last one talking wins

     Tired of the graduates of saloon school, who view life as an intellectual contest, to be won by the person who talks loudest, longest, or with the greatest display of emotion.

middle school

     Middle school has been the norm for years now, replacing the older junior high in many areas. Teachers in Pennsylvania are certified to teach either grades 7 through 12, or grades 1 through 6. So a middle school for grades 6 through 8 has to have two sets of teachers to remain a state-accredited school--one set of elementary teachers, for the grade 6 pupils, and one set of middle or high school subject teachers, for grades 7 and 8.  These rules are often "bent" for practical reasons. The middle schools need a real-life solution.

once upon a time

    When you go to vote this year, you will be just one voter among many--every citizen 18 and over, except those sentenced to more than a year for a  felony conviction. Once upon a time, you would have been one of a more select group--white male property owners, at least 21 years old. What percentage does that make? Well, the women, in general, make up half the population, so we are left with 50 %. Of these, about 20% will be under 21. We are left with 40%. Let's estimate that 20% of these are non-white. We are left with 32%.  How many of these owned property? That meant land or a large sum in cash. Let's estimate that 20% of the remainder did not own  property. We are left with 25 voters out of every 100 persons.

Britishisms

     Too many Britishisms ( by people I assume are American ). When I read the paper, I often encounter a British word or phrase used by an American writer. "Ten years on",  "bespoke suits", "spot on", and other phrases are everywhere. Next I'll pick up the paper and read "lorry" for truck, and "tube" for subway. Not to mention "kerb" for curb and "honour" for honor. Didn't we already fight two wars over this?

old people

     If you listen to enough young people, you will eventually hear ( or overhear ) the conversation of at least a few young people who have no idea what an old person is. They don't have an idea of how long people live. They may never have met anyone old enough to have gray hair. They don't understand that old people may not see or hear as well as they once did, or that they might have difficulty getting around. These young people must have been raised by parents who never introduced them to their grandparents--the parents' parents.
     If you work with young people, or know young people, try to introduce them to some old people. They might find one another interesting.

summer vacation

     School students will be on vacation for the next two months. Recent research shows that kids who don't learn anything over the summer find school more difficult in September. So how about learning something new every day--using the internet?  If the student is old enough, it could be recorded on a blog or social media.

it does if you listen closely

     Have you ever met anyone from another planet? Are you sure? I heard some young people describe someone as a "being from another planet". I assumed they meant that the person was odd or strange, perhaps even in a good or admirable way. Not so. The same young people were overheard to describe another person as "from another planet, but not from the same planet that she ( alien # 1) is from . Oh. They meant continent. The first alien was a European, the second alien was from Australia. The kids are all right.

nasty comments

   The internet still has pockets of very nasty comments in some very public places. It sounds reasonable to insist that if enough people object, the comments will be removed and the commenters will have to improve their behavior, but that doesn't seem to happen.  If enough comments are nasty enough, the site is left to an in-group that appreciates foul language, and is pleased to have a site all to itself, as a little world of its own. Some sites that are very popular really have no way to flag an obscene or extremely rude comment. They seem to have a process for this, but  you may be stuck in neverland if you attempt to use it. And who wants to spend time telling rude people to stop? Maybe we could each give it an hour a week, or something like that.

streams of email

     I don't really mind getting "junk" email--the ads and catalogs I have signed up for at some time or another. What is sometimes disturbing is the way the "junk" email arrives--one every 5 or 10 minutes throughout the day. Real junk mail only arrives once a day--in the mailbox, from the postal service. I prefer "junk" email to arrive this way, too. I wish it all would--in one great pile in the morning, so that I could really deal with it according to my interest in it, or lack of interest, instead of checking all day to see if it is actual correspondence.

a place for a point system

     Pennsylvania once had a "point system" for driver's licenses. Moving violations meant "points'--a bad thing. Drivers got one point for a very minor infraction, more for a serious one. If the driver accumulated ten points his or her license was suspended.
    We could use  a new point system for other minor infractions, such as failing to clear the walk or put the trash out properly. Instead of getting a citation or not getting a citation, properties could be given points for violations. A property owner could be cited if enough points accumulated, without any recourse to luck or drama.

a reason to vote

     Can we at least have a little sticker that says "I voted" handed out at the polls? The kind they use when someone gives blood?  Employers could give anyone with a sticker an hour, or some other perk. Restaurants could offer a deal to anyone with a sticker.
     And remember, if you don't vote, you don't get to complain.

help! scary stuff

     Another scary thing someone said--

"It's not that way in the world in my mind."

teaching "to the test"

     For all the complaining on both sides about "teaching to the test", there is something worse--not teaching to the test--meaning having wonderful conversations ( or not ) that take up all available class time, and then expecting students to pass a test on material not covered--or not even mentioned.

Rome's decline

     " A cloud of critics, of compilers, of commentators, darkened the face of learning, and the decline of genius was soon followed by the corruption of taste."
Gibbon

written words

     I recently read a comment by a young woman who said that she didn't like to chat, because her friends often misunderstood what she wrote and became annoyed with her. The main reason to learn to write clearly is that your words, once written and sent or published, go alone into the big wide world, without you present to explain or qualify ( except, but ) them. If you're not sure that your words can make it on their own, get a friend to read what you've written--to proofread it for you. Then you can be sure that your words say what you intended them to say.