h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'd lost track - I didn't remember what you aid about education.

I was trying to answer the inane nonsense of my fellow Scot. He doesn't seem capable of putting together a cohesive argument - but given recent events on the thread, I don't just want to bat him down.

Anyway - the answer on special needs education is...lots of things. And flexibility.

But as for school discipline and troublesome kids...we shouldn't expect the education system to solve all of society's problems. Prosperous, stable families will - on the whole - bring up children who are easy to educate.

I can't keep track, either, of what all was said that I agree or disagree with. Although, because I do respect your opinion, I don't automatically mind if you and I disagree on things sometimes.

Which gentleman is your fellow Scot?

>Prosperous, stable families will - on the whole - bring up children who are easy to educate.<

I agree with that, too. It's too bad it's not so easy to make all families prosperous and stable. Heck, I'm fairly well educated, was a good student and reasonably well-behaved, and I had a sketchy upbringing at best. I hate to think just how bad things have to be to cause a child to have even more serious problems in school. I don't think we'll ever be able to fix all of society's problems so long as we live in a capitalist society that encourages climbing the ladder of success using the backs of the less fortunate as rungs.

SirShiftyshug 'Scotland Forever'

I hate that nationalist crap. OK - so I'm a 'Scot of English Ethnic Origin' (a term I invented to p**s off nationalists). It goes with an attitude that blames all of Scotland's misfortunes - present and historic - on the English. And I generally can't figure out the whole notion of being proud of an accident of birth. Far better to be proud of what you've done than where you were born.

Anyway - I'm finding his random contributions a little difficult to take. I hope I'm not just being swayed by his poor spelling and grammar - I don't believe that good education is necessary for intelligence. But he does seem to come out with stock responses to everything - largely based on tabloid wisdom.

As for upbringing - are you familar with the famous poem by Philip Larkin, 'This Be The Verse'? : http://www.tetrameter.com/larkin.htm

I'd never heard that poem before. Ain't it the truth! Thanks.

Shifty confuses me, mainly because I also have difficulty following his statements due to poor grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I've tried not to write him off because of it though. There's a number of people on here who use English as a second language, though, and use it so much better... Oh, well. With Shifty, it's just that pretty much any time he asks a question or makes a statement that's worth commenting on, he follows it up with another sweeping generalization, and I get frustrated. I hope he'll learn more as he grows older and will become more tolerant- that's often the case.

>And I generally can't figure out the whole notion of being proud of an accident of birth. Far better to be proud of what you've done than where you were born.<

Me too. Not a very popular belief on this side of the pond, though. What they call "patriotism", I see as at least borderline nationalism. I mean, I'm glad I was born where I was, but as you say, that was purely accident of fate and nothing to feel smug about.