Hi again, fellow students!
Sometime, during our time in high school, we all are dragged
kicking and screaming through some of the "great books" of
Western literature. Mostly, we hate this exercise because lots
of the best stories ever written are presented in high school as
the dead-dry bones of writing, without any context or
understanding. It takes years for some of us to get over the
trauma and begin to appreciate just what we missed. But, even if
we didn't begin to know it the first time around, the opening to
Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" expresses exactly what high school
is all about: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness..."
Most of us remember our school days rather fondly, though it
seems as if the memories get fonder the further away we are from
the slings and arrows of outrageous adolescence. For most of us
who spend our lives pretending to be adults, high school is maybe
the last time you ever went a whole day without any real
responsibilities. No wonder it seems better in memory than it
did during Mrs. LaFave's 6th period English class. But all too
soon we were off to college, where we learned more of what the
real world is like.
If you were paying attention, among the real world skills
you learned was that real learning never stops and that having a
great amount of schooling doesn't always mean that a person is
really educated. In some folks, it just makes it harder for them
to see the forest because of all the added trees. Recall that it
was just a few years back that the University of Wisconsin issued
more than 4,000 diplomas over a period of six months that bore
the school's name as "Wisconson."
Hello and Thanks to all of our learned friends and
supporters: Alison Becwar, Jerry Taff (& thanks for supper!),
Nnamdi Elleh, Caterina Sukup, Carol Becwar, Fumiko Umino, Chuck
Maray, Jan Michalski, Tim McChain, Kaori Itako, Brian Siegl,
Meredith & Yasmin Leischer, Joshua Brink, Helen Yee & Wayne
Pocora, Bruce Gonzo and Kenn Venit. No matter how good your
education may be, it can never give you all of the answers. It
can, however, give you much better questions.
Have An Educated Week,
---------------------------------------------------------------
A Special Announcement to those of you who use the
SUNFUN Central website...
Recently, software updates at Pitnet have made the old
SUNFUN site almost unusable. So, SUNFUN Central will
also be available through the web on Tripod at:
http:/members.tripod.com/snfn/
Yes, you will have to put up with a floating banner ad
at Tripod. But overall, the site seems to work more
reliably. Stay tuned for whether SUNFUN Central moves
there permanently. OK, back to our regularly scheduled
program...
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal
education."
- Albert Einstein
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
ANOTHER REASON TO STAY IN SCHOOL...
--------------------------------
Three armed robbers in South Africa demonstrated the value
of a good education the hard way. The men forced their way into
the principal's office at a primary school last February and held
the headmaster and two secretaries hostage while piling jewelry,
money and the contents of the school's safe into a black
briefcase. Finally satisfied with their haul, they turned,
grabbed the briefcase and left.
What they did when they found that they had grabbed the
principal's briefcase stuffed with uncorrected homework and a bag
lunch, is unknown. (Reuters)
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
STUFF YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNED IN CLASS...
--------------------------------------
Politicians on one side or another are always talking about
education. Either we should spend lots more money or lots less,
have strict standards for teachers or more teachers. They can't
seem to make up their minds. The only thing they are sure of is
that kids in other countries are so much smarter than ours.
I suppose the recent study conducted for the European
Council of Young Farmers will take those politicians by surprise.
For one thing, kids in the 15 Euro countries generally have no
idea where common items are grown.
How far off are they? According to the kids, bananas grow
in Britain and the Netherlands produces olive oil and oranges.
In addition, 75% of children in the EU did not know where cotton
comes from, with a quarter saying it grew on sheep.
"Most children do not know where their food comes from,"
concluded EU Education and Culture Commissioner Viviane Reding.
(Reuters)
[ On the other hand, the Euro kids can find
Luxembourg on a map. They also know that
there IS a Luxembourg. ]
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
HEY KID, GET BACK TO SCHOOL...
---------------------------
The school district of Eschallens, Switzerland decided last
year to crack down on parents who keep their school-age children
at home for an extra year or two. As part of the program, they
used the computerized database of the town's census records to
determine the kids who weren't in class.
Included in the roundup was an elderly, retired
schoolteacher who was ordered to attend kindergarten, probably
because the computer mistook his 105-year age as 5. (AP)
[ Y2Kindergarten? ]
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
THREE BAGS FULL OF SOMETHING, ALL RIGHT.
---------------------------------------
More proof that we live in an age of increased sensitivity
to any sort of distinction, even when that sensitivity doesn't
make any sense at all.
The Birmingham, England city council has issued new,
politically correct guidelines for the city schools relating to
children's education. The new rules, drawn up by the independent
Working Group on Racism in Children's Resources, propose to ban
all racial and cultural stereotyping. A worthy goal, except that
one of the offensive things they especially single out as
offensive is the children's rhyme, "Baa Baa Black Sheep." (Baa
Baa black sheep / Have you any wool / Yes, sir, yes, sir / Three
bags full...)
"The history of the rhyme is very negative and also very
offensive to black people due to the fact it originates from
slavery," the council claimed.
