Just saw a guy buy $4000 in lottery tickets

[kres24GT]

When will people learn that poor people are poor because of their choices, not because of society or whatever excuses we keep making up.

Granted our government does a great job of keeping the masses ignorant, especially economic, to increase their dependence on government, but its still no excuse, people are free to learn on their own.

[Abnormalia]

There's a reason they call the lottery "The Stupid Tax".

[exarmyranger]

When will people learn that poor people are poor because of their choices, not because of society or whatever excuses we keep making up.

Granted our government does a great job of keeping the masses ignorant, especially economic, to increase their dependence on government, but its still no excuse, people are free to learn on their own.True ''people are free to learn",but when a kid can get a High School Diploma,with-out being able to read the Sunday papers editorial section,or understand whatever happens to be printed,if they can(read)does'nt leave a hell of alot of career choices.Unless their willing to work for the city/county/state Dept.of whatever.I mean shit,Marine:Even the military wo'nt take someone who is functionaly illiterate.My half sisters kid,got his G.E.D.when he was 16,so that he could get his D.L.and be able to drive,and work fulltime.That was in 86,after two years,his girlfriend became pregnant,they married,and became parents of a beautiful baby girl.Within a couple of months the harsh reality's of parenthood became all to clear(the boy was young,not stupid.)He called and asked "what should I do Unk".I'll never be able to save enough money to buy a new car/truck,let alone a home...silence from me,then,"I've been thinking about the Army"what do you think?I said think about the Air Force,At least they(in exchange for 6yrs of your life)will teach you something you can pursue as a civillian,I mean unless you think you'll be making the military a career..."Umm well maybe,if I like it...ya know"...You talk to a recruiter?"Not yet,I kinda wanted to talk to you first(his bio.father left when he was 4,or 5)His step father(s) 2,were both assholes imo.So that left me.I guess(poor kid.)Sooo,he goes to the A.F's.Rec.Office.takes the 1st evaluation(I.Q.)test... signs a few (ok you can look up my ass anytime) and I'm not a comunist/felon/fugitive,ect.papers,and reads the little pamphlet's with pics of all the happy men&women,who serve in the A.F.from boot's to the graduates of flight school.Yo sorry,I'll get to the jist...When told the next step was to take the A.F.'s Battery Test,his Rec.Sgt.tells him "The highest score is 85.If you had finished High School...you could pass the BAT.EXAM with a 35,but since you did'nt complete,("but I have a G.E.D")yeah I know but you did not finish,your Jr.or Senior yrs!So you need a min.score of 65...He scored a 67 "by pure luck"as he puts it.and spent the following 5 1/2 out of 6 yrs.wishing he was'nt so lucky...at Shepard Field's Hospital drawing blood/mos Med.Tech.This was'nt a dumb,gang banger,wannabe a rap star boy from the ghetto,but had he stayed in school and graduated that 67 would have allowed him to (at least apply)to attend,engineering/A.C.mech./or several other higher level spec/tech schools,the A.F.though would rather train a person who completed H.S.and scored 45 on the BAT.EXAM because they passed the min.35 by 10pts.Than someone who passed the G.E.D.exam,2 yrs before they were required to pass their final exams.but scoring a 67 on the Bat.is'nt 32 pts.above the min.It's 2 pts above.(go figure)in short"lol",the HS.grad.who gets 45pts.out of a possible 85 is a better canidate for real tech.schools.Than someone who earned a G.E.D.AND SCORED 67PTS. OUT OF 85...it did'nt make sence to me then and it still does'nt! HS GRAD 35 PT MIN.GETS 45PTS.OUT OF 85 POSSIBLE PTS...G.E.D.HOLDER 65 PT.MIN.GETS 67 OUT OF 85 POSSIBLE PTS.LEARNS HOW TO DO A JOB A CHIMP COULD BE TRAINED TO DO IN A FEW WEEKS!HS.GRAD.SPEND'S 18-24 MONTHS FULL TIME IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL,AND PART TIME SCHOOL /WORK FOR THE REMANINDER OF ENLISTMENT!Carry-on,leather-neck.ex.

