Michael Moore's "Sicko" is hot internet news

[--Pete]

Hi,

If so, the US should have the best medical system in the world. :rolleyes:

Which it does. Not from the standpoint of fairness (whatever the hell that means) or of cost, but of technique and technology. Which is why the powerful and wealthy come to the USA for their major medical needs.

As for test grades, what a way to encourage teaching to the test, as opposed to... Education.

Another of those stupid, simple, incorrect statements. If the tests are of the 'fill in the blanks, match the columns, true/false' then you are correct. If the tests are essay tests and can cover any part of the subject, then all the subject has to be learned and understood in preperation for the test -- which comes as close to 'education' as I can think of. In addition, I challenge you to name a better way than tests to determine if a student has learned anyhing -- and don't give me 'teacher's evaluation' crap: I've pissed off enough teachers in my life that if I had had to depend on their evaluations instead of my abilities, I'd not have a high school diploma, much less a Ph.D.

And lastly, cycle of poverty mean anything to you?

Yeah, it means that the offspring of people who cannot be bothered to put out an effort will most likely not bother either. Given the vast number of immigrants (my parents among them) who came to the US with neither money, language, nor education and yet still managed to make a good life for themselves and their offspring, anyone playing the 'I'm poor because I come from a poor background' card is, in my opinion, looking for an excuse for their own shortcomings.

--Pete