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papsrus

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Posts posted by papsrus

  1. dumb and dumber. americans hostile to knowledge?

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    I think there is portion of the population that is poor and white that are kind of looked down upon and ignored.

    I grew up poor and due to the stressful conditions education was something that was never stressed as being important.

    I got out and turned out ok ( I have a good job, own a house) due to hard work but I certainly would have loved to have had parents that had the money and time to take an interest in my future. Luckily I have a strong curiosity in computers, music and reading. It also helps that my wife and I have a three days a week no TV rule.

    That's a good rule. I work nights, so that alone limits my TV watching. But there's TiVo. Ours is more than half filled with unwatched -- and probably never-to-be-watched -- programs. We recently ditched the movie channels, because we rarely utilized them.

    I use the TV during football and baseball season to keep one eye on the games, to monitor election results (although, the internet is better for that) and to watch a few shows I enjoy from time to time. (The various incarnations of Law and Order, I'm afraid. Luckily, I can turn the TV on at virtually any time of the day or night and catch an episode.) That's it. I think nothing of going a day or two without turning it on.

  2. dumb and dumber. americans hostile to knowledge?

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    At the present time, I'm teaching students who are working towards their GED (many are very far off from this goal...a large number of my students read below a sixth-grade level). In the morning, I teach kids between 16 and 19 years old. In the afternoon, I work with women in a county jail, who can be anywhere from 18 to 99 (most are in their 30s and 40s). These people have almost no prior knowledge, which can make my job a challenge. It's hard to prepare kids to answer a question that compares the Civil War to World War II when they don't know anything about either. When I asked my morning class when WWII happened, a large number guessed "the 1980s."

    I don't blame these kids, of course. I know that at least one of them is homeless (his family is living in a motel on the taxpayer's dime), and almost all of them have at least one family member in prison. These kids have a LOT on their plate. The public school system failed them, and they've dropped out. I know that I'm their last, best hope of getting a start in life that doesn't include drugs, crime, or minimum-wage hell. What bothers me is not their lack of knowledge, so much as their lack of curiosity. They don't know things: That's fine. There are a great many things that I don't know. I'm always telling them that an intelligent person knows just how much he or she doesn't know. But they don't WANT to know about things. When I try to teach things to them, they complain that it's irrelivant to their lives. They want to know how math, science, history and literature are going to help them as hair stylists or while working at McDonalds. I try to explain how a great many things I'm teaching them do have a practical application, but they don't really believe it, and I'm at pains to show them how algebra is going to help them make correct change. I want them to understand that education is their ticket out of the ghetto, but I think they've lived in the ghetto too long to be able to conceive of a world outside of it (they certainly have made it abundently clear to me that they don't care who the next president is, they don't care what happens in Iraq of Afghanistan, and they don't care about Global Warming).

    My students at the jail are a completely different story. They are hungry to learn and they do care very much about the world. We just watched "An Inconvienent Truth" and they are all writing letters to elected officials asking what they plan to do about Global Warming. We're also reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the jail, and the students are finding that they really identify with Anne and her ordeal. On Friday, we watched most of "Schindler's List" and they were shocked by what humans are capable of. These women make it worth getting out of bed in the morning, I'm telling you.

    I guess what I want to know is this: What happened to "common knowledge"? Did it ever really exist?

    Don't kids respond well to role models? Perhaps digging up a few educated ones might inspire them? Or people who have risen above the ordinary despite long odds? (... I'm sure you've tried all this and more).

    I think that your post also suggests something about the education system in the United States that often overlooked when comparing test results here to those in some other countries. Virtually every child in the U.S. is required to attend school (or be home-schooled) until a certain age. Something to keep in mind when comparing U.S. test results to, say, Indian or Chinese students, where, correct me if I'm wrong but, I think there are broad swaths of uneducated children who simply are not factored in to their results.

