Gaining Momentum

Professor J,

As is so often the case there is one more thing. Or two, or three. :)


My son came in yesterday and recounted what had happened in his Sociology class. It relates so clearly to some of your recent comments on education that I thought you might find it interesting or perhaps depressing, as I did. 


He arrived in class and turned in two labs that were due. While he was doing this a couple of other students asked what he was doing, he explained; they looked bewildered. "The professor sent out an e-mail." he told them. More blank stares. It was a test day so the prof. asked if everyone had a Scantron. A forest of hands went up of those that didn't. Apparently the bookstore was out. Off goes the teacher in search of test sheets. The entire time students are straggling in, several minutes late. He returns with the test sheets and disburses them. Two girls come in (now many minutes into class time) and announce that they don't have the necessary sheets either. As the prof leaves again for more supplies he says, "Anyone need anything while I'm out, barbecue or a beer?" When he returns he asks if everyone has a pencil. Another rash of hands go up. The two girls announced they are going to "share one." One girl just picks up her things and leaves.


When my son finished telling me this he told me he was "baffled" by the behavior, especially the fact that no one seemed concerned in the least about being so unprepared or embarrassed by their behavior, and certainly not sorry for wasting everyone's time. He asked me "What do you think it is?"

"Don't you read our blog? The Professor just covered that."
;)

My son blamed the public school system (even a small bit of the behavior exhibited in that classroom would have resulted in a zero in his private high school and no sympathy for the student at home) and added that he thought it is far too easy to get into a university.

You've covered in recent posts some of the ideas and attitudes that have brought this about. To hear the crippling result described by a member of the next generation is however, eye opening.

While traveling in Europe we saw much in the way of energy efficiency that made us think that we are light years behind here at home. The biggest thing that my daughter and I noticed on this trip were the wind farms. Clearly visible from the air while flying over Germany, we then saw many of them in Italy and Greece. And for all the late Senator Kennedy's (and uber environmentalist RFK's) whining about them ruining the view if they were installed off his beloved Hyannis Port, they are, even in large numbers quite aesthetically pleasing. They have an almost sculptural element about them. Never once (even in the most breathtaking landscapes) did anyone in our group voice an opinion that they detracted from our overall experience. In other areas we saw on hillsides, large expanses of solar panels which also were not any big detraction from the landscape.

I wonder as you do, what Obama thinks of nuclear power now. Germany's Chancellor Merkel was quick to act and today I read that Germany will begin fading out their nuclear power use altogether, counting the costs too high. She gets credit for being decisive, aided of course by the fact that they are further along the road to sustainability than most other countries. The French, getting the lion's share of their energy from nuclear power plants will have a harder time of transition. 

You touched on abortion. I don't think your idea about both sides being able to present their case to the mother is a bad one. My overall feeling on this is that I'd like to see it sent down to the states to decide. They just passed a 3 day waiting period in South Dakota. The pro-choice side is up in arms. Why? What could possibly be the negative in asking a woman (or a couple) to give careful consideration to a decision, with life long consequences either way, careful thought?

You covered far more while I was away than I can respond to, but as we both know many of these subjects and ideas will be resurfacing sometime soon. ;)