I'm not sure independent thinking is an objective of education until perhaps the post-graduate level. It seems that getting a group with varying abilities through the grades is the goal. And I doubt a teacher worth his/her salt enters teaching to deliberately dumb down a student or class except in certain cases concerning science or religion or regional bias. But teachers cannot assume to mend a broken child or take over the responsibilities of parents/society either though they can inspire, perhaps. Maybe the goal is to avoid discouragement- to instill the love of learning. Much of the problem is behavior. I was awed to see the positive change in a neighborhood twerp last week- after over four years in the Marines and duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Life is a school.
On Oct 4, 10:34 am, Allan H <[email protected]> wrote: > I do not think the schools are looking for the brightest but rather they > are deliberately dumbing students down. Guess it is to keep them from > learning to think for themselves. > Allan > > > > On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 4:37 PM, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > Not many are willing to put up with the chaos and violence of public > > schools plus those who can afford it are thinking of the future > > contacts and colleges they want for their children. Parents are sick > > of the cultural garbage. > > > On Oct 4, 3:51 am, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Roughly the same thing going on here with confessional schools. The > > > avoidance motif is where I see the problem begins. > > > > On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 1:20 PM, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Catholic schools are rebounding to avoid public schools and are > > > > attended by several faiths. The tuition is adjusted if one is a > > > > parishoner, i.e. less tuition since you are expected to tithe, so it > > > > probably works out to the same amount. > > > > >> > Hello Gabby --it's great to meet you too. I don't know what > > happened with > > > >> > the name thing --I'm sure one William L. Houts is enough for anyone. > > > > >> > --Bill > > > > >> > On 10/1/2012 10:02 AM, gabbydott wrote: > > > > >> > Hello Bill, I noticed that your screen name on the group website is > > rather > > > >> > long. It reads: William L. Houts William L. Houts Lukaeon William > > L. Houts. > > > >> > I was wondering if this was your intention. > > > > >> > Maybe yes. Just so much, I do differentiate between heaven and > > afterlifeand their individual usability for corruption. Both terms are > > somehow > > > >> > related to the future, but the access is different. Sorry, I forgot > > to > > > >> > introduce myself. My name is Gabby (short for Gabriele), I am a > > Protestant, > > > >> > my first language is German, and I believe in God. I like to listen > > to > > > >> > other people's stories which is why I have learned to keep my own > > very > > > >> > short. Nice meeting you. :) > > > > >> > On Friday, September 28, 2012 7:17:08 AM UTC+2, William L. Houts > > William > > > >> > L. Houts Lukaeon William L. Houts wrote: > > > > >> >> I wonder if humans do dream of uncorrupted worlds, in general. > > You'd > > > >> >> think that would be universal, and it does seem to be borne out by > > > >> >> Western mythologies, with some exceptions. For instance, the > > Greeks had > > > >> >> Olympus, but except for Heracles no one got to go there; everyone > > else > > > >> >> went to Hades, which was gloomy and boring if you were lucky > > enough to > > > >> >> land there in general population, and terrifying if the gods put > > you in > > > >> >> Tartarus. And the Romans didn't seem to place faith in any sort of > > > >> >> afterlife at all, which is one of the main reasons whyChristianity > > sold > > > >> >> like hotcakes. Eastern religions such as Buddhism had various > > hells and > > > >> >> heavens, but they were sort of besides the point: your karma is / > > was > > > >> >> supposed to boil down to nothing and liberate you from the Wheel of > > > >> >> Rebirth, which was supposed to put you in Nirvana, which was less > > a > > > >> >> Heaven than it was a Nowhere. And Taoism doesn't have much to say > > about > > > >> >> heavenly afterworlds; its whole point is to make this world more > > just > > > >> >> and balanced and leaves heavens to the individual to figure out. > > > > >> >> But as to your question of whether humans long for uncorrupted > > worlds, I > > > >> >> think that besides the Abrahamic religions noone takes them very > > > >> >> seriously. And I think they've got a point: I mean, if you're > > taking > > > >> >> your present existence at all seriously, then just what is an > > afterlife > > > >> >> supposed to be about? Are we supposed to be eating bonbons all > > day and > > > >> >> living in some version of American luxury? I'd like to believe in > > > >> >> Heaven --which for me looks like a kind of liberal college town, > > with > > > >> >> libraries and funky old cinema houses-- but all of that seems kind > > of > > > >> >> empty if there's no gravitas, no seriousness. Without death, > > without a > > > >> >> final marker which howls at us, Do what you must do NOW and die > > knowing > > > >> >> that you've used your life well--without that, I think heaven would > > > >> >> become kind of slouchy and boring, or worse. Unless, of course, > > what's > > > >> >> waiting for us on the other side is something superrational but > > > >> >> beautiful, like being