MooPig Home School Department :: "John Taylor Gatto"

The Fourth Purpose

Mashed by Pat Darnell  |  July 18, 2013  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

While experts carry on about the "enigma of compulsory education" in the USA, John Taylor Gatto is making a documentary about it. Our education drama is a spoiler because Education is paid for by public funds, and free to all the children. If it were not "free," believe me, parents and children would fight in the streets for the chance to go to school.

Deciding on how to spend the mountain of money that is our public education system has become an accountant's trick. Our politicians who pose as school administrators parlay all day long on "problems of our school system in terms of engineering solutions—longer school days, Phonics vs. Whole Word, merit pay for teachers, metal detectors, bigger districts, smaller class size."

The article suggests that we have lost any real purpose of education: "if the first three purposes are to create good people, good citizens, and good lives, as history suggests, then why have we allowed the Managerial Fourth Purpose to dominate what is really occurring in our 100,000 school buildings?. (2000-2003 The Odysseus Group. LINK) ..." Sometimes it seems the purpose of education is to produce non-voting taxpayers, and that's all.

In 1991, Mr. Gatto resigned from teaching in New York because "He didn't want to harm children anymore." We think that those who have fought the good fight of American education, and lost battles, usually tend to their wounds by writing an expose on the system. One of these whistle-blowers should have by now produced the definitive rebuttal to our Public Education debacle.

(2000-2003 The Odysseus Group. LINK)
" ... The Fourth Purpose, a 3-part, 6-hour documentary series will be the first film to ask this fundamental question. The series will tackle the American school system: present, past, and future—its anomalies, its history, and the alternatives. The idea is to throw a bucket of ice-cold water in the faces of pundits, experts, and bureaucrats. The intention is to radically shift the context within which people view schooling by offering a ‘unified field theory’ of how and why our school system is so deeply dysfunctional. And then, once we have everyone’s attention, to show what people might do about it. ... "

John Taylor Gatto Biography: "Gatto's office is in New York City, his home in Oxford, New York, where he is currently at work on a documentary film about the nature of modern schooling entitled The Fourth Purpose, with his friend and former student, Roland Legiardi-Laura. For more information about this film, visit The Fourth Purpose.

Gatto has been married for forty years to the same woman, and has two grown children and a cat. He hopes to build a rural retreat and library for the use of families pondering local and personal issues of school reform. John is available as a speaker. "

  'via Blog this'


_______________________Reference
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/aboutus/john.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/short.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/index.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/1.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/fourthpurpose/gatto2.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/retreat/index.htm
http://www.empowernetwork.com/paris1971/blog/the-ultimate-history-lesson-an-interview-with-john-taylor-gatto/

MooPig City Desk Department ::

Now that the 2012 Election closes... I guess we should start a serious discussion. What about infrastructure?
by Pat Darnell  |  Oct 3, 2012  |  Bryan TX

[Logo LINK]

As I hear distant thunder rolling across the gentle hills of Texas Hill Country, no one is complaining. The only trouble is that it is too hot, but that always occurs before a cold front comes in.

In 1926, The National League of Cities, NLC, was founded. In this small town, Bryan TX, the concepts of "City" are not well known. There is not a body of  knowledge anywhere around town that shows concern or  planning as to the dangers approaching as the "Town" grows into a "City." Yes I am watching it happen as we speak.

For instance -- there is absolutely no activity in this town for adolescent youths. That's right, the children caught in Bryan TX in the tender first stages of "young men and women" have no outlet for their zeals for life and liberty. It's dismal. There is underage drinking, illicit sex, and drug abuse available... how about some other outlets for our young disenfranchised youth? Eh, Bryan TX?

Most of the NLC historical perspective can be read on numerous sites, included in the Reference section below. From WIKI, I would like to quote this:

"...NLC lobbies Congress on multiple issues, including city infrastructure, particularly transportation; supporting local energy efficiency and conservation efforts; strengthening and stabilizing the housing market; helping build stable families; supporting community safety; and reforming the country’s immigration system. NLC’s core lobbying principles include avoiding unfunded mandates, preserving local authority and protecting the intergovernmental partnership. (WIKI. HERE)... "

I think they made a mistake there in that last part of the statement... but I suppose "traffic" would be the number one concern for cities today. In that category "Modern City" we have Chicago as the second city, a place where New Yorkers say the buffalo still roam. I lived in Chicago for 18 years, and why I stayed so long, is because every year I would say "Well, this year has to be better than last year..." Not true. The biggest problem in the Big Onion is, and still is, traffic.

Chicago is a modern city like Houston is a modern city to Chicago. Include Dallas, Denver, all of municipal South Florida, Salt Lake City, in that discussion ... and you have opened a can of worms that spills out all over the place.

Utah Local News - Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive - The Salt Lake Tribune: "Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is gaining a national reputation as an environmental leader — so much so that he's making an international trip. Becker and officers from five other U.S. cities will travel to Hamburg, Germany, this week to share ideas with their European counterparts on green initiatives for cities. The exchange on sustainability is being organized by the National League of Cities, which will pay for Becker's trip, according to the Mayor's Office."

'via Blog this'

The slippery truth is "You can't Outsource Infrastructure."

Why don't we use this post as an introduction to the NLC? We will find out together what it means for the Modern City and all its Infrastructure.

