Bravo to the person who challenged the demand that teachers "know their students' cultures". I guess whatever business you work in, you should know your CUSTOMERS cultures, too, right? Better get cracking. I mean the cultures of the world must number in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, you could find it a bit of a burden. But, seriously, folks. I demand the teacher know their specialty. Perhaps they can take some continuing ed. in something like "Teaching the Multicultural Classroom" where they can get some consciousness of what that portends. But don't tell me they have to "know" the cultures they deal with. There is about 1 percent of us who could claim to know ANY culture but our own. And I mean, you don't even know the cultures east and west of you unless you lived there for a decade or two. You THINK because you watch the same network TV programs, you have the same one, but you don't. When will we EVER have 150 candidates for governor? The culture of California has produced that along with a whole series of wacky things.
Policing
City leaders ought to give us the truth on the following issue:
Benjamin Wallace-Wells writes: "Faced with the need to trim budgets, most cities have first cut health, education, and transportation spending, and tried to preserve their police forces. The real cause of the police shortage is not in City Hall but in the White House. The Bush administration's first budget eliminated all direct funding for street cops. The war in Iraq, fought largely without allies, has required the call-up of huge numbers of reserves, many of whom are cops. And instead of using the men in blue as eyes and ears on the domestic war on terrorism, the administration has, in effect, used them as glorified security guards. The federal government's repeated directives to local police to beef up patrols at potential terrorist targets have taken officers away from their regular duties. And because the feds have not paid for many of these extra patrols, homeland security has stretched local budgets even further."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0309.wallace-wells.html
________________________________________
Jim Mork
Cooper Neighborhood
"whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"----Declaration of Independence
_________________________________________________________________
Frustrated with dial-up? Get high-speed for as low as $29.95/month (depending on the local service providers in your area). https://broadband.msn.com
REMINDERS:
1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
