ON EDUCATION - written circa 1997. The strongest are the weakest. The weakest are the strongest. A life based on a lie is based on no one really knowing you; you've stolen all you have, and in the end, no matter how many are around you, you are all alone. To really live the truth is your only real friend. People come and go. All that we have will be left behind, and all we truly have are our integrity and a pure heart which we should wear like armour and guard at all costs. To be strong, you must surrender; leaving what you know you cannot do to others who do that thing well. Let them do what they do best; you just concern yourself with your part. To be weak, you only blame and harass others until you get what you want. The irony is what you must really want is some gift and not armistice. Control is to resist what will ultimately due you harm; it is by no means oppression to give in; in fact, most rules are meant to protect those who fail to see possible consequences. Power is something we never surrender, concede, abandon or destroy.. Power is the light within that cannot be extinguished until we close our eyes for the last time. Our goals are just some occupation of our time here together, I think. freedom drives people to wage war, but it never drives an to annihilated the suffering of every human being until there is none. This is because man sees competition and possession of value when they are not. The only things of value are community, faith, sustenance, compassion and progress.

There are, as you know, those who feel that chaos is best for the balance of power and that somehow mankind is at his best when he competes in this way and stays in contact with the primordial man, of instinct and aggression, within. This is the lie. This is a disease itself. Ask: Why would progress and longevity, peace, kindness toward one another cause an unmanageable imbalance? Have we NO problem solving skills??? Lets say people lived in the year 2027 to be 110 years old, average. There would be would be great advantages to this for society: experience and wisdom would not continually die off, settle in and wander away disgusted if it were utilized and appreciated until the very last. In other words, I don't think that older folks should be carted off to homes and nursing facilities unless it is necessary for their survival. These are not warehouses for humans. In many cases, where they may no longer be capable and fit physically, they are otherwise quite alive and willing and useful and unappreciated. Don't talk to me about overcrowding earth...let's go live on a space station, OK? (Stop that).

Ask: Wouldn't a 75 yr. old businesswoman make a better HR director than a 45 yr old fresh out of college - just from a "savvy, done that, 'seen you before'" kind of thing? Ok. Ok. Ok. Let's complicate things a little....let's say you've got Alzheimer's disease and aren't there all the time. There are still things you could do with your time, much better than bingo, soaps, and being a spectator to entertainment and social activities. (I know every effort is made for productive time, but we could, and I think we should, do better). I submit your mind may also be deteriorating because you have no meaningful productive activities. Like what? Crocheting, packing fresh fruit, arranging floral and gift baskets, or learning a new trade, like working a loom, to name a few things. Industry is not the goal, being industrious is living. (This blogg is finally being written because I am unemployed, disabled and waiting for the "OK" to go back to work! These notes were written 9 years ago, but never published until now. Who has the time? If you think you have time, you're not busy "if you want something done," I was once told, "ask a busy person..." I'm no doctor, I hold no degrees and these are just novice observations, but see if you agree with me, ok? One of my opinions is that the period of intellectual vibrancy , expectation, development and continuum is only limited by outdated standards where people lived to be 55, got very little, if any education, were living in and economy that was booming for The West and few others.

With all this said I will not just make criticisms and quips and leave you in the lurch, I suggest: A psychosocial assessment for every child entering pre-K, Academic assessment of all K students at the end of 1st semester; no "social promotions" at any time; I understand this is now the case, THANK GOD! At middle school career assessment testing/personality-career counseling. An 8 hour school day. 5 hours of classes, a second lunch break, then 2 hours of study and assistance by Educational student volunteers, teachers or aides who need the experience, have it themselves are need an alternative schedule; accommodate teachers they are very important people. This was the only way everyone could stand and "stand" learning and teaching in some ways; and this way prevents "Chaotic Academic Disease." Everyone must sacrifice, because, "with privilege comes responsibility," so only one month summer vacation, not two, is my recommendation. Why? Two months off throws the student out of the structural equilibrium, the learning regimen, and it "throws in the towel" on the student who is missing the opportunity to really improve; poorly performing students shouldn't "catch up," they should end up ahead, because they've been in school ALLL YEARR LONNNNGGa!!!!!! (I believe this is why some children never catch up). It is at no time acceptable for a child to "underachieve."

If you have a weakness, I.E. Math and Science, then, those are your focus study areas which you must tutor with, not ignore because you pass. Passing is drifting and doing well is cruising...a report that is otherwise good with A+, A- B+ shows ability, but some barrier to success. The goal of education is ":action not knowledge," so let's not act like, "Ok, she'll be Ok.." We, ourselves have our education, however excellent, however lacking in and of itself, for these same reason(s). In my private High School we had classes with a different schedule for each day of the week, lettered a - h; in other words, you had a different schedule each letter day which gave students who are known to learn better at different times, those who need frequent breaks or study periods, individually customized-child provisions accordingly to their particular academic/business needs and goals. For public institutions, with larger populations and greater cultural/ethic diversity, the school is used a little differently; only a few changes are made to accommodate everyone. The first thing is because of the number of students, the school has to be used virtually 8-10 hours a day - classes running, tutorials, breaks and activities; overcrowded classes serve few and confuse and frustrate the rest of us.


If the school is open this many hours, teachers and providers can work when they want to, but more importantly, maybe a fledgling math student will do much better if some days they have Am math and others Pm math, and on still others they have it mid-day &C... My (uniformed) "opinion" as a disabled person myself, says that special education stigmatizes and impedes learning; if someone is "close" don't put him on a "special kids bus" and send him off to ignore the world. Integrate special ed into the mainstream school; largely it is, I believe, but often these children have other abilities that allow them to excel at other things; no all the time, I know, but often enough....this is where assessment and career development should be crucially evaluated and implemented. Just because someone is disabled doesn't mean they can't be an artist, writer, inventor, carpenter or nurse. (Don't tell me 'no.') They need to get them off the track of just learning what everyone else learns, maybe they need to learn to enhance whatever they are just "good at" and do the best they can with the rest. The key is always for everyone a fun class is where the learning lasts. Special ed should be just as main stream as wheel chair disabled children are.

Criminal behaviour children should be handled very quickly, immediately and decisively as possible. Be tough, this is their future and our school. The goals, the classrooms, the programs and the diplomas can be, and should probably be different marks of achievement, but we are limiting their world, who they know, and where they go, and most importantly their psychosocial development by stigmatizing them in anyway. I suggest that it is also possible that all this is impeding their ability to be best educated. Discipline, not fear, makes the best classroom(s). Problem children who commit crimes and carry weapons in school should go for psychological counseling, and they should be required as part of their rehab to meet people in prison, people on death row and listen to how the end began for them, their stories, their hopes and their resolve.They should have to listen to first hand accounts of prisoners in Federal and State prisons who've given away their youth for money, drugs and popularity; you don't need to make special schools for them either. Simply for their rehab period make them go to school with the students at the State and Federal Prisons. They'll learn they don't want to be there,and at least for that time, they don't belong going to school with the kids who come to learn, for the right reasons.