(This is an editorial and somewhat of a rant. Be forewarned)
People seem to wonder why I am as passionate about this direction as I am. They ask me why I have lost my faith in the monetary system.
I live in Michigan as many of you know. Technological unemployment is up close and personal. As the auto industry and other manufacturing that was done here is drying up due to automation or outsourcing the service sector exactly as Peter suggested it would is drying up as it is being overwhelmed, and slowly also being automated. I was at a department store just the other day and saw as now the self-scan lines take up half of the check-out lanes in the store. These used to be manned by actual people who were depending on those jobs.
Not long ago, there was a video store in the area. It closed down a few months ago. I had a roommate who used to work there and lost their job because of it. A lot of people blame Netflix for this, and services like it. (Not to mention illegal downloading). But I saw at that same department store, another reason. Technology has allowed them to automate an entire video store! You slide your credit or debit card and choose from a long list of new releases which is what most people rent anyway and it spits out your DVD. If your late it just charges your card. If you don't pay it after $20 of late fees the DVD is yours to keep.
But remember. According to Austrian Economists technological unemployment is a fallacy! After all their books from the 40's or older say so!
Because clearly, the author of "Economics in one lesson" had some level of comprehension of the notion that they might automate an entire video store in a device no larger then a soda pop vending machine. (Actually he would not of even considered the existence of plastic discs that contain entire films in the first place.)
Or that people were going to go on a computer and order a video online, (wait.. no computers, no internet either when he was writing that book) or that they could steal entire films in a few minutes without even ever physically taking anything.
They always claim that somehow more jobs are being created by any technological innovation but I don't see the jobs lost by video stores closing down all over the country and all of the jobs associated with them being replaced by building some vending machines.
And there are obviously no new jobs created by the making of these automated kiosks that are replacing cashiers in stores.
Where are the jobs that are supposedly created by fully automating the auto manufacturing plants? Maybe a couple more technicians needed. But that is nothing compared to all of the people put out of work.
I remember going to the "Work First" program here in Michigan. It's a program for the unemployed who are seeking assistance from the government. I was not surrounded by welfare moms. I was surrounded by people from all walks of life. Defeated and ashamed blue collar workers. White collar workers who were in a total state of shock. The guy sitting next to me told me his story. They always tell you to get educated. He had a degree in business and engineering. His company told him that they were expanding to other countries and they needed him to help people in other countries learn his job. Well, expanding actually turned into downsizing and outsourcing. They fired him and closed down his local plant. And now he was at the welfare office too.
He was educated. Hard working. Why did he lose his job? Was it because of regulations? Was it because of taxes? Or was it because as a paid professional here in the United States he would make ten times or more what the people he trained to do his job in Mexico would be paid? And actually expect to maybe have a vacation? Health care? Retirement?
Politicians make me laugh when they say they are going to create jobs. The Republicans/Conservatives say that if they cut taxes and de-regulate that the jobs will come back here. What happens instead almost without fail is that businesses use the new money they suddenly have to help them build their infrastructure in countries with little to nothing in the way of minimum wage and no unions.
I have told the story many times of how my friend Raphael from Mexico explained that what these companies really want is a work force that is willing to accept what desperate people will accept. They don't want a worker who holds his head high, and might actually have the gull to request that he or she works in an environment that is safe. They don't want workers who ask for the day off to see their son's baseball game or their daughter's dance recital. They don't want workers who would like to have a decent lifestyle when they could have workers who are so desperate from their circumstances that even a below poverty lifestyle is slightly better then the starving to death lifestyle they used to have before the big companies came to "do them a favor".
I just got done talking to Alberto, a Zeitgeist Movement member from Mexico. He is actually going to be on an upcoming radio show and we are going to talk about outsourcing and the real situation in Mexico. And what he told me is SURPRISE! Now that the capitalists have found labor markets where people are even worse off then the people of Mexico now they are moving there! Imagine that! Does this mean the people of Mexico need to be "more competitive"?
Telling us we need to be more competitive translates into we need to be willing to live in even closer to slave like conditions then the other guy. We are now to the point that competition in the labor market has nothing to do with being the better worker, but being the more desperate worker. They don't care about work ethic. They will MAKE you have a work ethic by threatening your family with poverty.
How long do people really think this can go on? Do they really think these companies won't replace the slave workers they have now with machines the moment it is cheaper?
Today on Facebook I talked to one of my one time listeners who made the statement to me "Have you considered getting a job???" with three ? at the end of it for the sake of being dramatic.
I was talking to him in Skype about it, and he apologized, but like most people who hear about my situation everyone is always full of advice that I have already followed, and suggestions I have already acted on. We are so conditioned that "Anyone can get a job..." that we really believe it. And when someone says they can't get one it must mean they are lazy or picky, or have not thought of something yet. During the course of the argument he asked me for my city and state, fully intent on proving me wrong. I gave him the information and about a half hour later he messages me back saying "Man...your right...it is really bleak out there..."
Yes, I have thought about moving. One cannot do this when they have no money.
Yes, I have thought about getting a car to expand my work area. One cannot do this when they have no money.
Yes, I have thought about child care. IF I am lucky enough to get a job at a fast food place and yes, I mean lucky I will first have to hope they can give me hours. Then afterward still not have enough money to pay the bills as half of my paycheck would go to a daycare center.
Yes, I have thought about going to school. See previous statements about this being impossible when one has no money, no car, and no child care.
