> My disagreement is with your objection to
> history and science. As Edmund Burke put it,
> "Those who don't know history are
> destined to repeat it!" We are seeing
> that lived out in the US every month lately.

> As for science, the more we know ofthe
> mechanics and laws of the universe, the more
> we can understand of the world around us.

In my school, Modern History meant WWI, League of Nations, WWII, Korean War. To study Ancient History I would have had to take on another module of Modern History - dropping one of my other subjects - and thus get one module of Ancient History which ONLY covered Greece in the time of the Spartans.

I never said history was not important. Just that I was forced to study it in preparation for entrance to university to study science. (I have learned more history since leaving school than I ever learned at school. I actually like the subject.)

Science? Love science. Physics and Biology - both deal with how things work. That's why I chose to do a science degree.

But even this had flawed logic. As I said... why was a science degree needed to be a pilot? Heck, I went and got my license privately. So much for a degree.

As I was also studying teaching... the mind boggles more so. Why study university level science to teach highschool science? And why do three years of that higher level science - getting higher and higher?

My friend is a "Fed." Aussie version of an FBI agent. His "training" was 12 weeks. To become a statey in my state - our police our divided by state and not locale - requires six months at the academy PLUS one year studying science at university. That's 18 months of tertiary education - six of it at the police academy - so they can pull someone up for speeding and whatnot. Go figure.

That's what my beef is... more and more "positions" require higher and higher qualifications which do not add to the performance of the task.

I've seen jobs require a diploma of science. Thing is... those who get the job - and thus have the diploma - needed to be taught everything about the job because the tasks of the job were not taught during the diploma. I have seen unqualified people doing those same tasks - as a fill-in when the diploma holder was unable for a variety of reasons.

Anyway. Better stop now. Before I get carried away. :o)

Michael Ross