[kres24GT]

If you leave yourself or your child to be educated by the government, you get what you pay for and have no one to blame but yourself. The public education system is only going to get worse in this country, if you think otherwise, keep dreaming. The teacher's unions will never allow it.

[Abnormalia]

If you leave yourself or your child to be educated by the government, you get what you pay for and have no one to blame but yourself. The public education system is only going to get worse in this country, if you think otherwise, keep dreaming. The teacher's unions will never allow it.


As the fiance of an elementary school teacher, I can say she hates the current state of education - mostly the "No child left behind" act which is fucking up the system. If you're claiming that the teacher's union wants the education system in this country to get worse, than you're fucking with yourself.

[kres24GT]

Speaking of our great government schools, the uproar is on over Exxon's 10% profit margin for 2006. If my 401k is getting less than 10% return I start getting worried, yet Exxon makes 10% and they are the devil. What people fail to realize, and our sensational media is more than willing to string them along, is that Exxon's profit margins are fairly low and their overall margin isn't high because of "gouging" (whatever that means), but because Americans don't understand the meaning of conversation. We have become so entrenched with a sense of entitlement we actually believe we are entitled to low gas prices so that we can all afford to drive Hummers. Of course all our great politicians in Washington are more than happy to play along with the ignorance as well. All thanks to government schools.

[kres24GT]

As the fiance of an elementary school teacher, I can say she hates the current state of education - mostly the "No child left behind" act which is fucking up the system. If you're claiming that the teacher's union wants the education system in this country to get worse, than you're fucking with yourself.

Plenty of individual teachers want better education, the unions do not, which is why they oppose competitive pay for teachers and school choice. Most all countries with superior public education system practice these things, but we don't. The only reason we don't is the NEA and other teacher's unions oppose them.

[exarmyranger]

kres24GT,I just want to add a few more words.1st I gotta say your new persona,is much more effective,though less entertaining than your 1st aproach,(I.M.O.)as a way to get your point(s)across.You are more than likely already aware of this...but as far as %'s/chances of winning a 6 number lottery,your chances do not become greater by increasing the amount of numbers played,or combinations of played numbers.Any 6 numbers of those offerd to play,hold the same odds of being correct,as any other 6 numbers,so if you buy 1 ticket,or 1.000,it means you have 999 more plays... not 999 more chances to win...as the chance that one tic. winning... remains constant...The daily number's game (with the exception of not being legal) gives you better odds than state lotto's.ex

[Abnormalia]

So I talked with my fiance tonight, specifically about how why she and other teachers hate the "no child left behind act". So apparently, the biggest thing wrong is the required standardized testing: if your children test low on the scale, they take away federal funding because apparently you as a district/teacher are not pulling your weight. Anyone see something wrong with that?

[exarmyranger]

:thumbsup: So I talked with my fiance tonight, specifically about how why she and other teachers hate the "no child left behind act". So apparently, the biggest thing wrong is the required standardized testing: if your children test low on the scale, they take away federal funding because apparently you as a district/teacher are not pulling your weight. Anyone see something wrong with that?Can't say that I do.Parents who do not think the education of their children is their responsibilty,as well as that of the public school system,share at least half the blame for their childs academic failures imo.The youngest of my three kid's never showed any supierior intelligence over her siblings,her older brother,and sister both graduated from public H.S...but chose to not attend colledge.Their little sister went to a Montesuri School from age 5-17,then to Rutgers University where she graduated (with a Major in Special Ed.)earned her Masters Degree(in Spec.Ed.) at Boston U.at age 25, now 28 she says she'll never get rich,but the personal rewards,are worth more than money.My hat is off to all the teachers,public,or private...They must truelly care...cause it sure is'nt for the big bucks.ex

[Abnormalia]

No, the problem is that there may be a group of children that were raised by parents who never instilled in the child a sense of accomplishment, who are lowering the test scores, and getting funding cut for the district. There should be no 'threat' that says if your students don't do well, we'll cut your funding. That's horrible. There could be many reasons for the low test scores. Imagine the inner city schools! All of their funding is cut because they can't get good test scores, and they can't get their students a good education without the money! It's completely, utterly fucked up.