I answer and re-answer the same questions about "Well did you do this? Did you do that?" and endure the same "Well you gotta do something man! You have to MAKE it happen!" as if I can snap my fingers and produce child care or a job. It's like they don't understand that people actually do become homeless because they have tried everything. And there is nothing left to try.
My back is against the wall. And I laugh as people say that Jacque's theories on behavior are bullshit. Because I am watching it in my own home. Before my divorce things were fairly well balanced financially. We had enough of a surplus to cover things if a roommate fell on hard times and could not pay. Everyone got along reasonably well. If you bought food you were confident that nobody would eat something they did not buy. We would help each other when needed, and the roommates who had cars would do their best to be sure the ones who didn't have cars got where they needed to go.
Then the divorce happened. And everything got scrambled. The surplus went away. And it happened right around the same time as an economic downturn. And I watched as everyone's attitude in the house changed. Theft of food that belonged to other roommates became common place. People started writing their names on things. That worked for a while, then stopped working. So we started putting food in our bedrooms. That stopped working. Someone actually came into my room and took food off of my nightstand!
These are all people I could trust implicitly with twenty dollar bills laying around the house just six months earlier. And now they were breaking into my bedroom! These are not bad people. They came from decent neighborhoods. Not the ghetto. But it doesn't take long for money and the lack of it to ruin anyone.
My roommates started asking me to lower their rent. I had to pull out the bills and physically show them that they were already only giving me enough to break even. And had only ever been giving me enough to break even. They started to resent me as if it was my fault they needed to pay rent. They numbed themselves to the reality of the situation which was that if they wanted to continue to have electricity, gas, and a roof over their heads that I needed the exact amount they were giving me and no less. This then strained our friendships. Everyone retreated into their rooms and rarely talked to one another.
So then as I stated in my previous blog about this, a roommate got an offer she couldn't refuse to move back in with her father and live rent free, with her own car and a job provided for her. So she took the bus and left. Her boyfriend was kind enough to offer to stay long enough for me to find someone else. Then lost his Wal-Mart job the very next day. Because they didn't want to pay him disability when he was injured on the job. He is still here and trying to get something else, but in the meantime he is basically just using my utilities and eating my food. I still very much appreciate what he is trying to do but it is not making the situation any better.
So, then we come to my next roommate. I have known him for about eight years. He has a sort of obnoxious personality. So even his twin brother who is also obnoxious in a completely different way will not help him whenever he finds himself homeless. We sometimes played video games together and he was literally light headed. We asked him why on voice chat and he revealed that he had not eaten in a day or so as the place he was staying at with his drunk mother rarely had food.
So, for the second time in my life of knowing him I brought him into my home and gave him his own room. He tried for six whole months to get a job. He really was trying. It just honestly takes that long around here. And he even has a car. Though he did give himself certain "standards" like he wouldn't work fast food. Apparently the embarrassment of him mooching off of me for six months was not a dishonor to him but to work at McDonalds or another fast food place would of been. In any case he did get a job and was a good roommate for a while. But he also became the biggest culprit of food theft when things got tough.
I had talked to him about the financial situation and he made it very clear to me he had no plans to move out anytime soon. He was shooting for maybe next year. The various times the topic came up he always told me he had no where to go and was very concerned that I might at some point kick him out.
So then sometime last month I get a phone call from an apartment complex, they contacted me as his current landlord to see what kind of tenant he would be.
This is how I find out he is considering moving out much sooner. Though when I talk to him about it he lies and says that he was just looking into it and did not intend to move out. Again... this is someone who was so appreciative of the help I was giving him just a few months earlier. He tries to assure me that it is likely he won't get accepted for the apartment anyway. And that he of course will give me at least two months notice before ever moving out.
I would also take a moment to point out that this man goes to church regularly. And is very offended if anyone ever badmouths Christianity. He preaches to anyone will listen about Christ and how you should your life honestly and all that.
So... today he comes to my room and with a very excited tone tells me he has great news. The great news is that his approval for his apartment went through and that he will be leaving in ten days...
I ask him how this is "great news" and he acts confused as if I am supposed to think it is really great that someone who was contributing about 40% of the household income has just informed me that I have 10 days to find a way to replace that income or lose my home. This young man read the book "How to make friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie. It is basically a book about how to brainwash and manipulate the people around you to think you are great. What is not good for him is that upon his insistence I also read a good portion of the book. The more I read the more I was disgusted. But I decided to study it so I would also know when someone was trying to use it's tactics on me.
This "christian" and "honest" man tried to give me news that he knows full well puts my family in a great deal of danger of losing our home and my children to the state in a positive tone of voice so as to prevent me from realizing he was actually knowingly and willfully fucking me over.
I, the Agnostic leaning Atheist who thinks it silly that Christians need a "God" to give them an excuse to be a decent person took him in when nobody else including his own family would not. These same Christians who insist you need god in order to have a moral center. He himself would rant endlessly about atheists. I started to argue with him just a bit but did not want my children to hear what I was going to say to him. He told me he was trying to be more courteous to me then some of my previous roommates had been. (He was then trying to deflect the blame onto the couple who moved out, one of which was still living there hoping to find a job so I didn't lose my house.)
