Old wisdom on education

Apart from the usual political mess , newspapers seem to pay

    a great deal of attention to   society's disappointment with

    the public schools . Always the same complaint: The kids can't

    read, can't write, can't think - beside not even knowing right

    from wrong !

          We must accept the reality of the Bell Curve when it comes

    to learning ability.  Only a tiny minority of the population will

    ever be true lovers of learning , lifelong book worms - recognized

    members of an intellectual elite .

             But I suspect that Johnny can't read , can't write,

    can't add , can't think .... because Johnny can't CONCENTRATE.

           How much money does  it cost to teach Johnny THAT ?

      Writes Gilbert Highet in his book " The Art of Teaching " :

       " Concentration must be learnt. It should be learnt in

    school. A good teacher can teach it to his pupils... Concentration

    is also an intellectual process. It is a choice..

         But the young naturally " hate concentration. It is

    an effort, an unfamiliar and painful effort. Watch a boy

    doing his homework when he thinks he is not observed... "

          " If he goes to work on leaving school, life will

    teach him concentration- or else it will make him

    a nonentity, the sort of man who hops from job to job

    and has a constant struggle to keep alive in a world

    where bees outnumber butterflies. " ( pages 68 , 69 )

             And the number one enemy undermining a kid's

    ability to just PAY ATTENTION ?  Why the TV, the boob

    tube - of course !

           I suspect long walks - which nowadays might

    seem eccentric - would improve  any kid's ability

    to concentrate. The rhythm of walking is also the

    natural rhythm of thinking and reading. And it is not

    for nothing that writers report that they can write

    better  after a long walk.

           I have taken the bus out to URI on some mornings

    and observe the " affirmative action " crowd in a

    completely listless state. Nobody even reading a

    newspaper ! Is it RACISM that puts their minds to

    sleep ? Do racists keep them from entering the URI

    library which has engraved on it the words of Malcolm

    X : " I could spend the rest of my life just satisfying

    my curiosity... "

             Malcolm learned to CONCENTRATE in jail -

    with a minimum of public funds.

Texas executions

According to the AP report in the Feb. 25 Providence

    Journal, page A3 : " Bush had received 2,108 phone calls

    and letters opposing Beet's execution by yesterday afternoon,

    and 57 favoring it . "

           But naturally Gov. George W. Bush's compassionate

    conservatism won the day. It might even help win him

    the Republican nomination - " tough on crime ".

           Isn't it remarkable  what having Jesus as your

    personal savior can do for your everyday morals !

          Perhaps Austria should recall its ambassador

    to the United States - which is mostly just Texas .

          Any two bit psychiatrist will tell you that in

    order to have a death penalty you need born

    psychopaths to help  actually carry it out.

            The fact that only 57 people called in their

    support for  62 year old lunatic , Betty Lou Beet's

    execution shows that the death  penalty has only

    passive majority support. After all, most human

    beings aren't psychopaths .

           Prediction : a big loss for the GOP in

    November .

Don't ignore Ralph Nader

It is too early for me to decide  - for myself at least -

    who should be president. The dull reality of YEAR 2000 should cure

    us all of Apocalypse fever. Whoever wins the American presidential

    election will NOT be the Anti-Christ. A democracy must live with

    election results.

            Even after the Michigan fiasco, Texas governor Bush smugly

    asserts that Hurricane McCain can't win the REPUBLICAN heart. But

    can George W win the heart of the nation - which is what counts in

    November ?

            Gore  is definitely inspiration challenged - burned out

    by 8 troubled years  as Clinton's vice president ?

          The media should not ignore the noble Ralph Nader who

    is again seeking the Green Party nomination. His potent

    message : " It is necessary to launch a sustained effort to

    wrest control of our democracy from the corporate government

    and restore it to the political government under the control

    of citizens " .

           Yes, restore control to CITIZENS  ! Enough of this

    absurd pandering to RACE and SEX  or to sexual orientation.

    If ordinary citizens lack power , the appeal to various

    irrelevances is just  the sham politics of distraction -

    when it is not pure poison.

           Give THEM hell, Ralph !

Tipper Hillary

          Hillary Clinton recently embarrassed herself by failing to

    leave a tip for a humble - and spiteful ? - restaurant employee.

         A major character flaw here, disqualifying her to represent

    New York in the United States Senate ?

          Imagine such trivial stuff deciding elections ! Way

    back in 1938 there was an article in " The Reader's Digest:

    "Shall we abolish tipping ? "

         "  Americans would never stand for tipping and its servile

    implications if the system had not been sneaked over on them ", the

    article concluded.

        Tipping is always a condescending favor - never seen as

    a just compensation for services rendered.

         The  reported origin of " tip " is telling. Slotted boxes

    in  English inns were marked T.I.P - " to insure promptness ".

        Should not courteous service simply be ANY customer's

    right ?

          Let respectable restaurants pay a respectable wage to

    waiters and waitresses. Just a tip from a local crank.