If a book was written about your life, what would the
synopsis at the back of the
book say? 1.5.24
Where did I go? What happened? 1.5.09
What is the best name for my new son? 1.3.12
What types of ethnic, national and regional cuisine do you like?
1.5.12
Who rules the world?
Which of these conspiracy theories do you believe in?
How much should teachers earn relative to the local professional community?
If a book was written about your life, what would the synopsis at the back of the
book say? 1.5.24
Kristal_Rose
A kaleidoscopic open-minded adventure into the mystical realms of art, science, & cultural
anthropology.
jkiehart
Meet Justina. Hard drinking, hard fighting ragamuffin who will do anything for her next drink. The
foibles of this lovable lush will amuse and astound you.
With a solid C average and two influential (and hysterical!) months in Key Club, Justina fought her
way to a well-deserved admissions spot at the Ivy-League of Party Colleges, Bowling Green State
University, in the early 1990's. It is here where she meets the love of her life, alcohol.
After a blurry six years wasted in college, she sets off in her Chevrolet for The Big Apple. Alone
and broke, she manages to find herself in love, drunk, and working as a scrappy writer, all while
fending off the demons of family and the past.
Will she overcome her hurdles and crawl out of the bottle, or will she wind up on skid row? Justina
doesn't even know...
Dave Barry of the Miami Herald calls "I Need a Shot"
"The funniest thing I've read since The Onion."
Kristal_Rose replies to jkiehart
I channelled a good one on this "You can't make up stuff like this". {multiple entendre} I once saw a
pentuple entendre in the hotel new hampshire or garp. and Woody Allen did a murder mystery
written in triple entendre.
jkiehart replies to Kristal_Rose
What does it mean when you keep coming into my thoughts?
Okay, I'm under the influence of drugs, but I've been longing to ask you... (please don't get mad)...
Are you for real? Really, I mean this. I often find myself longing for what you say to be true, but
then sometimes I wonder if, well... please I don't mean this bad, we're all good to each other here
and I'm asking this the best I can, but, wow...
I can't even ask it.
Can I have your e-mail address?
Kristal_Rose replies to jkiehart
I'm prone to slight exagerration of numbers, for instance I'll say within 2 hours, when it was
probably three, or people, when I only met one (But when I say everyone, I mean everyone). For
instance I might say describe people I met from Tennessee (one person) but when I meet another
person from Tennessee, they'll confirm, "Yeah, they're pretty much like that here." In spite of the
fact that I constantly study, and have vision quests, there is also plenty that I simply just know to
be true.
You're on the cover of my TV guide as Sienna Guillory of the masterpiece theater 'Take a Girl Like
You'. Yes, I dedicated an entire show to channel you with. You're probably thinking of me because I
was thinking of you as well.
I'm absolutely for real, and there are probably a million like me on the planet (but they don't
broadcast it like I do). I could hang out for a day with a friend quietly lighting candles, moving
objects, and watching TV. The average person watching a video of it might say "what a pitiful
waste", not having a clue about the immense amount of work we accomplished.
Do a search of '@' in survey comments, and you will find I offer my email all the time. Of course:
kristal_phoenix@msn.com and my enormous site http://www.ereiam.com 310/202-7852 if you like
talking. Keep in mind that although I might be pretty advanced, I'm also just a person that started
at zero like everyone else; I enjoy talking about my experiences, but most often as an example of
what other people could do if they wanted. I'm glad and curious that you're inquiring. I enjoy your
contribution here as well as finding you personally interesting.
Kristal_Rose replies to jkiehart 1.5.27
There are times that I've wondered if any of SC was for real. Computer technology exists to
fabricate these conversations, so if it wasn't for the psychic bonds I have with many here, I might
not know. Also my own pervading consciousness, god, and the angel Ezra (neutral arch-angelic scribe
in charge of the internet) can turn interacting with SC into a very intense personal experience,
unfortunately at the cost of losing all my friends here to something akin to existentialism.
Where did I go? What happened?
1.5.09
smurf
Probably found a boy/girlfriend. Since I've had a boyfriend, my time seems to have vanished!
Kristal_Rose
Bet you're getting more done in less time and building memories though.
smurf replies to Kristal_Rose
Oh, Yea
Are you having a nice day?
Kristal_Rose replies to smurf
Yes, I am. I met a new neighbor while sweeping the alley from a couple years build up of broken wall mirrors and such. He had lived tere 28 years and payed to have it done for awile. We yakked about all sorts of energy & transportation engineering. Then I yakked with another who had only seen her first orange moon, so I described when they happen, and some of my viewings including a bright red one when I was in an enactment group living as a 16th century celt, sleeping in a driftwood enclosure we built (my name was Logan Logroller), and saw that full red moon set over the ocean just at sunrise while pleating my kilt during the morning watch.
What is the best name for my new son?
1.3.12
Kristal_Rose
Sage and Orion are cool. You are, #2. I am a name not a number.
Ezekiel, Raduriel, Alistair, ... Who do you want to be bringing into this world?
Tsarhala, Goheemba, Valzindar, Ferhanduuz, Absinrujar, Quiiphala, Orandjeem... Plenty of unique
oracles haven't occured yet.
The "Dictionary of Angels" by Davidson is an excellent descriptive source for existing names of the
sort you seek. If you supply me a name, I'll do some tarot readings on them. In hebrew every
letter is associated with mystical meaning and the whole language becomes loaded with an angelic
etymology while spoken. It's part of the word made manifest phenomenon.
juliw replies to Kristal_Rose
You have listed some really interesting names. I love Ezekiel. The other kids would probably call him
Zeke. I like a lot of biblical names like Elijah, Isaiah, and Matthew. I think it is fascinating that tarot
readings can be done on different names. If you get a chance, please tell me a few things about
Julianne (my real name) or Julie. Thanks.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
actualy i did consider alistair. My name is scott douglas jamerson. scott can mean tattoed (which i
am) and douglas means dweller by the dark stream.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
Thanks. and then HeyZeus is Je-sus (nice correlation). Were you inspired by the 'X' album with that
name? and then X is the 10th card in the Tarot describing Ezekiel's wheel.
BrianW replies to Kristal_Rose
Or perhaps Die Hard With A Vengance (Samuel L. Jackson's character was named Zeus, and a
couple of times someone said "Hey, Zeus!")
Kristal_Rose replies to juliw
I left the Zeke line for you to say.
Anyhow:
Julianne - Jod, vav, Lamed, ayin, Aleph, Nun, Nun =
Hermit, heirophant, Justice, devil, Fool, Death, Death =
Internal collectivisation of spiritual constructs used with righteous authority and a critical eye
softly to see all possibilities come manifest as an ever continuing tangible sequence of changes in
things.
= 9 + 5 + 11 + 15 + 0 + 13 + 13 = 66 through gymatria reduces to 12 (6+6) = Mem = Hanged Man =
Surrender to higher causes.
That was a few minutes. Complete readings can take hours.
