Marjorie,

 Wow, do I agree with you on the trade schools angle!  There is such a crying need for people, men and women, to serve us in areas others do not want to do, and yet they could do well, if only they were trained, and I speak of such vocations as plumbers, carpet layers, mechanics, and the like.  If society gave all trades the recognition they deserve, we would all benefit.

I had a good friend in high school (and this is back in the 1960s) who had taken all the auto shop classes, because she knew she wanted to be a mechanic in a local garage.  She got a job the day after high school graduation, and I am sure she is doing well now.  Could be she even owns a chain of auto repair shops! 

Here in the Rocky Mountain region there was a woman by the name of Emily Griffith, who in the early 1900s began an "Opportunity School", to allow those who wanted a trade to have the chance to do something other than college.  We are NOT all needed in colleges, as our gifts and talents may lie in areas of direct service, such as the trades, and I welcome more schools such as Emily’s.  It is still in existence, and offers classes in auto mechanics, cosmetology, dressmaking, ESL, Licensed Practical Nursing, Computers, and the culinary arts.  Many of the graduates leave the Opportunity School and go on to waiting employment, as the school has an excellent reputation for high standards and achievement.

In the Middle Ages, guilds were begun, and served societies with craftsmen and women who would train, apprentice, and go on to high quality production.  We would not have glassmakers, for example, without the guilds, which still serve Europe so well today. 

Given the necessity for our country to compete on a global scale today, I disagree with your last comment—I think our children need a high school education, so that they can read well (and hopefully enjoy it for its own sake!), do calculations necessary for daily basic skills of life (without use of a calculator, please!), and get some appreciation of the arts and science in general, either biology or other kinds of science.   Then, after the basic skills of life are inculcated, they might be able to go on to pursue their aspirations, whether that be the trades or studies best gained in colleges and universities.

Thanks, WOW, for a chance to express this opinion.  Not too often do I get a chance to root for trade schools, but I dearly feel they are lacking and we need to bring them back.

 

 

 

 

Alex,

Perhaps ommitting the use of the word "you" would be of benefit to all in this forum.  I think readers get sensitive to the negaitve tone, rightly or not intended at all, when it may simply be a visceral reaction. 

Can  you envision going back to using the old English usage of "one", as in "I am speaking of those who bad mouth Bush or Palin." or in another use: "One cannot imagine a sucessful country with heads of state such as we see in the current President." 

Please try civility.  It will add to the conversational tone of WOW and may draw back those who have left, for the caustic tone it had taken on in the most recent past.

 

JBoylynn

Isn’t it true, Agy, that some people speak so well and in so few words!  It was possible to hear the gentle voice expressing these kind words, and I think she was right about most blogs simply being a forum for some lonely or bored people to vent.  The anonymity does in fact NOT help the tone of the expressions, right?  Some people hide behind the veil and say things I do not believe they would say to someone’s face, or they would lose face.

 

Thanks again for your prescient expressions.

 

JBoylynn

Joan,

That idea of a spa is a wonderful opportunity, and I may be able to convince someone in my congregation to do something of the same kind, if you don’t mind me "copying you"!

You are of inestimable support and I would enjoy communicating with you outside WOW on this matter.  (WOW is not a good forum for questions I would have for you in this matter.)  Could you write to me at info@starchildtutoring.com?  I hope we can stay in contact.

 

Thanks again!

JBoylynn

Joan, Did you get my first response? I am at the library and I never know what these computers will do. I am anticipating going to teach English as A Second Language in Rwanda for an Anglican Mission. I would teach English to the little ones, the students in secondary school, and teachers in methods for teaching English as a Second Language. Funding is tight, and my pastor is telling me I have to do fund raising on my own. That is intimidating, and I don’t really know if I can swing that. I would be surprised if the Rwandan Church cannot pay me a salary for a very involved position. I did this in Japan in the late 70s (1976-1979) and they paid flight to Japan and back to the U.S., and provided a home (tiny one, but a house). What is your son’s experience as to pay for work? JBoylynn

Oh, yes, Joan, I certainly do remember flying in years gone by. My earliest memory, in fact, is of standing in the aisle of a prop plane as my family was en route to our new home in Nuremburg, Germany. (I was about three or four years old at the time.) We heard the flight for hours after arriving! How many remember that sensation! I fondly recall anticipating the next flights as I grew up, and there were many more in my life. By now, I have been to almost every continent, and I look forward to moving again, this August, to live in a small country in Africa, as a matter of fact! I always waited eagerly to see not what the movie would be, but what refreshments and amenities would be offered, for they were a treat. Meals were hot and usually, delicious. Gradually the meals were gone, and more and more people seemed to be flying. More and more parents did not seem to be educating their children in airline etiquette, which I lamented. If the parents would only think of what memories they could be helping create in their children’s minds, everyone would benefit. Now, I think parents themselves do not appreciate the fun of a flight, and thinking it as only another way to move about, do not enjoy the adventure themselves. (Do they forget that the essence of good manners is to think of the other person’s comfort and pleasure before one’s own?) Yes, not only do travelers not dress with regard for their overall appearance (comfort can be found in a dress, for example), but sadly seem to think primarily of the end of the journey, not the joy of the moment and what new surprises it may contain, if something new might be sought! Thanks for an intruiging letter. JBoylynn

