Lack of Education

I saw this graphic on Facebook today. I've seen it before, but today for some reason it struck a nerve.

The only correction I'd make is about the time frame. This change has happened since I was a kid, and I'm not 60 yet!

What's happened here? I know there are many factors, but our schools are struggling, our kids are losing, and our nation has lost a lot of ground as a thought leader in the world. Have we so over-reinvented the educational processes that we've lost sight of the basic goal of an education? Which, in my humble opinion, is to to teach a child to think, to reason, and learn. If they can do that, they can do anything. Now we are so zeroed in on facts and figures we are only teaching test-taking and only testing memorization skills in standardized tests that make no sense.

Has family participation in education so declined that a teacher working a 10-12 hour day (yeah, 2-4 hours a day outside of school hours) is the only source of education these kids will get? When mom and dad are both working, there is no family time, and the TV and Internet are nanny, babysitter, and educational tool, the student loses. I learned my fundamental lessons at home before school began, and was responsible at home for work completion before I got to school to turn it in. Not any more. Helicopter parents have turned this around, over-protecting their children to the point where the kid can do no wrong, and it must be the teacher's fault if little Johny isn't making all A's.

Have we so politicized the process that the classroom is just a ping pong ball to be bounced around for political points? We should allow educators to take over education, and keep politicians out of the mix. If history is to be revised, it should be due to the discovery of new factual information that changes the understanding of a thing or event, not to support any political party's goals or particular desire for how things should have been. Give kids the truth and let them decide what they think about it - it might not be good for your party but it will be good for the country.

Have we put so low a value on education that there just isn't enough money to provide the needed classroom space and teacher to student ratio to provide effective teaching? I had some horrible teachers as a child, back when anyone could be a teacher, but I also had some wonderful mentors. Now, there are standards and requirements and curricula and refresher trainings and evaluations and it seems like there are more teachers than ever who don't know what they are doing, don't care, or just can't do it.  I tried to find a good, current chart of world academic standing but there are so many and they are so varied I could find a consistent report, so here is a study result from 2013:
     " According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the
      United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance.
      Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:

1. Finland
2. South Korea
3. Hong Kong SAR
4. Japan
5. Singapore
6. United Kingdom
7. Netherlands
8. New Zealand
9. Switzerland
10. Canada"

Or shud we blame the inet? U no how peeps abbrev evrythng n 2 lazy 2 do it rite. :(

Yes, I know I'm over-simplifying the problem. And I know and respect many wonderful, dynamic, motivated, amazing teachers! I wouldn't be the professional, somewhat accomplished person I am without the wonderful teachers who made sure I got it. Thank you forever to all of them!

It used to be a good thing to be smart. It let us put men on the moon, create the internet, and gave us amazing tools like cell phones and the iPad - all revolutionary events that have changed the world. God gave each of us a brain and talents - we shouldn't ignore those precious gifts, we should do everything we can to help our children maximize them. It's the smart thing to do!

Mall Observations

I've had to go the mall a few times in the past week. This is unusual for me, as I am a very manly shopper in that I go to look for what I need, I find it or a don't, get it if I found it, and then I'm done.  Since I don't have a car here, my trips are tied to the bus schedule so I usually have more time on site than I need. Still, I don't wander around looking in every window to see what catches my eye like some differently gendered people might do (ok, half of you readers, you know who you are).

But I do enjoy watching the people at the mall. It's always entertaining, sometimes amusing and occasionally quite surprising.  It doesn't matter what country you're in, you get the same mix of people and similar generalized behavior. So here are a few observations from my recent trips.

Kids are kids. I saw two brothers fighting. Dad was trying to get them corralled and on the move, the little one was determined to go in one direction and his big brother was determined to help dad out and bring the younger one along. It was nearly a serious skirmish. Dad looked highly exasperated until he caught my eye and saw me grinning, then he smiled. I said "they're the same all over the world!" and he laughed, went and got a boy in each hand, and off they went. Now that you have a mental picture of all that, this took place in Saudi Arabia and dad was a Saudi man wearing classic  thobe and guptha (white robe and headgear).

They love malls in the Middle East, the bigger and snazzier the better. The malls in my area are fairly simple compared to the big cities, but these aren't bad. They love big domes with complex decorations and panes of glass, and they always look great on the inside. From the outside, typically, they are dirty brown and covered in sand and dust that just never seems to go away.

I saw a young Saudi couple, him in white and her in black head to toe, get up to leave a table at the food court. The father picked up their infant child, swaddled tightly, and cradled and rocked the sleeping child just as any father around the world would do. They left together with her pushing the stroller but with one hand on his arm, and him carrying that baby like it was the most precious thing in the world. Very endearing.