Overall it says you are basically a Queen of Swords, Intellectual, self-controlled, perceptive,
judicious. I've imagined you as having long blond hair like the Q. of Sw.
You should get a second opinion from Hildagard though. *LOL*
juliw replies to Kristal_Rose
Thanks for the reading. Actually, I have short hair. It is a dark brown with some auburn in it. It is
dyed right now to cover gray, but looks pretty much like my natural color. Minus the gray, of course.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
i am heyzeus because my nickname has been jesus for many years. Also, the 'Hey, Zeus!' is a side
pun. i dunno who 'x' is. kings x?.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
I've heard of dogs named "hey you" and "you too".
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
i have a cat named dammit
and others named mars, venus, and achilles
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
da mit, German for 'there with'.
My cats are Volt(aire) and Schism (a faction of a church). You could call the whole collective
Cerberus or Siva Trimurti.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
I was visiting an occult shop today (bought more books and oils) and someone was looking for all
they could on Orion (sigels and such). My web site has mystical channelleing from Orion. The first
time I talked to Jesus face to face was through the vehicle of a christian named Orion.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
Cerberus is good, but i have four cats, not three.
what is your website?
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
ereIam.com - I'm preparing for a major overhaul. Click on the scarab for what I'm calling orion,
though I think it's from cygnus actually. Not sure, I have to get someone whor really recognizes
partial constellations and celestial energy phenomenon.
Yeah, I noticed the four vs three, but I couldn't recall any 4 headed critters. My girlfriend has 4
cats too.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
How 'bout the TetraHydraCannabanation?
Yeah, cygnus is a great name too, I've always liked it. Didn't he represent balance in Greek
mythology?
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
Hey Kristal, interesting website, though I didn't see a scarab...
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
Go to the metaphysics section and click on the scarab or to the left of it where it says Egyptian
Perfume oil and interstellar scans. That glowing blue thing is heiroglyphs from the underside of my
scanning a scarab. (looks like the word laugh (laf)) I dont need any 4 headed water breathing
dragons to deal with any of this stuff, or truncated-icosododechahedrons or other dinosaurs for
that matter; other people do to keep up with me though. Cygnus was a (black?) swan.
Hydra is in Leo, Orion in Taurus, and Cygnus in Aquarius. Cygnus is the swan which Zeus morphed into
to woo Leda, wife of the king of Sparta. My mother has a star in cygnus named after her (my doing)
called 'moiras muse'.
LoveLight
Orion...he wants to be called Orion.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
tetrahydracannabinol=THC in marijuanna, i was still suggesting a name for my collective, though I
don't smoke pot...
Rush had a song cygnus x-1 where they tell the tale of a man who builds a spaceship to fly into the
black hole, when he reaches the other side, he becomes the god of balance...
But I didn't know cygnus was the swan. If Cygnus was the swan that Zeus morphed into, then
wouldn't the swan have been Zeus?
heyzeus1 replies to LoveLight
I like Noah...
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
Why do you think I threw in the word breathing? I know all my colchicine, light spectrums, etc. I had
a plant that grew in offset threes rather than offset pairs. Back when I was 14, I used to play
Johnny appleseed at the school, library, and police dept.'s garden. I subscribe to
psychopharmacology journals where for instance you find that there is a CB2 receptor that
responds to two chemicals: THC and chocolate.
Yes, like Thor (lightening (& my birth name)) becoming Freya (aurora) and other fun tales. I've
been working on that balance, and praying it's not a mistake. I danced with Kali energy but still used
it to Siva ends. I've found myself surrounded by black holes when I became an energy fountain. and
other balances of emotional propogation, etc. It leads me to believe that I should seek that same
balance, or miss half my ultimate being. The going philosophy had been to promote positive karma,
but I'm beginning to think parts of me are transcending the world as personal experience.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
Without Orion's, the Noah's wouldn't know where to take the ships the Bill's patronize.
Kristal_Rose replies to LoveLight
So what about if it's a girl? I'd hate to see the poor kid named fuzzy, jingles, pepsi, calico, or
anything else inspired by whatever your eyes fell on at the moment. You don't have another survey
do you? I forgot to even think about the gender when I had my moment of chance.
Kristal_Rose replies to anonymous
Good grief. Have you no shred of respect for life? Do you forget that these are real people you're
talking to, at a very sacred part of their personal lives? Even if I believed in vengeance, still,
nothing would justify that sort of remark. It was not even the most ill begotten of debates, it was a
pure inconsiderate hateful attack incorporating someone who has not even been born yet. Obviously
you do not love your own life. I hope you learn to do so, and in the meantime, stop lashing out at
those who most love theirs. Hopefully your comment is old, and you have since had a change of heart,
in which case I suggest a sincere apology could go a long way on your own behalf.
LoveLight replies to Kristal_Rose
Harmony Rayn....for a lovely lil' girl. No fuzzy, or jingles, or whatever...*smile & a chuckle*
Kristal_Rose replies to LoveLight
Oh, you even told me that, and I still think it's beautiful. I notice that your as sexist as I am with
the objective vs subjective names. My kids are L'ile Ambrose Cézanne and Ceilidh Aurora
Dragonfly.
This is like the favorite weathar I mentioned last night: Rainbow misty. & it's advice to take my
shower & head to the gender clinic.
LoveLight replies to Kristal_Rose
Your kids have beautiful names...LOVE Rainbow Misty!!!
*smile*
Kristal_Rose replies to LoveLight
L'ile Ambrose means island of the immortals. Ceilidh is gaelic for a party. It's homonym is Coeli,
latin for heaven. Abbreviate the homonym and you have Cay, an island. L'ile is a water sign (cancer)
and Ceilidh is an air sign (gemini).
LoveLight replies to Kristal_Rose
VERY cool!! I'm a water sign and my hubby is a fire sign, Scorpio & Leo. He is right on the cusp of
cancer/leo. I KNOW that this one will be a cancer.
Kristal_Rose replies to LoveLight
and all three are water names.
heyzeus1 replies to Kristal_Rose
i considered the names merlin or myrlyn and sage (my favorite but i already used that in my
daughters middle name) and jesus.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
I'd been thinking to explain my name.
I might have named myself Aurora or Safari but those names went to my daughter and I dog I had
briefly. I have a handful of names for other personalities I keep close at hand, but I've found
kristal rose phoenix to have far significance than I ever imagined at the time. Did you read 'Mists
of Avalon'? My highschool girlfriend's mom, Marrion Zimmer Bradley wrote it. Those folks (D's
parents) had a good deal of inspiration to what I was to become too. They both had churches in
Berkeley, CA. Having been Thor, I find that Arthur has some parallels to my life.
Kristal_Rose replies to heyzeus1
I'd been thinking to explain my name.
