The following paragraph was posted in the guestbook of my hometown newspaper’s website.  This is an area of a few small towns along the NY/PA border.  It just screamed for commentary, so I added a few observations below.  

"I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE REGENTS TEST IN NEW YORK STATE. PATAKI CAN MAKE EVERY CHILD TAKE THESE TEST BUT HOW MANY OF CHILDREN ARE NOT GRADUATING IN N.Y. STATE. I HAVE HEARD SENIORS SAY THEY WON'T EVEN TRY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY WON'T MAKE IT, INSTEAD THEY ARE TAKING THEIR GEDS BECAUSE THEY CAN PASS THEM. COME ON PEOPLE GET TO GATHER AND WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMEN OR WHOMEVER IT TAKES TO STOP THIS ABUSE TO THESE KIDS. NOT ALL CHILDREN CAN GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND TUTORS AND IT IS JUST UNFAIR . ITS NO WONDER THE KIDS ARE KILLING THEMSELVES, THEIR BRAINS ARE BEING OVERWORKED BEFORE THEIR TIME. PLEASE HELP PUT A STOP TO THIS. LET KIDS BE KIDS AND QUIT PUSHING SO HARD FOR THEM TO GROW UP. GO BACK TO NON-REGENTS AND THE WAY IT USE TO BE. EVEN SOME OF THE TEACHERS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME TRYING TO TEACH IT. NOT ALL KIDS ARE THE SAME OR STOP TRYING TO MAKE THEM BE."

Apparently this is from somebody on the NY side of the border.  Let's take a look at some points:

1. The writer has mastered turning on a computer and getting on the net, but hasn't figured out how to release the caps lock.

2. "I HAVE HEARD SENIORS SAY THEY WON'T EVEN TRY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY WON'T MAKE IT, INSTEAD THEY ARE TAKING THEIR GEDS BECAUSE THEY CAN PASS THEM."  So kids who have been slacking off in underachieving government schools are bailing and taking the easy way out.  Where's the news in this?  A genuine diploma carries more weight, so a sensible approach would be to take the exit exam first, and then if the results were unsatisfactory go the GED route.  Where are the parents who are letting the kids opt out?  Sheesh!

3.  "COME ON PEOPLE GET TO GATHER AND WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMEN OR WHOMEVER IT TAKES TO STOP THIS ABUSE TO THESE KIDS."  Testing kids to see if they have acheived a minimum standard is abuse???  What does the writer think the kids were supposed to be doing in school?????!!!!!  

4.  "NOT ALL CHILDREN CAN GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND TUTORS AND IT IS JUST UNFAIR."  Here the writer hits upon the fact that government schools in liberal states tend to be inferior.  Rather than demanding a return to acheivement and excellence she wants the standards lowered.  Typical liberal sheeple.  I went to public schools and did OK.  Notice how I can go back & forth between UPPER CASE and lower case letters?

5. "ITS NO WONDER THE KIDS ARE KILLING THEMSELVES, THEIR BRAINS ARE BEING OVERWORKED BEFORE THEIR TIME."  Kids are killing themselves because they have to pass an exit exam to get a diploma?  Shocking!!! (And in all probability FALSE!).  At what age does the writer want people to begin using their brains?  We're talking people who are around 18 years old here.  If they're old enough to vote, don't you think it's high time to use that walnut in their craniums?  I can guarantee these kids are not being "overworked."  The real problem is that they've been coddled and allowed to slack off; over the past 12 years the "system" set them up for failure.

6.  "LET KIDS BE KIDS AND QUIT PUSHING SO HARD FOR THEM TO GROW UP."  Pushing them to grow up?  How about expecting them to learn to read, write, and do a little math after 12 years of schooling!  Is that unreasonable???  Besides, they're now young adults.  Let them be adults rather than demand that they be granted an extension on their childhood.

7.  "GO BACK TO NON-REGENTS AND THE WAY IT USE TO BE."  Does this mean give them a diploma for showing up?  Shouldn't a diploma mean that a person can perform to a specified level?  BTW, it was the lowering of standards and accountability that led to the need for these tests.  See how it chases its tail?