So I let him escape to his room where I imagine he was doing a great job of lying to himself that he had done the right thing by giving me 10 days notice that he was not going to be paying rent I was going to need at the end of the month. Then I put my kids to bed and went to the room and let him have it. I brought him back to reality by pointing out that 10 days notice is not a courtesy at all. And that after I had helped him out when nobody else would he was going to abandon us without any chance to replace him. I called him out for the way he had conducted himself trying to act like he was doing me a favor by moving out. And like I should be happy about the great news he was giving me that he was going to leave us on the very edge of homelessness. He stood there looking at me blankly and did not say a word. This was probably better as I think I would of smacked him. Then I slammed the door and went back to my own room.
Over the course of the day I had felt the money having it's effects on me as well. I had to stop myself from being short with my children and everyone else. One of my friends wanted to tell me about the exciting new innovations in a video game we both played and it literally went in one ear and out the other. Nothing that gave me joy was interesting at all anymore. I had a bunch of links open about various things going on in the world that I wanted to read about for possible future radio shows. I found myself deleting some of them out of some sort of feeling that I just didn't care about what was going on anywhere else. My appetite completely failed. And now I am numb. I should of been in bed hours ago.
This is the monetary system. Supposedly it is just a means of trade so that we can all trade our various objects for other objects to survive.
To me it just seems evil.
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/census-finds-record-gap-between-rich-and-poor/19651337
http://www.good.is/post/americans-are-horribly-misinformed-about-who-has-money/
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/young-adults-are-new-face-of-homelessness/19678303
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN3-2ON2F6c&feature=player_embedded
http://gizmodo.com/5665523/robots-are-stealing-american-jobs-according-to-mit-economist
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
V-RADIO Blog for 10/6/2010 show.
Tonight on V-RADIO we are going to talk about two topics over two hours. In the first hour we will be having a commentary on the subject of the recent incident in Obion County, Tennessee.
Apparently in the area outside of the main city limits you have to pay a $75 fee to get protection for your home from house fires. Quoting here from the news report on this subject:
http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Firefighters-watch-as-home-burns-to-the-ground-104052668.html
"Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won't respond, then watches it burn. That's exactly what happened to a local family tonight.
A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.
The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.
Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.
The mayor said if homeowners don't pay, they're out of luck.
This fire went on for hours because garden hoses just wouldn't put it out. It wasn't until that fire spread to a neighbor's property, that anyone would respond.
Turns out, the neighbor had paid the fee.
"I thought they'd come out and put it out, even if you hadn't paid your $75, but I was wrong," said Gene Cranick.
Because of that, not much is left of Cranick's house.
They called 911 several times, and initially the South Fulton Fire Department would not come.
The Cranicks told 9-1-1 they would pay firefighters, whatever the cost, to stop the fire before it spread to their house.
"When I called I told them that. My grandson had already called there and he thought that when I got here I could get something done, I couldn't," Paulette Cranick.
It was only when a neighbor's field caught fire, a neighbor who had paid the county fire service fee, that the department responded. Gene Cranick asked the fire chief to make an exception and save his home, the chief wouldn't.
We asked him why.
He wouldn't talk to us and called police to have us escorted off the property. Police never came but firefighters quickly left the scene. Meanwhile, the Cranick home continued to burn.
We asked the mayor of South Fulton if the chief could have made an exception.
"Anybody that's not in the city of South Fulton, it's a service we offer, either they accept it or they don't," Mayor David Crocker said.
Friends and neighbors said it's a cruel and dangerous city policy but the Cranicks don't blame the firefighters themselves. They blame the people in charge.
"They're doing their job," Paulette Cranick said of the firefighters. "They're doing what they are told to do. It's not their fault."
To give you an idea of just how intense the feelings got in this situation, soon after the fire department returned to the station, the Obion County Sheriff's Department said someone went there and assaulted one of the firefighters."
Colbert also had this gentlemen on for an interview afterward wherein he described how the whole thing went down. The interview was conducted with the man sitting in front of the rubble that was his home.
I have to ask, this man offered to pay on the spot. Why the HELL didn't they let him do this? What difference would it of made if he paid right then and there? Two dogs, and the family cat also died in this fire.
Now on to the second topic.
Recently on my personal Facebook I linked a photo to my daughter getting on the bus for her first day of school. Being as how on my personal Facebook I have ZM members and my more day to day non-activist minded friends a conversation ensued because one of them, (Chibi) made a comment about public schools. I then stated I am considering home schooling when they get older. One of my other friends said that I should not do that, as home schooled children are socially deficient.
My brother, who is very religious and home schools himself pointed out that there was little to no actual data to support the idea that kids who are home schooled have any sort of social problems.
This got me to thinking. I didn't want the conversation derailed into talking about home schooling, however I did end up commenting on what sort of "social adjustments" children get. Basically I commented on what I learned socially when I was in school.
First of all, I learned that if you wear Wrangler Jeans rather then Guess Jeans, you worth less then kids who come from families who are lucky enough to be able to afford the jeans that are generally thirty to forty dollars more expensive. (Despite the fact that the only real difference between these jeans is a logo).
I learned similar things about every major fashion issue. I remember how important your fashion was to your worth socially. It impacted your entire image. I remember it went so far as to even include where you purchased the items in question.
Nike Air Jordans that did not have the tag on them that proved that they were purchased at Foot Locker were not as prestigious as those purchased at K-Mart or another department store. Why? Well the ones purchased at Foot Locker generally costed more. So they wouldn't want you "cheating" to get some more street cred when your mother bought them at another store.
Girls would not date you if your fashion was not in order.