I might have named myself Aurora or Safari but those names went to my daughter and I dog I had briefly. I have a handful of names for other personalities I keep close at hand, but I've found kristal rose phoenix to have far significance than I ever imagined at the time. Did you read 'Mists of Avalon'? My highschool girlfriend's mom, Marrion Zimmer Bradley wrote it. Those folks (D's parents) had a good deal of inspiration to what I was to become too. They both had churches in Berkeley, CA. Having been Thor, I find that Arthur has some parallels to my life.
So you have another daughter?
What types of ethnic, national and regional cuisine do you like? 1.5.12
Kristal_Rose
Everything on the list except african, russian, and some of the asian ones, and those only because I don't
think I've tried them yet.
Thai & Mexican are my favorites.
Brian
Ya didn't make an "Everything" category. Do you know how much time I just wasted clicking instead of
eating?
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian
Tabbing from checkbox to check box and checking them with the spacebar makes quick work of such
tasks.
Brian replies to Kristal_Rose
I can answer right now, my mouth and hands are full.
(Not a sexual reference.)
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian
Ah, excellent. A second ago I asked how you know God.
Brian replies to Kristal_Rose
But the survey is about food. One of my most favorite carnal subjects. I will leave the spiritual for
dessert.
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian 1.5.29
So your mouth and hands being full is not the manner in which you know God? Nor do you see that all words are connected on many levels. Apparently you do see the Word in a different manner than myself.
Brian replies to Kristal_Rose
I'm joking with you, Kristal_Rose. I can easily relate food to spirituality. "Give us this day..."
But hey, God has a sense of humor, too. Just look at the duck-billed platypus, broccoli and
weather forecasts.
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian
Coelecanths are great fun too.
kaleb777
Media owners are part of the un-elected World Government which consists of the rich elite.
Increasingly it is the CEO's of multinational corporations that rule the world, and not the puppets
we supposedly elect in the rigged elections held in "democratic" countries around the world.
Kristal_Rose
All of these except aliens who haven't been here for millenia. andchaos.
Kristal_Rose replies to kaleb777
Sure enough. on one level. 1984. We control the knowldge that shapes your opinion. Did you know a
high powered search engine can keep you posted the moment a person alters there web page to
claim 'jerk soda' is a dangerous product. Clear channel media has taken over 1200 radio stations.
Not one in 100's of websites speaks against it, except for some site on an island that crashes
before loaded. Even back in 1993 you could purchase software that scanned the web for
photographic similarities. They could edit Clintons home movies of them playing with their cat with a
dalmation and you'd never notice the difference.
kaleb777 replies to Kristal_Rose
What or who is clear channel media?
Kristal_Rose replies to kaleb777
I just went into it (and PR manipulation in general) in more depth at
http://www.ereiam.com/misc/public_relations.htm
They're just a huge media organization buying up public entertainment and communication.
kaleb777 replies to Kristal_Rose
Guess what? I decided to look up a map of your neigbourhood on mapquest. Pretty freaky huh?
Technology is cool, yet scary. The thing is, I think we are given the internet etc to distract us while
all the 'real' technology is being used against us. Maybe I should've stopped after 5 tequilas?
Kristal_Rose replies to kaleb777
Did you zoom any? It's the Bermuda triangle of LA. I'm also surrounded by a major electric
transfer station and several radio stations. You can buy live sattelite imaging now of any 0.5 square
meter, like someone's doorstep. {That's what's available retail} Radio broadcasters have
equipment that sit on a traffic intersection and know what station radios are tuned into. About 14
years ago my cousin worked on sattelites that could tell what car had been in a lot by heat that had
bounced off the license onto the pavement. If my research is correct then there are 2000 TC-42
sattellites out there now that can identify a person by their nuclear emissions. Why, what are you
scared of? Maybe I'm aware of it already.
kaleb777 replies to Kristal_Rose
That number plate shit totally freaked me out! Who thinks this crap up? I'm not really scared
anymore. What's the point? If they want information on us they will get it. I saw a bit on TV a few
years ago about these visors that the Australian army were supposed to be getting that allowed
them to see into buildings. It showed a house with people hiding inside and you could see where they
were before entering the house. Why worry? What's the point?
Kristal_Rose replies to kaleb777
Exactly. They have the capacity (They had 60GB Ram cards in 1993) to know absolutely every detail
of your physical life, yet life goes on as before, it would be pointless to worry. Every once in while
something they care about slips past them,so they respond by inventing wireless voice-mail pens
and shoe chips with GPS & ID. I could spend hours listing surveillance devices. 17 years ago it was
local paper news that the sheriffs dept. in Santa Cruz, CA, US was buying helicopters that could
look through roofs for marijuana plants. The Regional (there are only 5 in the US) Field Director of
the Census Bureau was here yesterday asking me innocent questions about a neighbor. It was so
bizarre that he should be 'here' - and do 'that'. His career is on the net, yet he appeared like a
simpleton.
Brian
Interesting question: "Who rules".
Not who owns, not who made, but "who rules".
Rule: To exercise control, dominion, or direction over; govern.
(American Heritage Dictionary)
"Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them; and he said to Him, "All these I will give you, if You will fall down and worship
me."
(Matthew 4:8-11 RSV)
Satan said that the kingdoms of the earth were the devil's to give, and more surprisingly, Jesus
Christ didn't refute that claim!
Scary. The greatest lie the devil ever pulled off was that he doesn't exist. He wasn't even in your
list of choices.
kaleb777 replies to Kristal_Rose
I recently read that some left-wing asshole politician here wants to DNA test every Australian and
have our DNA information on file. Can you imagine that? The authorities could do a sweep of an
establishment or home and know exactly who has been there from hair and skin left behind. These
things are always surreptitiously brought in under the guise of public safety etc, but it always takes
away from our freedom. I have seen Telstra vans outside the home of a friend who is heavily into
wireless internet connections and general non-mainstream communications and mayhem although he
has no physical phone line into his house.
What kind of questions was that suit asking about your neighbour?
Brian replies to heyzeus1
My weird Uncle Harry used to think he ruled the world, but then again Uncle Harry's best friend
was a painted rock from Bubba Sue's Hot Springs and Alfalfa Ranch in Dead Cactus, Arizona.
I miss weird Uncle Harry.
Brian replies to kaleb777
You know, I don't agree with DNA testing of every Australian, but branding sounds reasonable.
Kristal_Rose replies to kaleb777
Ah, that would be like the (humorous?) 2010 Census form I designed in which you are requested to
provide a hair or other genetic sample.
I find it funny that you are so often accusing left-wing politicians of things I might adhere to
right-wingers. Perhaps we should remove the adjectives.
He simply wanted to know when they moved in as part of a special assignment. This is the same man
who was responsible for administering statewide programs a dozen years ago. Funny, eh? I can't
imagine he cares less about my neigbors. It was time for a visit. Fun, fun, fun.
Your friend sounds akin to my spiritual work.
