On behalf of my country I sincerely apologize...

I don´t hate USA, that is the last thing I do. So USA is NOT on my list of hatred at all.

 

Part of the problem with US schools is the policy being implimented called "No Child Left Behind" (at least in my area). Basically it boils down to instead of trying to have "slower" kids keep up with the "normal-paced" kids, they are slowing the "normal" kids down to the level of the "slower" students. Also in the process they are completely ignoring the "gifted" students. By not allowing the "normal" kids to learn at a faster rate, they are stifiling the "intelligence" of the American population. It's a very sad situation really

"quoted terms" are used in a best-fit terminology so as to hopefully not offend anyone.

 

Hmmm, one of my friends son, is a gifted kid. And the school has put him into a special class, because he can read just as good like a 6. grader, and he is super intelligent and other stuff. So he is lucky. But not all gifted kids are lucky, and this boy. I am talking about is 8 or 9 years old. So you can really call him gifted in a very positive term. If he got a pc with an internet connection, then he would program the crap out of anything. He could get his hands on, meaning, if he learned any programming language, then he would do it. Since his mathematical skills are extremely good to for his age too.

 

There's one great thing about the US, it's a place of opportunity.

I remember that I was put ahead of other kids in math when I came from Greece - something that wouldn't probably happen in other countries.

They really do care about people with talent and smarts and they invest in them. (judging from how many foreigners became brilliant scientists in the US etc)

 

maybe in certain regions, but gifted kids usually still get put into better classes. Public schools fight over money, since not all receive the same amount from a state budget. They stress more on the test results than what students actually learn. So yes, any dipshit teacher can pound history or math into a child's head enough to pass a state exam, but they really didn't learn anything.

I still remember going off to special classes for smart kids in elementary school, and that was on a military base. I'd think the US school system would benefit from just going year round. Right now, kids get like 3 months off to dick around and do nothing all summer, while parents still work.

 

Kids get a 3 monther each summer in Greece as well. Hell, even the Law school gave us 3 months - poor doctors/dentists got something like a month.

Getting free time isn't a reason to be dumb. Kids can choose to spend their time creatively if they wish to.

 

She was probably wondering if that was a good or bad thing.

Destined to be the next Anna Nicole Smith!

And, she's probably in college somewhere. (Doesn't that make you feel good about a college degree?)

 

The schools in my area are extremely overcrowded, and the school system is making stupid moves that are actually setting things back further. I'm glad I graduated out when I did, because I would have dropped out by now.

Half of the teachers don't give a shit about the students, either, and the way things are being handled by the school system is scaring away potential teachers that may actually care. There were a few teachers I got along very well with (a rarity since a lot of them were either scared of me or didn't like me because I knew more about the subject matter than they did), and most of them are either quitting or relocating.

Gifted kids do get into higher-ranked classes, although they may not necessarily be better in terms of subject matter. Most of them simply had a ton of busy-work with no real payoff other than an extra credit or two. I never signed up for any of them partially because I'm lazy and partially because I didn't/don't care.

Sorry for the rant, but there are so many things wrong with the North Carolina school system (likely others as well, what with this "No Child Left Behind" bullshit).

 

Yeah, poor doctors and dentists. They've got it rough.

 

in relation to lawyers, I believe they do.

You can earn lots of money with a Bachelor degree in Law, and that will only set you back 3 years for the degree +1 for the BVC/LPC. To be a doctor you need something like 5/7 years and then a speciality ! Considering such a long time of study, 1 month a summer is really bad.

Even after getting the degree, the average advocat makes more than the average doctor.

All in all, I think a doctor's job is harder although not as creative and intellectually stimulating as playing with words =)

 

As a doctor/dentist though you can (usually) go home each day not feeling like a complete prick or the scum of the Earth. Unless you're one of those doctors that fondles their patience when they're under.

 

oh come on. Do you really believe in ethics?

besides, not all lawyers defend criminals. There's more to law than crime. I personally have an interest in Banking/Shipping, do you see something immoral in that?

 

Yeh. Letting UPS get away with screwing customers with shitty service and letting banks get away with ridiculous fees that never existed before.

See, there's always a bad side to everything .

BTW, I'm being cynical, so don't take what I say seriously as it is not being directed towards you. I'm just making a point on things in general.

 

touche, but also consider the very high fees that doctors charge to "save a life". Pharmacetical companies are criminals for charing so much for AIDS and cancer medication for example, in my view - and guess what! they have medically trained personel

 

I used to think the stupidity in the Southern States was a stereotype until some guy asked me what a sign said.

