Where is balance? -- Re: Academic priorities
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From: Nick Maclaren on 5 May 2005 09:02 In article <d5d3fh$rp7$1(a)nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, Andrew Swallow <am.swallow(a)btopenworld.com> wrote: > >Screwdrivers are a different matter. The woodwork room should be >equipped with screwdrivers and the children made to return them at the >end of the lesson. So there is no honest reason for children to be >carrying one during the day. Bad reasons include using sharpened >screwdrivers as weapons and sabotaging school desks. Good reasons include being able to fix things that work loose on their bicycle so that they don't have the choice of being late for school or riding illegally/dangerously. Or are you assuming that they are driven to school in a Hummer, as God intended? On this newsgroup, please do not even DREAM of claiming that a well designed and maintained bicycle will never have anything work loose unexpectedly. Any real engineer knows that such failures will always happen. Regards, Nick Maclaren.
From: Jack Peacock on 5 May 2005 10:56 <mensanator(a)aol.com> wrote in message news:1115171901.140730.172870(a)f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com... > I have my car keys attached to a short chain with my pocket watch > on the other end clipped to a belt loop (keeps me from locking my > keys in my car). Once I had to go to traffic court and I knew to > leave my Swiss army knife in the car. But the guy at the metal > detector won't let me take my keys/watch in becuase apparently > I could throttle someone with the chain. > An acquaintance of mine, former special forces, once explained to me that those key chains are considered to be a versatile and easily concealed weapon, which is why he always carries a large one on his belt. Their training covered uses for it. Jack Peacock
From: Andrew Swallow on 5 May 2005 11:33 rpl wrote: > Andrew Swallow wrote: > >> jmfbahciv(a)aol.com wrote: >> [snip] >> >>> >>> >>> <clap, clap> I talked about this with Mom last night. I apparently >>> lied when I told the story about my nephew. It >>> wasn't a butter knife but a screwdriver which he had >>> put into his pocket after fixing the lawn mower and then >>> went to school. By all means, let us teach kids not to >>> fix anything. >> >> >> >> Screwdrivers are a different matter. The woodwork room should be >> equipped with screwdrivers and the children made to return them at the >> end of the lesson. So there is no honest reason for children to be >> carrying one during the day. Bad reasons include using sharpened >> screwdrivers as weapons and sabotaging school desks. > > > who needs a screwdriver when you've got those otherwise-useless compass > things. Compasses are maths thingies. No self respecting thug is going to be seen dead using anything so nerdy. ;) Andrew Swallow
From: Andrew Swallow on 5 May 2005 11:35 Nick Maclaren wrote: > In article <d5d3fh$rp7$1(a)nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, > Andrew Swallow <am.swallow(a)btopenworld.com> wrote: > >>Screwdrivers are a different matter. The woodwork room should be >>equipped with screwdrivers and the children made to return them at the >>end of the lesson. So there is no honest reason for children to be >>carrying one during the day. Bad reasons include using sharpened >>screwdrivers as weapons and sabotaging school desks. > > > Good reasons include being able to fix things that work loose on > their bicycle so that they don't have the choice of being late for > school or riding illegally/dangerously. My bike needed spanners to fix it. > > Or are you assuming that they are driven to school in a Hummer, as > God intended? > > On this newsgroup, please do not even DREAM of claiming that a well > designed and maintained bicycle will never have anything work loose > unexpectedly. Any real engineer knows that such failures will always > happen. > > > Regards, > Nick Maclaren.
From: K Williams on 5 May 2005 11:50
In article <d5debj$84i$1(a)nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, am.swallow(a)btopenworld.com says... > rpl wrote: > > Andrew Swallow wrote: > > > >> jmfbahciv(a)aol.com wrote: > >> [snip] > >> > >>> > >>> > >>> <clap, clap> I talked about this with Mom last night. I apparently > >>> lied when I told the story about my nephew. It > >>> wasn't a butter knife but a screwdriver which he had > >>> put into his pocket after fixing the lawn mower and then > >>> went to school. By all means, let us teach kids not to > >>> fix anything. > >> > >> > >> > >> Screwdrivers are a different matter. The woodwork room should be > >> equipped with screwdrivers and the children made to return them at the > >> end of the lesson. So there is no honest reason for children to be > >> carrying one during the day. Bad reasons include using sharpened > >> screwdrivers as weapons and sabotaging school desks. > > > > > > who needs a screwdriver when you've got those otherwise-useless compass > > things. > > Compasses are maths thingies. No self respecting thug is going to be > seen dead using anything so nerdy. ;) Wouldn't it be a little suspicious if the bad guys in math school only wanting to learn how to bisect with a compass. -- Keith |