Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Wasted Childhood

I really thought that I had seen all of the Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was a kid. Apparently, I missed this one.



Meanwhile, in North Carolina, the state is considering paying children to study hard. Think about that for a second or two. If you have forty kids in a classroom, that kind of money could pay for enough extra teachers to reduce the class size by thirty or forty percent. Or it might provide money for some basic health care for the poorer kids.

But no, the best idea that the clowns in the state legislature can come up with is to bribe the kids? Hell, why not have the state send money to every driver that doesn't get a traffic ticket for the year, or, for that matter, every state citizen that goes through the year without committing a felony?

Part of living in a society is that you're supposed to do the right thing. Not because you'll get credit for it or because someone is paying you. You're supposed to do what is right, period. Of course, that doesn't work out so well, which is why religions try to bribe their adherents into doing the right thing by promising them rewards in the afterlife.

This program sends the wrong message to children. How about this: "Kids, if you graduate high school with good grades an a reasonable SAT/ACT score, you'll get a tuition-free ride at a state college." If the NC legislators are all fired up to bribe the kids to shut up, sit down and pay attention in school, then do it in a way that can change their lives for the better.

4 comments:

Nangleator said...

I'm sure the system won't be rigged so all the rich kids get the money. I'm sure they won't lord it over their classmates. I'm sure it will enhance the fable of American class equality.

I guess it's just a microcosm of the whole America that the rethugs are building.

Eck! said...

Rethug: greed is good. We have the legis-critters apparently saying that too. and the little kiddies need to learn that too.

Retch, gag.

Eck!

Spud said...

I didn't need anything but my Dads size 11 foot in my butt if I failed to try hard.

BadTux said...

Frankly, back during my teaching days I would have given an arm and a leg to have a reason for the kids to pay attention in class. Because there wasn't one. They weren't there to learn. They were there for lunch and entertainment. They didn't care about learning. Their parents didn't care about learning. Eventually I didn't care about their learning either, which is when I left -- I went into teaching because I cared about education, not to be a babysitter.

So pay'em if they pay attention in class? What the heck. Certainly worth a try. What we're currently doing sure isn't working, that much is for sure.

- Badtux the Former Teacher Penguin