Wow...
The 2000's are half-over. 2001-2005, all history. I hope that the last half of this century was better than the first half. This is shaping up to be almost as bad as the 80's. So many big questions: do we have an exit strategy for Iraq? What happens to those displaced by Katrina? Will they even rebuild New Orleans? How can rising medical costs and lower real wages be a good combination? Will America avoid becoming a third-world nation? Will all of the dirty tricks that the "President" pulled see the light before he skates away on his term-limited retirement?
Then there's education. This will ultimately kill America if it's not handled. How did India, where the citizens are VERY poor, produce so many engineers, DBAs and the sort? Education. Same with China. There is an emphasis put on succeding...not on just getting by.
We need fewer slumlording charter schools. Yes, White Hat, I mean you. We need more schools like The Intergenerational School in Cleveland.
More change at public schools...and I don't mean a new proficiency test. Tests are tools to ascertain knowledge acquisition and understanding, not to dictate them.
We need fresh ideas to educate our populace -- especially our children, not prepare them for a life of just-getting-by jobs and rampant consumerism. There needs to be a stand in the cities, the states and all the way up saying, "we will educate these children, not indoctrinate them with an ethos of mediocrity for most and inferiority for some".
And, racism? Don't get me started. Racism is still alive and kicking in America. It's the reason why a lot of the problems in America haven't been solved especially some of the ones I mentioned above. People try to blame the abdication of self-accountability for the shortcomings of our poorer citizens *cough* Bill Cosby *cough*. It's so much more. People still don't believe that people of color are equal...there is lots of inter-group and intra-group racism (not to mention other -isms such as sexism)...sickening.
This is where my mind is when I look at the world in 2006.
2 comments:
Awesome, post. I agree with you 100% on everything.
It is kinda scary to think what will happen with this whole New Orleans situation. I just don't see it turning out positive (even though it could if people really tried). I guess only time will tell, but as it stands now...time is giving us a hint of bad things to come. :(
It's like I said in my tough decisions post...those who can do something are only thinking about the rich and the poor will be left of of the New New Orleans.
Post a Comment