It may sound corny and idealistic but I think there's precious little we can't accomplish by giving of ourselves.

Maybe,one reason bad things done by bad or foolish people seem to be more prevalent is that the destructive folks seldom wait for licensing and grants and official guidlines to do the things they do.

Some of the problems they cause may be the result of that but I refer to the tendency of the rest of us to wait to be drafted into doing a good work or we wait for "permission" and proof that we're "qualified" before we look to see if we can do anything.

We let the perfect become the enemy of the good and assume that any worthy project will have the "proper" people assigned to it.

Instead,we might BECOME those right people by applying what we have where it would do the most good and developing ourselves further so we can do more.

Instead of saying: "Someone ought to do something" or "I wish I could help","They have agencies for that" or "Let George do it",we could say: "Where do you want me to start?" or "Here am I. Send me!"

If we all did one thing-adopted a pet,taught someone to read,helped someone repair their home or plant a garden,if we gave a parent or caregiver some time off or ran errands for someone or donated what we have no use for,we might invest a half million dollars of "sweat equity" into where we live.

Education would bring the biggest dividends.

We wouldn't have to have doctrates-just know more about what we were teaching than our pupils.

The best part about that is we couldn't help but learn something from them while we were at it.

Why should we have to let things go undone because we have cutbacks from the alleged powers-that-be?

If,as we insist,their strength comes from what we give them,let's give them our wisdom,our determination,our courage and our compassion.

We don't have to choose between doing nothing or attempting things beyond our abilities.

We should just do what we can.

(We might be surprised at what that small bit might achieve.)

Let's demonstrate what can be accomplished by the little guys from the grass-roots up.

Silly jax.

A dimploma is a tumor of the dimples that makes the concave portion of the epidermis turn convex.

(Errr... yeah,right.)

Sorry,Disgusted.

I got an attack of the sillies.

(Blame it on an 100 degree heat index and House reruns.)

I missed the error, that's why I couldnt get it! Jaxspike comment...

Keep your butt in school, then there is no problem.

Hey cat, I have been busy with baseball and haven't had much time to come on here and stir up stuff. Give me a few more weeks and I will start actin up again.

Quantum, I do agree with you about changing the perception of learning, but I do not know if limiting access is a way to achieve it. I would suggest a better place to start is by de-institutionalizing the places of learning. I do not think learning can be forced or dictated by the order in which a textbook is written and that there is a natural evolution of intrests that grow and move into different directions. Left to our own devices, given an intrest, we can learn more in a shorter time that any school could come close to teaching.

Do you want to know how to make sure we have an un-educated population? Make sure that the youth associate learning with the structured environment of a school at exactly the time they tend to exibit the most rebellion. Then fill their lives with a bunch of useless trinkets and rituals, fill their day with propaganda coming at them from every direction and you will achieve what we already have.

I would assume he is young and has not been beaten down by the system yet. Hopefully, he will continue trying to come up with ways that help and occasianally see a success or two. I do not mean to sound like it is easy. It is a complex, multi-faceted problem that starts with understanding. While my experience with emotionally disturbed children is for the most part limited to my own childhood, I would guess that his would be a very rewarding (and draining)career.

I had great teachers who thought outside the box.

The very fact that they,themselves,seemed to think learning was a pleasure and an adventure made students more eager to investigate everything at hand.

Many times,our "rebellion" came in the form of learning things beyond what a bland,restrained curriculum might offer.

Our best mentors challenged us to question everything AND equip ourselves to find our own answers and implement them.

We found it a bit subversive and decadent to *think* - rather like having pizza for breakfast.

It wasn't called by that name but we were encouraged to "unschool".

We made unofficial learning contracts with ourselves and sought out information and new skills.

Education was not something inflicted on the powerless for 12,960 grueling hours and then abandoned as soon as possible.

We were seduced into learning "off the books" even when no one was watching or grading.

Seeing adults we respected reading,discussing and USING their knowledge in constructive ways tempted us to do likewise for the rest of our lives.

With that mindset,education is seldom boring nor is there a stigma attached to an adult not "completing their education."

Instead,there is an awareness that our learning is never finished until we are.

We need not dumb things down or create a circus atmosphere to make what is taught palatable.

Perhaps,we need do little more than remind people that tyrants always seek to keep their victims ignorant and helpless.

I'm sure we need to include in our "infomercials" the idea that learning is a challenge and a sacred trust as well as a joy and that it is offered bcause they have the power to put it to good use.

I already like you myselfi, these school board members are absolutely clueless.