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Happy Genes | 66 comments (66 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
To tie back to our parallel discussion of the job market and Walmartization, what if you can't afford a private school?

It becomes a class issue.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:02:29 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
Definitely.  Private schools are very expensive.  Poor people often have zero choices.  You're not allowed to go out of district, and in this sort of situation it's a district decision so swapping to another school isn't an option.  For lesser problems, that's often not an option for transportation reasons.  These are the kinds of issues that the folks behind the charter and voucher programs are making hay out of.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:08:05 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
Interesting.  If you can't afford a private school, not fru fru prep school, but the local Catholic school, say, then you probably can't really afford shrinks and designer drugs either.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
by p------- on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:08:12 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
But what if the school psychologist is your shrink and the designer drug is paid for by the local board of education?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:10:20 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
That's one of those scenarios that makes NO sense but it probably true, eh?  Most schools don't have enough $$$ for updated textbooks or enough teachers.  But they have enough for prescription medication???

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
by p------- on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:13:28 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 0)
Schooling has never been about education, it has been about indoctrination, training a workforce/bureucracy, and increasingly and recently, just penning children like cattle to free their parents for work.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:16:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Happy Genes (4.00 / 2)
That's a bit of an overstatement.  And a great disservice to all of the amazing, dedicated teachers out there.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
by p------- on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:26:39 PM EST
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Re: Happy Genes (none / 1)
My parents are both amazing, dedicated high-school teachers, so I got an inside view of the transformation of Spanish schools into cattle pens.

Well, there are the side effects (like an educated populace and independent thinking), and there are all the people who work at it who truly believe the stated purpose of their work, but from a systemic point of view that's been the historical role of universal education.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:30:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Happy Genes (none / 1)
Exactly.  Medi-care and Medi-caid would cover the drugs.  It's actually a bigger problem with poor kids than affluent ones.  There have been stories about parents being coerced with benefits and custody issues as well.

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2006 at 06:17:04 PM EST
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Happy Genes | 66 comments (66 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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