    The U.S. has the most extensive higher education system in the world and some of the best universities anywhere. It's a system that attracts students and educators from around the globe, to our great benefit. The opportunities to attend them can be limited, of course. But that speaks, at least in part, to their quality as well.

    Adult or continuing education programs (as you've pointed out) are also pervasive. And technical schools, where people can learn these useful skills that your students are curious about, are common.

    There are a great many educational opportunities in this country. We of course have to make them more widely accessible ... again.

    But the truth is, many people are happy being uneducated, holding down day jobs and going home to watch television each night instead of reading a book, or listening to music. They get by in our society just fine. In fact, we need them. Who else is going to change the oil in our cars, serve us fast food, deliver our pizza? That sounds cold, but there's some truth in it, isn't there?

  3. Preparing for exile in what could be a hostile land

    in Forums Discussion

    Posted

    Hi ... um, beboppin' guy. :w ... No need to skulk around. It's not hostile here in the least. In fact, I quite prefer it now that I've hung around for a while. Freewheeling, lots of knowledge from the listening end of things. No experience with the musician side of things. Lots of good discussions. And people with a sense of humor ... yowza! ... But, in the end, it is what you make it.

  4. Cannonball Adderley

    in Artists

    Posted

    What with the fire truck being sent back in time, and all ... and the high praise otherwise, I figured I'd better dial up Newbury and snatch me a copy of this fandango Europe disc. ... I'll have a bucket of ice at the ready when it arrives ... :tup

  7. Glad to be back

    in Forums Discussion

    Posted

    Yes, he needed to go--I read his posts today and Damon Smith's graceful response. I did not see any protest against Bluenote82's venom, but at least somebody woke up. Now tell me, how long has Bluenote82 been there? I may be wrong (please correct me, if so), but I don't think he had anything to do with the issues that made this simmering discontent boil over. If I am right, then I don't see how his removal solves the problem. They really need to get rid of that guy from Ottawa--his attitude is very bad for the board and he needs to goose step out of there. Putting him in a off-line position will only work if he really keeps his pixels to himself, which is not likely to happen. Today, when one of the more offensive members wished for "virtual duct tape" today--to silence others on the board--the Ottawa guy seconded that wish. Says a lot, I think.

    No argument there from me. Bluenote had nothing to do with the earlier exodus, but was more a part of the general shift in overall tone over there, I think. Certain members seemed to get away with direct attacks while others were penalized for nothing of the kind. That, to me, was the problem in a nutshell. Part of that equation is now being addressed, it seems. The other part ... ??

  9. Glad to be back

    in Forums Discussion

    Posted

    Bluenote82, I think was his handle. A pretty recent "addition" to the community over there. A very abrupt and elbows-up kind of guy. A know-it-all from the get-go.

    Among other things, he ripped into Damon Smith, an accomplished avant bass player who posts there, on a Wynton Marsalis thread (there's a mouthful). Damon, of course, responded with grace. But I think that may have been the last straw for old bluenote. He'd ripped Michael (WordsandSounds) too, for no reason. Just a rowdy guy. ... He could wash up here, so ... heads up.

    I think it seems like they are trying to take steps over there to get a grip on things. We'll see.

  13. Steroids Hearing

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    Well, the whole point (beyond grandstanding by all parties involved) is to get drugs out of sports ... or make progress in that direction anyways. More than once I heard references to steroids in high schools. If the aim is to keep athletes clean -- high school kids especially -- then I'm all for the hearings.

  16. Baseball Steroid Thread

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Roger Clemens told Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte nearly 10 years ago that he used human growth hormone, Pettitte said in a sworn affidavit to Congress, The Associated Press learned Tuesday.

    That AP story was much less specific when it first moved last night. It initially said something like Clemens "talked to Pettitte about HGH" ... much more nebulous phrasing, and I have to wonder why AP wasn't more specific in its original story.

    I thought it was because that's all they had. I figured whoever leaked it wanted just enough ambiguity out there to invite Clemens into a perjury trap. Congress would let Clemens give his side of that story today, then confront him with more incriminating details from the Pettitte affidavit.