[kres24GT]

No, the problem is that there may be a group of children that were raised by parents who never instilled in the child a sense of accomplishment, who are lowering the test scores, and getting funding cut for the district. There should be no 'threat' that says if your students don't do well, we'll cut your funding. That's horrible. There could be many reasons for the low test scores. Imagine the inner city schools! All of their funding is cut because they can't get good test scores, and they can't get their students a good education without the money! It's completely, utterly fucked up.



This is why we need school choice, it makes grade school and high school more like colleges with students and schools competing for each other. However, the teachers unions oppose it, so it will never happen. Even socialist European nations realize the importance of competition in education, which is why their schools destroy ours.

[Abnormalia]

Yeah...from my experience at graduate institutes..whom employ a lot of overseas talent in their labs..their skills are incredible. There was this one German post-doc...anyways, yes- we need to make educate one of our #1 concerns in this country, bar none.

[kres24GT]

Yeah...from my experience at graduate institutes..whom employ a lot of overseas talent in their labs..their skills are incredible. There was this one German post-doc...anyways, yes- we need to make educate one of our #1 concerns in this country, bar none.


Will never happen, The NEA has too much power and are 100% opposed to competitive teacher pay, school choice, or any other form of competition in public education. Also the politicians are more than happy to keep the masses ignorant and dependent on them.

[Abnormalia]

Sounds a little futile then? I disagree with you on that- writing something off as corrupt and unchanging is the worst way to go about things, and it only leaves you with something to complain about, and not change.

[kres24GT]

Sounds a little futile then? I disagree with you on that- writing something off as corrupt and unchanging is the worst way to go about things, and it only leaves you with something to complain about, and not change.


I'd love to change it, however most of America does not. Most parents are not concerned with their children being government educated dumbasses.

Like I said, competition could change a lot of these. Despite our best efforts to make this a communist country, the competitive spirit still lives in the average American. Make schools more competitive for both the schools and the students and we can upgrade the system of education big time.


The NEA and other teacher's unions are dead set against it though and they have plenty of power in Washington, and the local governments as well.

[Abnormalia]

Most parents are not concerned with their children being government educated dumbasses.

I have a hard time reading past that one comment right there. I believe the opposite- parents will do incredible and many times over necessary things for their children in the name of well-being. They count on their taxes being used responsibly, for their child's education.

Then again, it's also not unusual to see the parents blaming the teacher when things go wrong with the child.

What I don't believe is that parents are "not concerned about their children being government educated dumbasses".

I'll also point out that education varies greatly from state to state.

[exarmyranger]

Yo all,Yes I agree that"some"parents(I would hope not "most")depend entirely too much on the p.s.s. to eductate their children.Nor do they(or did they)install a desire to learn/know all they can,before handing thier future over to the public school system.Inner city,suburban,or rural,students...fail,and succeed.I believe the parents/home life,are more responcible for the S/F,than their educators.School voucher programs,as well as Performance rating of schools,are double edged swords,as they are currently formatted.IMO.t/c ex

[Bill]

The NEA and other teacher's unions are dead set against it though and they have plenty of power in Washington, and the local governments as well.

What's your evidence for this?

I'm not an expert on the subject of teachers unions, but what I have heard on the media is that they've been protesting no child left behind because it's not funded, leading to the destruction of hands-on programs in favor of rote memorization for exams programs.

Rote memorization is exactly the opposite of how we need to educate these days.

[kres24GT]

What's your evidence for this?