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian 1.5.29
What a benevolent act that would have been. Even Satan want's love. {Joke (mostly)}
I believe that all is omnipotent God (of which earth would be a most limited restriction). Satan is described as the 'Prince of Lies'. I take that to mean that is the force which would claim our god-mind is captive to an externally imposed limitation such as creation that separates us from God. I happen to much enjoy creation however, seeing it's evolution, satan's involvement included, as God's recreation.
You can't have a good game of chess with one player.
I love painted desert rocks.
Connecting people to advertisers is what they call 'Brand Management'.
Brian replies to Kristal_Rose
Well, "%?@"! That was a mouthful.
At one time, I thought that God and Satan were the two sides of the same coin. That is to
say, omnipotence or omniscience would have to include both Good and Evil by definition.
Then I realized that God could "throw out" elements of his omnipotence and omniscience
that He considered undesirable . (Is Satan's fall from heaven described in the Bible this
event?)
Don't we as simple humans desire to best we can be. And would throw away our undesirable
parts if we could.
I don't consider the contest between Good and Evil a chess game. It is a situation in which
there is one player at a time - our individual selves. I believe we have the free will to choose.
However, I see you point and find the position interesting. I'll sleep on it and get back to you.
Kristal_Rose replies to Brian 1.5.29
Faced with omnipotence, I realized that it meant my death. There is no difference between one experience and another when anything and everything is possible. Be grateful that as a man you have fallen short. Having and giving a good experience in the face of challenges is my preference. It requires suppressing memory of the ultimate reality. I've still given myself infinite room for growth.
kaleb777 replies to Kristal_Rose
I think extreme right wingers are blatant about many things. The extreme left do the same things,
if not worse (eg. Stalin) but they try to incorporate their ideas into plans that from a distance look
as if they might be good for society, but they are all about control of individual freedom and the
removal of individual responsibility. That's what pisses me off so much about them. They really
believe what they're doing is perfectly reasonable. You can't argue with them because they're
fanatical. Logic means nothing to them. I think I fear the extreme left more because you can see an
extreme right winger coming. Lefties tend to slip under the collective radar of a country and
before you know it, it's illegal to think for yourself, or at least tell anyone what you're thinking.
kaleb777 replies to Brian
How do you pronounce "%?@"? Is there some swear word I have missed? I thought I was doing
well by cutting down my swearing here!
dabprovin
Unfortunately the CORRECT answer to "Who rules the world?" is Satan & his demons. God rules
Heaven & all that is there. When God through Satan down from heaven,he was given powers to
rule the earth.In the end Satan will take one third the human race with him.He's been very busy
working over time to get his allotted one third.
Kristal_Rose replies to dabprovin
So life on Earth is a brief instance of sorting souls after which for all of eternity God will become
heaven and hell and never change again?
dabprovin replies to Kristal_Rose
So they say.
Kristal_Rose replies to dabprovin
They say many other things too. Nothing beats experience, contemplation, and a direct connection to
find out for yourself and step up your faith up a notch.
Looking at your prior comment, maybe you should contemplate the nature of Satan too. What about
a heaven on Earth. To call creation Satan seems rather unfortunate. Where do you draw the line?
dabprovin replies to Kristal_Rose
Satan's been a bad boy for pretty much all his exsitence.Earth right now is far from what I would
consider "heaven on earth".I'm hoping that the heaven I'm looking for is nothing like this so called
one here now.With much hate & violence.That would suck.Big time.Never called creation satanic only
seemingly so. I don't know where one would draw the line.That's food for thought tho.
Kristal_Rose replies to dabprovin 1.6.04
Acts of creation are acts of love, though sometimes distorted forms like lust or love of power.
Even weapons were loved by those who designed them, ani in order to protect or acquire that which
they loved. As long as there is variation in perception (over historical memory or simultaneous
geography), there is creation. If we are to perceive anything in heaven, then that too will be a form
of creation. My definition of satanic would be that which deprives consciousness of the liburty to
appreciate creation, although it can also be argued that anything short of infinite creative potential
and absolute bliss, such as limiting the infinite to anything particularly distinguishable, such as
creation, is a step away from pure godhood and therefore is satanic. Creation is Gods work or
Satans work, your choice. The only way to appreciate god is to perceive god which requires senses,
the five basics, emotional awareness, or an infinity of other possibilities that might occur if we had
an alternative reality to the form of space time matter we have now. Rather than ask what you
would different if you were God, I'll keep it a bit more down to Earth and ask what would you
would have preferred having if you were to have lived 1000's of lives on earth and billions more to
come. The relative perception of good and evil, love and fear, liberty and captivity, pleasure and
pain, has never changed throughout history. It has always stayed in balance. Personally, I expect
the same balance to continue for quadrillions of years. These are how the heart and mind keep busy
and perceive consciousness. Perhaps new systems will replace the heart and mind, but I expect
there will always be the balance of positive and negative creation. As I take on new levels of
consciousness, power, heart, sensitivity they at first offer new intrigue (ecstatic vibrancy of
creation) but eventually I become jaded, and that new level takes on the relative sensation of
experience as the prior level. Bigger miracles. Bigger tragedies. Same experience. Few people are
bothering to align the births of nebulas and black holes with god and satan, but it's really no
different than what we experience here. You enjoy a good video, but you can't expect to wait for a
joyous moment and put it on pause forever. God is creation. Creation requires change. Destruction is
the agent for change. What on this Earth would you have traded your life in for? Little kids picking
though dumps of India for scraps of cloth smile just as brightly as Princess Grace did in her
nursery. It's Maslows hierarchy of needs, once you're well fed you'll worry about college,
eventually you'll worry about the course of human evolution if you are prone to worrying. Your job is
to give and receive within your scope. When you are free to make heaven and hell of that, your
sphere will increase, whethar that be neighbors or intergalactic phenomenon. Heaven and hell for
you occur within your own sphere. If god has made all that meets your senses a divine experience
within your growing sphere, do not fly to bosnia unless you take your sphere with you, or are bored
of heaven and want to prove yourself by increasing the challenge. I perform little miracles for
people, praying things back from near death, wishing sought objects into their life, etc. It never
seems to change people. They have their own scripts, which often include suffering. There is a
balance between letting people suffer, and relinquishing from them the liberty of living their own
script. That, by the way, is one the greatest dimemna's I'm working on these days. So far I have
limited myself to changing environments, not rewriting the people themselves. My recent church has
made it's decision, but after spending hours (and days) in preparation for this months meeting,
spirit told me not to attend. I will probably spend the next few weeks of communion understanding
why.
Which of these conspiracy theories do you believe in?
How much should teachers earn relative to the local professional community?
Kristal_Rose
The teachers I know teaching elementary school barely seem to know about what I graduated
highschool with. I wonder how they're supposed to teach English when they don't even know how to
use a comma themself.
Still, 50% if not better.
What is meant by not credentialed though? You can't teach (at least in california) without taking the
C-Best, and preferably having a BA with ECE (Early childhood education) courses.
Perhaps my early teachers weren't that great though, because they thought I was quite backwards
until they figured out at the end of fourth grade that I was a genius.
