have a plan for what you're going to do afterwards, because there aren't too many jobs as historians and philosophers.

Finally there are the degrees that are pretty much worthless, because they leave you dependent, indeed parasitic, on others. Gender studies. Chicano studies. Black studies. Critical theory. False premises, false theory, false teaching, and no point in the end.

Question: a man who gets a worthless college degree can still drive a taxi. What does a woman with a worthless college degree do?

Posted by Steve White 2010-05-10 13:31|| 2010-05-10 13:31|| Front Page Top

#12 Steve,
she keeps her job as a waitress. My sister has degrees in sign language and construction management. She doesn't know the difference between a hammer and a hand saw, but she could run a job of deaf tradesmen if the occasion ever came up.

Posted by bigjim-CA 2010-05-10 13:48|| 2010-05-10 13:48|| Front Page Top

#13 A degree in education if you actually become an effective teacher.

Those are mutually exclusive conditions. Teachers should have degrees in the subject they're teaching. In elementary grades, degrees are unnecessary except that those without them are even less qualified than those with education degrees. But that says more about the value of a high school diploma.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-05-10 13:54|| 2010-05-10 13:54|| Front Page Top

#14 What does a woman with a worthless college degree do?

a) Apply to law school
b) Apply for government internship

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-05-10 13:56|| 2010-05-10 13:56|| Front Page Top

#15 What does a woman with a worthless college degree do?

Back in the day, when a girl had reached marriageable age, she entered Society, and spent the Season in a round of gaiety during which she hopefully caught the eye of a suitable man. Those without money or connections joined their parents' social circle as adults, making the acquaintance of suitable prospects at family gatherings.

The modern version of entering Society is going to college. Basically, that college experience is a combination of career preparation and mating game -- as parents we hope the cost will pay out both ways, but for those whose degrees don't pay off tangibly, it's functionally a dowry (or bride price, should the new spouse end up shouldering that burden). Even those who studied at art school or a conservatory are likely to end up in that class, as few will be able to earn more than pin money with their skills.

It should be remembered, though, that more than half of college students are female, statistically about half of them take a pragmatic approach to education, and likewise 1/3 to 1/2 of the males acquire degrees which will in the end not pay out. Which means that of the current crop of graduates there will be a great many househusbands in addition to housewives, bringing added value to their children's education, not to mention the PTA and soccer teams... and perhaps driving taxis on the side.

Posted by trailing wife 2010-05-10 14:31|| 2010-05-10 14:31|| Front Page Top

#16 They used to be called MRS degrees. But what sane man would want to live with a marxist-lesbian-race grievance-sexism-dialectical materialism-onanism studies major?

Posted by ed 2010-05-10 14:33|| 2010-05-10 14:33|| Front Page Top

#17 #5, you're comments cracked me up in light of your name. I mean few are willing to slaughter all the other Jedi to advance but whatever works. (c;

Posted by rjschwarz 2010-05-10 15:45|| 2010-05-10 15:45|| Front Page Top

#18 Well rjschwarz, the jedi were lazy lay-abouts that leached off hard working citizens of the Republic. That was the least of their crimes too. Add to that kidnapping, extortion, brainwashing, sedition and treason.

They were best to be put down.

Posted by DarthVader 2010-05-10 16:03|| 2010-05-10 16:03|| Front Page Top

#19 .... marxist-lesbian-race grievance-sexism-dialectical materialism-onanism studies major?
Posted by ed

Now you're getting personal ed.

Posted by Besoeker 2010-05-10 16:21|| 2010-05-10 16:21|| Front Page Top

#20 Darth, i don't' disagree. The Jedi clearly can't count if they felt that restoring the balance to the force was going to in any way be to their advantage when they had a thousand to two numbers advantage. What morons. Or the fact that they felt the kid was the one in Prophesy but were willing to either (a) kill him (b) give him the best training and guidance and get his mother out of slavery since she was the source of his fear.

They deserved to go.

Posted by rjschwarz 2010-05-10 18:06|| 2010-05-10 18:06|| Front Page Top

#21 But back to the topic at hand. We've been flattening our curriculums for years to remove college prep classes so nobody feels better or worse than others. This is insane.

As a society we should do what others do and create an alternate path into a trade school so that the folks with no interest in collage can get the training they want/need rather than clotting up the system while they wait for the alternate route to open up.

While I was in high school I know a bunch of folks that wanted to be mechanics. I can imagine others might opt for a Cisco certification these days.

Posted by rjschwarz 2010-05-10 18:13|| 2010-05-10 18:13|| Front Page Top

#22 I suspect a few actually wish they hadnt done it and are now stuck with a mountain of debt.

The mountain of college debt is a relatively new phenomena.

In a really bad economy few degrees are worth much.

In an economy where the government is fiddling with health care, even degrees in medicine begin to be questioned to whether the hassle is worth the effort.

Sports stars and celebrities seem to command a great deal of money without having to know much.

In a bad economy, people still need to get their hair cut/styled, get their plumbing fixed, need electricians, roof replacement, need tree work, and need repairs. Disabled people need help. Children need to be taught. People need to eat.

Posted by JohnQC 2010-05-10 19:10|| 2010-05-10 19:10|| Front Page Top

23:54 bigjim-CA
23:48 bigjim-C A
23:37 JosephMendiola
23:26 rjschwarz
23:25 rjschwarz
23:08 JosephMendiola
23:03 Rex Mundi
22:54 JosephMendiola
22:47 JosephMendiola
22:29 Mullah Richard
22:28 remoteman
22:22 Anonymoose
22:18 trailing wife
22:17 Broadhead6
22:06 Asymmetrical
21:53 Angie Schultz
21:30 Frank G
21:05 Mitch H.
20:57 Procopius2k
20:45 SteveS
20:34 Unins Poodle1132
20:03 3dc
20:02 ed
20:01 Secret Asian Man