Nightingale

haven't skydivers had enough fire issues recently?

you yourself just said that the word "God" is strongly associated with Christianity. So did Truman, when he authorized that the pledge be altered. Asking children to say this pledge in schools (and not informing them that they have the right to abstain!) is government "respecting" one religion over another, which is unconstitutional. It really has nothing to do with what any of us, christian, deitst, athiest, agnostic, hindu, buddhist, or whatever, believe personally. The government must abide by the letter of the law. The spirit thereof, is largely irrelevant, because we have no way of truly knowing what our founding fathers were thinking, because we can't pick up a phone and ask. Therefore, we must take what they have written literally. If you're unhappy with it, I would encourage you to attempt to amend the constitution in accordance with your wishes.

your very correct. Christians claim that "God" is all encompassing and works for any religion, when, in fact, Christians are the only ones who refer to their deity as "God".

I used the term to mean one who not only holds strong beliefs (nothing wrong with that), but who tries to make others conform to his beliefs. The dictionary defines a zealot as "one who is carried away by zeal" or "a fervent and even militant proponent of something" and "One who is zealous, especially excessively so." I would consider an athiest who adamantly tries to deny religious folk the right to go to church a zealot as well.

I have a few friends who were die hard Bush supporters in the last election who will be voting for Kerry this time around. Couple of them have changed their minds because of: his stance on "faith based" work his stance on school vouchers his anti-homosexual agenda his pro-war policies his lack of diplomacy when dealing with the UN his stance on environmental policies the accumulation of such a large national defecit I'm sure there are more reasons too. These are just the ones they've voiced to me.

the first time around, he didn't run with the platform of "religious zealot".

Kerry. Bush has drastically increased the defecit. Bush has taken us to war against a nation who didn't attack us. Bush has declared war on the separation between church and state. no way in hell I'd vote for Bush, so Kerry is the only other option, because no independent is going to win this race.

I wouldn't say that they're held to a lower level of accountibility... does anyone care what John Doe's war record was? or if he lied when he was asked if he cheated on his wife?

I would define hurting as something that is measurably painful, rather emotionally, physically, or financially. if someone steals money, stalks someone, or physically harms them against their will, they should be legally responsible. If someone wants to marry someone of the same sex, that has nothing to do with anyone but the two consenting adults, and the state, therefore, has no business regulating it.

I'm also a lefty who supports the second amendment. It's about the only thing I disagree with the ACLU on. I'm all for personal freedom. If you're not hurting anyone by doing it, go ahead. (this is why I can't vote republican...they're too mired in making everyone adhere to their narrow-minded value system) I'm also all for social programs, but feel they should be privately funded by the people who believe in them. (why I grudgingly vote democrat. I don't like that my tax dollars are given to social programs, but since I'd give voluntarily anyway, and I can't bring myself to vote for someone who wants to take rights away from me and others, I feel I have to vote democrat, because third parties don't have a snowball's chance) So, I'm a social liberal and an economic moderate.

A lot of people have had necklaces made, or made their own, with a pin removed from a rig they've actually jumped. I thought that was a cool idea.

it pretty much just means that you skydive. The closing pin is a part of the hardware... it's attached to the bridle, goes through the closing loop and holds the container shut. when you pull, the pilot chute catches air, puts tension on the bridle, and pulls the pin, opening the container and allowing deployment to take place.

the catholic schools refused to provide me with these statistics, saying they do not track elementary students, only high school

I'm a social liberal, but an economic moderate. My friends are all over the map. from hardcore conservatives to people way more liberal than me. bout the only people I don't get along with well are those who are anti-homosexual. A very close family member is gay, and it sincerely bothers me when people say rude things and want to take away his rights.

not universally, of course. However, it is the justification given for not requiring college professors to take classes in how to teach.

The interaction with my mom was this last. I had already done my research on private vs. public schools and written my analysis the year or so before. It was just that my mom, after disagreeing strongly with my findings, went and taught at a public school (her position was being cut at the parochial one) and discovered that she agreed with my findings. It was more that my findings and experiences affected her worldview in this case than the other way around. If I, and my aunt and uncle, hadn't encouraged her to give public education a try, she probably would've retired. Her public school is now talking about making her head of the science department, since they think she's such a great teacher and she has a master's in science education from USC. She says that the public school is a "much better place to teach and to learn." My mom and my aunt (PhD in education and university professor at a Catholic university) and uncle (also PhD in education and DEAN at a catholic university) used to go round and round over the catholic education system that every one of them went through. My aunt and uncle (brother and sister) had studied and analyzed catholic schools. My uncle did his doctoral dissertation on them. My mom only had her own experiences and a "gut feeling". My mom insisted catholic schools were superior. My aunt and uncle disagreed strongly. Both my aunt and uncle agree that Catholic Universities provide a very good education. They do not, however, think the same of catholic elementary schools. They've done extensive research on the matter in the course of their degrees and their current positions. There may be areas where the catholic school system is superior. (East LA immediately comes to mind, not because of the quality of education available, but because of social factors). However, overall, I believe, through my own analysis, and through reading the analysis of others, and from speaking extensively with many university professors, that for the most part, public schools can offer superior opportunities to children. Religious education can take place at home, at church, and through youth groups. My family is very catholic, and my cousins (mother is the aunt mentioned above), although they attend public school, are very well versed in Catholic doctrine, and have made first communion, and will be confirmed in high school, if that is their wish. My cousins are most definitely educated as catholics. they simply do not attend catholic school.