Kristal_Rose replies to albert
Perhaps they don't like the idea because the ability to to teach is almost impossible to measure.
How do you know to what degree a teacher has inspired students to learn for themselves or
understand the utility of the skills they are learning?
I believe this question was not so much about the personal lives of teachers as much as the
sociological implications. It doesn't sound good when garbage truck drivers (who work even fewer
hours) are making more money. I know you are so fond of your 'everyone fend for themself' policy,
but does it apply to children as well? Third graders should petition the state for better teachers?
In spite of the fact that I am mostly self taught, my teachers were most often responsible for
imparting the seeds of thought that inspired me to study so many fields.
Experience has proved I would make a great teacher, but I doubt any technical benchmarks would
give me high marks. My point though is don't you think our best teachers belong in schools where
they can assist people like us rather than being forced to find other more lucrative jobs? I have
one friend who was really gifted at teaching at all levels from pre-school to physics and
architecture. He added some courses to his degree and took up teaching as a career, but had to go
back to working on cars instead because he needed the money. Apparently cars and garbage
removal are imperative, but education of our children is optional. It's like those people who hear
that we are losing our oceans fish and comment "well, it won't happen in my lifetime."
Opinions?
albert replies to Kristal_Rose
Unfortunately, the vast majority of teachers aren't any good. There is something about the
psychology of the person who decides to become a teacher, that also makes it so that person isn't
any good at their job.
(When I say 'teacher' I usually mean secondary... 7th-12th.)
It really isn't that tough to measure a teacher's performance. Colleges do it all the time. There are
'Course and Instructor Review sheets'. It isn't that tough to read 150-180 student reviews about
a teacher, and decide whether or not that teacher is any good. It is well understood who are the
good teachers and who are the bad ones. Unfortunately, the teachers are against reviews, because,
the vast majority of them would be declared professionally incompetent were their performance to
be reviewed. Most teachers find their way to the field after having decided that their current
course of study was too difficult. For instance... a biology major is getting a 2.1, working really hard,
and his junior year he can decide 'Maybe I will be a biology TEACHER, instead!'.. and still graduate
on time due to the way the education degree is set up.
Another CLASSIC case, is the psychology degree holder who doesn't get accepted to a good
graduate school, and decides to get a teaching certificate (an additional 1 year and 1 semester in
most states. (At most it is 2.5 years to pick up a second degree)).
And then there is the 'I want to only have to work 3/4 of the year and this is the only job where I
can do it'. I know about 20 of those.
And then there is the 'I got accepted to a good university, but I DIDN'T get accepted to the
program I wanted (Or I did, but then flunked out of it)... I guess I will become a teacher!'.
And then there is the (usually female), who says 'I just love Jesus. He is such a great and noble
man. I don't want to go into any of the challenging, rigorous, stressful and anti-godly fields, I think
I will teach school-children!'
Needless to say, most people who fit that description are airheads.
And then there are the 'Well, sure, teachers don't make much money, but money doesn't really
matter!'. (AKA... the hopelessly naive, who have a view of money that is common among 8 year olds
who don't understand it.)
And then, there are the 'I want to get into the EASIEST program in college I can. I think I will ask
my older friends which one it is.' Naturally, these people end up in the education major.
And then there are the 'I became an accountant, but I wasn't any good, and I got stuck at an entry
level position for 5 years because I didn't have the skills or ambition to make it anywhere, and it
was starting to bog me down, so I went back to school to become a teacher.'s
And lets not forget the 'I am rich and retired early at age 50, but I am in poor health and would
like insurance (which I can't get because of my medical history), so I decided to get the easiest job
I could that gave health insurance.' (Yes, I know one of those, too.).
And then there are the 'I never really made it anywhere in life, the work-world isn't fair, they
don't respect the skills that I have.. (blah blah blah). I think I will become a teacher, that will get
me respect, it is a noble profession.'
And then there are the hopelessly underconfident...
'I could become a Lawyer but people hate lawyers. I could become an accountant but accountants
are boring. I could become a doctor but doctors aren't very popular either. Hey! I've got an idea,
I'll become a teacher! Everybody likes teachers!' (I know one of those, too).
And the power hungry 'I want to have control over little kids!'.
And the child-rearing 'I want to have 20 babies. But if that doesn't work out I can teach other
people's kids too. I LOVE children!' (Yes, I know one of those too... a mormon, so this may not
happen in other places).
And then there are the 'I want to save the world, and make it a better place by becoming a teacher
and spreading my political and social beliefs to a captive audience which would run away otherwise.'
And lets not forget the 'I want to be in a highschool with a bunch of cute highschool girls'... Honest
to god, there are people who think like that. (5 of them have been arrested in Nevada in the past 2
years, and I know a few of them who are clearly 'lookers', but maybe aren't interested in doing
anything (yet).)
And then there are the 'I went to college and I got nostalgic for highschool so I majored in
secondary education'.
(There are LOADS of those.)
And lets not forget the
'I want to be a government employee! You are set for life when you get a government job! Pension!
Benefits! Steadily increasing pay-scale! Can never be fired!! This is a guaranteed way to do it!' s.
The truly intelligent people in the world, became doctors, lawyers, ph.d.'s (sciences, mostly),
business-people... etc.
Its mostly the flaky, naive, 'world-saving' type, who become teachers. As they get older and their
naivety fades, they become bitter and mean.
Now, don't get me wrong. There was a time, and in fact, I'd even bet that in many areas today it is
still the case, when the vast majority of teachers were doing it for all the right reasons.
There was a time, when people weren't so damn money-hungry, and all they wanted in life was a job
that would get them a house with a 30 year mortgage, and give them enough money to raise a kid or
two. It is still like that in the smaller towns today, and maybe even in some other isolated areas.
Teachers used to be, overall, a pretty good group of people. If you teach at a k-12, you are
basically guaranteed to be a good person. But there aren't many k-12's any more. The good old days
are over and done with. Now there are 9-12s and even the dreaded 'eigth grade centers', that
teach only eigth grade.
There was a time, when, and there are places today, where, 7/10 of the graduating class had known
each other since kindergarden or before. The teachers went to the school that they now teach at.
The parents of the school-kids went to the same school with them. Graduating classes ranged from
3 students, to 150. There was a time.
And it wasn't everwhere, even. And it isn't nowhere now. But it WAS most-where, and now it is only
somewhere. Hardly anywhere.
The teachers from THOSE days, were good people. Today, they are by and large flakes, idiots,
fuck-ups, sadists, and other lowly sorts.
Here is a for instance. My sister graduates this year. She is valedictorian (along with about... 6
other people). Their graduation is going to be at Thomas and Mack. (UNLV's very large sports
stadium). They have threatened to PROSECUTE, IN REAL COURT, anyone who throws their cap (On
what charge I have no idea...). There are 700 people 'walking', from a class of 900. The ceremony
will last precisely 1 hour (That is 6 seconds per student, assuming things go right). That is to say,
they only have the stadium for an hour. They cut my sisters speech from a minute and a half to a
minute, AFTER she had already written it. It now makes very little sense and the response of the
vice-principal was 'It doesn't matter.'.
