mel jacobson on sat 23 dec 00
one of the most tragic remembrances of my time in dubai
and gulf was watching billions of btu's of gas going up
in flame. it is not saved, and has to be evacuated from the
oil wells of the middle east. there is no way to transport it.
ships do not carry natural gas.
if we want to think about pollution, think of the billions
of btu's going up in smoke each year all over the world.
(as bucky fuller said many years ago...`make kids feel guilty
about aluminum cans while the big boys spew out pollution freely.`)
natural gas is almost everywhere, transportation is the key.
(no one wants a pipe line in their back yard...`hey, put it
over in east bethel, lot of trailer homes there.`
and, the other mis-nomer as long as we are all talking about
our earth.
in many places, many, population is decreasing. russia, china, japan
are all going to be, or are at, zero population.
mexico will not be able to let its people go in 10 years. they are
declining...birth control has hit mexico.
don't live on 1966 statistics or attitudes about population...they
do not always add up in 2000. (yes, india and africa are growing,
and yet, what is aids doing there?)
in ten years, america will have to import vast numbers of workers
according to harvard university. the computer industry alone will
need thousands of foreign workers with computer language knowledge.
many industries now import workers and are getting special visas
for critical occupations.
in my opinion, the society of america is not preparing kids
to work in the next decade.(remember, the schools are us.)
it is changing before our eyes. and,
we are talking about college entrance for most of our kids....and
they do not belong there...they have to get quality jobs, and
know how to work and learn to enjoy doing quality work. most will
have to learn the hard way. it is still a fact:
in 1934/ twenty five percent of american children were college ready.
same stat today. (of course, our kids are going to be doctors and
lawyers.)
if you are a kid graduating from an american high school, and you
have very good hand eye coordination, a sense of tools, are a
visual learner and did not score real high on the math s a t test...
well, you would be considered a looser. (that could be ninety percent
of clayart) of course you may be the highest potential worker
graduating from your high school class...your earning potential
may be very great. the general perception however, is that you
have no potential at all. (the gifted and talented are the best, not.)
very few schools in america have the ability to pick the gifted
and talented. van gogh would be a perfect example....he would
have been kicked out of hopkins high...he sure would have been
destroyed by our painting teacher. (rules, rules, rules..we must
have rules, don't think for yourself...that is naughty.)
find me a human being, anyone, that can predict what a child
will become....it is hope and guess work. that is not a very good
statistical measure. many think they can do it, seem to be experts.
sorry, they are failures and destroyers of children.
show me a kid with energy, enthusiasm for life, some sort of
positive sense of them self and a love of doing something, anything... and
you may have a victory. god almighty, sounds like a potter.
mel
FROM MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, USA
http://www.pclink.com/melpots (website)
L. P. Skeen on sat 23 dec 00
> in my opinion, the society of america is not preparing kids
> to work in the next decade> we are talking about college entrance
for most of our kids....and> they do not belong there..
Unfortunately, you are right. I teach in a middle school where the natural
population, that is, the people who would go to this school by virtue of
their address, is about 98% black and hispanic. The system put the AG
program in my school, and those kids are just about the only white kids in
the building. They are also the only ones being prepared in any way for
college. The rest of the kids are being "taught" whatever is on the end of
grade tests so they can get by.
>>.they have to get quality jobs, and know how to work and learn to enjoy
doing quality work.
O no, not true. The kids have learned from their parents' example that
their government will give them money to live on and buy their cigarettes,
acrylic nails, and hair extensions.
>>>(the gifted and talented are the best, not.)
In "The Books" on ed psych and stages of learning (Viktor Lowenfeld, et al),
we are told that a kid at age X will be at Y developmental level and doing Z
type of work. My experience is somwhat limited, but it appears to me that
only the AG kids are working at the levels put forth in The Books. Very few
of the other kids come close. :(
L
K Boyle on sat 23 dec 00
I hate to disagree with melsan, but...
Just for the record...if you think the problem of
overpopulation isn't a current problem you can check out these current
articles:
http://www.prb.org/news/releases/press_conference_6_july_2000.html
In a press conference held in Washington, DC, on July 6, Martha Farnsworth
Riche discussed her recent report: "America's Diversity and Growth:
Signposts for the 21st Century." She highlighted the signposts that point
to more changes for the American population.
She stated the:
The U.S. population is growing faster than the population in any other
industrialized country.
And for a discussion from John's Hopkins Univ. on the increasing demand and
shortage of potable water (due to increasing world population and
individual demand)
please read:
http://www.jhuccp.org/pr/m14edsum.stm
The fact is that the world population is increasing and demand for finite
resources
will also increase (which will result in higher prices for most
everything).
I know this has gotten really OT, but felt it necessary to respond.
Thanks,
Kevin Boyle
Elkins, WV
> From: mel jacobson
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: gas and population(semi-rant)
> Date: Saturday, December 23, 2000 2:27 AM
>
> and, the other mis-nomer as long as we are all talking about
> our earth.
>
> in many places, many, population is decreasing. russia, china, japan
> are all going to be, or are at, zero population.
> mexico will not be able to let its people go in 10 years. they are
> declining...birth control has hit mexico.
>
> don't live on 1966 statistics or attitudes about population...they
> do not always add up in 2000. (yes, india and africa are growing,
> and yet, what is aids doing there?)
>
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