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[falcondream]

The email today from President Elect Obama "We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next." says so much. We DO have a lot of work to do and I am SO pleased about the fact that we have this opportunity. So pleased.

Comments

[puddysma]

Things are never perfect and there have always been things that need change or improvement in this system of ours...but the opportunity to do anything about those problems is nothing new. It has always been here for us but the problem is we tend to forget this governement is a true reflection of who we are as a people and it IS a government by and for the people. We DO and always have had the power to change those seated in power, to find out who they are before we elect them, and change what we do not like. But it cannot be done when we sit back and wait for someone to come along and do things for us. When we are so apathetic that it opens doors for unsavory characters to come in and make changes that are not necessarily for the betterment...and this applies to our private relationships as well.

While i did not choose Obama i feel it is so important to fully stand behind him and give him his chance to give us a hand up. But he is right. He cannot do it alone. Neither could any other president or government leader. It requires thought and love of country and brotherhood and voices being heard.

But please know this...opportunity has always been present in this country if people will only get off their duffs and work for it rather than waiting for things to be handed to them. Obama, himself, is proof of that. Our mode of goverment, by it's very nature, asks for participation and service, not handouts. That is what has made America strong in the past and what has weakened us in the last several decades.

[falcondream]

I agree with what you are saying although I think Obama is capable of inspiring others to do their best perhaps more than our more recent leaders were. He is a balm to US citizens and a symbol that can inspire respect outside the US. I do believe he is the right man for this time and I'm oh so happy he was elected.

[puddysma]

i sure hope so. Times are so difficult it is hard to know, but i agree he has been an inspiration to so many who have been uninspired.

It has been hard to be inspired, however, when all you hear is doom and gloom and the media focuses on horror stories, failing to tell us of the lovely things that life brings every single day. But maybe that is our fault too. We can't seem to get enough of the horror. i guess if we didn't respond to it they would not feed it to us.

It really is a pretty screwed up world in which we find ourselves but we are built with the keys to happiness inside. It's a matter of how hard we are willing to work to get to it. And the answers are inside, not out, but we are taught at every turn to look outside ourselves for peace and happiness.

i certainly wish him well. God knows we do need some positive changes. For many decades we have been waltzing further and further down a path that takes away personal responsibility and the strength and gratification that ensues. we have become dependent on government for peace and happiness...a government that says it will take care of us. Government will never bring peace and happiness.

[falcondream]

I really liked the fact that he instructed parents to take responsibility, to not leave it all to the schools while STILL wanting to improve the schools.

[puddysma]

Yes, that is a point on which i agree fully. He actually makes several points to which i agree.
We all need to understand parental and personal responsibility must come into play for us all if we are to make the changes necessary to turn this country around.

Master is such an optimist while i am so cynical. He wishes i were not so cynical and i wish He were more realistic...LOL. But W/we both wish for some major changes to be reflected in this world of O/ours...and W/we both understand it will require a lot of sacrifice and steadiness to find it. If Mr Obama can unify America and manage to stop the rampant hatred that has been thrust upon us by the media and is poisoning our society, he will have accomplish a great feat.

i am certainly willing to give Obama his chance and i hope he is all that we need him to be.

But i have a question here...what do we need to do to improve our schools? We have thrown billions of dollars in that direction over many years. There are now more teachers than ever, more than one per classroom to deal with problems students, slow learners and second language students, etc. Nearly all classrooms have PCs or easy access to them. As i look around i see millions of dollars invested in many new school buildings...but the kids grade standards have been lowered over the decades and special needs children have been incorporated into mainstream classes which overloads teachers. Seems that government involvement has only harmed our schools as the government does in every program it is involved with. Why not get back to basics...where we are failing. Concentrate on reading, writing and math. The overhead cost of such programs would be a small fraction of what we throw into the schools. Separate the kids who cannot learn at a regular pace and deal with their needs specifically. Do not waste our time with kids who refuse to learn...and hold parents responsible for their kids' behaviors.

Believe it or not, when i was in school eons ago they had not identified learning disorders and all kids were expected to perform. And they DID!!! my best friend is very dislexic but she was not given special treatment, nor was she given lower expectations so she had to work harder than i did but she graduated 2nd in her class and went on to med school and is a practicing neonatologist today. Very successful. Her brother was also dislexic...struggled to read...but worked hard and was able to get a degree and is a health officer today. Also successful. But now they separate those kids and they are not expected to perform at the highest levels...so they don't.

my point is kids perform only to what is expected of them for the most part and the government has really dumbed us down. So when people want schools improved it makes me wonder what improvement they think are neccessary.

am honestly curious about your thoughts here.

[falcondream]

I don't know how to answer this coherently as a whole.

I think No Child Left Behind caused more teaching to the tests and was not a good move. I think teachers should be paid well and be held accountable but not by the student's performance because that punishes teachers with difficult students. I think learning disabilities are real and different people have different learning styles and it does no good to try to shove a round peg in a square hole. I think the purpose of the school system is to ensure a basic level of competency in the citizenry. I think if kids learn to think that is success. For example, in science, I'd rather a student understand the scientific method than memorize the periodic table.

But how to fix it? I don't know.

It affects us all, even if our children have finished school.