It’s been said, “Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in high school.” Well, maybe not everything, but it is surprising how much we learn about social interaction as teenagers, and it is disturbing how much the rest of our lives are based on lessons learned in high school. Let’s see what you all think.
Yesterday morning, GrandmaInTexas posted an article about the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid. Officially, it’s the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP25. The problems of group dynamics in Madrid are no different than when we were all in high school. It’s probably why they like Greta so much.
The commies have run out of OPM. 😄 The article is just hilarious. The lies about being able to affect temperatures are epic. Time magazine. Ahhahahahaha!!
GrandmaInTexas, December 16, 2019
https://time.com/5750532/u-n-climate-talks-compromise-madrid/?
For the past two weeks, representatives from almost 200 countries have been meeting in Madrid to solve the problem of Climate Change. Contrary to US policy, Nancy Pelosi and an entire US Delegation made the trip to Madrid, addressed the member nations, and Pelosi pronounced, “We are with you.”, even though we’re not. Here’s a list of those who went: https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/113019
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
- Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Committee on Science, Space, Technology
- Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Committee on Natural Resources
- Chairwoman Kathy Castor (D-FL), Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
- Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN)
- Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
- Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA)
- Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA)
- Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA)
- Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
- Congressman Mike Levin (D-CA)
- Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL)
- Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO)
Greta Thuneberg also made an appearance to much fanfare.
We’ve been watching the news coming out of the Madrid Conference.
It’s not about climate at all.
It’s a money grab, pure and simple, with no decisive leaders. They reached no conclusion, except to spend another two weeks of vacation, in Glasgow next year, for another conference. After two weeks……. nothing. It’s been almost five years since the Paris Accords, yet still…….. nothing.
And then it hit me. My high school classmates were more effective when it comes to decision making. Committees….. yikes!
We learned all about committees in high school, remember? Our school had almost 5,000 students, the size of most small colleges. Strangely, our high school problem was/is remarkably similar to the Madrid Conference.
Watch ……
As a sophomore, somehow I ended up on a committee to decide whether or not we needed a school uniform. Our group was to meet once a week, for a school year, develop a report with recommendations to be adopted the subsequent school year. Similarities to Madrid = Handpicked people, fairly well respected within their own sphere of influence, either ignorant and well intentioned or malicious and aware of the real motives of superior power …… sounds like Madrid Climate Conference. The players are the same since high school.
We were a bunch of young kids who didn’t know any better, right? Chances are, as teenagers, we were well intentioned. Let’s assume COP25 attendees were mostly well intentioned.
At our first meeting, we vigorously discussed the topic in great detail = high energy in the beginning, a lot like Madrid.
Discussions were pretty hot, and our meeting went far longer than we anticipated = Madrid went two days beyond schedule.
Yet, we took several votes, compromised, and resolved the problem = no uniform but a guideline of what was/was not acceptable altering past handbook = UNLIKE like Madrid, we reached conclusions.
I was tasked to write up the results and send to school admins.
Sure, no problem.
Within a few days, I was done and recommendations submitted.
Few days later, I was notified to appear to School Administration office to “report” for a panel discussion later that month.
In the days leading up to the meeting, several other students approached me and warned me to “to a good job”. I got the impression it was more important than I originally thought.
But I was a dumb young kid, right? I wore a suit, reviewed mine and others notes, wrote down our main points in short outline and thought I was ready. How bad could it be?
Five Administrators on the panel and I was questioned like Joan of Arc with Administrators who were giddy, building a fire for my imminent demise. Similarities to Madrid = I was the USA who refused to pay billions/trillions to other countries for an ill-defined definition and promotion of climate change, let alone a financial marketplace like a stock exchange trading carbon credits.
First revelation: It became apparent the panel didn’t like the idea that students came to conclusions so quickly. Well, that was a surprise. We were supposed to take A WHOLE YEAR to decide. They expected us to meet once a week for an hour…. all year long. Does this sound like Brexit to you? Or Climate Change? We don’t like your answer, so we think you need to study it more until you agree with our desired outcome. We don’t like efficiency, we need another vacation at another European capital? Scary similarities.
In reality, our classmates first meeting went almost five hours long at a local pizza joint. We stayed, ate, and drank beer (we could back then) until we figured it out. We were far more effective than those in Madrid. Consensus reached, no pretense. When is the last time it was so easy for the United Nations? When people are left to their own devices, even self-absorbed teenagers don’t like to waste time.
