[thechat] Jan 18 peace march

aardvark roselli at earthlink.net
Tue Jan 21 09:21:01 CST 2003


> From: Martin Burns <martin at easyweb.co.uk>
>
> > > Nope. Not necessarily. In the UK, the medical profession is well
> > > paid and (still largely) non-privatised. Competition is fierce to
> > > get into the limited places available in medical schools.
> >
> > that's also a whole different model -- not just in the public eye,
> > but in the type of job...
>
> Highly paid public service - yes, that's the new model I think Lach
> was aiming for.

and more tangible results, too... people tend to respect your average
surgeon more than a school teacher because the outcome is immediate
and tangible... it's an apple/oranges comparison...

> > > If you have a limited supply of entry places to a high demand
> > > profession, and the currency of entry is not money, then it'll
> > > come down to talent.
> >
> > it's not a high demand profession, it's almost a fallback for
> > many...
>
> ...because it's not a well paid profession.

and because getting into teaching isn't as rigorous a process as it
should be... it won't be well-paid *until* you can first limit it...
why would a PhD want to teach? not for the money... but if you limit
the requirements, the money follows...

> > and there isn't a limited number of places because of such programs,
>
> Well there presumably is a limited number of places (based on number
> of teachers required in each subject over the next N years), but
> because the number of places way outstrips the demand on them, it's
> never visible.

which is circular enough to bring us back to the need to require
better teachers, which forces better wages, and if done right, might
even result in more respect and even funding...

[...]
> However, what's the message you leave in the mind of the kids..?
> Marketing Coca Cola. Depends on the age of the kids, of course. I get
> *extremely* angry when my son's nursery wants to take him on a trip to
> McDonalds and follow it up with a whole range of activities based on
> McDonalds branded items.

and as a parent, that's your right, and even your responsibility...
unless you take them to mcdonalds whenever they want, it's not going
to result in them taking in any more of that food...

> I do *not* want him at age 16 months start to learn that McDonalds is
> the axiomatic place for children to go to.

then educate him otherwise... if you think he'll be shielded from
branding and marketing messages for any length of time, you're
kidding yourself... it's your job as a parent to frame it properly
and to guide his decisions...

> I'm much less worried about having a brand sponsor the cafeteria than
> the lessons/books, although I'm sure there are attempts to leverage
> the one into the other.

well, i tend to agree, and i'm sure there are attempts to leverage
that (and i'd reward the marketing guy trying it, but still say no as
a parent or teacher)... of course, if you've seen any of the
textbooks that kids have now, it couldn't be much worse...

but it would be cool to see a coca cola pop machine in the background
of famous photos in history...

> > sadly, the contracts were worded without much consideration of other
> > products (juices, water, etc.), and too many iditiotic
> > representatives made comments like "we believe carbonated beverages
> > can be part of a healthy diet."
>
> mmmm yes. Carbonated perhaps. Carbonated with a massive sugar content,
> perhaps no, except in the femto-gramme per year levels.

mmmm... carbonated...

--
my latest book project:
  Web Graphics for Non-Designers
  http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151159/evoltorg02-20
  ISBN: 1904151159






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