Re: Better Book Bargains?

[Vin Morgan <granger.nh.ultranet@rcn.com>]

I'll make a plug for the independent scholar in this discussion. Self-published 
in 1993, "Dragons From the Dunes: the search for dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert" 
by New Zealander John R. Lavas is a wonderfully and amply illustrated, 
well-written work. ISBN 0-9597983-2-3

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:06:46 -0400
>From: dinoboygraphics@aol.com  
>Subject: Re: Better Book Bargains?  
>To: soylentgreenistrex@yahoo.com, dinosaur@usc.edu
>
>>>>Well, it's obvious he made every effort to cover the "all ages," and 
>perhaps 20+  years ago I'd have more faith in middle-school kids 
>'grasping' the text - but I  have to go by what I see in the public 
>school system today, and the state of  education has fallen so much 
> from learning to crowd-control ... a special 'advanced' class for 
>younger kids could probably tackle chunks of it. Sorry to be 
>pessimistic but this country is in trouble, education-wise.<<<
>
>Sorry, you ARE being pessimistic and NOT realistic:
>
>http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/15/c9/a4.pdf
>
>There is no statistical evidence to substantiated that reading level or 
>comprehension has dropped in our public schools.  That's not to say 
>that there aren't problems that need to be addressed (many of them 
>involving funding) but qualitative generalizations like yours usually 
>reflect objections to larger sociopolitical issues rather than any 
>actual data on how well our kids read (or do math, or 
>even...gasp...science).
>
>Now, our adults on the other hand, are indeed performing worse in terms 
>of both reading level and science understanding, but that's a different 
>issue.  And so I end with two quotes worth reflecting on:
>
>
>"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for 
>authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
>of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their 
>households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
>contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at 
>the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."
>
>(Attributed to Socrates in Plato's Republic Book 4)
>
>
>"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on 
>frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond
>words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful 
>of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise
>[disrespectful] and impatient of restraint"
>
>(Hesiod, 8th century BC).
>
>
>
>Scott Hartman
>Science Director
>Wyoming Dinosaur Center
>110 Carter Ranch Rd.
>Thermopolis, WY 82443
>(800) 455-3466 ext. 230
>Cell: (307) 921-8333
>
>www.skeletaldrawing.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: B tH <soylentgreenistrex@yahoo.com>
>To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>Sent: Fri, Aug 7, 2009 11:01 am
>Subject: Re: Better Book Bargains?
>
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>
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>
>Well, it's obvious he made every effort to cover the "all ages," and 
>perhaps 20+
>years ago I'd have more faith in middle-school kids 'grasping' the text 
>- but I
>have to go by what I see in the public school system today, and the 
>state of
>education has fallen so much from learning to crowd-control ... a 
>special
>'advanced' class for younger kids could probably tackle chunks of it.
>Sorry to be pessimistic but this country is in trouble, education-wise.
>
>> From: Raptorial Talon
>
>> Hey, that's just how the Amazon promotional materials pitch
>> it. Really
>> explicitly so, in fact, albeit with much praise for
>> something with
>> such breadth and scope for a "kids'" book. I've glanced
>> through it
>> before and didn't think of it as primarily children's
>> literature, but
>> who am I to judge intent?
>
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Vincent L. Morgan
Director, The Granger Papers Project
http://users.rcn.com/granger.nh.ultranet/index.shtml

http://independent.academia.edu/VinMorgan