Ideas about Education

I have a tendency to come up with way too many ideas. I can't seem to focus, ever, but i do seem to come up with a lot of things - i guess that's good.

Well anyway, i sat through a meeting the other day with a teacher at a local catholic school - she was talking about how the books she is teaching from are 8 years old and as a science teacher, she mentioned how they don't have a lab to work with - I didn't go to a school that had a ton of money - it was a public school, and i know we had plenty of books that were really old, and equipment that was really old, but all the science classes had labs for the most part and now they are using all sorts of technology in the classroom as well - This middle school teacher on the other hand was having to think hard about where in the school she could find a wall sized map of the world. 

i know there is a lot of disparity in this country as to which schools have money and which don't - i know that there are problems everywhere in the economy that are contributing to this - and i know there are many people out there who don't really care about the education system in this country and maybe even think that it is good enough - i am not one of them - i am not in education - i could never imagine myself as a teacher for that matter - but i can't believe the state of the education system in this country - nothing seems to have changed, unless you count the fact that more and more schools are losing any of the resources that they have - the students are not being taught for the century that we are living in - and that is probably for several reasons - i don't think teachers in this country are taught much differently than they have been for decades, but i also think they don't have the resources they need to even attempt it - considering this teacher couldn't think of where to find a map, i really doubt that her students each have access to technology so they can learn how to effectively use it

i watched a frontline episode last night about the drop-out rate in a school in Texas and that was insane as well - it was embarrassing - i can only imagine what other countries think when they look at the quality of the education system in the US - aren't we supposedly a world power, taking part in international relationships? - how are we supposed to continue if the education system in this country keeps getting worse and worse - there is no way that we will continue as a world power if we don't do the work that we need to do to improve the education system of this country

so, the ideas - first of all i was surprised about how old science books are that are being used in classes - a lot of the information is going to be out of date at best - but the schools can't afford to buy a new book for every student every year - that is a ridiculous concept - so instead, the only way to go is to teach the kids out of date information? - so my idea was, why aren't there textbooks that are entirely online and are updated annually - the school could pay a yearly fee to have access to the books so the owners of the site would be happy, and the writers of the information - but a fee that they could afford every year that would be less than having to buy new books every few years - i don't really know how it would work - right now it is just a basic idea - but it would be great for the people who are out there working in their fields to be contributing the new information as it becomes available - how are students supposed to be on the forefront of science and technology with old information and now way of knowing what is going on out there right now? - i don't know if there is a system like this out there anywhere - i would be interested in hearing about it - and interested in finding out how the schools are supposed to be doing this

also - it seems like there is a lack of information about the free resources that are available to teachers, or things like grants that could help them get the equipment they need for their classrooms - I’m not sure how this information is supposed to get to the teachers since it doesn't seem like the teachers are looking for it very often (probably because they are busy or just don't know where to start) and organizations that could help out in the classroom seem to have a problem getting in touch with the teachers to let them know what they have available - so it seems like there are resources everywhere that are just collecting dust on a shelf instead of getting to the people that need them - and the teachers seem to not know about the things right in their backyard, like parks within walking distance, that could be a good, free field trip for them

so, like i said, i tend to have a lot of ideas but i don't know where to start with them - although the second bit of this may be helpful with my thesis that i have to work on - i wonder if there is a way to get any of this started - like the online texts that could help keep teachers and classes up to date with new info (and i don't mean the websites for the books in their classes - i honestly think there are some subjects - like science and geography - where textbooks are really on their way out, or should be)

now all i need is someone to help me figure out how to do this - i need a partner i guess - still have to work on that bit 

(and for the record, i am well aware of the punctuation errors, capitalization errors, etc that are in this post and all of my others - this is a place where i just type out what is on my mind - it is not a reflection of my writing style which is usually stuck in a mode used for scientific articles - it is easier for me to write what i am thinking if i do it this way)

