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Region: Philosophy 115

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Dr george 13 years 46 days ago Early childhood education is not my specialty, so anything I say here needs to be taken with a grain of salt. In my understanding, one of the great successes of Head Start is to level the playing field starting off. My mother was motivated enough and had enough free time to teach me my ABCs and 123s before my first day of kindergarten. I didn't know how to tie my shoes, but I was largely prepared. Compare that to children who haven't had such training, and, in fact, spend the first six months learning to use a toilet properly. Yes, that's a case of the state acting in loco parentis, but if both parents are absorbed all day with working to provide for their children, it's a benevolent intervention. The Tea Party takes to heart Ronald Reagan's adage to get government small enough to be drowned in a toilet and then do it. Yet there are some things a libertarian government can't handle, like disaster response, education, pollution, etc. Politicians who propose streamlining Medicare and Social Security are nowadays often demonized by both parties, but especially Democrats. Yet clearly something has to be done. There are scores of programs our military doesn't want or need, but congressmen keep them alive because they bring money back home. The war in Afghanistan has now drug on longer than any other military operation we've ever been involved with: but are we safer now than when it first started? Not all crises need military solutions. A lot of street crime is drug-related. If we were to legalize marijuana and maybe cocaine and offer free treatment for addicts, a la Amsterdam, I suspect we'd be a lot safer. And if we were to provide safe shelter and treatment for the mentally ill homeless, we'd see a remarkable improvement in our society. Remember, a budget is a moral document--many of the proposals floating around rob from the poor to pay the rich. We in SC spend about as much on prisons as we do on education. If we could catch those vulnerable children BEFORE they fell through the cracks, the penal system wouldn't need to be so large. I've inquired about teaching in public schools in SC. Where I live, in one of the richer districts, starting teachers begin at @$27,000 per year. I've rambled on enough.

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Early childhood education is not my specialty, so anything I say here needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

In my understanding, one of the great successes of Head Start is to level the playing field starting off. My mother was motivated enough and had enough free time to teach me my ABCs and 123s before my first day of kindergarten. I didn't know how to tie my shoes, but I was largely prepared. Compare that to children who haven't had such training, and, in fact, spend the first six months learning to use a toilet properly. Yes, that's a case of the state acting in loco parentis, but if both parents are absorbed all day with working to provide for their children, it's a benevolent intervention.

The Tea Party takes to heart Ronald Reagan's adage to get government small enough to be drowned in a toilet and then do it. Yet there are some things a libertarian government can't handle, like disaster response, education, pollution, etc.

Politicians who propose streamlining Medicare and Social Security are nowadays often demonized by both parties, but especially Democrats. Yet clearly something has to be done. There are scores of programs our military doesn't want or need, but congressmen keep them alive because they bring money back home. The war in Afghanistan has now drug on longer than any other military operation we've ever been involved with: but are we safer now than when it first started? Not all crises need military solutions.

A lot of street crime is drug-related. If we were to legalize marijuana and maybe cocaine and offer free treatment for addicts, a la Amsterdam, I suspect we'd be a lot safer. And if we were to provide safe shelter and treatment for the mentally ill homeless, we'd see a remarkable improvement in our society. Remember, a budget is a moral document--many of the proposals floating around rob from the poor to pay the rich.

We in SC spend about as much on prisons as we do on education. If we could catch those vulnerable children BEFORE they fell through the cracks, the penal system wouldn't need to be so large.

I've inquired about teaching in public schools in SC. Where I live, in one of the richer districts, starting teachers begin at @$27,000 per year.

I've rambled on enough.

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