And in the city I grew up in, I remember very clearly kids getting shot over their Pump shoes, Triple Fat Goose jackets, or Leather Trench Coats. People wanted these symbols of worth so much they were willing to kill for them.
I also learned a great deal about the social hierarchy system of "Popular vs unpopular". If you kissed the right ass, listened to the right music, dressed the right way then you were well on your way to becoming "popular". (Being physically attractive didn't hurt. But it didn't necessarily matter). But it was more then that. You had to willingly participate in the system of pecking order. Otherwise you could be targeted with endless harassment. Ridicule, and even violence.
Those in "power" would punish you if you did not help them keep the order of things in line. There are kids you can earn brownie points by harassing or hurting. And if you do not participate you would find yourself in the same shoes as the poor kid who was the target.
Don't get caught listening to music that is not approved by the social system. Don't get caught hanging out with the wrong people. Don't get caught dating someone whom is not on the list of those approved by the "clique". Sounds a bit fascist huh? Some of these kids would spy on you like the KGB to be sure you were towing the party line. Somehow I don't really think this is a system I would want my children to be "well adjusted" to.
Then, perhaps the biggest laugh about the idea that public schooling is superior because of the social aspects of it, we can always talk about what happens to the unfortunate kids who happen to be smarter then everyone else. I remember very distinctly being attacked once by another student solely for "using big words". I had a pretty high vocabulary in school. And it was a reason to be taunted, or beaten up. If you prove to be smart a whole slew of slurs come your way. Words like Geek, Nerd, etc all fit into this. Isn't it a bit counter-productive to send your children into an institution where they will be forced to interact with kids who will actually punish them for succeeding academically? I remember not wanting to carry a lot of books home in case I would have to escape from whatever group of kids had decided to make me their victim for the day. My homework suffered as a result.
Sports players who do well are revered. Kids who win the science fair will be lucky if they are not targeted for harassment. Or again, violence.
And on the subject of violence and bullying in school, what solutions do they offer?
Because my mother was poor and my father was well to do, at different times in my life I saw both sides of the spectrum. At the school I went to when I was with my mother we had shootings in or near the school fairly often. In the school I went to with my father there would be mild violence in comparison, however I was under mental stress constantly. (There was still violence, just not fatal.) My father was a cheap skate, and of course did not want to pay to dress me in such a way that was going to keep kids from bothering me. Ironically when given a choice at one point over which place I would rather go to school I picked the lower income area.
So how effective are school officials at dealing with this stuff? They generally tell you to ignore bullies. Because after all, this is a practical solution when your locked in a room with these people for five to six hours a day. You can report your tormentors to the teachers with perhaps some temporary effect. Or even take it to the Principal. They scold them. Maybe give them detention. But in the end I learned that the only way I was ever going to get these kids to leave me alone was by beating them up myself. As publicly as possible. (Which of course you get in trouble for.) Thankfully my mother was very sympathetic to this sort of thing. So when I was suspended for defending myself, or even going after someone who would not leave me alone she would not punish me for it.
Why was it so important to do it publicly? Well just like in our modern system today politics played into the memory of events. If two kids go at it, the more popular one will be the one "spun" to of won the fight if the popular crowd can get away with it.
When I talk about this subject I tend to think of the two kids who took guns to school and went on a killing spree at Columbine. I remember very distinctly thinking to myself:
"Well, I do not condone what they did. But I have a feeling I know why they did it."
The mainstream media did a great job of focusing on schools needing more metal detectors and that kids need to play less violent games like "Mortal Kombat" and "Doom".
(I would also point out that we in the schools in the ghetto neighborhood I lived in thought it was pretty funny that the news found it so important that some kids were shot in a nice white suburban neighborhood when shootings happened where we lived on a regular basis.)
Every violent impulse I ever had in school had zero to do with the video games I played. It all related directly to the way I was treated by the other students. And frustration about the fact that the people in authority either were too apathetic or incompetent to handle the problem. But in a typical fashion our society rarely wants to look at the root causes of such problems. Particularly if it might mean they might have to -gasp- take responsibility for their own part in it.
So to be "socially adjusted" I was forced to be violent myself. Or a victim.
With the advent of the internet, you don't even get to escape the taunting when you go home. Kids have committed suicide recently because of cyberbullying. Another thing the school system seems to have no clue how to eliminate. Though I have read about more then one case where students get punished for attacking their teachers or other school officials online. Glad we have our priorities straight.
So what are the real statistics on this issue as far as which environment is producing smarter or better educated kids? The home schooled kids? Or the ones forced to "socially adjust" in our public schools?
From this article: http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/educational-testing/41081.html
"According to a report published by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, homeschool student achievement test scores were exceptionally high. The median scores for every subtest at every grade were well above those of public and Catholic/private-school students. On average, homeschool students in grades one to four performed one grade level above their age-level public/private school peers on achievement tests. Students who had been homeschooled their entire academic life had higher scholastic achievement test scores than students who had also attended other educational programs."
One interesting facet of the study noted that academic achievement was equally high regardless of whether the student was enrolled in a full-service curriculum, or whether the parent had a state-issued teaching certificate.
The study states, "Even with a conservative analysis of the data, the achievement levels of the homeschool students in the study were exceptional. Within each grade level and each skill area, the median scores for homeschool students fell between the 70th and 80th percentile of students nationwide and between the 60th and 70th percentile of Catholic/Private school students. For younger students, this is a one year lead. By the time homeschool students are in 8th grade, they are four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts."