I'm not an expert on the subject of teachers unions, but what I have heard on the media is that they've been protesting no child left behind because it's not funded, leading to the destruction of hands-on programs in favor of rote memorization for exams programs.

Rote memorization is exactly the opposite of how we need to educate these days.


the NEA openly opposes any form of school choice or competitive teacher pay. They don't give political speak on it, they will gladly admit to it, I am sure its on their website. If not a simple Google search can find it.

[Bill]

So you want everyone to be educated in christian charter schools?

What other choice exists?

---

You should practice supporting your arguments more. You should have better answers when you make statements like these.

[kres24GT]

School choice. Each child has an amount (8k, 10k, whatever). Whatever school they go to, gets that money. Now schools are competing for students, it forces them increase the level of education. Students compete to get into the best schools. It makes more like a college system where the competition creates a better education. You include competitive teacher pay as well in this process.

Is it a perfect system? Of course not. Urban and suburban people will obviously have more choices than rural. But oh well, its far superior than our current system.

[Bill]

And I'm saying there ae no choices available except christian charter schools.

The criticism leveled against "school choice" was that it was basically a way to legitimize low quality "christian" education and bleed away money and students from public school and hand it to religious schools.

Which traps most other students in public schools drained of money.

Not to mention the problem of overseeing thousands of little charter schools and preventing student abuses and lax teaching in those schools.

Hoew does school choice differ from our current system which allows rich people and religious people to buy their chosen type and quality of education, while trapping most middle class and lower class students in underfunded public schools?

[kres24GT]

And I'm saying there ae no choices available except christian charter schools.

The criticism leveled against "school choice" was that it was basically a way to legitimize low quality "christian" education and bleed away money and students from public school and hand it to religious schools.

Which traps most other students in public schools drained of money.

Not to mention the problem of overseeing thousands of little charter schools and preventing student abuses and lax teaching in those schools.

Hoew does school choice differ from our current system which allows rich people and religious people to buy their chosen type and quality of education, while trapping most middle class and lower class students in underfunded public schools?


I really don't know what you are talking about. There are at least 4 public High Schools within 5 miles of my house. With school choice, my kids would have the option to go to any of them, not whichever one the school board assigns them to. The money that follows my child would also go to that school. Now those 4 or 5 schools are competing for my child and that money.Also my child is competing with other students to be accepted into the best schools. It makes it more like the college system.

I am not sure where this Christian school comments come from. For one, you don't even have to include private schools in the school choice options. Two, where do people get all private schools are Christian? My private school had Jews, Muslims, even Hindus.


Also your comments about only the rich being able to afford private school are dead wrong. I grew up in a anything but rich school and went to a very prestigious private school. The tuition was more than half of my mom's yearly income, but I was able to go. I got a scholarship.

Also there are several private schools in my area that are as little as 6 or 7k a year. Good schools too. If you can't afford 6 or 7k a year to send your kid to get a superior education, you probably should not be having kids.

[Bill]

You're using a different definition of "school choice" than the one I'm familiar with - the one I'm familiar with is a privatization model that sets up dozens or hundreds of "charter schools", or which pays people to homeschool, as a replacement for public schools.

It sounds like you want the existing public schools to compete for money, so that one school will be the richest and all the parents will fight to see if their kids get to go to that school, while all the others languish and the students of the less well connected parents are forced to go to them.

I don't see much difference between that system and our current one, in which wealthier families move into a costlier school district, and get to send their kids to a good school, while the lower classses who are forced to live in poorer districts get a bad school.

Why shouldn't all schools offer a good education?

[kres24GT]

Why shouldn't all schools offer a good education?


Because there is no incentive for them to under the current system. Seriously, what incentive do teachers or schools have to try and provide the best education possible? Absolutely none. That is why the rest of the world laughs at our current system.

If you want to live in idealistic world where people don't need incentives to do what is right, go ahead, I will stay here in reality.

The college system does fine under this method, our other levels of schooling would as well.