On Getting A Head Start

[Jolly_Penguin]

While a low birthrate is a Bad Thing, right?

I don't think so. I think this planet could do with less humans.

 

[Fentoine Lum]

While a low birthrate is a Bad Thing, right?

I don't think so. I think this planet could do with less humans.

It could do with less manic Pavlovian mass consumption and and militarist resource exploitation.

 

[Toni]

Until last year, there was no thrift store in my town. The public library is pretty good, but it is mostly open during normal working hours and parking can be difficult.
The working poor may have little time to go the library or money for books. Lots of school libraries do not have large or good selections.

It is surprisingly disappointing that a rich developed country can have such obstacles to books which may explain the kneejerk dumbass blaming of the poor.

It is difficult having kids. Maybe more difficult even than finding a good parking spot so your disgustingly overweight ass doesn;t have to walk anywhere ever at all... People incapable of pulling off having a kid nearly perfectly have no business trying. They should be penalized for doing so, not rewarded as our current system does. The corrective measure is to provide the resources needed to have a good life to the children.. not to the irresponsible people spawners.

What does ‘having a kid nearly perfectly’ actually mean?.

 

[laughing dog]

Until last year, there was no thrift store in my town. The public library is pretty good, but it is mostly open during normal working hours and parking can be difficult.
The working poor may have little time to go the library or money for books. Lots of school libraries do not have large or good selections.

It is surprisingly disappointing that a rich developed country can have such obstacles to books which may explain the kneejerk dumbass blaming of the poor.

It is difficult having kids. Maybe more difficult even than finding a good parking spot so your disgustingly overweight ass doesn;t have to walk anywhere ever at all... People incapable of pulling off having a kid nearly perfectly have no business trying. They should be penalized for doing so, not rewarded as our current system does. The corrective measure is to provide the resources needed to have a good life to the children.. not to the irresponsible people spawners.

What are you babbling about?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

What a bigoted thing to say. Fortunately for small towns and for America, smart people stay, too. In fact, a trend is building of young people returning to small towns.

A few do. Small towns are dying because of a lack of young people, though.

My answer isn't : throw money at it so much as it is quit writing people off and do our best to equalize opportunities for good education, and basic services such as good health care, both issues in rural areas.

The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.

For those of you who disparage Paula's parents for putting the tv in front of Paula. My parents loved their children very much. They were both very smart people but they were not particularly confident people when it came to education and guiding their kids (aside from the So you got a 98 on your math test? Where's the other 2 points??).

The first person I can remember reading to me was Captain Kangaroo. On TV. I loved Captain Kangaroo for that even if I was a little creeped out by Bun Rabbit and Mr. Moose.

That sounds so trivial but honestly, the fact that Captain Kangaroo read to me told me that books were something I loved. It was just a spark but enough to keep my nose buried in books every chance I got.

I cannot possibly be the only person that is true for.

Yeah, the problem with TV is using it as entertainment. Used as education it can be useful.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Children need parents' signatures to get library cards, usually. Which means the parent must have the time to take the kids to the library. During library hours, which are often cut due to funding, especially in poorer neighborhoods. Often on public transportation which adds more time to the trip.

Schools generally also have libraries.

Which are not usually open after school hours or on weekends. Also, school libraries are facing budget cuts as well and often limit the number of books a child can take out. And library privileges are taken away for children for... pretty much any activity more rambunctious than breathing in some places.

So long as the kid can check out enough books to last a weekend the limits aren't going to be a big deal.

I do agree taking away library privileges for misconduct not related to the library is a bad thing. We have gotten obsessive about taking away privileges as punishment, this is by far not the only example.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Which are not usually open after school hours or on weekends. Also, school libraries are facing budget cuts as well and often limit the number of books a child can take out. And library privileges are taken away for children for... pretty much any activity more rambunctious than breathing in some places.

You come up with a lot of excuses. If a parent wants to get books for their kid, they will. So many places to get them beyond a library; cheap, too. As children grow up, parents drop books off at the thrift store by the box load.

My parents didn't buy me books until I was probably in 4th or 5th grade.

It wasn't because they didn't love me. It wasn't because they didn't care about me having a good future.

It's because they fucking didn't have any extra money until I was about 9 or 10.

But so what if some parents don't care about their kids. Trust me: there are plenty of rich parents who don't care about their kids or buy them books. Do you think Donald Fucking Trump's daddy bought him any books? Bookies, maybe. Books: no. Do you think widdle DonDon's mommy read to him at night?