Also, "Homeschool students did quite well in 1998 on the ACT college entrance examination. They had an average ACT composite score of 22.8 which is .38 standard deviations above the national ACT average of 21.0 (ACT, 1998). This places the average homeschool student in the 65th percentile of all ACT test takers."
Also, from this website:
"In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are homeschooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile. i
This was confirmed in another study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 homeschooled students which found the homeschoolers who have homeschooled all their school aged years had the highest academic achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher grades. ii This is a good encouragement to families catch the long-range vision and homeschool through high school.
Another important finding of Strengths of Their Own was that the race of the student does not make any difference. There was no significant difference between minority and white homeschooled students. For example, in grades K-12, both white and minority students scored, on the average, in the 87th percentile. In math, whites scored in the 82nd percentile while minorities scored in the 77th percentile. In the public schools, however, there is a sharp contrast. White public school eighth grade students, nationally scored the 58th percentile in math and the 57th percentile in reading. Black eighth grade students, on the other hand, scored on the average at the 24th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. Hispanics scored at the 29th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. iii
These findings show that when parents, regardless of race, commit themselves to make the necessary sacrifices and tutor their children at home, almost all obstacles present in other school systems disappear.
Another obstacle that seems to be overcome in homeschooling is the need to spend a great deal of money in order to have a good education. In Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Ray found the average cost per homeschool student is $546 while the average cost per public school student is $5,325. Yet the homeschool children in this study averaged in 85th percentile while the public school students averaged in the 50th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests.iv
Similarly, the 1998 study by Dr. Rudner of 20,760 students, found that eighth grade students whose parents spend $199 or less on their home education score, on the average, in the 80th percentile. Eighth grade students whose parents spend $400 to $599 on their home education also score on the average, in the 80th percentile! Once the parents spend over $600, the students do slightly better, scoring in the 83rd percentile.v
The message is loud and clear. More money does not mean a better education. There is no positive correlation between money spent on education and student performance. Public school advocates could refocus their emphasis if they learned this lesson. Loving and caring parents are what matters. Money can never replace simple, hard work."
So in this finding we see that home schooling helps get around the issues that happen when your a student in a low-income area.
This and a great deal more data on the subject can be found here:
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp
So what do you think is improving these test scores and performance of the students in question?
How big of an impact do you think these kids not needing to worry about being taunted or attacked for being smart had to do with their performance?
How much do you think it had to do with their learning environment being free of distractions like fashion, or the social pecking order?
What about the lack of stress of any of this nonsense our kids are forced to deal with?
Do you WANT your child to be well adjusted to such a situation?
It's another one of those things that people just shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well, that's just the way it is..."
I guess that is just not good enough for me as a parent.
Apparently in the area outside of the main city limits you have to pay a $75 fee to get protection for your home from house fires. Quoting here from the news report on this subject:
http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Firefighters-watch-as-home-burns-to-the-ground-104052668.html
"Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won't respond, then watches it burn. That's exactly what happened to a local family tonight.
A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.
The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.
Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.
The mayor said if homeowners don't pay, they're out of luck.
This fire went on for hours because garden hoses just wouldn't put it out. It wasn't until that fire spread to a neighbor's property, that anyone would respond.
Turns out, the neighbor had paid the fee.
"I thought they'd come out and put it out, even if you hadn't paid your $75, but I was wrong," said Gene Cranick.
Because of that, not much is left of Cranick's house.
They called 911 several times, and initially the South Fulton Fire Department would not come.
The Cranicks told 9-1-1 they would pay firefighters, whatever the cost, to stop the fire before it spread to their house.
"When I called I told them that. My grandson had already called there and he thought that when I got here I could get something done, I couldn't," Paulette Cranick.
It was only when a neighbor's field caught fire, a neighbor who had paid the county fire service fee, that the department responded. Gene Cranick asked the fire chief to make an exception and save his home, the chief wouldn't.
We asked him why.
He wouldn't talk to us and called police to have us escorted off the property. Police never came but firefighters quickly left the scene. Meanwhile, the Cranick home continued to burn.
We asked the mayor of South Fulton if the chief could have made an exception.
"Anybody that's not in the city of South Fulton, it's a service we offer, either they accept it or they don't," Mayor David Crocker said.
Friends and neighbors said it's a cruel and dangerous city policy but the Cranicks don't blame the firefighters themselves. They blame the people in charge.
"They're doing their job," Paulette Cranick said of the firefighters. "They're doing what they are told to do. It's not their fault."
To give you an idea of just how intense the feelings got in this situation, soon after the fire department returned to the station, the Obion County Sheriff's Department said someone went there and assaulted one of the firefighters."
Colbert also had this gentlemen on for an interview afterward wherein he described how the whole thing went down. The interview was conducted with the man sitting in front of the rubble that was his home.
I have to ask, this man offered to pay on the spot. Why the HELL didn't they let him do this? What difference would it of made if he paid right then and there? Two dogs, and the family cat also died in this fire.
Now on to the second topic.
Recently on my personal Facebook I linked a photo to my daughter getting on the bus for her first day of school. Being as how on my personal Facebook I have ZM members and my more day to day non-activist minded friends a conversation ensued because one of them, (Chibi) made a comment about public schools. I then stated I am considering home schooling when they get older. One of my other friends said that I should not do that, as home schooled children are socially deficient.
