[continued from previous message]   
      
   >>> otherwise we're doing the same silly thing other people do.   
   >>   
   >> It is dangerous to argue against peoples beliefs. That wakes up the   
   >> worst in people.   
   >   
   > So true.  My observation is that people's behavior really comes from   
   > deep within, not from the surface, so working on the surface is a   
   > complete waste of time.  (And the intellect is on the surface.)  That's   
   > why people behave ``irrationally'', meaning that's why we can't   
   > understand them at all.   
      
   True. That is why intellectual arguments very seldom persuade anyone. Only when   
   an argument "connects" with the ego, does it take. That is why emotional   
   arguments, bypassing the intellect, are so effective!   
      
   >> Well, from that point of view, we are lucky to have had a good   
   >> education! I just look at the students I have today, and get   
   >> depressed. =(   
   >   
   > Same here, but it's not clear what you mean by education.  In a sense I   
   > don't think it's our education, really, because I think education is on   
   > the surface.   
      
   I don't know. Maybe it is an attitude towards learning and developing ones   
   self?   
   I mean after university, I continue to read, study, experiment for the joy of   
   learning.   
      
   Maybe that is the key?   
      
   >> Last friday I had a meeting with the management of the school, and   
   >> they forbade me to have dead lines for assignments out of fear that   
   >> fewer students will pass the courses.   
   >>   
   >> That's complete b.s. And I told them that they are prioritizing profit   
   >> over quality of education.   
   >>   
   >> They smiled and said that no, they would like both profit _and_   
   >> education.   
   >   
   > Lol!  _And_.  I do agree that it's obviously a lie.  Those lies that   
   > nearly everyone accepts and even repeats themselves.   
      
   Sigh yes...   
      
   >> I said that that is unrealistic   
   >   
   > You're so delicate. :)   
      
   I do my best. ;)   
      
   >> [...] especially if they remove all demands, and want courses to be   
   >> easier. Then I asked them to imagine how their children would be if   
   >> they said yes to their every wish. Would that be how they raise their   
   >> children or do they teach them to respect dead lines, boundaries and   
   >> work hard?   
   >>   
   >> They said, well, you do have a point. But we are your customer, and we   
   >> pay, so we decide the rules.   
   >>   
   >> And I had to agree with that, sadly. But at least I told them what   
   >> will happen, so now they cannot blame me when the credibility of their   
   >> students degrees drop in the market!   
   >   
   > At least they're minimally honest.  I'm okay with that.   
      
   Well, after sleeping on it, I decided I'll try a "top down" approach as well.   
   So   
   I managed to reach a somewhat famous journalist at a national newspaper who was   
   interested in my story. So upon condition of anonymity, I told him the whole   
   story. He also happens to be a childhood friend of the director of the   
   government department that controls the schools, so he would pass my story on   
   to   
   him as well.   
      
   Hooray! ;)   
      
   Do I have any illusions about things happening? Not in the least. But it was   
   great therapy, and I give it a 1% chance of it actually becoming a newspaper   
   story!   
      
   If that happens, I give it another 1% chance of the government actually doing   
   anything about it. ;)   
      
   So 1% of 1% not bad!! ;)   
      
   >> At least I won a small victory. Apparently they could possibly   
   >> consider a dead line in _one_ course, if the task is changed from lab   
   >> to project. But probably only in one course.   
   >   
   > I'd say don't push it hard.  Let them do what they want.  You've already   
   > shared your view.  Let nature follow its own course.  You don't have to   
   > influence them any further after sharing your view: they are also   
   > equally in the position to direct their lives.  Let nature follow its   
   > course.   
      
   Yes... probably the wisest choice. See above! =D   
      
   >> Very sad state of affairs. If this is a global trend, we are getting   
   >> closer to the end of civilization! =(   
   >   
   > It is a global trend.  And I think we have worse problems---fertility,   
   > chronic diseases, work and the general quality of life people have been   
   > living.  We're not at the bottom yet.  I think things are gonna down a   
   > lot more still.   
      
   Let's see. But I'm a long term optimist. Sure, in the short term, the next 5-20   
   years, things might not look good, but if we look 50 or 100 years ahead, I'm   
   100% certain things will be better! =)   
      
   >>> Lol---what?!  By descant?  Lol.  That's a spurious end of sentence.  I   
   >>> was totally offline, unable to look anything up, but I wanted to make a   
   >>> reference to the book   
   >>   
   >> Hmm, sorry, I must have slipped on the keyboard. I actually have no   
   >> idea what I meant to say! =/   
   >   
   > It was I who said it. :) I wanted to remember the author's name and I   
   > couldn't.  I forgot to look it up (later) and ended up posting the   
   > message.  That's a down side of being offline.  Sometimes you can't fill   
   > up the blank that you could if you were online.  I was literally offline   
   > that day.  I have the printed book, but it's boxed in the basement and I   
   > surely didn't feel like digging it up.   
   >   
   > Hey, are you getting USENET access during your vacation?  I wanna give   
   > you my e-mail address.  Take care!   
      
   I do get usenet access! Please let me know your email, and I'll send you mine.   
   Email I never miss. Usenet messages I do miss from time to time, especially now   
   when I'm on vacation and do not check it every day.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)