ABC informs


Brazil has about 2,000,000 troops including reserves. DR only 15,000.
Brazil has population of about 200,000,000 or 20 times DR. DR should have about 100,000 troops including reservists on this ratio.
Of course Switzerland has many more troops for an equivalent population to the DR.

and that means what, as far as the DR is concerned?

Atabey raves



Stop trying to hide from a responsible request for EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM THAT DOMINICANS ARE INDIFFERENT TO EDUCATION IN THE DR.

indifference, like most human conditions, is relative. relative to many other people, Dominicans are indifferent to education. if not, it would not be in the state it is in. the population would have demanded better. they would have held the feet of the politicians to the fire. see what is happening on Wall Street? people are demanding a change. see what is happening in the Arab Spring? people are demanding a change. they feel viscerally committed to changing the status quo, and they are willing to risk life and limb, because it is VITALLY IMPORTANT to their lives. how many Dominican parents and students are in the marches for 4%? why has the student body of this country not shut the city of Santo Domingo down? you were not around during the civil rights era, but that is how you change things. you prepare yourself for the worst, and you fight to the death. otherwise, you can sit on your behind , and wait till something happens, si Dios quiere. yes, until someoneelse does it for you. besides, with alternate tools available, such as the most powerful, the internet, why is there no improvement? you keep braying about Korea having had a well developed education system decades ago, which gave them a headstart in development. WRONG , as you always are. in 1960, only 8.4% of koreans had completed at least secondary school. in 2000, the figure was 60.3% that is what is called a committment to education.

15,000 is not enough to cope with a major hurricane, earthquake etc. Villages have been cut off for days.
There are large areas where cattle rustling goes on. When someone was kidnapped there was one helicopter and about 100 troops trying to find the hideout. Border security is an issue.

More equipment and reservists are needed along with increases in regular troops. I make the contrast with Brazil ; it has many more troops in proportion to the population.

S.

"you keep braying about Korea having had a well developed education system decades ago, which gave them a headstart in development. WRONG , as you always are. in 1960, only 8.4% of koreans had completed at least secondary school. in 2000, the figure was 60.3% that is what is called a committment to education." -El dready

Wrong I never said that South Korea had solved its educational deficiencies decades ago I have stated that South Korea WAS POORER THAN DR in the late 1950s That South Korea has undergone an enormous economic transformation and that EDUCATION, mostly public, has transformed the educational advancement of South Korea. Yes, I have hailed the Herculean effort and foresight of her leaders to manage such a transformation in such a short period under so much stress and sacrifice. Few nations can claim that distinction.

As for the Dominican Republic. The leaders can see before them the different roads ahead: stay with a largely uneducated citizenry and see your nation become ever more uncompetitive and in the rear looking at many lost opportunities ahead. Or change the dynamic BECAUSE IT'S IN YOUR OWN SELF INTERESTS to do so and reap far more opportunities for prosperity to take hold and sustain the economic modernization process of DR. Only an educationally enabled and thus flexible work force can help drive our prosperity into the future uncertainties that await us.

ABC200

Can I suggest you start a forum about the number of troops required in the Dominican Republic?

This one is about education. Okay?

Dready, I guess I could have said you are both right, but I prefer to be provocative.

Atebey's original question was who's right - is it attitude or opportunity? My point is, it is not one or the other, it is both, and they have a cumulative or synergistic effect. I think we actually all agree on that, but we differ on the relative importance of each, and particularly to what extent poor attitude contributes to the Dominican Republic's abysmal standard of education.
My view is attitude is the predominant factor. I agree with Dready that with the right attitude, an inquiring mind, one does not need to be spoon-fed in a classroom, but rather by reading books and on the internet.
Also the lack of government spending on education is as a result of the electorate not considering it a high priority.
It is a tragedy that the internet is not used more to inform. When TV was introduced it also had the promise of informing the masses. Instead it is used to numb the masses, sell them useless stuff and baby-sit the kids.
As for your interest in high-end stereo, how do you handle the noise pollution everywhere in this country? (If you want to give a comprehensive answer, maybe start another forum - I'd be happy to throw in my two-bob's worth. I have a beef about Dominican "music".)

Hey you two lovers, how about getting back on to the topic, education?
I thought I'd throw this in for good measure - it's by and Australian Psychiatrist (who incidentally admits Psychiatry is not a science) Niall McLaren:

"Education is what you're left with after you've forgotten everything you were taught."

Not a bad definition?

A bit like John Lennon's

"Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans."

What a coincidence,few hours ago telling my daughter how in my affidavit I wrote about TODAY Richard Dawning being put on my computer boot up by aUSB .Must have spyware

Guys, I have very strong, anecdotal evidence that parental attitude is by far the predominant determinant it a child's academic (as well as cultural, moral, civic and social) development.

Two children – both from the same socioeconomic background, similar government schools in the same part of Melbourne, and very similar genetically (brother and sister with the same biological father and mother).