My brother, who is very religious and home schools himself pointed out that there was little to no actual data to support the idea that kids who are home schooled have any sort of social problems.
This got me to thinking. I didn't want the conversation derailed into talking about home schooling, however I did end up commenting on what sort of "social adjustments" children get. Basically I commented on what I learned socially when I was in school.
First of all, I learned that if you wear Wrangler Jeans rather then Guess Jeans, you worth less then kids who come from families who are lucky enough to be able to afford the jeans that are generally thirty to forty dollars more expensive. (Despite the fact that the only real difference between these jeans is a logo).
I learned similar things about every major fashion issue. I remember how important your fashion was to your worth socially. It impacted your entire image. I remember it went so far as to even include where you purchased the items in question.
Nike Air Jordans that did not have the tag on them that proved that they were purchased at Foot Locker were not as prestigious as those purchased at K-Mart or another department store. Why? Well the ones purchased at Foot Locker generally costed more. So they wouldn't want you "cheating" to get some more street cred when your mother bought them at another store.
Girls would not date you if your fashion was not in order.
And in the city I grew up in, I remember very clearly kids getting shot over their Pump shoes, Triple Fat Goose jackets, or Leather Trench Coats. People wanted these symbols of worth so much they were willing to kill for them.
I also learned a great deal about the social hierarchy system of "Popular vs unpopular". If you kissed the right ass, listened to the right music, dressed the right way then you were well on your way to becoming "popular". (Being physically attractive didn't hurt. But it didn't necessarily matter). But it was more then that. You had to willingly participate in the system of pecking order. Otherwise you could be targeted with endless harassment. Ridicule, and even violence.
Those in "power" would punish you if you did not help them keep the order of things in line. There are kids you can earn brownie points by harassing or hurting. And if you do not participate you would find yourself in the same shoes as the poor kid who was the target.
Don't get caught listening to music that is not approved by the social system. Don't get caught hanging out with the wrong people. Don't get caught dating someone whom is not on the list of those approved by the "clique". Sounds a bit fascist huh? Some of these kids would spy on you like the KGB to be sure you were towing the party line. Somehow I don't really think this is a system I would want my children to be "well adjusted" to.
Then, perhaps the biggest laugh about the idea that public schooling is superior because of the social aspects of it, we can always talk about what happens to the unfortunate kids who happen to be smarter then everyone else. I remember very distinctly being attacked once by another student solely for "using big words". I had a pretty high vocabulary in school. And it was a reason to be taunted, or beaten up. If you prove to be smart a whole slew of slurs come your way. Words like Geek, Nerd, etc all fit into this. Isn't it a bit counter-productive to send your children into an institution where they will be forced to interact with kids who will actually punish them for succeeding academically? I remember not wanting to carry a lot of books home in case I would have to escape from whatever group of kids had decided to make me their victim for the day. My homework suffered as a result.
Sports players who do well are revered. Kids who win the science fair will be lucky if they are not targeted for harassment. Or again, violence.
And on the subject of violence and bullying in school, what solutions do they offer?
Because my mother was poor and my father was well to do, at different times in my life I saw both sides of the spectrum. At the school I went to when I was with my mother we had shootings in or near the school fairly often. In the school I went to with my father there would be mild violence in comparison, however I was under mental stress constantly. (There was still violence, just not fatal.) My father was a cheap skate, and of course did not want to pay to dress me in such a way that was going to keep kids from bothering me. Ironically when given a choice at one point over which place I would rather go to school I picked the lower income area.
So how effective are school officials at dealing with this stuff? They generally tell you to ignore bullies. Because after all, this is a practical solution when your locked in a room with these people for five to six hours a day. You can report your tormentors to the teachers with perhaps some temporary effect. Or even take it to the Principal. They scold them. Maybe give them detention. But in the end I learned that the only way I was ever going to get these kids to leave me alone was by beating them up myself. As publicly as possible. (Which of course you get in trouble for.) Thankfully my mother was very sympathetic to this sort of thing. So when I was suspended for defending myself, or even going after someone who would not leave me alone she would not punish me for it.
Why was it so important to do it publicly? Well just like in our modern system today politics played into the memory of events. If two kids go at it, the more popular one will be the one "spun" to of won the fight if the popular crowd can get away with it.
When I talk about this subject I tend to think of the two kids who took guns to school and went on a killing spree at Columbine. I remember very distinctly thinking to myself:
"Well, I do not condone what they did. But I have a feeling I know why they did it."
The mainstream media did a great job of focusing on schools needing more metal detectors and that kids need to play less violent games like "Mortal Kombat" and "Doom".
(I would also point out that we in the schools in the ghetto neighborhood I lived in thought it was pretty funny that the news found it so important that some kids were shot in a nice white suburban neighborhood when shootings happened where we lived on a regular basis.)
Every violent impulse I ever had in school had zero to do with the video games I played. It all related directly to the way I was treated by the other students. And frustration about the fact that the people in authority either were too apathetic or incompetent to handle the problem. But in a typical fashion our society rarely wants to look at the root causes of such problems. Particularly if it might mean they might have to -gasp- take responsibility for their own part in it.
So to be "socially adjusted" I was forced to be violent myself. Or a victim.
With the advent of the internet, you don't even get to escape the taunting when you go home. Kids have committed suicide recently because of cyberbullying. Another thing the school system seems to have no clue how to eliminate. Though I have read about more then one case where students get punished for attacking their teachers or other school officials online. Glad we have our priorities straight.