_____________________Reference
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53924652-90/becker-cities-hamburg-sustainability.html.csp
https://www.google.com/webhp?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=3&tok=fNn1jM7hwai7VLJLnLrJ_A&cp=17&gs_id=o&xhr=t&q=national+league+of+cities&pf=p&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&sclient=psy-ab&oq=national+league+o&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=fb3f20bcb15e4a5&bpcl=37189454&ion=1&biw=1024&bih=667
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&biw=1024&bih=667&q=national+league+of+cities+v.+usery+brief&revid=1687749279&sa=X&ei=GNmUUJ3eEKGO2wX6loCgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CG8Q1QIoAA
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&biw=1024&bih=667&q=national+association+of+counties&revid=1687749279&sa=X&ei=GNmUUJ3eEKGO2wX6loCgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CHAQ1QIoAQ
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&biw=1024&bih=667&q=national+league+of+cities+conference+2012&revid=1687749279&sa=X&ei=GNmUUJ3eEKGO2wX6loCgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CHIQ1QIoAw
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS460US460&biw=1024&bih=667&q=national+league+of+cities+membership&revid=1687749279&sa=X&ei=GNmUUJ3eEKGO2wX6loCgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CHMQ1QIoBA
http://lists.nextmark.com/market;jsessionid=600BCB9C606B8F65781544713A888DA6?page=order/online/datacard&id=286058
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/looting-main-street-20100331
https://www.planning.org/resourceszine/articleview.htm?ArticleID=9442

NASA Talk :: ENTERPRISE condemned to Public Service in NYC

NASA has "Spoke"
Retirieved by Pat Darnell [HERE]

Enterprise - Space Shuttle Orbiter - To Come to Intrepid Museum

Intrepid is thrilled to have been chosen as new home for Enterprise (OV-101), first Space Shuttle Orbiter, and to help perpetuate legacy of one of our country’s greatest technological achievements.

More than 150,000 people signed petitions to help bring a space shuttle to New York City, and we expect more than a million people a year will come to Intrepid to see, first hand, this vehicle that advanced our nation’s exploration of space.

" ... We are grateful to our elected leaders who worked tirelessly on our behalf, including Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Congressman Jerrold Nadler and entire New York State Congressional Delegation; New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and David Paterson; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Council Speaker Christine Quinn; George Fertitta and NYC & Co.; Bill Rudin and Association for a Better New York; and 19 Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients, 12 Distinguished Marines and many others who wrote letters and signed petitions to NASA. ... (LINK)"

We are honored that NASA has recognized that New York will be an outstanding home for Enterprise (OV-101) and that the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will create an amazing exhibit to showcase her. Our congratulations also go out to the other museums and institutions where Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis will have new homes.

Pickpocketing: An Art That's Stealing Away : NPR

Isn't that just the Dickens; Pickpocketing is a lost art
Retrieved by Pat Darnell

The Lost Art of Pickpocketing -- The venerable crime has all but disappeared in the United States. What happened, and should we miss it? | By Joe Keohane | Posted Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 (LINK)

Based on this story written by Joe Keohane -- came a segment from National Public Radio:
Pickpocketing: An Art That's Stealing Away : NPR: "New York, once a pickpocket's paradise, scored 23,000 cases of in 1990 alone. Five years later, the number fell by half, according to writer Joe Keohane, who wrote about the decline for Slate. By about 2000, he says, there were fewer than 5,000 reports of the crime. It's the same story in many major cities across the country."

EXCERPT | " ... Training To Be 'A Pianist'

Part of the reason pickpocketing has declined so dramatically is that no one teaches it anymore. Older pickpockets called "wires" used to train younger ones in the craft.

"Then they would train five, and they would train five, and it would just keep the system going," Keohane says. "In New York, you'd have organized pickpocketing schools." (NPR. March 6, 2011. LINK)

Michael Openshaw, March 16, 2011 wrote:
"Actually, pickpocketing has been outsourced. It’s still an active viable trade in places like Africa. Got hit up by a very professional 3 man team in Uganda. Fortunately, I’m left-handed and they only got my camera on the right side (They filched my passport as well, but threw it back to me since the new ones are difficult to utilize; considerate of them)"

"The loss of the camera was more important for the video I hadn’t offloaded. But one of my older orphan girls took up the challenge, help bribe the cops into doing their job (the pickpockets are regulars), got the camera back, got the guys arrested, only cost about $42 (plus a matching amount for reward to my wonderful savior there). The guys ended up in jail…until they could pay their way out. Were back on the same corner about a week later where my girl saw them; they smiled and waved. All very business-like; paying for education."

Dave Slifka, February 25, 2011 wrote:
"I was in Barcelona last summer where I met several people who were victims of pickpocketry. Few things change your life so quickly for the worse and so needlessly. A life of thievery of any kind is, in my opinion, one of the lowest forms of existence. To wax nostalgically for it is, at best, misguided and, at worst, irresponsible."

Jim Snedeker (Jas500) wrote:
So as long as NPR gets one of its perky hosts to do a light-hearted story celebrating a crime, then that means it's all right, right? NOT! Why not interview a real person who'd had their pocket picked and see how they felt? The woman whose diabetes medication was in her purse? The man who had to suffer through months of paperwork and angst to restore his good credit because of stolen credit cards? Instead, you quoted people getting picked... from a movie! And then you interviewed a professional pick-pocketer, complete with audience laughter. Nice choices, NPR.
(Tue Mar 08 2011)

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