hehe. I split my time too. I had a great experience with some of the kids at my elementary, but the education itself wasn't as good. K-6 parochial (two different schools in two different diocese) 7-8 public 9- parochial 10-12- public university - private catholic My experience at Rosary was definitely not all negative. They have a wonderful theatre program that gave me the drama bug. They have several amazing teachers. I'll never forget my history teacher. She made history come alive and made me love the subject to this day. A phys-ed teacher who made me feel like I could actually excel in a sport other than karate. course, I had a few nightmare teachers too. A math teacher who called me an idiot to my face in front of the class (of couse I couldn't do a square root! I'd never been taught!) Overall, however, the quality of education simply wasn't as high. My mother taught at a parochial school for almost 20 years. She just made the switch to public. She, like me, feels that the public schools in our area are far superior than the parochial. She actually APOLOGIZED to me for sending me to a parochial school, stating that I'd have gotten a better all-around education in our public school system. She said she was sorry, that she thought I'd get a better education at the private school, but, now having experienced teaching at a public school, she could see that her assumptions had been false. and no, it wasn't hard to keep any kind of bias out of my research. I was dealing with quantitative research, not qualitative, which is far more objective, and my research was closely monitored by a teacher and an advisor, as well as the dean.

That goes back to my littebug point. If those behaviors were accepted, they were committed. Yeah, if the parents tolerate that stuff, it will happen. Young people rise to their expectations. LOL! The common nickname for Rosary High in Orange County is "The Whorehouse on the Hill". During my one year there, I could see that the reputation was well deserved.

the statistics I listed were from my own research, for a research project for my master's degree. At the time, they were verified by district/diocese administrators, teachers, and principals from their educational organization. The reason you don't need a credential to teach college is that you're dealing with adults. Discipline isn't an issue, and neither is child development. Teacher education isn't about WHAT to teach. It's about HOW to teach, how to deal with children at different stages of development, classroom management, etc. It's about how to teach children how to learn. Adults in college already know how to learn.

Given the state of the parochial schools in my area, I would STRONGLY disagree. Again, however, it varies by school and area. Comparison: (these figures are from 2002...don't think much has changed since then, though) Public schools: 100% Credentialed Parochial schools: 60% Credentialed Public schools: 100% teacher subject verified (the teachers either have class credits or have taken a test to verify their subject knowledge) Parochial schools: 55% verified (however, these teachers may be teaching other subjects than they were tested on, which is not permitted in public school. there was no data available on this) Public schools: 40% of teachers with higher degrees Parochial schools: 10% of teachers with higher degrees Public schools: Pentium 4 computer labs Parochial schools: Apple IIes mainly, a few pentium 2s. Public schools: average textbook age - 3 years Parochial schools: average textbook age - 12 years Public schools: 100% of administration with higher degrees (admin credentials and/or masters/doctorate) Parochial schools: 20% of administration with higher degrees interesting, isn't it?

if a teacher is "engaged in combat with one challenged student" you either have an incompetant teacher or a student in incorrect placement. If the student cannot handle a normal classroom environment due to ADHD, the student should not be placed in that environment. There are many options that can be explored for kids with behavior issues such as you describe.

public schools generally have special classes for special needs kids that need them. You're not going to have a kid with the IQ of a vegetable mixed in with average to above average kids. However, that kid with the IQ of 30 is still going to be given the same standardized test as every other kid, nevermind he can't even hold a pen. Special needs kids are supposed to be put in the "least restrictive environment" that meets ALL their needs. If they're disruptive or can't follow along in a regular classroom, then a regular classroom isn't the place for them. Most public school districts have "Gifted and Talented" (GATE) programs for above average kids. These are a good option if you have a bright kid, as teachers compete to teach these classes, so you usually get the most highly qualified teacher.

many public schools now have students wear uniforms as well. As for the litter issue, well, the public school probably has a lot more kids. The public schools around here have eight to ten sixth grade classes (approximately 360 kids per grade) as opposed to the private schools, which have one class per grade (around 30 kids per grade). More people means more trash.

do they test at the beginning of the year or the end? do they have any special needs children enrolled? do they have any English language learners? if the answer to the first question is Yes, and the second two questions are No, you really have no way of comparing them to the national average. You can, however, look into comparing them to other private schools who also test at the end of the year and do not enroll special needs or limited English students, to give you a more accurate comparison.

I never learned how to drive a manual. The only manual cars in my family when I learned to drive was a 65 and a 66 mustang. No way was Dad going to let me learn on those classics. I do spend quite a bit of time in LA traffic, so I like my automatic for now, but have been wanting to learn how to drive a stick for a long time.