Stupid kids - view it as an opportunity!

[Forty Two]

Only 37% of high school kids are testing as ready for college math and reading -- http://www.wsj.com/articles/just-37-of- ... 1461729661

As someone with small children, I see this as an opportunity. Just being pretty good at reading and math will set a kid ahead of her peers. My diabolical plan of having my kids reading and doing basic math before kindergarten is right on schedule. They'll be above and beyond your average 12th grade high schooler by the time they are in third or fourth grade.

[Rum]

There is a good chance they will if you really focus on it. Mind you they will have your genes to cope with too, so maybe an uphill struggle..

[Strontium Dog]

I was reading fluently at the age of 3. The preschool teacher refused to believe it when I recited from my book and accused me of just memorising the text, until I was handed a copy of that day's newspaper to read from

Of course, my parents taught me English the proper way, teaching me the names of the letters, rather than the idiotic technique they employ in schools, where they teach kids what the letters (usually) sound like. Most of that guff has to be unlearned later on, when children discover that C isn't always pronounced "kuh" and G isn't always "guh".

Little wonder that when I went to senior school aged 10, there were still some of my classmates who couldn't get through a sentence without pausing between the words.

[Forty Two]

There is a good chance they will if you really focus on it. Mind you they will have your genes to cope with too, so maybe an uphill struggle..

The bad genes should give them a claim to being underprivileged and marginalized.

[tattuchu]

There is a good chance they will if you really focus on it. Mind you they will have your genes to cope with too, so maybe an uphill struggle..

[tattuchu]

There is a good chance they will if you really focus on it. Mind you they will have your genes to cope with too, so maybe an uphill struggle..

The bad genes should give them a claim to being underprivileged and marginalized.

[tattuchu]

I was reading fluently at the age of 3. The preschool teacher refused to believe it when I recited from my book and accused me of just memorising the text, until I was handed a copy of that day's newspaper to read from

Of course, my parents taught me English the proper way, teaching me the names of the letters, rather than the idiotic technique they employ in schools, where they teach kids what the letters (usually) sound like. Most of that guff has to be unlearned later on, when children discover that C isn't always pronounced "kuh" and G isn't always "guh".

Little wonder that when I went to senior school aged 10, there were still some of my classmates who couldn't get through a sentence without pausing between the words.

But everybody gets an award just for participating! There are no losers!

[laklak]

Loser, double loser, whatever, fly away forever.

[pErvinalia]

My kids were playing Monopoly the other day and neither of them was trying to win. The little fella refused to buy any property and just collected $200 every turn around the board. At one point he had about $5000 and no property. His sister bought lots of property but wouldn't put any houses on it. This went on for an afternoon. Finally, the next morning after pausing for sleep, the young fella bought one train station and his sister put two houses on each property. A few long hours later the game was finally over...

The moral of the story is: It's a pain in the arse sometimes playing my kids at games. Particularly the young one. They keep telling me that it's not about winning, it's about having fun. Fuck that, what's the point of competing if you aren't trying to win?

[JimC]

They'll never become property moguls with that attitude!

[Animavore]

Isn't viewing stupid kids as an opportunity the cornerstone of capitalism?

[Strontium Dog]

The thing with Monopoly is getting your houses built on property sets as soon as possible, and when you get to 4 houses, don't upgrade to hotels. The housing stock is strictly limited, and you can starve your opponents of the ability to build houses.

[pErvinalia]

We just create more housing stock via fiat.

[Tyrannical]

High school used to be of a difficulty that if someone worked hard possessing an average iq their grade would be a C.

[Forty Two]

Isn't viewing stupid kids as an opportunity the cornerstone of capitalism?

No, I think the cornerstone of capitalism is economic freedom. You do what you want, within the law, with your own property and resources. Secondarily, there is self-interest, as distinct from selfishness (they are not at all the same thing). The notion is that self-interest is best understood by the self - nobody knows what you need or want better than you, generally speaking (albeit not always and not for everything). However, in general, other people, such as elected officials or bureaucrats, are not in a better position to know what is best for a given individual. Thus, the individual is tasked with looking out for his or her interests, and a lot of voting is done with one's own pocketbook.

Capitalism is not based on taking advantage of stupid people, but serving a given market. That's why capitalism - real capitalism, not crony capitalism or state capitalism - tends to be better to individuals than government agencies when providing services. If you have a problem, the fix-it shop might be persuaded to stay open past 5pm to help you to make sure you can get somewhere the following day -- persuasion, customer loyalty, the desire to beat out the competitor down the street - can make private businesses go the extra mile. A government agency will never do that. 5pm is quittin' time - and you will be in dire need if a service is not provided .... oh, well - you snooze you lose, come back tomorrow.

In competitive industries, you can get a lot of consideration from private companies when you need something and they need customers. Governments don't do dick that isn't set forth in the regulations or procedures.