One, brought up almost entirely by the father, excelled through school and university, has an honors degree and has almost completed his PhD in Bio-Medical Science. He missed less than one day per year at school, and represented his school in swimming, music, debating, chess and science competitions, being one of only 4 in the state to score 100% in a chemistry competition. He also received the highest award as a Boy Scout, served his county overseas in the Australian Army, did volunteer work helping poor farmers in Costa Rica, is an active environmentalist, regular blood-donor, brilliant guitarist, Salsa dancer, snow-skier, photographer, and chef, is well read on a very wide range of subjects, widely traveled (including the Dominican Republic, and even survived driving here) and is a compassionate, scrupulously honest Atheist.

The other, brought up almost entirely by the mother, for some time held the record for absenteeism in her school, had mediocre results and dropped out of school at the end of year 11. She has been in many altercations requiring police involvement, and like her mother, is a spoiled, dishonest Christian.

How do I know? They are my son and daughter. "penny" here is the mother.

I've NEVER stated otherwise RoyStone. In fact, parental involvement in their child's education is a crucial part of the equation. Yes, you can have rotten parents and still come out well educated, but the chances are small. If on the other hand you have one or better yet two parents motivated to structure your intellectual environment such that from an early age you gain interests in an inquisitive approach to matter big and small in life, well half the battle is won before stepping inside a classroom.

But remember what I stated: we're talking K-12 education or basic modern levels of academic achievement, not MIT candidates. The Dominican youngster will eventually be the Dominican worker and it behooves the leaders of the society to promote the GENERAL educational achievement of the people in order to advance society to a higher more prosperous level of civilized living and engagement with the larger world. You can make a hell of a lot more money and profits with a competent labor force that has, on average, a good K-12 foundation.

Here's an interesting article I read yesterday.

How About Better Parents?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: November 19, 2011

IN recent years, we’ve been treated to reams of op-ed articles about how we need better teachers in our public schools and, if only the teachers’ unions would go away, our kids would score like Singapore’s on the big international tests. There’s no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward more such teachers. But here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children’s education can also make a huge difference in a student’s achievement.



How do we know?

Every three years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or O.E.C.D., conducts exams as part of the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds in the world’s leading industrialized nations on their reading comprehension and ability to use what they’ve learned in math and science to solve real problems — the most important skills for succeeding in college and life. America’s 15-year-olds have not been distinguishing themselves in the PISA exams compared with students in Singapore, Finland and Shanghai.

To better understand why some students thrive taking the PISA tests and others do not, Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the exams for the O.E.C.D., was encouraged by the O.E.C.D. countries to look beyond the classrooms. So starting with four countries in 2006, and then adding 14 more in 2009, the PISA team went to the parents of 5,000 students and interviewed them “about how they raised their kids and then compared that with the test results” for each of those years, Schleicher explained to me. Two weeks ago, the PISA team published the three main findings of its study:

“Fifteen-year-old students whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school show markedly higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents read with them infrequently or not at all. The performance advantage among students whose parents read to them in their early school years is evident regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background. Parents’ engagement with their 15-year-olds is strongly associated with better performance in PISA.”

Schleicher explained to me that “just asking your child how was their school day and showing genuine interest in the learning that they are doing can have the same impact as hours of private tutoring. It is something every parent can do, no matter what their education level or social background.”

For instance, the PISA study revealed that “students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child ‘every day or almost every day’ or ‘once or twice a week’ during the first year of primary school have markedly higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child ‘never or almost never’ or only ‘once or twice a month.’ On average, the score difference is 25 points, the equivalent of well over half a school year.”

Yes, students from more well-to-do households are more likely to have more involved parents. “However,” the PISA team found, “even when comparing students of similar socioeconomic backgrounds, those students whose parents regularly read books to them when they were in the first year of primary school score 14 points higher, on average, than students whose parents did not.”

The kind of parental involvement matters, as well. “For example,” the PISA study noted, “on average, the score point difference in reading that is associated with parental involvement is largest when parents read a book with their child, when they talk about things they have done during the day, and when they tell stories to their children.” The score point difference is smallest when parental involvement takes the form of simply playing with their children.

These PISA findings were echoed in a recent study by the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education, and written up by the center’s director, Patte Barth, in the latest issue of The American School Board Journal.

The study, called “Back to School: How parent involvement affects student achievement,” found something “somewhat surprising,” wrote Barth: “Parent involvement can take many forms, but only a few of them relate to higher student performance. Of those that work, parental actions that support children’s learning at home are most likely to have an impact on academic achievement at school.

“Monitoring homework; making sure children get to school; rewarding their efforts and talking up the idea of going to college. These parent actions are linked to better attendance, grades, test scores, and preparation for college,” Barth wrote. “The study found that getting parents involved with their children’s learning at home is a more powerful driver of achievement than parents attending P.T.A. and school board meetings, volunteering in classrooms, participating in fund-raising, and showing up at back-to-school nights.”

To be sure, there is no substitute for a good teacher. There is nothing more valuable than great classroom instruction. But let’s stop putting the whole burden on teachers. We also need better parents. Better parents can make every teacher more effective.