tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95738970217731354.post5855197044105511621..comments2023-12-28T02:52:31.067-08:00Comments on Went 2 the Bridge: War Dollars Flow in Wash DC -- While Maine's Poor Get a Whole Lot PoorerLisa Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319699936783253064noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95738970217731354.post-14965453932870431062012-05-17T16:23:25.134-07:002012-05-17T16:23:25.134-07:00I was chatting to a couple of Maine grandmothers t...I was chatting to a couple of Maine grandmothers today who were quite proud of the critical thinking skills being taught these days. Such inquiries as "what is the main idea of this paragraph?" and "what is the role of this character in this story" seemed, to them, to be flourishing in the elementary schools. When I asked why this didn't by itself lead to a smartening-up as opposed to the seeming dumbing-down of public policy, one of them acknowledged the problem. Perhaps the failure of the other grandmother to make an utterance on that point indicates the problem, maybe always the same problem, with democracy. It is not so much a matter of knowing how as of wanting. <br />What would happen to any public school teacher, I have long wondered, who said to the students the first day, "Why are you here?" and let the discussion flow where it will.chrisrushlauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11432949074147807503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95738970217731354.post-27936324737982298162012-05-17T04:24:29.648-07:002012-05-17T04:24:29.648-07:00Our social services are like our "national se...Our social services are like our "national security policy" in having a common source: public inattention. Israel became our government-in-absentia because "nobody" wanted to stick their neck out, see what they were seeing, or talk about it. Leaving the poor ("whom you will have with you always," according to the New Testament, whatever that means or signifies) to specialists is like leaving government in general to specialists. If students, for example, were presented with education that made sense, colleges that esteemed honesty (which is the largest in-absentia class in the US?--the educated middle class), civil discourse that was a level playing field instead of a political minefield, there would be a social engine for people to use to work out their problems (like preventing head trauma in abuse situations). Save the public head space first. All hands to the ship.chrisrushlauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11432949074147807503noreply@blogger.com