I attempted to counter the panel’s invalid objection as to “proper gestation length” for examination of the problem, discussion, and how fast we could expect a baby – a set of solutions. A “time” objection was false on merit but it’s almost impossible for a teen to tell an adult they’re incorrect. I assured the panel our conclusions would be no different in the spring as they were at the time, and that we were saving time. Be proud of us, please, the problem was solved! Similarities to Madrid = there are valid objections to spending billions/trillions of dollars on models which have previously been proven false, “estimates” of success to any human attempt to change results, undermining our economies, especially with dubious commitment from China/India.
In high school, a problem arose which was clearly defined to us at the time. We were tasked to solve the problem, and we stayed until we reached agreement — like business people do in a contract negotiation. Paraphrasing, “What would be the benefit of a delay once an agreement has been reached? We have resolved the issue.”
Second revelation: The panel was concerned we had not spoken to our classmates, to see “how they feel”.
Well, that wasn’t true. The whole school, particularly the girls, knew the dress code was up for grabs and we were all talking about it. I had, in fact, taken an unofficial poll of my class before I went into the first meeting. I produced my notes to the panel. Standard objections and answers, part of any panel discussion, right? I countered all objections but the panel remained unsatisfied. Why? “Feel”?
“How they feel”……. something about this objection did not ring true, as if the panel had knowledge I did not have. They were condescending towards me, even dismissive and mean. Yet, their assumptions were imaginary, not valid….. and I knew it…. and they were trying to tell me I was wrong….. and I wasn’t wrong. Scary similarities, but the first time I recall this tactic being used. Then, working off false assumptions, the panel made it worse….. They presumed to know how students would feel in the future…… by some arbitrary decision the panel made today, “Everyone will FEEL so much better when they don’t have to compete.” What????? I took a job so I could afford to go to proms. Similarities to Madrid = Working from a series of questionable projections, COP25 presumes an economic solution for a desired outcome. If this doesn’t sound familiar to today’s political battles, we’re not paying attention.
As a 15yr old, I was fairly confused. What was happening? We were the elected student reps and made decisions based on what we thought other classmates would want. We had no malintent and ignorant of the fact that anyone would presume malintent. One panel member rolled her eyes and implied she did not believe me. Similarities = It’s the exact same thing which happens on Twitter today.
At the time, I was shocked. Why would I lie? Why would I want an overly restrictive dress code if I must follow the same rules? Was the panel implying SOME people didn’t have to follow the rules? How could that happen? Gee whiz, everyone not following the same rules would not be fair, right? How could THAT happen?
Third revelation: The panel wanted uniforms. I learned our decision would likely be replicated across district and state – our’s was the biggest high school in the state and being used as an example. Suddenly, it wasn’t only “my people”, it was potentially the whole state full of teenagers just like me. I was on my feet by that point but precise, cold, and calm. If I lashed out, at adults with an ulterior motive, I would be thrown out….. a defacto loss. The idea that students had any choice was an illusion. Similarities to Madrid = Sound familiar?
We were being railroaded, but if I was mad, we would lose our independence to dress as we wanted. “Saddle Oxfords in 1978? You’ve got to be kidding me!”, I thought.
Why ask for our input if they did not want it? (Voting) And not only that, you wanted us to meet for a year, wasting MORE time, on the false premise that we had input into the decision? (We made up our mind) When you’ve already reached a decision? (The elites had decided) Therefore, asking for our input was false, fake, a lie? (Yes) Similarities to Madrid = Why does this discussion sound so much like a preordained outcome for the USA and EU before Brexit and the election of President Trump?
Again, I was the stupid kid, right? Yet, something strange happened along the way, everything turned on a single moment. I began to question the panel, standing, walking, addressing members individually. Please tell me, Why do YOU think we need uniforms? What would be the benefits? What is the potential for downside? What would be the cost? What about cost for large families? What about school spirit Fridays where students wear team/club t-shirts and jackets and what would be the financial loss to all teams/clubs? Doesn’t a “one size fits all” dress code inhibit personal expression? And if we’re really concerned with how students FEEL, then how can we possibly be so disrespectful to presume all students FEEL the same way? I was low, monotone, open palmed without realizing it.
