Thoughts during and after reading the beginning of "Hot, Flat, and Crowded"

I think I have just found the reason why I chose to find my facts in fiction when it came to writing. Maybe to read the real thing becomes too depressing but there comes a time, when people need to take their heads out of the sand and face what is around them. Thomas Friedman is the author of this book and for anyone wanting to understand what really happened to the US and the world concerning the financial sh*thole we found ourselves in, I suggest reading this book. It is alarming, depressing, and relevant.
I am not concerned as much with the financial market as much as I am concerned about education and what is happening in this field. Actually, I am worried about the financial market because unlike the people who got caught up in the buying frenzy and spending beyond their means frenzy, I was in the middle of going to school, skipping class to study for the same class, saving money, paying for school, and buying overpriced textbooks while earning $90/week while people were buying houses they couldn't afford and thinking that they had purchasing power when in reality, they didn't. Here's how it bothers me....Now, it's the hardest thing to find a house because no one ever really sat down and said to themselves, "Self, do you really think you can pay a $300000 and upwards mortgage on a house that doesn't look as if it cost $100000 to build when you are only earning less than $30000???" Holy crap! That's one-freaking-tenth! How long does it take to realize that one is living beyond one's means? I remember while working at the store years ago, I asked a newly licensed realtor if he didn't see that the prices of houses were inflated drastically. He answered, "no." I guess this can be a modification of what they call the "tragedy of the commons" where people only see the short-term benefit and disregard the long-term consequence.
"Hot, Flat, and Crowded" is helping me understand the politics of it all and I am also brainstorming while reading. See, the book was a suggested reading present from the principal of my school. We are working on introducing a new innovative global academy program that will focus on teaching kids the skills necessary to survive in today's and tomorrow's world. I was given the privilege to work with two other teachers in the research component of the program and design a curriculum from the ground up. It's a little bit daunting and the planning part is always at the back of my head. I am thinking of all the things the kids need to learn and how we can show a final product based on the topic we chose. And, I am not a multi-tasker! Actually, I don't subscribe to the notion of doing several tasks at once...you always run the risk of not doing something well enough.
Now Friedman mentioned education and how the US lags behind. Honestly, I do not think anyone can really understand how dire these circumstances are unless they teach or have taught in a public school. Sometimes, I am amazed at the madness that surrounds me. I see how the system has failed. There is an enormous amount of politics at play and little regard for the kids and what they learn.Sometimes, I wonder if the people outside the classroom have been outside the classroom for too long. I hear them come up with ideas that don't even look good on paper and leave you wondering where the heck the logic came from. I hear teachers with a PhD. in education saying that they give students group tests! I see how technology has harmed these kids more than helped them. I see how these schools are churning out masses of blue collared workers while society is increasingly demanding white-collared jobs.
I see a system that has coddled kids rather than strengthened their minds. I see a system that enabled helplessness. It's not even the question that everywhere has the same problem but the numbers still show that the US is behind. And if dunceness is on the rampage in all countries, does that mean that we lead in dunceness? How is it that we have everything provided, books, equipment, air-conditioned classrooms, pens, pencils (sharpened pencils), paper, internet access, computer carts, and we still lag behind? The curriculum has changed so much from when I was in school 10 years ago! Kids are ruder and they get away with the behavior most of the time so there is no change in attitude. They walk around and argue that they cannot think without the Ipods on, they refuse to put away the cell phone or turn off the game that they are playing, and they make fun of studying and doing well on an exam. Whose fault is this?
Since I've been teaching, I've befriended two people. One of them is an older teacher...on his last years in the field and considering whether to retire or not. So far, we (me and the other friend I have) have managed to convince him to stick around....for our sanity. I have a lot of respect for this teacher. He has been in the system since the 70s and he knew of a time when the US led the world in K-12 education. He can talk about what happened and when it happened. He gives me the most hope and I think that is why he is so important. It's funny how people walk into your lives but I see now, as he is nearing the end of his career, how instrumental he was/is in my development as a teacher. In the beginning, I used to go to him to be reassured that I wasn't the only one who thought something was wrong with the system. There's a story about a king ruling over a crazy kingdom and after a while of being in the madness, surrounded by it, he starts to believe that everyone else is sane and he is the crazy one. To see an old teacher in the schools today is an anomaly. They care enough to want to teach the kids in the way that they have always done it, strict discipline and hard work, and they were around long enough to know that their way worked better than today's method of coddling the kids and in essence lying to them.
Don't get me wrong, there are a handful of kids that make it worth the while and for the most part, the kids are nice. They are fun to work with but the sad thing is that even though they are nice, they are lacking in the basic skills they need to begin on the road towards a college degree. Teaching is nice, I love it but there are many things wrong with the system. I don't believe that we are helping children when we tell them that they have done a great job when in fact the work they have produced is mediocre. This will harm them and inhibit their growth. The culture of today is like this: Do only what is necessary to get the C...or in some cases, the D. I am not saying that you have to insult the child but there is nothing wrong with constructive criticism. This doesn't harm anyone's psyche. Let me not get into psychology though...that will be another day. In this way, if something is done really well, it can be truly appreciated. This education ship has sunk and is now scraping the bottom. I guess it is time to rise up again but it has to be united. Parents, teachers, policymakers, administration, and kids need to be united in order for this to work. Until then, I cannot understand why is it that there are reading classes in high school. I thought that after 1st grade you already knew how to read and you were doing comprehension and language arts/english. How is it that even in college, there are reading classes? Somebody help me pick sense from nonsense here!

Kamla Wins it! 29-12

Finally the people have spoken! Hopefully, there will be a change that the men before couldn't accomplish. Very happy day today as we all celebrate a long needed LANDSLIDE victory. History has been made! We have a woman leading T&T! Whoo hoo whoo hoo! Hopefully, Manning steps down. And the great thing is even if the coalition splits up, Kamla's party still has the majority of the seats. Awesome!!!!!