So what are the real statistics on this issue as far as which environment is producing smarter or better educated kids? The home schooled kids? Or the ones forced to "socially adjust" in our public schools?
From this article: http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/educational-testing/41081.html
"According to a report published by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, homeschool student achievement test scores were exceptionally high. The median scores for every subtest at every grade were well above those of public and Catholic/private-school students. On average, homeschool students in grades one to four performed one grade level above their age-level public/private school peers on achievement tests. Students who had been homeschooled their entire academic life had higher scholastic achievement test scores than students who had also attended other educational programs."
One interesting facet of the study noted that academic achievement was equally high regardless of whether the student was enrolled in a full-service curriculum, or whether the parent had a state-issued teaching certificate.
The study states, "Even with a conservative analysis of the data, the achievement levels of the homeschool students in the study were exceptional. Within each grade level and each skill area, the median scores for homeschool students fell between the 70th and 80th percentile of students nationwide and between the 60th and 70th percentile of Catholic/Private school students. For younger students, this is a one year lead. By the time homeschool students are in 8th grade, they are four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts."
Also, "Homeschool students did quite well in 1998 on the ACT college entrance examination. They had an average ACT composite score of 22.8 which is .38 standard deviations above the national ACT average of 21.0 (ACT, 1998). This places the average homeschool student in the 65th percentile of all ACT test takers."
Also, from this website:
"In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are homeschooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile. i
This was confirmed in another study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 homeschooled students which found the homeschoolers who have homeschooled all their school aged years had the highest academic achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher grades. ii This is a good encouragement to families catch the long-range vision and homeschool through high school.
Another important finding of Strengths of Their Own was that the race of the student does not make any difference. There was no significant difference between minority and white homeschooled students. For example, in grades K-12, both white and minority students scored, on the average, in the 87th percentile. In math, whites scored in the 82nd percentile while minorities scored in the 77th percentile. In the public schools, however, there is a sharp contrast. White public school eighth grade students, nationally scored the 58th percentile in math and the 57th percentile in reading. Black eighth grade students, on the other hand, scored on the average at the 24th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. Hispanics scored at the 29th percentile in math and the 28th percentile in reading. iii
These findings show that when parents, regardless of race, commit themselves to make the necessary sacrifices and tutor their children at home, almost all obstacles present in other school systems disappear.
Another obstacle that seems to be overcome in homeschooling is the need to spend a great deal of money in order to have a good education. In Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Ray found the average cost per homeschool student is $546 while the average cost per public school student is $5,325. Yet the homeschool children in this study averaged in 85th percentile while the public school students averaged in the 50th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests.iv
Similarly, the 1998 study by Dr. Rudner of 20,760 students, found that eighth grade students whose parents spend $199 or less on their home education score, on the average, in the 80th percentile. Eighth grade students whose parents spend $400 to $599 on their home education also score on the average, in the 80th percentile! Once the parents spend over $600, the students do slightly better, scoring in the 83rd percentile.v
The message is loud and clear. More money does not mean a better education. There is no positive correlation between money spent on education and student performance. Public school advocates could refocus their emphasis if they learned this lesson. Loving and caring parents are what matters. Money can never replace simple, hard work."
So in this finding we see that home schooling helps get around the issues that happen when your a student in a low-income area.
This and a great deal more data on the subject can be found here:
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp
So what do you think is improving these test scores and performance of the students in question?
How big of an impact do you think these kids not needing to worry about being taunted or attacked for being smart had to do with their performance?
How much do you think it had to do with their learning environment being free of distractions like fashion, or the social pecking order?
What about the lack of stress of any of this nonsense our kids are forced to deal with?
Do you WANT your child to be well adjusted to such a situation?
It's another one of those things that people just shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well, that's just the way it is..."
I guess that is just not good enough for me as a parent.
Friday, October 1, 2010
My financial crisis.
So...
As many of you have probably noticed the brown chip-in widget here on the blog, and on the main site you are have also seen the note to come here to check out the blog to find out what is going on.
This month has been particularly hard in our home. I finally got my divorce final. This would be really the only highlight. And even that was depressing.
As some of you know, I rent rooms to boarders here in my home to make ends meet. It allows me to be at home with my kids and this went from a boon to a requirement. I have no family nearby or anyone who can watch my son while my daughter is at school so getting a job myself was out of the question. Daycare is far too expensive for me at this stage as well. So I am dependent on rent from a total of four adults who live in three of the rooms here to keep things going. (This is also the situation that ended up causing me to ask for donations for V-RADIO in the first place.)
Two of those adults both had unexpected financial crisis hit them, so they are falling behind. One of which started his own business in the Michigan economy. (Oops) and the other of which is currently paying a wonderful fee called a "Driver's responsibility fee" because he was caught driving without proper insurance. They basically fine you a couple hundred dollars a month, for two years. (Seems kind of self defeating huh?)
The last two were a couple. One of which was a young lady willing to watch my kids. I waited for the divorce to be final and started to look for a job and got so far as the interview process only to be told that her father has convinced her to move back home. (A fairly common thing right now. Young adults move back in with their parents so they can lower their monthly costs and keep their lifestyle. The fact that she is pregnant doesn't help.) So that ended my job options.
