These are Sad Times!
Our planet, as seen
from outer space, views Beautiful!
Aliens may be tempted
to colonize this orb of blue waters, rich fertile lands,
deserts, mountains,
four seasons, and year round changing temperatures.
Yet...mankind has and
is slowly (quickly at times) eroding
our environment and
family lifestyles.
Gone
are the evenings for a quiet stroll.
Gone are the opportunities for
children to play in neighborhoods.
Gone are the days when one
retired after 25 years with the same firm.
Gone are
the days when “hubby” was the sole breadwinner..
Gone are some countries to which we would
love to travel.
Amazingly, there are
a few men and women who
“step up to the
plate” setting new standards of living,
new principles to
abide by, new disciplines to govern attitude to others.
At this time when a
recent tragedy erased 20 children's lives
(Grades 1 to 5) and 6
adults in a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school,
we question the
safety of both young and old in our society.
The following article
is so pertinent, so vital, so compelling... it is my theory (as a retired
teacher) that all schools in
our country should adopt stringent patterns of behavior. These should be
initially taught at home, then reinforced in all classrooms from primary grades
to graduating students.
New High School
Principal
This is what every school
principal and administrator should expect from their students. It was...when I was growing up! Principles...have not changed.
We watched high school
principal, Dennis Prager of Colorado,
along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple weeks ago...what a dynamic,
down to earth speaker! Even though Palin
and Brokaw were also guest speakers, they did little but nod and agree with him. This is the guy that should be running for
President in 2012.
A Speech Every
American High School Principal
Should Give...by Dennis Prager.
To the Students and Faculty of our High School
I am your new principal, and am truly honored to be so. There is
no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of
some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that
most of the ideas that have dominated
public education in America have worked against you, against your
teachers and against our country.
First, this
school will no longer honor race or ethnicity.
I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow
or white. I could not care less if your
origins are African, Latin, American, Asian or European...or if your
ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower
or on slave ships. The only identity I
care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual lidentity
~ your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school
will care about is American.
Your clubs will be based on
interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined
ties. Those clubs just cultivate
narcissism ~ an unhealthy preoccupation with the self ~ while the purpose of
education is to get you to think beyond yourself! So we will have clubs that transport you to
the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already
speak, carpentry and more. If the only
extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based
on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself
really interests you.
Second, I am
uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms
of language is that you leave this
school speaking and writing English as
fluently as possible. The English
language has united America's
citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to
be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English skills, I
would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully
compete in the American job market. We
will learn other languages here ~ it is deplorable that most Americans only
speak English ~ but if you want classes
taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your
school.
Third, because I
regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated
status. This means, among other things, that
you and your teachers will dress accordingly.
Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood
events than for church or school. These people have their priorities
backward. Therefore, there will be more formal dress code at this school.
Fourth, no
obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property ~ whether
in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word,
you can't speak. By obscene language I
mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets
such as “N****”, even when used by one black student to address another black,
or “b#$%&,” even when addressed by a
girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school,
you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and
the obscene.
Fifth, we
will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained
in only one way ~ the way people attained it until decided otherwise a
generation ago ~ by earning it! One
immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian...not eight.
Sixth, and last,
I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and
propaganda. No more time will be
devoted to scaring you about smoking and
caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warning. No more semesters will be devoted to condom
wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a
health issue. There will be no more
attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or
not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian.
We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not
consider him or herself inordinately fortunate ~ to be alive and to be
American.
Now, please stand and join me
in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of our Country. As many of you do not know the words, your
teachers will hand them out to you.
I extend my gratitude
to Carolyn,
a constant follower
of my blog writings,
who sent the foregoing
article to me in August, 2012.
“Words of Wisdom”...by
Dale Carnegie
There are four ways
in which we have contact with the world:
We are evaluated and
classified by:
What we Do! How we
Look!
What we Say! How
we Say it!
Merle
Baird-Kerr...written January 3, 2013
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or e-mail...inezkate@gmail.com
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