The panel stuttered and stammered, unprepared for questions. Momentum shifted. I pressed and closed in. As seconds and minutes ticked by, I spoke with greater conviction. My voice became deeper, coming from my gut, more powerful, like 5,000 voices. I could feel that power, and trust me…. It wasn’t coming from me…….It came from someplace else…… Similarities to those in Madrid/Brexit/USA Congress = Ruling class is NOT prepared for challenges to authority when they make bad decisions.
And finally, innocently, I lobbed a bomb, “Who among you would benefit financially from a uniform shop?” It was an innocuous question, an afterthought. I threw it out like a fisherman would cast a net, and it hung in the air………… no answer. Silence. Yet,…. I caught something, unknown to me. At the time, I was naive. I had no belief anyone on the panel had bad motives. I was far too young and dumb. Looking back, it was precisely when our panel abruptly ended the meeting. Decision was tabled. There was no more discussion/announcements from the administration. Similarities to Madrid = The media stopped covering it.
The Administration adopted our small changes for the next year, no big deal, practically a rubber stamp. No uniforms for at least another 15yrs. Similarities = At all times, hide the money trail to who benefits. I didn’t expect to get everything we wanted. Cuz, from the Rolling Stones and President Trump, we know, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Right? I thought, maybe, “Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad”……….
But in the late 70’s, we were “doubly blessed”.
Lessons learned = Sometimes, it’s not the calculus and chemistry we remember from high school. Sometimes, it’s more.
- Stated objections are often intentional distractions.
- Define the REAL problem and clear definitions, otherwise, time is wasted.
- People who are free to govern themselves, and who are forced to live by the same set of rules, make good decisions…… and quickly resolve problems.
- Follow the money for hidden motives.
- Committees are not always bad………
- The people have more common sense than rulers are willing to admit.
What, no open thread?
Wolfie said one would be up at about 12:30 eastern time. He was doing a “fresh bake”.
Mmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm! And MIDNIGHT SNACK is SERVED!!! 😀
Night and God bless you all.
Can’t sit still to that song!
Me either Daughn.
So you’re saying that the same level of juvenile politics is on display with the ‘climate change crew’, as we witnessed in high school?
Haaa. 😄
Yep…I can see that.
Especially because they’re all afraid to call out the Biggest Bully for being the worst polluter on the planet…namely, China!
Instead, they want to stick it to the Nice Guy…us…the USA.
What gets me, is that they are getting away with calling their scam “climate change” now, instead of “global warming”.
The climate on this planet is always changing…and has been changing since the beginning.
The earth has gone through some catastrophic climate changes, long before mankind was burning any fossil fuels.
For these hoaxers to take on the mantle of ‘climate change’ is as ludicrous as if they instead chose “water is wet” for their scam.
‘Water is wet!’
‘OMG, we’re all gonna die!’
‘And it’s the Americans’ fault…we must make them pay!’
What is actually dangerous about this scam, is the fact that…yes, the climate actually *is* changing.
The indicators are there, that we are entering a gradual cooling period:
A Solar Minimum.
And possibly a Grand Solar Minimum that could gradually put us into another mini ice age.
So we should be talking about ways to survive this long cooling period, instead of pointing fingers at ‘who’ is causing it.
The very fossil fuels that these hoaxers are demonizing…will likely be what saves us and allows us to survive.
😏
Yep, nothing changes.
And yes, you’re right, they’re still peddling various versions of weather apocalypse.
All we needed was for a few TRUTHS to be admitted openly.
Communists lie.
Communists will even lie IN science and ABOUT science.
Communists will alter and distort science for political purposes.
Democrats are actually communists.
Communists will BRIBE scientists (aka grants) to get the ‘facts’ they want.
Communists will install commies as the heads of Universities.
Communists will FIRE/DESTROY scientists that will not be bribed.
Communists will install commies as the heads of scientific societies so those societies will ‘agree’ with the ‘facts’ the commies want.
Communists will install commies as the editors of scientific journals to act as gatekeepers so verboten science is never published.
>>>>>
Thus our entire Scientific establishment is ‘captured’ and controlled.
(Don’t forget all the hidden $$$ from COMMUNIST China flowing into our Universities.)
I may have had a slightly different experience in High School than most. To begin with, I was born in November, right next to the school-year cutoff, so I was generally the youngest person in my class in Kindergarten and first grade. Even so, I was a pain-in-the-neck during class — to keep me quiet, my first grade teacher sent me over to an adjacent second grade class for reading and math — and, during the limited time I was in her first-grade classroom, she found that she could shut me up if she set me in a quiet corner with batteries, light bulbs, wires, and switches.
Then I skipped second grade. Then we moved every year until after 10th grade. I graduated High School at 16.
I never learned social skills from the inside — I was always an alien, never fully accepted. On the flip side, I never trusted my “peers” in the least, or socialized with most of them. I’d hang out in special groups (like the band, which I was not a member of). I NEVER interacted with “management” in a standard way — since my existence in a grade was a special arrangement in the first place, I never felt terribly obligated to deal with normal arrangements.
As an example, there was this American history class I had in 11th grade. The book was something stupid like 11″ x 11″ x 3″ thick and probably weighed about 20 pounds. Plus, it was one of the early examples of a text that made Crispus Attucks THE hero of the American Revolution, while de-emphasizing unworthies like Washington, John Paul Jones, and Nathaniel Greene. During the first week of class, it was obvious that schoolroom time would be devoted to slowly reading the book half-a-chapter at a time with no added value. So I read the whole book, took it home, and used it as a doorstop.
Unfortunately, the “teacher” had the practice of having various students read sections of the text verbatim during class, and it soon came out that I was not carrying this backpack-filling spine-destroying brick of cellulose around with me. Mind you, I was doing ok on the pop-quizzes and could discuss the themes of the text extemporaneously. So I was sent to the counsellor’s office, which — conveniently — was only about 150 feet away from this classroom.
Being that we’d tangled in the past — and actually generally liked one another — the counsellor started out with, “Mr. Smith seems quite upset that you are refusing to bring the required text to the class.” I replied that there was no point, in that I’d already read it from cover-to-cover and absorbed whatever benefit it was likely to produce — and that PE wouldn’t make me lift dumbbells of that weight because I was the smallest kid in my grade — and that’s before I add other textbooks from worthwhile subjects into my backpack. I also noted that he could easily provide a reading text — ON A CART — in his classroom. She countered that I could just leave it in my locker for most of the day and I noted that my locker was off in the farthest reaches of the backside of nowhere and that I’d generally be 10 minutes late to class if I tried that.
So we “compromised”. During the class transition period before the history class, I’d stop by the counsellor’s office, drop off my backpack, and pick up this textbook. Then I’d go to the History class, sling that bad boy up on the desk, and let it land with a thump. After class, I’d return to the counsellor’s office and drop off the textbook and pickup my backpack and continue on my day.
Good counselor!!!
Yes, but consider she was “negotiating” with a 15-year-old.
Incidentally, this also illustrates why I’m of two minds regarding age limits. On the one side, they barred me from activities I felt perfectly competent to attempt; while, on the other side, I wouldn’t trust most of my age-peers to safely keep a burnt match.
I also skipped, born in December, missed kindergarten completely and pushed into 1st grade, then skipped 4th grade, graduating at 16.
As a girl, however, it was different, because I hit the growth spurt early and was tall.
Dad transferred from Chicago to New Orleans the summer between 5th-6th grade. I was enrolled in a small private school for kids with high IQ’s —- allegedly. Nonetheless, I was tested and ‘passed’, but nervous and wondering I could keep up with “smart kids”.
Since I knew no one in our new neighborhood, and since I had the textbooks for the 6th grade class, I read them over the summer. Like you, class was then a little boring. Yet, the class was so small, Hildegarde Dodson knew exactly how to handle me. She was a saint!
Kids are capable of mastering far more material than we think. We moved Gunner to a private school in 5th grade. Unknown to me, the school was a full grade level ahead in textbooks. He practically failed his first 9 weeks, but by the end of the year, was head of class.
When he returned to the public school next door in 8th grade, they were using the SAME textbooks he had in 7th grade. I argued to allow him to skip a grade.
School district admins, personal friends of mine, would not allow it……… because he was a boy………. and sports.
State requirement for all students to graduate is 24 “credits” or roughly 6 classes a year. Gunner graduated high school with 33 1/2 “credits” in a high school system – and 34 hours of university credit.
Wish we could find a way to let the kids progress and run if they want to learn more and at a faster pace. Sure, we all need fundamentals, but GREAT teachers are able to add so much more.
I skipped a grade, too.
One gets over it with time.
Honestly, if we’re still talking about skipping grades when we are approaching the 3 o’clock stages of our lives, something is wrong.
I was gonna say Greta needs to get back into a classroom…but then again, that’s probably where she’s learning this garbage. When I was a youngster, my parents wanted to take me and my siblings out of school for a trip to Disneyland, a trip that aligned with my father’s vacation time. The school threatened to punish us for the absence…and, well, that’s when my father got really mad…and that was the end of that. The school backed down.
How is this school-aged girl able to miss months of schooling? Maybe she’s home-schooled…I don’t know.
And these climate protesters clogging up the streets need to go find a job. The economy is great…thank you very much President Trump!
Btw, check out Spicoli’s t-shirt…ha, ha!
Growing up, we lived in LA County. We’d frequently go to Disneyland when it rained. My mom would send me in with a note about a family outing and I’d openly talk about Disneyland, but was never any trouble.
OTOH, the Tiger Mom claws came out one time when a librarian tried to steer me to the children’s section.
After reading your post I realised we went to Disney World, Florida…not Disneyland. Two parents, four young children, and twenty-four hours in an AMC Hornet Hatchback…and we were there…just like the Griswolds.
When I was little I loved pirates…so during whole 24 hour drive down my father told me all about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and how much I was going to love it…for 24 hours over and over! When we finally got there, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was closed for repairs. Arghhh!!!
(AMC Hornet hatchback)…yeah, I was the youngest…guess who had to sit in the hatchback?
“Are we there yet?”
There is a very subtle strange difference between Disneyland and DisneyWorld, that crops up in unexpected ways. Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida, at 345 feet above mean sea level — and it’s over on the border with Alabama. The elevation of Orlando is just 82 feet. If you were to drill a well 82 feet deep in Orlando, you’d be guaranteed to hit water. If there were no rainfall for a thousand years, you’d still hit water — salt water — because that’s the elevation above mean sea level. Anaheim, by contrast, is at 157 feet.
There are tropical fish farms between Orlando and the Atlantic Coast where preparation involves making a trench about six feet deep and eight feet wide about thirty feet long. The water table is high enough that it will fill with four feet of fresh water in a couple of weeks.
In Anaheim, Disney tried something different when they built New Orleans Square. The actual pedestrian area is on the second floor of a building that is dressed to look like the ground floor. In order to flow properly from other lands, the ground floor was partially excavated. There is no public access to the ground floor, although the sunken queue area for Pirates is on this level. This turned out to be wildly successful.
If they had built the exact same building against the exact same ground level in Florida, the queue area for Pirates would be perpetually calf-deep in water — so they extended this throughout the entire park. All of DisneyWorld sits atop a rambling structure of “utilidors” built at ground level, and all the paths, sidewalks, and walkways are on the second floor of the structure. If you see marigolds planted in the “ground” next to a path, they’re planted on the second floor; if you see a tree planted in the “ground” next to a sidewalk, it’s planted on the second floor.
Which, finally, leads around to the story…….the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland starts on the second floor of the New Orleans Square building, but drops about 30 feet in order to pass under the Disneyland Railroad. The actual show building is outside the park. When I was growing up, I loved the ride…….but I’m acrophobic and do not react well to being dropped. So it was always a case of “screwing my courage to the sticking point” to get on the ride, and I could only relax and enjoy it after the drop.
One year, our local MGM program realized that they had to spend a bunch of money real quick or explain why they should continue getting grants — so they sent us to Disneyland. And we’re kids, and knew each other…..anyway, we were boppin’ around and decided to do Pirates. And I’m sitting next to an MGM buddy as we go through the bayou while I explain about the crisis to come. Then we get just to the edge, and he decides to give me a playful slap on the arm just as we go over.
Instead of seizing on the rail, I seized on his arm for the drop. There were still fingermarks when we exited into the sun.
I don’t think I would ever go back to a Disney park…not the same. And the Disney brand is tainted forever…not to mention the obscene prices.
I can understand that. The management is obviously corrupt and the product is tainted by that. And the video manipulation at Disney is “best in class”, for good or ill (and with current management, likely ill).
Every time you shed real tears at “Old Yeller”, you recognize how you were boxed into doing so. You allowed yourself to be played this time, but may resist the next.
Yes, we too had a problem with “allowed absences” for Gunner.
Same with you guys, what we were doing was far more interesting and educational than what he was NOT learning in school.
We had to leave town once for a wedding, and ended up hitting a funeral as well. “UNEXCUSED” That was the last public school I attended. Back here in HS, called in one morning and said to the receptionist, “Mrs. V, this is [DP]. We have a family funeral today.” She came back with, “Is your sister with you?” “Yes” “Okay, see you tomorrow.” Of course, I was a senior in the last quarter of the estrogen fest known as an all girls school taught by nuns, but there weren’t any forms for “excused” or “unexcused.” Just let the office know you weren’t in the building for a reason.
Bureaucrats – yuck.
Dad was “URGENTLY” called to my high school by a Vice Principal because I was “tardy” 39 times and in danger of being suspended/expelled.
Dad was surprised. He left for the office and I walked to school. Where the hell was I?
Well, I was Pres of Student Council and went in EARLY and straight to SC office, not reporting to home room. When bell rang, I went on ahead to first period.
Did I have permission? NO.
Did I think I needed permission? NO
Did I need permission? Yes
Was I in trouble? NO
Functionaries are the bane of our existence.
Earth: A 4.5 Billion Year-Old Planet that only a tax can save.
4.5 billion years of earth’s temperature (GEE the earth is COOLING, imagine that!)
Note: the last part of the graph, labeled Holocene is very expanded and ‘modified’ to fit CAGW.
A closer look at the tail end of that graph. (from http://www.climate4you)
Reconstructed global temperature over the past 420,000 years based on the Vostok ice core from the Antarctica (Petit et al. 2001)
http://www.climate4you.com/images/VostokTemp0-420000%20BP.gif
I forgot to add the Holocene. Again from http://www.climate4you.com/GlobalTemperatures.htm
http://www.climate4you.com/images/GISP2%20TemperatureSince10700%20BP%20with%20CO2%20from%20EPICA%20DomeC.gif
Wow. The whole process was RIGGED to get what they wanted and make it look like it came from below.
TYPICAL.
“Shallow state” was exactly like this. They even incorporated fakey-fake drama in the script for their rigged investigations. I got suckered on that one time, but when I figured out how I got scammed, the busted plot became a great weapon.
Very much like your final question, Daughn. THAT is how you “pick up the nukes”! 😀
i never trusted any of the global “charities” that the US is supposed to endow…we already send billions of dollars around the world…and we continue to do so, so throwing money at countries does NOT work. They are still poor, under developed, and CORRUPT. why? because the money is just laundered and sent back to corrupt politicians. Show me a SOLUTION, something tangible money can be spent on to CHANGE an outcome and maybe then we would come back to the table.
Until then it’s just a money scam…and the US piggy bank should stay closed.
AMEN!
E.M. Smith had an article on HOW Africa & India could be helped and it was known in the 1970s…
Leucaena leucocephala collection of links
A lot more to the article, however once the destructive cycle is broken the land can produce, less labor is required to keep from starving and can go into making and selling products.
….
This problem with the goats eating the ground bare, is mentioned by Dr Werner as the cause of the destruction of classic civilization. Once the islamic goat herders invaded North Africa, the farms of the non-islamic people were eaten to the ground. Dated sea cores show massive amounts of topsoil washed into the sea coinciding with the time period when islam spread. Desertification followed.
Fascinating.
Great story of rebirth of the land.
I learn so much from you guys!
Thanks, Gail.
You can bet somebody on the school board wanted to profit from school uniforms – and Lands End hadn’t started making school uniforms back then. You exposed their scheme.
School administrations and boards are very political-minded. When I was a senior, I won two of the ‘superlatives’ in the student popularity polls – Best all round and Friendliest. The principal and secretary and student dean called me into the office and told me that I should/needed to give up the Best all round to the daughter of a school board member because she didn’t win anything. They pretty much begged, tried to shame me, etc. So I did.
They said I would always know I won both. I learned a lesson that day – that politics leaches all the way to the high school year book.
The girl married the very rich playboy in our class who owned a Corvette during the summer after high school and I was a bridesmaid. She got fat and the marriage didn’t last. He married again and again and died when his newest Corvette went off the road one night. I don’t know what ever happened to her.
I learned the same lesson only it was in horse showing. I watched a $100 get passed to a judge so a Ganett daughter (who was scared to death of her horse) would get first place. That was my last horse show. I was 17.
People often asked through the years why I never showed since I am a very good rider and trained my own horses. That was the reason. I KNOW how good I am and how good my horses are. That is enough for me. I much rather have my superbly trained trail horses that are a joy and spend my time with them in the woods rather than in a show ring.
With a carriage club we belonged to we drove the carriage trails in Mohonk:
http://www.gunksthroughtime.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/0241.jpg
MORE: https://www.mohonkpreserve.org/who-we-are/newsletter-and-publications/ridgelines-192/seasonal-photo-gallery.html
And the carriage trails in Acadia National Park:
http://roadslesstraveled.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/14-741-Acadia-National-Park-Carriage-Roads.jpg
MORE: https://roadslesstraveled.us/acadia-national-park-carriage-roads-rockefeller-cycling/
I almost ran over two cyclists with a four-in-hand on one of our trips to Acadia. The lead biker ended up with his wheels planted firmly against my leaders hooves and his face in the dirt. Thank goodness for the two WELL TRAINED horses owned by my trainer! (My horses were the wheelers.)
Gosh, this is beautiful, Gail, and to see it on horseback would be a real pleasure.
Friendliest was never in dispute for YOU.
I STILL think you’re best all around, GAFL!!!!!!!
You are a sweetie! :8-)
I’m sort of fascinated at the idea of student input on the idea of dress code or uniform. We were never given a choice. Of course, the girls at my HS abused the dress code to the point that a principal instituted a uniform less than five years after I graduated. They still have the uniform. It’s not one of the prettier plaids of the ten remaining girls’ schools, but it’s functional – and far more affordable as the skirts get resold and passed down, and you have five shirts that get washed once a week. No need for a full school wardrobe.
As for the HS aspect of the “climate change” sorts…it’s a big club and you’re not in it, sort of like the “A” group in HS. You know, the people who were the captains on the sports teams as opposed to the teachers pets in chorus. Oh, wait, and then there were the people on the newspaper that Sister SMH hand picked even if she had zero idea of how to write for journalism. (Term papers, yes, but not journalism.) Actually, my HS classmates are still that way, this group or that getting together for a trip. Don’t get me started on that.
Let’s face it, the climate change groupies have billed themselves as the “cool” clique, and they expect the rest of us to follow their lead, bow down and scrape in their court, etc.
Sorry, don’t have time for that right now. It finally quit snowing and I need to clean off the car and go to the store.
Later, climate crazies.
Happened to be a strange year for us. The huge pubic high schools were segregated in LA by sex. Sophomore year, they were integrated to boys and girls…. which led to fights and riots, and the need for a few dress code rules.
For education, I do believe in segregating. it does mean that at 2:30 pm all girls will be in the lavatories primping, but it’s better than flirting through geometry.
The segregation of sexes in high school was much better for learning. Didn’t have to spend two hours primping for school in the morning as a girl….
And the guys had a chance in school without girls being teacher’s pets.
My school and the closest of the boys’ schools flirted with the idea of having higher level math and science together for seniors only. It got shelved. I think the excuse was “logistics.” The truth may have been who the teachers were because our physics teacher was WEAK.
Oh man oh man.
I was the ONLY girl in physics class in high school. Gosh, it was fun – met my sweetheart. Great teacher and a mind bend like no other.
Sad story…. When it came to Gunner, we wanted him to have strong science background, of course. We sent him away to state math and science school – lucky he was accepted.
It was the ONLY SCHOOL in the state which taught AP Physics and he had two full years of it, along with three years of Chem, and two yrs of biology. So, he got out of HS with 7yrs of science credits, when only two yrs is required by state law.
He breezed through the classes in college but that’s not the point.
Imagine a country where only 12 kids in an entire state, and SEVEN of them were foreign nationals whose parents were here on H1B visas, are taking AP Physics.
It’s NOT a good formula for our country.
And don’t think Gunner is all that special.
He’s not.
We should have thousands of kids in such classes.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
VAGUE, DICTATORIAL AND BROACHING NO APPARENT CRITICISM—SOUNDS A LOT LIKE ALREADY FAILED SOCIALISM TO ME (DON’T FORGET GLOBAL EXTORTION)!
Well, on the one hand, high school social strata is much like real life as Daughn has so ably illustrated.
Yet, on the other, thinking differently can prove the upper stratum of the clique (as we used to call them) wrong.
>>>> Think about what you want to achieve — then DO IT, within the rules.
I don’t have much time for bending the rules too much at school. Why would one not want to go with school rules? They were there for a reason, to level us all out. No one was meant to be more important than another. I never had a problem with that, nor did most of my classmates.
very interesting about climate change.