So the couple was going to move out. This of course being sudden very well could of crushed my financial situation that was already teetering over the edge. So the man of the couple agreed to stay in the home and pay rent until I could find another roommate or means to make money.
He was employed at Wal-Mart until about an hour ago. Note, I said was.
So today he sustained an injury on the job and they fired him on the spot so that they do not have to pay him disability. Apparently he crushed his finger. (I haven't seen him yet.)
So, now it looks like he will also be moving out. As he has no job here and would not be able to get another one before rent was due anyway.
Thankfully I was able to pay the rent, but all of the utilities are still unpaid this month, thanks to my two other roommates being unable to pay their own rent on time. And even when they do, it will not be enough to pay rent and utilities in the following month.
So, here is my predicament. I cannot become employed outside the home. I am working on writing a few books for money from within the home. However it will take a long time for those projects to come to fruition. And I will lose my home and my children immediately following that long before that could ever save me.
So here is what I propose to the listeners of V-RADIO.
This month, I am going to work constantly to give you as many great shows as I feasibly can. I can't promise a lot of guests as that takes time to set up but I am going to do my damndest. I will be writing original blogs and having discussion shows with panelists on various issues and taking requests for issues to cover as well.
I have put a brown chip-in widget labeled "V-RADIO SUPPLEMENTAL" with a goal of $400 (The amount of rent I normally would bring in from that couple who is moving out) for this month. I also still need the normal donations to keep V-RADIO up and running.
Not to be dramatic, but this is basically my darkest hour. This is do or die. The monetary system here in Michigan is crumbling under technological unemployment as fast as the companies can export or automate the work. If I become homeless obviously V-RADIO will also cease to be. And my work for the movement will cease for the foreseeable future. I have no idea where I would go, or worse where my children would end up.
I am going to do everything in my power on my end to try and get help in the meantime. But that is a process that may not work out.
I absolutely appreciate everyone who has supported V-RADIO up until now. I know some of my detractors will have a field day with this. (And they can all go to hell) but this is it. My back is against the wall. Please help if you can.
VTV
As many of you have probably noticed the brown chip-in widget here on the blog, and on the main site you are have also seen the note to come here to check out the blog to find out what is going on.
This month has been particularly hard in our home. I finally got my divorce final. This would be really the only highlight. And even that was depressing.
As some of you know, I rent rooms to boarders here in my home to make ends meet. It allows me to be at home with my kids and this went from a boon to a requirement. I have no family nearby or anyone who can watch my son while my daughter is at school so getting a job myself was out of the question. Daycare is far too expensive for me at this stage as well. So I am dependent on rent from a total of four adults who live in three of the rooms here to keep things going. (This is also the situation that ended up causing me to ask for donations for V-RADIO in the first place.)
Two of those adults both had unexpected financial crisis hit them, so they are falling behind. One of which started his own business in the Michigan economy. (Oops) and the other of which is currently paying a wonderful fee called a "Driver's responsibility fee" because he was caught driving without proper insurance. They basically fine you a couple hundred dollars a month, for two years. (Seems kind of self defeating huh?)
The last two were a couple. One of which was a young lady willing to watch my kids. I waited for the divorce to be final and started to look for a job and got so far as the interview process only to be told that her father has convinced her to move back home. (A fairly common thing right now. Young adults move back in with their parents so they can lower their monthly costs and keep their lifestyle. The fact that she is pregnant doesn't help.) So that ended my job options.
So the couple was going to move out. This of course being sudden very well could of crushed my financial situation that was already teetering over the edge. So the man of the couple agreed to stay in the home and pay rent until I could find another roommate or means to make money.
He was employed at Wal-Mart until about an hour ago. Note, I said was.
So today he sustained an injury on the job and they fired him on the spot so that they do not have to pay him disability. Apparently he crushed his finger. (I haven't seen him yet.)
So, now it looks like he will also be moving out. As he has no job here and would not be able to get another one before rent was due anyway.
Thankfully I was able to pay the rent, but all of the utilities are still unpaid this month, thanks to my two other roommates being unable to pay their own rent on time. And even when they do, it will not be enough to pay rent and utilities in the following month.
So, here is my predicament. I cannot become employed outside the home. I am working on writing a few books for money from within the home. However it will take a long time for those projects to come to fruition. And I will lose my home and my children immediately following that long before that could ever save me.
So here is what I propose to the listeners of V-RADIO.
This month, I am going to work constantly to give you as many great shows as I feasibly can. I can't promise a lot of guests as that takes time to set up but I am going to do my damndest. I will be writing original blogs and having discussion shows with panelists on various issues and taking requests for issues to cover as well.
I have put a brown chip-in widget labeled "V-RADIO SUPPLEMENTAL" with a goal of $400 (The amount of rent I normally would bring in from that couple who is moving out) for this month. I also still need the normal donations to keep V-RADIO up and running.
Not to be dramatic, but this is basically my darkest hour. This is do or die. The monetary system here in Michigan is crumbling under technological unemployment as fast as the companies can export or automate the work. If I become homeless obviously V-RADIO will also cease to be. And my work for the movement will cease for the foreseeable future. I have no idea where I would go, or worse where my children would end up.
I am going to do everything in my power on my end to try and get help in the meantime. But that is a process that may not work out.
I absolutely appreciate everyone who has supported V-RADIO up until now. I know some of my detractors will have a field day with this. (And they can all go to hell) but this is it. My back is against the wall. Please help if you can.
VTV
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