First Real Post. Let's see

Alright, so I have to start somewhere on this blog, so I will start with some things that annoyed me yesterday. I went apple picking. I never thought I would bother doing that. It seems to be a ridiculous thing to do as far as I am concerned. Something that urban people do to make themselves feel a part of where there food comes from. I get it. I understand why that is an important thing, but I didn't grow up in an urban setting. I remember picking fruit off the trees at my parent's and grandparent's house. I was always annoyed with garden chores, so I never saw a reason to do something like this when they pick all the apples for you already and pack them up all nicely at the farm stand anyway. But I wanted to make applesauce, so I figured it might be easier to just pick them off the tree instead of emptying out the farm of all their pre-picked apples.

There are a lot of bees in a apple orchard, but this is not my point. I still don't really see the appeal to apple picking, but what I really don't understand is the behavior of the people that go apple picking. I thought that this was supposed to be a fun, family oriented thing. Something you take the children to, maybe enjoy some nice hot cider too. But if this behavior is what is normal on family gatherings...

The checkout lines were long. There were two of them and we just got into one of them. After standing there for quite a while, we were informed that it was a cash only line, and we would have to move to the other, now much longer line and wait all over again. So we did. There was a bit of annoyance of course, but just basically because the bags of apples were heavy. We, and many others moved to the other line. The woman behind us was joking around and pointing out that isn't it sad how many people don't carry cash anymore.

So, we waited, and waited and waited. We finally got to the front of the line. The man next to us in the cash only line had just learned that he couldn't pay with a credit card, and started making a scene. He was furious that there was no sign above the line. He was telling the poor cashier that he should be able to use the other machine, even though he couldn't. He was angry that there had been a computer crash and that there was no way to pay with a credit card at that machine anymore. Of course all of this was the end of the world. And he wasn't the only one. The other people near the front of my line started going on about how such a thing was unacceptable.

Clearly these people were all missing something here. What was unacceptable was their behavior. They acted like children throwing a temper tantrum and would not stop for anything. There were children in the line that got to witness this, lovely, behavior of these adults. I did not know any of the people doing this, and I am thankful for that. I would have been embarrassed to admit that I knew them. Hell, I was embarrassed to be standing anywhere near them. I felt bad for the poor cashier. I can't figure out how they would think that this computer crash was his fault. Obviously he wanted to make the computer fail. Obviously.

I didn't say what I was thinking at the time. It is best that I didn't. But I will say it here, to all people who think that behavior like that is acceptable on any level. Rude behavior like that is not accepted by the people around you. You are behaving like a child throwing a temper tantrum and the people that are unfortunate enough to be standing next to you are only going to think badly of you. You clearly have no restraint on your behavior and you should be ashamed that you would act like that in public, in a line where there are children that are taught everyday to not behave in such a manner. You are an embarrassment to all of us and the people who know you should be ashamed as well. You have made everyone here look bad, and why? For a few extra minutes of inconvenience on a day where you were supposed to be enjoying time with your friends and family. Go home now. Go home and feel good about yourself. Go home and feel good that the people around you don't want to be seen in public around you. Fell good knowing that the people in line that day saw you at your best. Thank you for that display. We all appreciate the reminder of how not to act.

So I have another blog, and I rarely use it. I can't honestly say I will post that much in this blog, but you know, it is worth a try. I am not giving this blog address out to anyone to try to get followers for it. If you come across it, then feel free to enjoy it, or hate it, or whatever you really feel like doing. This is just the stuff that is in my head. It's random, there is a lot of it and sometimes it makes absolutely no sense at all. I'm ok with that. For the most part I don't tell people these things. I don't talk about religion, or politics, or my thoughts about physics with my friends. It just doesn't seem like it is a good idea for the most part. So instead my new ramblings will be going on here for anyone to come across. I guess that's the benefit of this form of communication. I don't have to see you in my everyday life, so I don't have to concern myself with what you all will think of me. That works for me. Well, that is all I have to say about why I am writing this blog. I am me, that is all, take it or leave it.