8.  "EVEN SOME OF THE TEACHERS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME TRYING TO TEACH IT."  Teachers trying to teach the test?  Is that what this means???  Wouldn't that be a tad unethical, and possibly illegal?  Or does it mean that the teachers are having trouble teaching the fundamentals throughout the school year?  Are the teachers also victims of lowered standards and now they are playing catch-up?

9.  "NOT ALL KIDS ARE THE SAME OR STOP TRYING TO MAKE THEM BE." Well, they do have "special" classes for the kids who can't hang with the standard curriculum.

10.  The writer inadvertently reveals a lot about herself.  For one thing, I'm sure that she feels she has written some intelligent commentary, but such opinions truly are in the eye of the beholder.  'Nuff said there.
It's a nice place to visit, but...

Stupid people should not be allowed to breed.

Ban all schools!

Do it for the children...

See Signature line below.
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Public schools are not about educating kids...  

They are about forwarding the agenda of the teacher's union, which is mostly anti-American crapola.

The AFT (American Federation of Teachers) runs commercials on the local AM station here in Cleveland that makes their positions clear.  They are died-in-the-wool liberals.

I can't remember who said this (it may have been Boortz), but I heard commentary that similar to the way a Christian school teaches kids that Christ is the source & answer, government schools indoctrinate that government is the source & answer.

Out here in the PRK the teachers and the unions are at each other's throats due to them supporting ol' Joe Davis...lol.

Funny how money can change a leopards spots.

I love it when a plan comes together.

There seems to be this idea that wealthy individuals, because they have demanding parents and access to tutors do less work than other individuals. This is not true. A slacker, even a wealthy slacker, isn't going to have the grades/LSAT/MCAT necessary for admission to an elite law or medical school. A genuis slacker may, but not a slacker just because he's wealthy. Tutors/parents don't take tests, do homework assignments, etc. Simply being poor doesn't create an obstacle to academic success, at least not in America, I know!

One doesn't have to be wealthy to have a good GPA, (that should be even easier to get in a crappy school, or to do well on tests. All that's required is access to the library, which is not denied the poor. One could mention "parent's expectations", but if someone has the GPA/LSAT/MCAT to compete, it would be logical to assume that he had responsible parents or simply had an innate desire to
succeed.

TT [wave]

You are assuming that parents actually have to be involved with their children in order for them to grow up into educated, productive adults...

Hitlery claims it 'takes a village to raise a child' if I remember correctly.  

I watched a bunch of kids whining about this on 60 minutes.

They were mostly different shades of brown(boo-hoo).

All they could do the whole interview was bitch about how they'd "put in their time" and that was enough to deserve a diploma.

They had no concern that they actually had picked up any skills or knowledge in school,just that they had been there for 12 years and were ready to get out,and the test was so tough that they wouldn't graduate like they deserved too.[rolleyes]

I mean these kids were acting like they had no control or choice in the situation.Like they couldn't study for the areas that the test covered or couldn't have tried harder in school.

It was just "I've been zombiing out here for 12 years playing grab ass and if I havn't retained one bit of knowledge its not my fault".

"Why should I have to prove that I've earned a diploma?"

Totally pathetic and the parents were right there with em.

Of course in the end its mostly all about racism and bias.

What a bunch of fuckin losers!

If this countries future lies in the hands of people that are having blowjob slumber parties at 13 and punking out on a diploma and going for a GED by choice at 18,we're all in for alotta trouble down the road.

But of course they don't have choice or control.  They've been raised their whole lives being told directly or indirectly that they are not responsible for shit, that everyone else is to blame and that if they get in trouble that someone else will fix it for them.

So what happens after 12 years of this shit?  A bunch of brats screaming "It ain't fair!  I'm ENTITLED to get my diploma!"

The next generation of parasites have been produced by the state and of course, the state must grow to accomodate these "citizens in need".

We are so fucked.  You can't keep this cycle up forever and I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... and it isn't daylight.

Come on, AW..can I call you AW?

The libbies and socialists are starting to eat their own due to all the budget cuts going on in our state.

The way I see it an education plan should go like this:
25% school system.
25% self education.
50% parental involvment.

Too many damn selfish parents working long hours are breeding this new type of brat.

And don't get me started on the other losers breeding like rats.