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2. Was it true that only 2 out of 10 couldn't read/write, yet only 6% graduated from high school? I would have thought that there would be more illiterate people at that time.
I can accept that 6% HS grads because of the following. I can tell you this. When I graduated U.C. Berkeley in 1954, only 6% of the population had attended 1 semester of college. I did not see the % who graduated. Eat your hearts out -- tuition at Cal was $37.50 a semester when I was there (no quarters or cost/unit), $12.50 for a student body car that allowed us into games for free, room and board in a typical frat around $75/month, and during my last year there when I lived at International House, it was $62.50/month for room, board, and maid service.My immigrant mother went from the 8th grade to secretarial school and my father dropped out in the 10th grade. During the 1920s and perhaps after one could go to night school and earn a license to practice Dentistry and Law. Up to the 1950s and 60s and perhaps beyond, a degree from a Jr. College could get you into some law schools. Hastings in San Francisco was one. Its faculty was made up of great professors who had been forced to retire at age 65.Cancer was known to the medical profession many centuries ago.
Forgot to add that on Full Books you can read other Twain works including A Connecticut Yankeee in King Arthur's Court at no charge. Many classics there.Books are listed by title.
I have seen censored versions of Twain's wonderful 1601, which deserves the Le Petomaine/Blazing Saddles award and can be found for free uncensored on the site known as Full Books.His satire on Shakespeare-speech is a hoot.
Donroc, very interesting to hear about your past students. Perhaps you have helped fundamentally shape some of their views which have entered into their work.
Not some of RHCP's antics, I trust. Most of the time we never know the effect we have. I receive many positive surprises from students whose names I have forgotten when they contact me on facebook. If that site never existed, I would not know about it.Also, with rare exceptions, their political beliefs have remained the same over the decades. I taught in the district Henry Waxman now represents.
Phidippides, yes, those were the years when the great changes and decline in Public Education began except for the proliferation of AP courses for the academic elite. Of interest, my brightest students also were film literate. Over 15 years, 95% of my AP European History students passed, with 2/3 of them earning 4s and 5s.I taught at Fairfax in West Hollywood while waiting for a turning point in my writing career that failed to turn significantly, and a significant minority at the school included showbiz kids -- actors (Tim Hutton, Demi Moore, Michelle Greene), musicians, children of actors, directors, cameramen, etc and too many no talent wannabees. Heavy drug use among the students. Some of us on the faculty worked in film and TV, and one teacher sold her lyrics.Some who passed through my classroom -- Barry Miller, who earned an A, and Kiedis and Flea (Balzary) from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tony was bright and earned A's each semester, but Balzary worked at the bare minimum. I also saw a decline in the quality and preparation of teachers.Relating to this site, I created an independent study class called Conflict Simulations. It began when I sponsored a club that met at noon to play the board game Diplomacy.My students told me it helped them learn Geography. About that time, the Magazine Strategy and Tactics came out with a war game in each issue. The Principal, not a coach but a Social Studies Major, let me teach a class in sumer school. To make a long story a bit shorter, it became so successful, I taught it as Geography I&II with two class each semester. The students selected a war game from tactical to grand strategy, played it, then had to write a research paper that included the following:1. Origins of the conflict2. Answering the question: could diplomacy better applied have prevented it?3. Compare and contrast the real conflict with the outcome in class.4. How many dead bodies did it take to achieve the objective5. Describe your and historic "military stupidity."6. Was the war worth it?"7. Final thoughts.Two games and papers/semester -- antiwar students had their beliefs reinforced -- at least three of my former students are career colonels in the military, and because the quality of the school population declined beyond repair, I ended the classes after 11 years.