They don't have enough time to give out awards. That was last night instead. School isn't even out, it
wasn't declared until last friday, and nobody went. They just don't give a crap about the students
any more. Schools have gone from being 'community centers of education', to institutions that hold
4,000 students. And it is TEACHERS, who have caused these changes to occur.
The education system is very strange. It operates, for the most part, independent of the local
government. They take care of their own affairs with very limited interference from local and state
legislative bodies. And, of course, the education system is FILLED WITH, and RUN BY, teachers.
Somewhere along the way, it went to hell. It has nothing to do with pay. It has nothing to do with
politics, or cities, or the times. It has to do with the people.
The people. The teachers. They have fucked it up beyond any belief.
They have destroyed our education system. Stolen the sense of community from the kids. Ruined
our Proms and Graduations.
There are 3600 kids at a local highschool, but still only 3 football teams... there used to be only one
or two, granted... but no matter which way you look at it, all but the best kids are being denied
access to sports!
And it isn't the government, because although the government theoretically does have direct power
over the school districts, they cannot afford to micro-manage them... They have no choice but to
appoint EDUCATORS, to run the system. And the educators go off and screw it up. Time and again.
Slowly but surely. In all but the smallest and best of communities, the educators destroy the school
system, both from the top down, and from the bottom up.
I hate teachers. Overpaid scum-bags if you ask me. (Certain Exceptions apply).
Kristal_Rose replies to albert
Wow, I am really impressed about how comprehensive your report on the dark side of teachers
motivations is. It seemed to me you missed "Because teaching is the least selfish, most giving use of
ones talents." 4 out of five of my grade-5 through college teachers were top-notch dedicated,
inspiring, effective experts. My sci-fi & speech teachers class was really a platform to teach about
society, economic policy, and many other high-minded but practical applied living concepts. I
graduated in 1981, and perhaps I was lucky because it seems that only a couple of my teachers had
motivations on your list. I have heard of most of the motives you mention, and the grade school
teachers I have met in recent times do more resemble your list than my experience. In fact, one of
them sends her own children to a private school which I felt terribly disconcerting. There is a
spiritual paradigm: the world is as you believe it to be. For you this means that as long as you
maintain your hard edged view of reality, the facts and experiences that come your way will match
your expectation of that.
I think metrics (other than subjective reviews {and preferably by students who have had 4 years to
look back at the lasting value}) would create a prison system that is a far cry from the ancient
Greek colleges of inter-disciplinary higher learning. The hometown model of community support
motivation and involved feedback is indeed an unfortunate loss. Given your world view (I think you
can concede that my reality does not fit prototypical experience), your skills at analysis are
impeccable. I look forward to the day you can apply it to creating comprehensive quality of life
solutions. What are you planning to do with your life? {my memory is mostly subjective} Back to this
example, instead of an analysis of why what we have sucks, how do we make it not suck? What would
make education a revered institution again? Perhaps we should pay to have people like Spielburg run
it?
Congrats to your sister. Does she have (her own) goals yet?
albert replies to Kristal_Rose
Your paradigm seems to reflect a spiritual opinion on what a psychologist would call 'confirmation
bias'.
You said it Kristal, you graduated in 1981. That was 20 years ago.
My mom graduated in '64, and she, and everyone else, loved school. My dad went to a big-city
highschool, so he didn't have as positive of an experience, but it is clear that he and the other
students also liked it more than they do now adays.
Things are different now, much much different now. What I am saying is that back then, people
didn't think like they think now. They jsut wanted a job that would pay them good enough to have a
house and raise kids, and they wanted it to be a job they like. That mindset, a mindset of the times,
really, generates good teachers. Don't get me wrong, there is another fundamental difference too,
and that is the behavior and attitudes of the children, which, was more... conducive... to being a good,
happy, teacher... back then, and is mroe conducive to being a bitter asshole, now adays.
Now adays the mindset is entirely different than it was back then.
Don't get me wrong, there are teachers out there who are alright, and I continually word
exceptions into my comments.
The teachers who were around when you were in school, the vast majority of them are no longer
teachers any more. The ones that still are, many of them are bitter and angry at how the students
have 'Gotten worse over the years'.
Not to say that they are wrong... but so have the teachers.
There is just something about the world now adays. There is so much emphasis on the CONSUMER,
that no one really cars about the significant things in life any more, and everyones emphasis is on
money. In this age of the consumer, of excessive and expected luxury, of the motivations of greed
and laziness, instead of the motivations of passions and benevolence, teachers picked bad reasons
to become teachers, and the personality that breeds a good reason to become a teacher, that
personality moves to a small town.
Kristal_Rose replies to albert
I would love to move to a small town except for my feeling and that of which those I admire carry,
that "The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance". That means we don't move to a like-minded cushy
geography, but stay where we are needed. My friend who believes in legalzing grass could move to
a Guatemala commune; I could speak about spiritual matters at a spiritual chat site where people
would easily digest what I had to say.
Greed and laziness of the American Dream Variety were still motives in my time, but not instant
gratification. That sci-fi/speech teacher I mentioned recommended getting into real-estate; He
said that our generation was the last which could easily attain the American dream, and that future
students would be different (possibly bitter & jaded) because they could not look forward to such
a simple, well defined, goal oriented life. Todays student probably has far less idea what
professional jobs will exist in ten years. In my day, we were trained to be engineers; now people
are trained as techs (don't figure it out, follow procedure). Todays phone installers don't whip
ohms law, they plug in a scope which says install line amplifier, without a clue why. From the onset of
the industrial age, the general populace believed that in the future we would not have to work or
think, and that would make us happier. We would fill our lives with higher causes. As you can see, we
only find other things to fret about and burn time. Is consumerism philosophy somehow imparted in
school as well as outside of it these days?
'Confirmation bias': I believe what I experience? I love it.
Did I give you to many questions in the prior comment or were you simply not interested in those
threads?
albert replies to Kristal_Rose
I wasn't sure of a good way to answer most of them.
I'll start with the simple one.
My sister has an anxiety disorder, but because it seems to 'benefit' here (because she has a 4.7
GPA), no one is willing to send her for treatment. It will fuck up her life. Because she is 'Crazy' (to
a limited extent), she is unpredictable. She has goals but it is unlikely they will persist.
'Management', right now in schools, is the problem. They are trying to 'save money' and that is just
a bad idea. (Period).
The solution to the education system is simple. It comes in three parts.
Part 1) Take the economic advantage out of big city life by setting HUGE 'construction' taxes that
are exponential (not proportional) with population density. This is the solution to all other social
problems, too. Exceptions for high-density, non-urban housing. (Which doesn't exist YET, but will
when that exception is made)
Part 2) Make all schools k-12's. Every last one. Maximum of 1000 students. For Financing, see 1.