    Nice that he's hanging his wife out to dry.

    The guy is toast, IMO. He'd better start focusing on staying out of jail at this point.

  18. What live music are you going to see tonight?

    in Live Shows & Festivals

    Posted · Edited by papsrus

    Tonight: Terence Blanchard with James Moody (sax), Benny Green (piano), Nnenna Freelon (vocals), Derrick Hodge (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums). Part of the Monterey 50th Anniversary Tour.

    Hope that goes well, Papsrus. I saw Moody many years ago...can't recall in what context!

    Yes, I'm looking forward to it. It appears that some top-notch jazz is starting to make its way to the local performing arts venue here. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future. Branford Marsalis will be playing here in about a month as well.

    EDIT: Blanchard concert was very good and the 1,700 seat hall was about 9/10ths full (corners in the back were empty). Moody -- 82-year-old James Moody -- was great, and quite a showman too, cracking a few corny jokes. Audience loved it. But his tone and phrasing were perfect, and his playing and stage presence were energetic. Amazing. Highlights of the first set were the opener -- "Bebop" -- and "Monterey Mist," which the band played with deft touch.

    The unquestioned highlight of the second set was a mini-medley of Blanchard's "Levee" and "Funeral Dirge" from the album "God's Will" (for which he won a Grammy Sunday night). Played with an orchestra on the album, the two tunes were beautifully rendered in trio and then quartet settings respectively. Gorgeous.

  19. Abomination

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted · Edited by papsrus

    From Entertainment Weeky: "...The evening's second-most head-scratching moment, after Herbie Hancock's Album of the Year win. "

    Typical: <_< Is it just so unbelievable that someone who isn't a rock or pop artist can actually win the award? God forfreakingbid.

    Not surprising. On CNN this morning the anchor commented "I didn't know Herbie Hancock was even still in the music business". :rolleyes:

    Well, CNN isn't as hip as those pimpin' MSNBC cats.

    EDIT: FWIW, I dig the Hancock album quite a bit. Played the heck out of it when I first got it. Shorter is great. It's a pretty well-thought-out album. Sensitive, yada, yada. Gave a copy to my non-jazz-lovin' sister for Christmas, so she'll be impressed with my expert taste ... maybe.

  21. Suite History: Duke Ellington, Oliver Nelson, and John Carter

    in Jazz Radio & Podcasts

    Posted

    Suite History: Duke Ellington, Oliver Nelson, John Carter and the African-American Odyssey is now archived for online listening. Part 1 and Part 2 of the full interview that I did with historian Michael McGerr for this program are transcribed and posted on the website as well...Michael talks about the historical contexts from which these extended works emerged. (He's quite an Ellington devotee, and I'm hoping that some day he'll undertake a bio of DKE.)

    Note to MG: there should be a volume control on your RealPlayer box, just to the right of the stream. However, I do know that in the past there was an issue with Night Lights being recorded at too low a volume--I'm pretty sure in the past 1-2 years the engineers have been boosting it a bit.

    Thanks for posting this. Very much enjoying it. I've just recently started listening to Black Brown & Beige, so this broadcast provides some needed context for me. The Nelson suite I am completely unfamiliar with, but from the recordings here, it sounds very good indeed. Interesting that he was initially reluctant to write the suite. I am familiar with Castles of Ghana, but nothing else of Carter's mammoth contribution here.

    Anyways, thanks again for providing this. Very much enjoying it.

  24. NBC suspends David Shuster

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    A stupid and self destructive response.

    I disagree. It's a smart and politically astute response.

    Yeah, it's not the first time a politician has twisted the knife just a little after they've got someone down. She's basically playing to the moms of America (of which there seem to be very few here), me thinks, and maybe people who are generally hostile toward the MSM (whatever that is) to begin with.

    Next week we won't even remember this. There'll be some new skirmish to divert our attention. But the battle is won in small increments. And so it goes ....

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