The sign said "Public Bathroom" and he couldn't read it. I'm also pretty sure he didn't have eye problems either.

 

One of the people in my health class didn't know what a sunroof was. You're in the fucking 9th grade, and you don't know what a fucking SUNROOF is?! Good God, how do these people get this far without being held back at LEAST once?!

 

Lawyers are professionals in knowing the ins and outs of the system. Your right... not all are scum, but not only criminal law practicing lawyers are pricks. Look at divorce lawyers and the divorce system in general. Some asshole comes in, knows nothing about a family, and fights to divi up all their Earthly possessions, and in many cases will cause a child to not spend time with one of their parents. Why? B/c he gets a cut, and no other reason. There is something wrong w/ that whether you believe in ethics or not.

This doesn't even touch on the other issues of corporate law where small companies are bullied b/c they can't afford litigation, etc. etc. etc.. So, it's not just the lawyers, but they definitely fan the flames. Do I have a better solution? Nope, but I will still point the fingers at lawyers b/c it is very easy to do.

Ironically, this comes back to the lawyers. Why do you think doctor's costs are so high? Malpractice insurance. I have no clue how it works outside of Japan or the US. In Japan, it's extremely hard to sue a doctor for malpractice and win. Medical is cheaper here on the whole, due to a social system. Quality kind of sucks too. However, in the US, it's a piece of piss. So, what happens? Their insurance goes up, and that's kicked back to the patient and his insurance if he's lucky enough to have it.

Not to mention it costs a fortune and takes ages to become a doctor. Nobody's going to do it cheaply.

 

Actually it's more like 1% controls 99%, and that's not just here in America, that figure applies in every country, world wide.

Of that 1%, 1 tenth of it controls 90% of the wealth of that group. Mind you, these aren't individual people but corporations (which legally count as people,) hedge funds, oil barons, arab princes, and the like. It's always been this way, since the begining.

As for the other debate, Gajin is right - GDP is the biggest measure of wealth, of which the US of A is top of the heap by a longshot. However, if you choose to measure wealth by other means, such as standard of living, education or acess to healthcare and the like, well then things are not all peechy keen in the land of the Free.

Especially education. This video is proof enough of this.

Thing is, everyone bitches and moans about how stupid kids are today - well, when you were in high school did you have a problem picking your country out on a map? I didn't. By third grade I could probably fill in all of the major countries, by Jr. High school I essentially had basic, elementry knowledge like this down. I don't think it really has much to do with schooling - schools are just there to socialize you, not to actually teach you stuff. If you actually learned things in K - 12 you wouldn't have to go to college.

A few years ago I knew a girl who had just graduated High school. She didn't know who invented the lightbulb, or the airplane, or the cotton gin. She didn't know what the four simple machines were, how far away the Sun was from the Earth, or how many planets there were. She went on to UCLA, which is pretty prestigious (in Southern California that is.) She was hot though, like a short, young, Ally McBeal.

My big ugly fat male friends are probably the most intelligent people ever, to the point where I feel stupid talking to them at times. There is probably a relation there worth scientific study.

I think it really comes down to how much you, personally, give a crap about learning stuff. If they were really serious about producing a skilled workforce via public education, they wouldn't skimp out on the books, all schools would be uniform schools and they would be run closer to how universities are run. Truth is no sneaky ass politican really cares. He just wants to look like he cares. The school districts don't care either, they just want thier money to justify thier fat, overbloated existence.

So, I don't know. Homeschool your kid, I guess.

Edit: Oh yeah, the video. I would keep this bitches' mouth full 24-7 just to keep her stupid ass from blabbing and giving me a headache.

 

Hey, hey, hey! We include Canada, that has to count as at least half a country. That makes 1.5 countries involved, thats almost the world...I think...hmm...

Though I'm pretty certain baseball is the only sport we have in which the championship game(s) is refered to as a world championship.

 

Well if you answered Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers and Eli Whitney then you're wrong anyway as other people have been credited with inventing said devices but these hacks had better PR being Americans. :110:

Anyway does anyone outside of America care what a Cotton Gin is, I thought it was some bootleg booze made during the prohibition period.

Aren't there five simple machines rather then four?

How far the Sun is from the Earth, well that something that most people need to know in everyday life... Although I know its 8.3C (thats the speed of light and not Celcius...).

Well Scientists keep arguring over how many planets there are, so how are we mere mortals going to know....