Part 3) Pay better teachers more. (Insert largely irrelevant technical details of one of the
hundreds of ways to do it here).
I don't believe that life sucks. By and large, it is pretty good. HOWEVER, I do believe that some
things are just plain fucked up, and the reason they are fucked up is because hardly anyone realizes
that things are fucked up! It sucks to think about bad things, so we don't think about them. We
deny the things which make us feel bad, the bad things, and by denying them, this, this makes us
feel better. We get angry at the truthtellers, for telling us the truth, the bad truth, which makes
us feel bad.
In terms of doing something with my life, I've got more ideas than I do lives to live, too many to
list, so diverse as to cancel each other out.
Right now, I am feeling like I am going to leave Vegas the day I get my degre, and 'investigate' a
couple opportunities that have come into my mind. Live in a small town, and try not to be any better
or worse than the next guy. If I find somewhere that seems alright, I work on finding myself a job,
career, girl, house, family, life, in that order. I want a porch and a rocking chair. Memories, too.
And good ones.
And someone to remember them with.
I have no intent to change the world at the cost of my own happiness. The world, you see, the world
has disappointed me, it is unworthy. Had it been better to me, I may have considered helping it, but
today I believe it to be undeserving.
Especially if I may not be able to help.
'Darling, I know you hurt. I know that the only thing I can think of to do for you is to entirely
sacrifice myself to you. I know that even that isn't going to help. So I am going to do nothing, walk
away. Its not that I don't care. Its that there is nothing I can do, and I am not going to give up
everything over this if it isn't going to make you better. I am only being realistic.'
So, I'll probably take off, aim for a small town, country music, porch swing, type of existence.
Of course, thats just my optimistic Naivety speaking. We will see if it fades or grows in time.
Kristal_Rose replies to albert 1.6.02
Does your sister believe you understand her? Does she perceive herself as out of control?
Grading must have changed. 4.0 was perfect in my day.
Part 1) I haven't seen much relationship between social stratification and population density, though I always imagined places like NY & LA would be so imbalanced.There are single family ghettos and posh high rises. I got to experience 2 years of dense LA suburb (Manhattan & Hermosa Beach) Highschool, & 2 years of smaller town (Soquel, Santa Cruz Co, CA) H.S. I was disappointed to find the smaller HS so backwards & lacking in options. The drafting dept taught half as much material, you had fewer choices of languages, & far fewer sports. Some teachers were better, some were worse. LA is not dense. I'm guessing there is about 1.7 apartment bldgs per block of houses. About the same as any california beach town. SF is dense. I bet SF has better schools than LA though. I'd be ok with putting a skyscraper in the town of dog claw and more single family dwellings in LA. I would hate to see dog claw expand it's limits or replace it's undeveloped lots with houses. I've seen so much beautiful country turn into suburbia. We've lost enough greenbelt & rainforest already. Perhaps you have a preference like mine: No suburbia, just a cluster of a few skyscrapers every 20 miles. But, like you, I want a nice old victorian with wisteria and a porch swing. I don't see what density has to do with it all. No redistribution of population could recreate the small town if that's what you had in mind {ok, I just realized I was blinded because I would not want to (nor in 30+ moves ever have) lived more than 10 miles from the coast}. (just recently I've considered a few years maybe.) Mobility is an issue too. We change jobs every year or two, not spend our lives with one or two companies.
Part 2) k-12. I don't get that either. 8th graders don't want to hang out with 3rd graders. 1000 max students? One teacher is supposed to teach Russian, French, Drafting, Chemistry, and Water Polo? Perhaps I retract my regret about the demise of the greek college. In this age you just couldn't find but a few teachers with that collective skill set. If I could get my act together, I'd probably become a teacher and teach at a private school where I could integrate disciplines. I can't (Like your sister?..) live a structured life so the best I might hope for is to write educational books and teach whatever kids I run into (lost my place in line to teach 1st grade spelling yesterday at the social security office; taught applied multiplication - 2˘/day for a month = 31*2 = 2*31 = 62˘, 10 leaves per hand * 25 hands = 25~0 leaves 'estimate'; and why and how to make compost to 7-9 year olds today). {I'm making a side point here: you can't save the world, help where you can. If everyone did it as was done for them, we'd have a pleasant place here.}
Part 3) Pay more? Agreed.
I've always favored the same plan since I became a parent. Collectivize state taxes and distribute these equally as vouchers. Semi-privatize all existing public schools and allow them to sublease classrooms and share other facilities with private schools. Webpost state standardzed reports and reviews on teachers and schools, but still allow anyone to teach, and parents to choose any school, including ones where all lessons are sung in French in swimming pools if the parents so desire, just so long as they know what they're getting for their voucher. Parents with no opinion would get a lottery and bussing I suppose. You've changed your attitudes considerably for the better just over this last year in my opinion. I've seen hippies become conservative engineers, and conservative engineers become hippies. There's no telling what you'll become. I was even thinking to apply to West Point at your age. Best wishes on the porch swing though.
albert replies to Kristal_Rose
As far as one goes, there is a reasonably direct relationship between population density and
social problems. Sure, there are affluent dense areas, mostly because of special aspects of
the areas that make them economically desirable. Example: Wall Street, Southern California
Beaches, Las Vegas Strip, etc.
But when ultra-rich urban areas pop up, they need to be surrounded by ultra-poor urban
areas to support their demand for services. People who earn $500,000 a year on wall-street
(or in D.C.), or wherever, REQUIRE large numbers of service industry workers who earn in
the $24,000 range, and these service industry workers must live in the immediate area of
about 5 miles, or within the range of mass transit.
Now, here is the problem--If there is a wealthy high-rise district with corporate offices, 5 star
hotels, condo towers, etc, of 1 sq. mile in size, it is now an economic necessity that there be
a minimum of 5 or 6 square miles of significantly less affluent blocks in the immediate area, to
house the economically poor service workers who fill the needs of the business class in that
area. Unfortunately, although 20-30k a year is sufficient to provide a reasonable level of
luxury for someone living in a non-dense area, it is NOT enough to provide a reasonable
level of luxury in an area with a high population density, a high population density which is
maintained by the high demand for service industry workers in the immediate area. Dense
wealthy areas need significantly larger, but only slightly less dense poor areas to support
them. A DENSE community of workers earning 25,000 a year, is not going to be an
'economically prosperous area', it is going to be a near-ghetto! And, by necessity, it MUST
exist to support the excessive economic and goods consumption of the prosperous high-rise
district. As we discourage high-density areas, we encourage the businesses in those areas,
necessarily slightly more dense than the areas surrounding them, to move into less
prosperous, slightly less dense, service-worker areas, around them, which increases the
prosperity of those areas, but due to the discouragement, not the density!!! Tada! No more
poor areas!
