> If you want to talk about what 'should' be taught in public
> schools (i.e. if your interest is policy rather than politics)
> then the _first_ priority is a radical reduction in the hours
> students spend in school. (After all, 'school" once meant
> 'leisure'.) If you want to talk _politics_, then the first
> concern is to reduce the working hours of teachers.
I don't think it's a contradiction to support your second point without blasting your first. I think that for the social aspects at leat, kids should spendmore time at school. That being said, I think that more flexible hours for teachers could result in a benefit as well.
> There is certainly no reason to fill up school hours with
> cursive. If an obsolete skill is to be taught, what about
> slide rules or the abacus.
I think it's useful to remember that this thread didn't start with the Important question of "What shall we teach children?" but rather a sappy polemic of "Oh woe is society where we don't teach cursive" ...
/jordan