I taught high school 1959-61 at Los Gatos in California and 1967-1987 in L.A., and I was an adjunct professor of writing for those who did not pass the state tests at Polk Community College in Florida aka for the immature the 13th grade.I have taught AP European History, US and World History, Ctreative Writing and 11th grade English. When I began teaching, a boy could get in trouble for chewing gum, needing a shave or haircut, having a shirt tail out, and punishment was a paddling. If two boys wanted to fight, the coaches accomodated them by having them put on the gloves and go three rounds.I saw a steady decline in the preparation of students over those years. When I began in 1967 at Fairfax in L.A., 85% went on to college. 20 years later when I left, of those who entered in the 10th grade, 75% graduated.Academically, the best schools in the L.A. school district became similar to the economy of a 3rd world nations. The brightest and hardworking overachievers declined in number relative to the growth of semi-literate uninterested and unmotivated pupils. After my hiatus from teaching, I found the abundance of cellular phones, texting, and iphones to be more important than what any professor had to say.The decline in my opinion has been caused by too many factors.1. The breakdown in discipline caused mostly by fear of ACLU lawsuits.2. Parents who expect their children to go on to college are more concerned about their kids getting good grades rather than learning (who gets the Ds and Fs at the big university? one may ask)3. Too much middle management of curricula.4. Anti-intellectualism in the public schools and teaching departments at the Universities -- emphasis on making the student feel good rather than teaching them subject matter and critical thinking. At Fairfax, our department, of which I was chair voted not to accept any ST from UCLA until they changed their methods -- to quote the Ed Dept Chairman, "I find that those who teach subject matter are more heartless in dealing with students' needs."5. Women's Lib -- bright women can now become professionals, CEOs, whereas in the past they went into teaching in greater numbers. Not enough good teachers coming into the classrooms. A Sociology major, PE major, Econ Major, cannot adequately teach solid U.S. History. 6. U.S. History was a year class when I took it in high school 1947-8, a year course when my parents took it, and a year course when I taught it. It needs to be taught each semester.7. If any child is afraid to go to the bathroom, find another school -- which leads to --8. A combination of parents who can afford it or will sacrifice sending their kids to private or parochial school plus an influx of non-English speaking students who may or may not attend regularly.9. Power of teachers' unions who defend the worst teachers "to the death" -- by the way, hve you ever heard of a union going on strike when a teacher is assaulted and demanding safe schools?10. Parents uninvolved, plus too much TV and video games.I might add there are some great public schools, but you have to look for them. In San Francisco, I attended an elementary school that was attached to San Francisco State Teachers College back in 1938-40 before we moved. We had a master teacher and up to eight student teachers per class. They taught Spanish and gave no letter grades. We could go as fast or slowly in any subject as our IQs allowed.Later I attended one of the great academic public high schools in the USA, Lowell in San Francisco also the oldest west of the Missippi. Today, nearly all their classes are AP.Sorry about the extensive rant -- and I could write pages on the subject.
A native of the city, I do not recall Market Street having a rise that obscured half the Ferry Building at the end. Perhaps the quake leveled the street.
Same old story, a popular republican-conservative is always seen as being stupid by the left or at best, and God forbid, not an intellectual. A native Californian, I heard nothing but scorn for Reagan from the time he ran for Governor until he left the White House. Dubya too. And now Palin. No one is as mentally deficient as the left portrays them or as intelligent and capable of running the country as they portray their favorites.
Predicting who will run is an exercise in fantasy if not futility — remember Morris' book about Condi running vs. Hillary? I wish they would post “batting” averages for media pundits and ban those who fall below 50% (generous me!).Those who want a Republican Pres. in 2012 should hope for a serious leftist 3rd party to split the dems for insurance the way they hope the tea party will harm the reps.My biggest concern is that the AG will allow SEIU, other union thugs, and Black Panther types to intimidate at the polls along with the registration of additional non-entities and felons a la ACORN.
Yes, those who speak their minds publicly in the military suffer, as we know from Billy Mitchell through MacArthur to McChrystall, Only if Petraeus runs will we know more about him — and playing the political game is a necessary virtue and vice, unless one prefers a dictatorship.By the way, when the political general Eisenhower ran in 1952, he promised to end the Korean War and bring "the boys home," which the regular pols could not, and he did.
Lincoln, McKinley, Wilson, FDR, Truman, Kennedy-Johnson, Bush I&II — where's the general? Most professional military people I have known believe two things: A strong military and civilian leadership prevents war, but if you are going to fight, fight to win with a “winning the peace” strategy in mind as well.
Even then … back in the mid 1960s, my wife worked at Lockheed Air International in L.A. because she was gifted in 5 languages. As a result, she was requested to entertain important Italian visitors. I also had studied italian at Cal and was still reasonably fluent. We showed them the city and had them over for dinner. One was the son of Mussolini's military governor of Abyssinia aka Ethoipia.During the course of conversation, he said Italy could be as powerful economically as Germany and Japan (circa 1960s) if only they could rid themselves of everything south of Naples.And Spain -- the Catalans have never felt 100% Spanish nor have the Basques with their unique language. Valencian is a separate language as well closer to Catalan.I have come to believe that tribalism trumps all other -isms.
