Have y'all seen the thread on US teachers being fired and schools being closed?

[Billy Burnett]

Interesting that the bankers get the bonuses and the children get the short shrift. Compare this American disgrace to what Cuba did during the special period - expanded infrastructure and built more schools and clinics and hospitals. But first people needed to be trained-up for the jobs ... that's where the Cuban trade/labor unions came in.

Health care and education are jobs programs - by the people and for the people.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."
Mohandas Gandhi

[bemildred]

1. What interests me is that the tools that run this country appear not to care

that they are destroying it, disabling it, emasculating it, bankrupting it, etc. They believe in their own bullshit, or at least some of it. I mean it's clear they are deliberately lying to the public, but it's also perfectly clear that they are incompetent at protecting their own interests, they have no sense of long term interests, it's all about short-term advantage and expediency with them, keeping the old game alive, grabbing as much money as possible, hog in the trough gobble gobble gobble, not adapting to the new situation as it is emerging, not thinking beyond next month or next year.

Or you could think they are just sort of stupid. I don't know.

[EFerrari]

2. That's what is freaky to me, too.

Is the mothership going to come and fetch them? Do they seriously believe they are omnipotent? What?

[bemildred]

3. I think they seriously believe they are omnipotent.

History is just full of the same thing, so there is no reason to think we are different this time around. It was so refreshing to see Sandra Bullock pick up her Oscar, a little real humility and gratitude for a change.

[roody]

4. Last I heard, Cuba was moving toward class size of 15.

My school will be going from 20 students in class to 29 next year for grades K to 3.

[EFerrari]

5. When I was teaching English at Cal, my sections of 20-25

were about right. I could get to know each student and they could feel like they were in a class and not in a McDonald's drive through window.

I can't imagine how hard it would be, though, to teach more than 20 small children at the same time. :(

[roody]

7. The kinder (and all the other) teachers

will know next year.

[girl gone mad]

6. Don't begrudge the bankers their bonuses!

After all, baseball players are rich, too.

Accountability is for little people, just like taxes!