Why do people read blog’s and never comment on them? Am I
doing something wrong? I know many people who have said they have read my blogs but
never a word of comment good or bad. I’m very new to the blogging scene, it’s
never a case of ego boosting as I’m sure some are but more one of social
comment and encouragement. I’ve had messages from all over the world saying they have read my blog (including family) yet never a word of comment. I’m going to try a
new approach (which I highly recommend) as we all know what happens if you do the
same thing over and over and expect to get a different result. Many times I’ve
woken up in the night with a thought and put it down on paper for a blog and I’ve
been asked to teach how to blog, clearly that would be a case of
the blind leading the blind.
Maybe it’s too much content either way I’d be happy for a
professional blogger to give me some advice.
I’m keeping this post short hopefully someone will be
prepared to offer that advice. Any taker’s?
When people mention plagiarism we automatically think they
are referring to cheats taking the easy way out, just copying others work. I
have to admit to plagiarism! I quote other peoples wise words all off the time
(I even cut and paste). Where is the line between these two standpoints? Take a
student who is reprimanded for using other peoples work, nowadays everyone is
encouraged to Google so maybe it’s the best Google’s that should win the prize.
In fact Google is very active in education check out Audacity a free online
university from Google.
We certainly need creative writers and thinkers but not
everyone is born with these 2 qualities. Even so by using the internet and its
resources children have access to amazing amounts of information which will
only add to their education.
Now there’s a word EDUCATION. Education in the traditional
form is in a mess. Education has and always will be a political football which governments
use during election time remember Maggie Thatcher Our 3 guiding principles are
Education, Education, and Education. She’s not on her own every government
takes the same attitude but when they’re elected nothing seems to happen. I
happen to be from the UK but have lived and worked in the US for over 10 years.
8 years of this was spent in US Education.
I can say categorically that education is not only being used
as a political football, but is ineffective (for the majority) Corrupt (and
I’ll go into that later) and is one of the most costly industries in the US
today. Charter schools for example were hoped to be the laboratory for finding
new more effective ways to educate our children and now the pressure is on them
to conform or close.
So INEFFECTIVE. There is so much evidence out there to show
that our children are less educated and that the snowball effect will be that
we no longer have a workforce that is qualified to do the jobs we need in the
future. This has happened before though. Think how many nurses we have to bring
in from overseas because we don’t have enough here, the exact same happens in
the UK. It’s already happening in the high technology jobs. If we don’t get
this right very soon not just our kids but our whole society is in dire risk.
CORRUPT: - I could fill several books with this evidence some
of which I’d get away with and some which I’d get sued over. So I have to tread
carefully here. Everyone in the system is on the take (apart from the teacher
in the classroom for who I have a great deal of admiration for). They are the
ones who are out there trying to teach what they don’t want to teach and in a
way they know is not effective. Let’s examine this brave statement. We are all
beginning to recognize we have too many tests, kids spend all of their time
just preparing for these tests. The tests are to prescribed formulas so who
decides what the formula is? Maybe its big business or government who want our
children brainwashed to their way of thinking. It’s happened before many times
Germany, China, and Russia etc. Are we so naive that we think it’s not
happening here and today? Yes of course it is. The nation’s biggest provider of
text books (whose name will remain anonymous to protect myself) they have teams
of lobbyists plying politicians with all sorts of rewards to have them supply
the system. The executives of these companies are making a fortune (and we’re
paying for it).
Unfortunately we then start to think about the motives of
some of our philanthropic figures who we all know so well. Why not donate
millions to schools when after all they will need to buy my computers? Why not
donate to schools when they need to use my computer programs? Why not donate to
our schools when they need my company to build them?
One could say this is how capitalism works (more like the
other c) corruption to me.Sometimes
I wish I was back in the British countryside running through the gate down to
the dell, if you know what I mean.
The other interesting thing is that many of the companies
involved in this have become so large, with so many executives that not even
the founders know its happening.
C moves very nicely onto Charter Schools (the last great hope
for education today). We started with what was and still could be a hope of
getting back to the real roots of education. Education should be broadening the
child’s mind, all this other stuff is available on the web at the touch of a
button on their iPhone. Calculators have been around for years, very few people
(I’m one of the few), use their brains to work out simple Math. I knew one CFO
who used their calculator to work out 6+4+7= OK for those turning to their
calculators the answers 18 or was it 17 it’s always good to double check.
Charters are doing well elsewhere, in the UK over 25% of
students are attending “Academies” the “new” experiment.
If you check out Wikipedia on Charter schools you’ll find
straightforward information on what happens in other countries but masses of
alternative explanations about what’s happening in the US (to be honest
confusion).
Like everything in education. For his proposed budget for
2006, President George Bush asked for $219 million dollars in grants for 1,200
new and existing charter schools. He also asked for $50 million for a Choice
Incentive Fund. Bush also asked for $37 million to help charter schools obtain
the needed credit to renovate, lease, or buy school facilities. While charter
schools receive state and local money to help with operations, they do not
receive money for their facilities and they still don’t.
So Charters are doing very well elsewhere, and some are doing
very well in the US but with the opposition particularly in some states, times
are getting tougher. Statistics show how successful they are, but that’s just
statistics.
I was recently at a dinner party, the hostess asked everyone
around the table what they felt blessed with, I hadn't even thought about it so
off the top of my head I said “our children because they are our future” that
opened me up to a whole new world.
Well I've strayed well off from my original subject of plagiarism,
but that’s what happens when your mind is allowed to roam in places you never
expected. I’d be very happy and honored if anyone felt my words were important
enough to quote or cut and paste. How about you?