absorbed into the godhead, if such there be. > > > > >> >> So in answer to your question, I think we do dream of uncorrupt > > worlds, > > > >> >> but if we examine them too closely, they tend to be bustable soap > > > >> >> bubbles. And maybe I lack imagination, but I wonder, how could it > > be any > > > >> >> other way? Frankly, I'd like to be told how. I sound sensible > > about all > > > >> >> of this if a little pessimistic, but in reality I'm a scared > > ex-Catholic > > > >> >> who is terrified of death and wants to solve the Big Question > > before > > > >> >> they're performing Last Rites on his sorry ass. > > > > >> >> --Bill > > > > >> >> On 9/27/2012 7:20 PM, rigsy03 wrote: > > > >> >> > I wonder where you put the mythological and religious > > other-worldlies- > > > >> >> > from gods to guardian angels, etc.? Or the construct of Dante's > > > >> >> > "Divine Comedy", for instance. Do humans long for uncorrupted > > worlds? > > > > >> >> > On Sep 27, 6:23 pm, William L Houts <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> >> >> I'm with the pragmatists on the question of intelligent alien > > species. > > > >> >> >> Many scientists who speculate on this sort of thing --though > > there > > > >> >> >> really aren't that many of them-- say that such species wouldn't > > > >> >> >> resemble anything so comforting as a humanoid physiology, but I > > think > > > >> >> >> they're partly mistaken. Surely there would be surprises in > > the way > > > >> >> >> nature cooks up life on other planets with radically different > > > >> >> >> chemistries than our dear old Mama Earth. But I think there's > > reason > > > >> >> to > > > >> >> >> suppose that many alien species would resemble us. After all, > > any > > > >> >> >> species we might imagine has to cope with gravity as it > > evolves. So > > > >> >> >> they're much more likely to evolve some form of locomotion which > > > >> >> >> involves two, four or six pedal extremities (as Fats Waller > > calls > > > >> >> them) > > > >> >> >> rather than three or five: even-numbered legs are less wobbly > > and > > > >> >> more > > > >> >> >> amenable to balanced movement which consumes fewer calories. . > > Also, > > > >> >> >> sense organs like eyes and ears are likely to be located in or > > close > > > >> >> to > > > >> >> >> a head, as there is survival value in having sense organs > > located > > > >> >> close > > > >> >> >> to a brain, or whatever such species might use for brains. > > Finally, > > > >> >> >> everyone in the cosmos requires energy to get going, so they're > > > >> >> either > > > >> >> >> going to evolve photosynthesis and take their energy directly > > from > > > >> >> their > > > >> >> >> sun or suns, or they're going to take their sunbeams indirectly > > by > > > >> >> >> consuming something lower in the food chain. I'm sure there > > are lots > > > >> >> of > > > >> >> >> evolution pathways I'm leaving out, seeing as I'm a curious > > poetrather > > > >> >> >> than a serious scientist type of guy, but I think these notions > > are, > > > >> >> as > > > >> >> >> Allan named other ideas of mine, sensible provisos. > > > > >> >> >> PS. I left out centipedes and millipedes with their scores of > > legs, > > > >> >> but > > > >> >> >> I think y'all's get what I'm saying here. > > > > >> >> >> --Bill > > > > >> >> >> On 9/27/2012 3:57 PM, archytas wrote: > > > > >> >> >>> I haven't seen any UFOs and tend not to be much interested in > > people > > > >> >> >>> who claim to have - at least without Bill's sensible provisos. > > The > > > >> >> >>> speed of thought as a brain process is slower than light-speed > > - but > > > >> >> >>> then I'm basically a tropical fish realist. I'd have a bet > > that no > > > >> >> >>> one in this group would really have much of a definition of > > light- > > > >> >> >>> speed and the Ricel curvature tensor, Euler Langrangian and > > the rest > > > >> >> >>> of Einstein's field equations. I mean no offence and don't do > > much > > > >> >> of > > > >> >> >>> this science myself. > > > >> >> >>> If you point out to a physicist that the people from the > > future who > > > >> >> >>> have invented the time machine are in extraordinarily short > > supply > > > >> >> in > > > >> >> >>> our present he may come up with some mathematical guff on the > > shape > > > >> >> of > > > >> >> >>> the universe that explains this or makes time travel only > > possible > > > >> >> to > > > >> >> >>> the future. I have seen demons - plodding back to camp after a > > > >> >> week's > > > >> >> >>> endurance exercise with no food for two days I was visually > > > >> >> convinced > > > >> >> >>> the sentries were vampires but still asked them where the > > Naffi was. > > > >> >> >>> My guess is that we travel through space as primitive > > life-forms with > > > >> >> >>> evolution built-in and waiting to unfold. We may thus have > > come > > > >> >> from > > > >> >> >>> a much more advanced civilisation than ours bound by the speed > > of > > > >> >> >>> light, capable of the biological engineering but not > > space-flightmuch > > > >> >> >>> more advanced than our own. Calculations give 28 years as the > > time > > > >> >> to > > > >> >> >>> reach the edge of the known universe - but this is the time > > insidethe > > > >> >> >>> ship accelerating to near light speed fairly slowly. Space > > is not > > > >> >> >>> friction free and it's doubtful we or our instruments could > > take the > > > >> >> >>> radiation of light-speed > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --
