From time to time I tend to have rambling thoughts and questions that I ponder. I don’t know if other people ever consider some of the same things, and if so, perhaps someone can provide answers to some of these questions. So, from a mind that wanders, here are some of those thoughts that run through my mind.
Is there are good reason that in youth sports today kids play 45 softball games a season, play seven volleyball matches in a day, or wrestle a 100 matches throughout the year other than for their parents to be able to say that they played that many games? Or because parents pay so much money into these programs that they believe they have to get a return on their investment?
Whatever happened to politicians being public servants that take their turn rather than making a career out of holding office and seeking ways that are in their best interest to stay in power at the expense of those who elected them? Our government comes to a virtual stop because these folks need to campaign to get re-elected, and with the fact that campaigns start earlier and earlier, do they ever just govern?
When an Iowa State fan claims they cheer for Iowa except when they play the Cyclones, or when an Iowa fan claims they cheer for Iowa State except when they play the Hawks, are they truly a fan of their team? In my opinion, a true Cyclone never cheers for the Hawkeyes and vice versa.
No offense to any particular schools, but I am now aware of two schools that refer to their girl’s athletic team as Lady Pirates. Does this sound right? Aren’t lady pirates wenches? From an English teacher perspective wouldn’t ‘lady pirate’ be an oxymoron? I never liked the sound of it. Can’t they just be Pirates?
A question was posed in one of the classes I observed lately in regard to the existence of a double standard between males and females in our country. The students certainly agree that it does exist though there was a significant difference of opinion on the extent of the standard. What bothers me a great deal, especially being the father of a teenage daughter, is how so few girls recognize that at the root of the double standard is power. Why do so many young ladies, and for that matter so many women, give up their power to a male?
Is it safe to say that American patriotism really got it’s biggest shot in the arm as a result of the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Olympics when the U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! chant first appeared? Did that victory over the Soviet Union lead to the eventual failure of the communist regime? Would a victory this year have toppled Canada?
Do I understand correctly that our representatives in Washington, specifically an ethics panel, have said that it is okay to steer special projects toward their financial contributors? So by today’s standard it is ethical to give government contracts to people that throw you a big sum of money to help get you elected. Wow! In my mind, that sure sounds like “bribery!” Ethics sure have changed!
A recent item in the newspaper shared theses results from ten years of research: students with high quality teachers learn more than those who do not have high quality teachers. No kidding! Another instance where we spend millions of dollars researching common sense!
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