Anecdotes from today's schools

I've recently heard some disturbing stories about what's happening in public schools today. First, on a recent Monday morning in a public school kindergarten in the Midwest, the teacher asked her class of eager pupils, “How many of you went to church yesterday? Raise your hands.” All but one child raised his hand. To make matters worse, the teacher then said, “How many of you did not go to church yesterday? Raise your hands.” And of course, the same child sat alone in the room with his hand raised. I have no idea why the teacher was asking these questions, but it seems obvious that even if she had some pedagogical reason for talking about church attendance in her kindergarten class, she used the opportunity to strongly suggest that there was something not normal or even “bad” about people who don't go to church. Hello? This is a public school! Second, in an East Coast middle school, parents recently attended a “parents' night” to hear from the teachers what was going on at the school. There, the parents learned that the school has an official policy that teachers will never use the word “evolution” because it is too controversial; they also teach the principles of evolution as a “theory” among others. Teaching evolution as a theory is fine; that's what it is. It happens to have lots of support, but ok, we can't be “certain.” (of course, by the same logic we really can't be “certain” that we actually exist; our existence is a theory supported by lots of facts and information, but hey, we could be brains in a vat.) The point here is that this is a public middle school. I think the average 11-14 year-old can handle the massive controversy surrounding the word “evolution.” No wonder our nation seems stupid; we're teaching our kids to be that way.

Posted 08:32 AM | Comments (5) | general politics

Friday Question: Movie Double Dip?

Do you ever double dip at the movie theater? By that I mean, after you've seen one movie, do you ever exit that movie and slip quietly into another that's just about to begin in the same multiplex? When you pay $10 to see a movie, do you feel justified in seeing two? Anonymous responses welcome, of course. I'm just curious. I don't feel any qualms about this myself b/c I feel I've paid for about a thousand extra movie screenings in all the exorbitant movie tickets I've purchased, but apparently some people are very opposed to the double dipping. Where do you stand on this burning issue? ;-)

Posted 08:19 AM | Comments (10) | ai movies