I want to talk about "Phil".
Some years ago I lived in an apartment complex that was more or less dedicated to housing young adults- singles and marrieds. Management organized a monthly get-together- rock band, Las Vegas party, etc. Alcohol was provided. (I lived there three years. The parties ceased after one... fun while it lasted!)
I came home from work one evening and while parking my car I noticed a car with its hood up and a gawky man standing, looking at the engine with a puzzled look. I walked over and inquired about the problem.
"It won't start" says he.
"Hop in, turn your lights on and honk your horn" says I.
When he honked his horn his lights dimmed dramatically.
"Let's clean your battery cables", says I. We did. And his car started, no problem. Phil was amazed. I lived on the ground floor. Phil lived two floors above me. We became friends.
Phil was one of those people that was SO SMART he was weird. Phil had trouble making friends because his interests were... odd. He knew serious details about stuff you and I have no interest in at all. But if you gave him a chance to go into the details about the stuff that interested him, you could get interested too.
I'm a curious type. I thought Phil was neat.
Phil had been a Chemistry teacher at a local High School. During summers he had free time on his hands and took a part time job as a cook at a "Denny's" restaurant. After a while Phil used his tremendous thinking power to do the math and realized if he worked a regular shift at Denny's, then worked a little overtime at Denny's, he could make more money slamming together "Grand Slams" at Denny's than he could make trying to teach kids Chemistry that had no interest whatsoever in the subject.
This was true in the late 1970's. I don't know if it is still true.
But I have a suspicion that THIS is why our education system is in the shape it's in today.
Comment, plz.
5 comments:
Something along the lines of the old cliche, Those who can do, those who can't teach"?
Teaching is a government job. There is no incentive to do better.
There is no reward for it. Unless you find the job rewarding.
But if you go WOKE enough, there is promotion in the system.
But you are no longer teaching.
My niece finds it rewarding, but she has a magic of getting the kids engaged.
And she is in a conservative community.
My friend quit because she couldn't take the wokeness anymore.
I don't know what teachers teach today. In my youth, the basics were most important, and for those wishing to pursue a higher education, more involved subjects were offered. Everyone else was offered what was called distributive education, which allowed part time jobs in the afternoon, and technical classes, which involved mechanics or welding. It worked, and there was no dishonor in pursuing something other than a college education.
My experience in construction allowed me to observe the young over decades. They became more ignorant, the basics required for existing in the adult world became more lacking, and understanding the history of the United States disappeared. When I examined my grandfathers subjects in high school during the early nineteen hundreds, I realized how far education has plummeted. Only a small number of today's college graduates could pass.
Having been in an industry that was highly regulated by Federal employees, the same as Graybeards, I would add to WSF.
Those that can't teach, regulate! Sad but quite true with few exceptions.
Makes sense, and less hate and discontent as a cook... sigh
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