Comments on: Valedictorian's education "entirely hollow"

By: John

John — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:39:36 +0000

I am a teacher and have been for the last 10 years. Publicly, teachers have been blamed for not teaching students what they need to know to function in life. Also, students have been called lazy. My comment is, what role do parents play in their child’s education? I know with my students I can tell which parents care and which parents think the school is the only place for learning. Come on, if I am to blame as a lousy teacher and students are to blame for not learning, shouldn’t the parents be held accountable for not taking an interest in their children?

By: JD Stillwater

JD Stillwater — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 17:41:23 +0000

Kareem Elnahal pointed out some problems with public education, even at the “best” schools. He probably wasn’t aware that schools already exist which fully support the values he mentions in his address. They are called Sudbury schools, or sometimes Integral schools. He’s right: it doesn’t have to be this way.

By: buff daddy

buff daddy — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 01:32:21 +0000

Sometimes there is a need to condemn the CAUSE of the lie rather than the PERPETRATOR of the lie.

Stupid people are easy to spot, as they’re words and actions are an infinite loop of paradoxes. In order for this kid to give his valedictory speech, it had to be as truthful TO HIM as possible. There are three distinct questions that could have been asked of the powers-that-be at his school, and two of them would have the exact same response:

1. Would I be allowed to make a speech which would be my honest yet negative account of my four years at this school?
2. Would it be better if my speech was a positive account of this school even though I’d be lying, or if I’m honest in my speech even though it would be a negative account of this school?
3. When I’m writing my speech, should I be as honest about my experiences here or should I fabricate some or all of it instead for a more positive viewpoint?

The first two questions would be answered with a resounding “No!” and backed up with blatant lies as to why he might be wrong in thinking that way. The last question is the starting point that smart people use to overcome the thought process of stupid people by tricking them into telling the truth without their knowledge. Saying nothing is the most dangerous because he’ll take all of the blame without having the advantage of being given permission to do so. In other words, in the eyes of the general public, his message is meaningless simply because of the methods he chose in which to make it public. It would be a MUCH different (and provable!) story if he was able to answer all his critics with one sentence: I asked the principal BEFORE I gave this speech if s/he would permit me to give a speech that I felt was honest and truthful no matter how negatively s/he and/or the faculty of the school might be portrayed.

Eh… maybe it’s just me, but psychology is the most powerful weapon man could EVER possess, and it’s the missing “psychology-factor” that’s the driving force behind the “could have been”‘s that pisses me off more than anything else. Hmmm… Correction… It’s the stupid people who fall for the wrong kind of psychology-factor’s (i.e. those who thought George Bush’s “religious faith” was reason enough to re-elect him) that piss me off the most, since we’re ALL directly affected by their decisions.

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 12:39:21 +0000

Busy work drove me crazy as a students…especially since I was always rewarded with more for finishing early. I had one teacher who got kind of fed up with me though and sent me to the library to write my own curriculum to keep me busy. I enjoyed that.

By: Drew A Engman

Drew A Engman — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 23:42:25 +0000

I am a special education teacher now, but dropped out of high school
because of its “busy work” and grades-for-grades-sake agenda. I
excelled in college because I learned all the things I was
interested in or curious about on my own since childhood. I was
and am still curious about everything at some time or another!

By: Nigel Watt

Nigel Watt — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 01:34:10 +0000

Kareem should have done what I am – I was going to be the valedictorian of my (public) high school, but I’m leaving after my junior year and going to Cornell. No diploma, no regrets.