Basically, there needs to be an entire ghetto of 15 blocks to support every sky-scraper. And it
DOESN'T take a ghetto to support a suburb... it takes a slightly less prosperous suburb
(PRECISELY BECAUSE the suburbs don't allow excessively dense building! (They learned
the lesson by watching the cities go to hell!)). Dense urban areas are the bane of existence,
unless the density is caused by economic prosperity in the region due to TRUE
environmental and industrial factors, and not just the ILLUSION of economic prosperity as a
result of an increase in the ratio of lower economic classmembers to higher economic class
members, or as a result of the exploitation of the poor worker to maintain the excessive
incomes of the sky-rise worker. Of course, eventually, a poor dense area 'Crashes' to the
point that it is not capable of generating workers of high enough quality for the service
industry jobs which the richer areas have created, and when that happens... all hell breaks
loose. Of course, this inevitably happens at some point.
No, 8th graders probably DON't want to hang out with 3rd graders. BUT, having an 'image' of
what one is supposed to develop to is positive for a child. The third grader who is put in the
company of only third graders, will develop at a limited pace due to the abscence of an image
of what they should be moving towards. The best environment is one in which ages are not
segregated, and the segregation of age, to the point that it is almost a fucking crime to
associate with anyone out of your +/-2 years bracket, is ridiculous, bad for the development
of the child and adolescent (the adolescent, ESPECIALLY, needs older peers around), and
part of the growing social problem.
In terms of what eigth graders want-- They don't want to go to school, most of them, either.
The teaching of Russian and French in American schools is unnessecary and ridiculous.
Spanish makes limited sense because there is a significant spanish speaking element in the
country, but russian and french are truly academic pursuits, and it is not the need of the
PUBLICLY FUNDED education system to teach the children things of such a trivial and
largely useless nature. It is my opinion, that many times people have the (undefendably silly)
belief that 'Learning is good.'. The truth, of course, is that 'Learning usefull things is good,
and learning (for the most part) useless things is largely a waste of time, money, and energy,
with no more positive value than would be gained from watching a television show and
'Learning' about it.'. For the most part, at my idealic 1000 student school, all current levels of
mathematics and english would not only be taught, but also be available to younger
students... if the highschool is also the middle school, and the students are not
'differentiated', the task of putting a 7th grade child in an 'advanced' math class is largely
simplified... put him in algebra with mostly 8/9/10/11 graders. If the 5th grader is capable of
7th grade english, it is no hassle to place him in a class with 7th graders, where as, under
todays system, this would be costly and probably impossible.
The limitations would be largely in terms of what elective classes could be offered at a
'high-school' division of a k-12 with only 100 students, BUT there would be possible the
concept of 8th graders taking 9th/10th grade level electives, and 7th graders taking 9th grade
electives, so the number, overall, including those advanced students would increase to the
400 student-periods per year range, and at 25 students per period-class, this would still
leave the option of somewhere in the range of 16 DIFFERENT electives... of course, with
every teacher being required to teach 4 core classes and an elective in order to present the
necessity of excessive lesson planning as a result of 'elective' teachers with 5 different
electives.
I don't believe it is necessary to maintain the current environment of highschools offering
more elective courses than most colleges do... It is necessary to note, btw, that the trend
towards an increase in elective course requirements is largely an attempt by the school
systems to hold onto the students for that twelfth year, which is superfluous and unnecessary
given the fact that many students would be fully capable to have completed the 'core' (but not
elective (AKA, learn bullshit so we can keep you here longer)) credits necessary for
graduation at the end of their SECOND year.
Basically, the development of the 'elementary/middle/high school' system has been largely a
terrible idea, not in terms of the effectiveness at which the students are educated, (which
may be superior), but in terms of the happiness, social adjustment, sense of community,
emotional and opinionative state about 'how the world is' (start off in an institution, end up in
an institution) that students experience in those different environments. Its about the emotion
really, and the emotion is much better surrounding a k-12, it is much more positive. (If you
don't believe me, stop by one, ask some students a few questions, then stop by a high
school, elementary school, and middle school... notice the difference in their apparent levels
of happiness and positive regard for their environment, school, teachers, community, and
peers. )
Kristal_Rose replies to albert 1.6.05
I can compare LA to SF and not see the service level distinction you speak of. {I'm familiar with the pattern, for instance how chicago became a hub with rail support taking in agriculture until the hub became a factory and everyone poured in as agriculture became more mechanized} The quantity of maids, gift shop and super market clerks, security, airline workers is no different in LA or SF, and for that matter, in both communities, the wealthier tend to live in houses with yards and not the highrises. What you might call a ghetto that I live in might just as well be it's own small town, occupied with grocery, hospital, and such. The neighbors I have range from welfare recipients to administrators for the recording industry or artists for comics, as well as the prior occupations. LA is what you'd call homogenous. There are entire communities that are detached from international administration capacity, and work in trades like oil. There are places like Santa Monica (one story with yards) where political and digital production seem to center. The skyscrapers of LA are the either the classic buildings of retired leisure class making way for new arts cultures, the gleaming businesses of int'l trade and banking, tourist hotels, or crowded chinatown sort of living. SF is banking, Palo Alto is computers, LA is entertainment. I think the support network model of urban architecture you speak of is already a relic of history.
As you might now guess, I never meant to indicate social economic stratification in the plan of distant greenbelted vertical towns. F.L. Wright with his mile high skyscraper, and Bucky with his domes, both had in mind integrated living-working communities.
Does school exist to form thinking social contributers at the local and global levels, or merely to create service robots? I like your idea to be able to skip classes as suits the student. In elementary school I often spent recess hanging out with my teachers. In 6th grade I hung out with 8th graders. And I started college in my Junior year of H.S. I think my German helped me better understand European culture, and my 2 years of French helped since I ended working 10 years in a French car garage and still meet many French people and often listen to French radio or movies. Foreign languages go a long way towards understanding English by comparison. I don't understand what you mean by the electives differential. It seems for every H.S. class, there are a dozen college courses. A H.S may teach 3 languages, but college teaches a dozen. HS teaches 2 art classes, college 40; wood shop - all the industrial trades; drafting - departments of architecture, engineering, and interior & industrial design. I could say the same of sports, physics, geology, health sciences, anthropolgy, religion, literature, music, theatre, etc. etc. etc. My son wants to get into the tourism industry, so he is quite fortunate that his HS just started offering a tourism class with a trade involvement program in time for his senior year. My fear that people with your sentiment towards core curriculum would administrate the public school system is what made me always fond of the voucher system. In LA, elective entertainment is our int'l export. Any of the arts or social sciences could be said to have more vocational value than chemistry, and I'd probably rather speak to a gas station attendant that learned guitar instead of algebra. Fortunately, though I was considering Montessori schools and such, my children have got a public education that equally prepares them for any profession.
I have never even heard of a contemporary k-12. Perhaps you are right. For someone as educated as yourself, I find what seems to be an anti-education stance very curious. It seems you found it an imposition, and will probably consider your career in the same light.