Dude can't read for shit. Dude can't think for shit. Dude grew up pretty damn rich.

Kids deserve the best that society can give them. If their parents cannot provide a decent start or will not, then society needs to step up.

Unless you think it's just easier to have a permanent underclass that will step and fetch and vote American if they dare vote at all.

My parents never bought me books--because they basically never bought books, period. Tons of library books, though--enough so that the librarians noticed I was the most prolific reader of the new book rack. (When books arrived they got their normal shelf tag but were instead filed on a table of new books. Once returned they went onto the shelf normally.)

 

[Toni]

A few do. Small towns are dying because of a lack of young people, though.



The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.
.

What makes you think some children don't want to learn? And how do we sort the ones who want to learn from the ones who don't? And at what age do you determine that a child does not want to learn?

 

[Trausti]

A few do. Small towns are dying because of a lack of young people, though.



The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.
.

What makes you think some children don't want to learn? And how do we sort the ones who want to learn from the ones who don't? And at what age do you determine that a child does not want to learn?

IQ screening?

 

[Canard DuJour]

The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.

That's like saying separate the tall kids from the short kids. It's a continuum with those in the middle changing places as they grow.

Anyway, we basically used to do it in Britain with the grammar school system. All kids sat an exam at age 11. Those who passed went to the "grammar school" and the rest went to the "secondary modern" (both being state schools - the privately educated went elsewhere). Eventually this was mostly replaced by the "comprehensive" system where everyone not privately educated goes to the same school.

So this provides a natural experiment with a rich data set, which wasn't looked at until recently. The typical intake of a grammar school by attainment at age 11 and socioeconomic background does just as well at a comprehensive. The typical intake of a secondary modern does better at a comprehensive.

As the researchers concluded, "Grammar schools are no better or worse than non-selective state schools in terms of attainment, but can be damaging to social mobility"



(also -amusingly - it appears that some positive discrimination went on in favour of boys, otherwise grammar schools would have been full of girls)

 

[Gun Nut]

Until last year, there was no thrift store in my town. The public library is pretty good, but it is mostly open during normal working hours and parking can be difficult.
The working poor may have little time to go the library or money for books. Lots of school libraries do not have large or good selections.

It is surprisingly disappointing that a rich developed country can have such obstacles to books which may explain the kneejerk dumbass blaming of the poor.

It is difficult having kids. Maybe more difficult even than finding a good parking spot so your disgustingly overweight ass doesn;t have to walk anywhere ever at all... People incapable of pulling off having a kid nearly perfectly have no business trying. They should be penalized for doing so, not rewarded as our current system does. The corrective measure is to provide the resources needed to have a good life to the children.. not to the irresponsible people spawners.

What does ‘having a kid nearly perfectly’ actually mean?.

I was expecting this question... Thank you.

Obviously nothing can be done perfectly. Nearly perfectly is the best anyone can do. Raising a child that actively chooses to do no harm to society at all, and contributes positively to society in most of the things they do, and spreads their positive influence to others through their own child rearing, social contacts, and professional activities, has been raised nearly perfectly.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

A few do. Small towns are dying because of a lack of young people, though.



The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.
.

What makes you think some children don't want to learn? And how do we sort the ones who want to learn from the ones who don't? And at what age do you determine that a child does not want to learn?

If the parents don't care about their kids' education very few kids will care.

Look at how they do--put the ones that try in one class, put the ones that don't in another.

 

[Trausti]

Even when the government spends billions of tax dollars to bridge the gap, nature always wins.

 

[Toni]

A few do. Small towns are dying because of a lack of young people, though.



The only way you can equalize opportunities for education is something you'll scream about--sort out students into the ones that want to learn and the ones that don't. You'll call this writing off the ones that don't. In a sense it is--because we don't have an answer.
.

What makes you think some children don't want to learn? And how do we sort the ones who want to learn from the ones who don't? And at what age do you determine that a child does not want to learn?

If the parents don't care about their kids' education very few kids will care.

Look at how they do--put the ones that try in one class, put the ones that don't in another.

You haven’t spent much time around kids since you were a kid, have you?

Did you do just what your parents did? Think what they thought?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If the parents don't care about their kids' education very few kids will care.

Look at how they do--put the ones that try in one class, put the ones that don't in another.

You haven’t spent much time around kids since you were a kid, have you?

Did you do just what your parents did? Think what they thought?

Sure they like to learn what they are interested in.

Look at the post above yours for yet another example of what I'm talking about.