No, no, no, Kryssi K, you don’t fail at life! Not at all. Very likely you are, like me, unaware of when the messages are able to be heard. I have no idea when or how to listen. I would, indeed, if I knew when to listen and where to tune in. I would love to listen to it live, instead of always hearing about it, later in the day, on television: “The President said in his weekly radio address…” If the information were more widely available, I think more would listen. JBoylynn

CA, I, too, do dishes by hand. To me, washing is therapeutic, giving time to reflect on the day just past, and give thanks for the food eaten from these plates and cookware. Also, our Canadian friends can correct me, but I believe it is a health law up there, that dishes washed in a food establishment must be allowed to let dry naturally (air). I saw this first hand on a trip to The Pas in Northern Manitoba one summer, at least. I can sure understand that, when some kitchen towels are SOOOOO filthy, having been used for not only hands, but also for swiping something off the floor or a cabinet, and then (mindlessly) used to wipe a plate or glass! I now gratefully wash dishes after each meal (and some of these are miniscule-the meals!) and allow the dishes and utensils to dry on the dish drainer alongside my sink. It’s just what I love having the freedom to do. Ah, yes, I have the use of a dishwasher, but seldom use it.

Eener, I am reading this post a number of days after its original psoting, but I feel compelled to respond to a couple of things you have expressed. One, thank you for your appreciation of a good vocabulary. To me, it is the epitome of a well-rounded and urbane individual. For persons such as these, there is no need for usage of vulgarities! It is very simple to insult someone, and they hardly grasp the import of your comment. (I’d give you a battle of wits, but I see you’re only half prepared.) Secondly, yes, you are, in my opinion, so on point with your statement that these threads, as I believe they are called, should be written with civility. Why denigrate someone you do not even know! Surely a pure expression of opinion in this country is a pleasure and a right, and need not be done simply to disparage! Thanks for giving me the impetus to espress an opinion I have wanted to put out there for some time, but perhaps did not have the courage or forum. JBoylynn

Now, it’s not to say that one’s move would necessarily have to be forever, ladies! I have lived abroad in two very different continents and at very different times in history, but I always knew where my heart lay. I am without a doubt an AMERICAN. I love the principles upon which this democracy was established and know that it is an eternal role model for others who would aspire to fulfilling the needs of its citizens, while at the same time allowing for individual expression and exploration. Because of life changes and economic pressures on me, I am considering moving south, to teach in a country that respects family and education as two bedrocks of a society. I would be going, as I did in past times, to pursue an adventure and seek a good life for myself within a different milieu. I do not feel I am escaping anything, for the people whom I consider part of my essentials in life know I am a gypsy, and I am going FOR, rather than running from anything here. I would always retain and carefully maintain my citizenship, even and if it meant coming back for bureaucratic necessities. Thanks for the question. WOW. I relish the opportunity of creating something new and exciting—-again!@ JBoylynn

Oh James, you are so right! I agree with you that so many of the new devices come with either no instructions, or poorly written ones. So many of these almost-impossible-to-understand set of directions are written by people of another first language (and extremely poorly translated!!), or if English is their first spoken language, they no longer know how to translate techno into vernacular American English! I despise the “manuals” I cannot understand, for products I will not use if it is not simple to understand and use. I do not care if it is the “latest thing”; I have lived this long without it, and can probably do fine without it from here on out! Thank you for your fine expression, James.

I had moved to Colorado literally two months before, from Arizona, and had not suspected there might be a snowstorm, much less a blizzard in October! I drove up the mountains to our new home, in a total panic after teaching for the day, with two terrified daughters in tow, and as the light fell, the storm increased, until it became a record snowfall for early October, something like three feet in the city, and more at our elevation of 9,500 feet! I honestly thought we could simply push our way onto the dirt road (not paved), up to the gate, and make our way the final third of a mile to the house, another so many feet inclined. No, my Dodge Caravan would simply not move, to my amazement! “Now what?”, I thought, exhausted. I had never driven in snow, much less a blizzard! From behind me I heard, “Do you need a plow? I heard you’re from Arizona, and you might need some help.” This kind soul plowed me into my driveway, ahead of my minivan, all the way from the road to the house ( a good third of a mile, plus). Within the weekend, I got a phone call from another neighbor I barely knew, “Hey, J, how are y’ll doing? We haven’t seen tracks from your house this weekend…you all all right?” That’s neighbors. To me, that is the kind of people who live in the United States of America.l

Star, I so agree with you. I know I need to watch every dime and dollar for my basic needs, and feel one’s individual contribution does nothing to alter a candidate’s stance on anything! Thanks for the courage to state your opinion, though it appears to be in the minority. Hear hear for American rights, right?

I wonder how people can contribute with money so tight. How can men and women send money out the post or off through the line, and then worry later about gas for the next trip somewhere? Isn’t it enough that food is horrendously expensive and taxes are already sky high? Sending your money to an election campaign will probably NOT change anyone’s mind to vote for your favorite candidate. And finally, they will continue to campaign, whether you send your (food, gas, insurance, rent, or medications) money-or NOT!

Please, WOW, cease with the fashion coverage ..please! With other major events of national and international significance going on, fashion coverage seems superfluous and very unnecessary. I believe most of us are not thinking so much of what new to wear, but rather what to wear of what we already have, and who can we share with in the coming season.