Not so, says the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. The
offending song is believed to have been written to protest a tax
on wool imposed in 1275. Ethnologists note that it is unlikely
there was any substantial African or Indian population in England
until about 600 years later. (Reuters)
[ Also banned for their political and social
connotations are: blackboards, the Black
Forest, the Black Hills, Black Angus cattle,
black birds, the Black Sea, the city of
Blackpool and blackberries, along with the
culturally suspect colors Yellow, White,
Green, Red, Gold, Silver, Tan, Brown, Pink
and Blue. Teachers will be instructed, from
now on, to describe the rainbow as being
mostly maroon and gray. ]
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
"Teachers should not impose their belief that the Earth
is round on students who have been brought up to
believe that it is flat."
- Jim Cooper, Arizona chief for
educational matters under (now
impeached) governor Evan Mecham
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
NOT WELL EDUCATED, BUT WELL TRAINED...
-----------------------------------
At their convention last year, delegates of the Professional
Association of Teachers' Union in England promoted a rather
unusual education proposal. They asked for teaching assistants
for elementary school teachers. That in itself isn't so unusual.
But the fact that the assistants should be four-footed is.
They asked for dogs.
And, worse, they are serious about it, arguing that large
dogs could help watch the children, round them up at the end of
recess, lick up any milk they spill on the floor, and generally
help teacher keep order. Kind of the same way dogs keep order in
prisons, I guess.
"A big dog would also be helpful for breaking up fights and
looking for lost property, like gym shoes or Barbie dolls," Wendy
Dyble, the sponsor of the proposal, suggested.
The association, which has about 35,000 members, is the
smallest of England's teachers' unions and considered by some
observers to be the most eccentric. (Reuters)
[ So now education really is going to the
dogs! ]
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
PULLING THE WOOL OVER THEIR EYES...
--------------------------------
"Back when I was attending the University of Utah, the
school newspaper ran a joke ad for a debate between Phil Donahue
and Whiskers the Lamb.
Over 30 people showed up.
What they were expecting, God only knows."
- - from the Web
[ "Yes, Phil... I really feel that all the
cloning has very ba-a-a-a-d social
consequences." ]
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
THIS COURSE IS TAKING OFF...
-------------------------
She may be the country's most unusual Russian literature
lecturer. Not for her literary pursuits, but for the other
course she teaches.
Susan Scotto, an instructor at the exclusive, 162-year-old
Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, teaches a very popular
course -- on stripping. That's right, stripping. As in,
removing your clothes while dancing to music that's heavy on the
saxophones.
The non-credit course at the women's college features movies
and how-to exercises, as well as discussions of stripping as an
art form. Ms. Scotto teaches her students a number of basic
bump-and-grind moves and supplies them with props, including
feather boas, scarves, fans and high heels.
Instructor Scotto is uniquely suited for the job, having
danced professionally at clubs in California to help pay for her
doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley. (AP)
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
"We owe most of what we know to about one hundred men.
We owe most of what we have suffered to another hundred
or so."
- R. W. Dickson
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
University Entrance Exam
Version 4c - Athletic Candidates
Time Limit: 3 Weeks
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. What language is spoken in France?
2. Give a dissertation on the Babylonian Empire with
particular reference to architecture, literature, law and
social customs
-OR-
Give the first name of Pierre Trudeau.
3. Would you ask William Shakespeare to:
(a) build a bridge
(b) sail the ocean
(c) lead an army
(d) WRITE A PLAY
(e) play third base
4. What religion is the Pope? (check only one)
(a) Jewish
(b) CATHOLIC
(c) Hindu
(d) Polish
(e) Buddhist
5. Metric conversion.
How many feet in 0.0 meters?
6. What time is it when the big hand is on the 12 and the
little hand is on the 5?
(a) 5:00:00
(b) 5 O'clock
(c) Quitting Time
(d) 17:00
(e) Rush Hour
(f) Miller time
7. Spell --
Bush,
Carter
Clinton
8. Six kings of England have been called George, the last
one being George the Sixth. What is the first name of the
previous five?
9. Where does rain come from?
(a) Macy's
(b) the supermarket
(c) Canada
(d) the sky
10. Can you explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity?
(a) yes
(b) no
11. What are coat hangers used for?
12. Where is the basement in a three-story building located?
13. Which state in the U.S. produces the most oranges?
(a) Florida
(b) Canada
(c) Minnesota
(d) Cleveland
14. Advanced math --
You have three apples.
How many apples do you have?
15. What does NBC (National Broadcasting Corp.) stand for?
* You must answer two or more questions correctly to qualify.
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
PLAYING GAMES
-------------
The University of Chicago is known for two things: having
high academics standards and having an awful football team.
Fortunately for the U of C, they are in a football league of
schools that they consider to be intellectually third rate, which
leads to the famous Chicago football cheer:
That's all right,
That's okay,
You're going to work for us someday!
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
"Learning is not compulsory...
neither is survival."
- W. Edwards Deming
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
ARTS & SCIENCES
---------------
Here's a wedding announcement that illustrates the value of
having salable skills on your resume:
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Ledford of Lincolnton announce the
engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter,
Bridgett Ledford, to John May, both of Boone. Ms.
Ledford is an Appalachian State University graduate
with a bachelor of science degree in communications.
She is a pharmacist technician at Boone Drug on
Deerfield Road. May is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill
Tucker of Raleigh. He is also an ASU graduate and has
a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and religion.
He is employed by Domino's Pizza.
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
© 2000 by Bill Becwar. All Rights Reserved.
![[ BACK]](btn_rwdr.gif){kind=small}
![[NEXT]](btn_fwdr.gif){kind=small}