Posted by lm on March 11, 2002 at 16:19:01:
In Reply to: Only my opinions posted by Kelli on March 11, 2002 at 15:43:31:
I disagree with your last point there Kelli. If you knew the millions of parents who wish they had a better education system for their children, you would take back that last comment. If you've attended a PTA meeting and seen how a tight school budget in an underserved community can limit parents' wishes, then you could take back your comment. The direction of the US Education is ultimately in the hands of the government, who really serves the interests of its private supporters, NOT the taxpayers. and when you have an incompetent leader, like Bush, who is more concerned with showcasing his nuclear weapons in the "axis of evil" you really can't do much about it.
: "Globalisation" is ensuring the erosion of individual cultures and pushing all cultures (including the Swiss and Israeli) into one homogenised mass. Mass migration from the third world into the first is also a symptom of globalisation which paradoxically adds to the homogenisation of culture: when a migrant group enters and begins to live in another culture, they are vulnerable to those influences that come along with the adoption of a new way of life and more and more these days, these influences are commercial, ie., the effects of a globalised economy - where ever you are. This also causes a rupture in the host culture which is being influenced then not only from within (its new immigrants) but from external economic forces. Economies and environmental conditions have always influence culture. As for the American education system, it is made up of individuals. What I mean is that there is no point blaming an institution - all institutions are made up of individuals. If American teenagers are not educated - blame their parents who do not demand a better system.