I've seen more and more couples holding hands in public, which is quite a paradigm change. It is normal to see two men or two women (or a whole gang of women) embrace or walk hand in hand or arm in arm in public. Totally normal here. But forever it has been taboo for men and women, married or otherwise, to touch or embrace or even walk too closely together in public.This is more a social constraint than religious, like women being covered head to toe. The Koran requires that women dress modestly. It is family and social pressure that hides them from sight.

You might notice that I rarely have people in the images I post from here. In general, that's because cameras are still officially a no-no, and the Saudis are wary of them. If I used my phone or, worse, a real camera to take a picture of a Saudi woman, I would likely have it dashed to the ground by the first group of men to reach me and I would find myself in serious trouble! I am respectful and mindful of that with every shot I take!

They are so concerned about covering women here, that the mall is very affected by it. The place is full of European and American brand stores, but the ad photos do not show women's faces, and the mannequins have no heads. This ad for a new store caught my eye. These are 5-foot tall signs on a base that are spread out all over the place. If you click on the image to see it larger, you'll see the man's features are in sharp focus, but the woman's face is pixelated so her detail is gone. This is the first one I've seen like this. Others I've seen have had the woman's face covered by paint or paper glued on, or cut off with a knife or slashed beyond recognition. It's usually done by male patrons, not by the stores. I really don't know where protectionism ends and misogyny begins.

They love corn here!! In most mall there is a corn vendor every 100 meters or so, and oh my goodness when you approach one it smells like summer kitchen boiling corn for dinner!  They sell it off the cob in little cups, and you can always see someone walking along enjoying a serving!

This window display caught my eye, being a wedding photographer and all. This is the first wedding dress I've seen displayed, and it's a doozy. With a lovely floral number for an attendant. And a matching tiny one for a flower girl, of course!

They do have weddings here, just like at home! The men get all duded up (and that's some serious business here!), and the ladies put on fancy dresses and do fantastic hair and makeup. The similarities more or less stop there. Because then the ladies put on their black abayas and veils and hair coverings, they all get together for the ceremony, and then the boys go one way and the girls another. When the girls are safely behind closed doors the robes comes off and they can show off for each other at their own party. This is another shop display I saw tonight, and these are pretty tame compared to many other dresses on display.

It's all about the clothes, right ladies?  I had one other pretty cool experience tonight at the mall, but this post has already gone on too long so I'll hit that next time.   Here's one more shot I got in Bahrain over the weekend, the Ritz Carlton Hotel. No, didn't stay there - just went to pick someone up and had to scour the place to find him, so I saw a pretty scene and took my best shot.  Best to all! Mark

#DhahranMall #SaudiArabia  #RitzCarlton  #Bahrain

Cars

I've been asked what kinds of car have I seen here. It's an interesting question, I suppose, because we tend to wonder what it's like in other places besides our home town. Fortunately, I've made some mental notes and should be able to give a good answer based on my keen observational skills.

In short: Y'all, they've got almost everything here!!

From the most basic to the biggest, it's here someplace. There are VW Beetles, Cooper Minis, and Fiat 500s. There are Humvees, Cadilac Escalades, and Ford Excursions.

From the simplest to the most exotic, that's here too.  There are little tiny cars from Europe that I don't even know the make - 4 seats, standard gearbox, and a speedometer and fuel gauge is about the extent of the equipment. At the other end are supercars - I've seen the white Audi sport coupe from Iron Man. This little beautiful McLaren graced the parking lot for a month or so - I've seen it on the road once or twice elsewhere. What a pretty car.

Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar, Corvette - they're here. Some of the folks who've been in this business a long time have saved up some dough, and don't mind spending it on nice wheels.

On the more mundane side, there are loads of SUVs of all sizes and shapes, even my favorite - the Mitsubishi Pajero, which is the European name for the Montero. They stopped selling this terrific car in the US in 2006 and I never learned why, but it is still sold abroad. Wish I could get one here and take it home!

There are lots of BIG sedans here. I must guess that the most common is the Ford Crown Victoria - Aramco has a big fleet of these. In addition to Chevy Impalas and Ford and Chevy SUVs.  The Crown Vic is also a favorite for limo services.

But there are loads of smaller cars here too, with brands from around the world - Volvo, MG, Subaru, Toyota, Peugot, Honda. All the cars here are left hand drive, although speedometers are in Kilometers per hour. It is a crazy place to drive. Saudi drivers are well known to be the most unsafe in the world, and sadly that reputation is well-earned. Not all the cars here are new, either. There are lots of beaters that look and sound like they're on their last legs and should've been recycled a long time ago. But they can still be kept running, and just like at home not everyone can buy a new car every year.

Toyota is very popular here, with models from their tiniest to their fanciest. The new Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro are very popular with the younger guys - can't imagine why, unless it's the same stuff that we enjoyed when the originals came out - great styling, great engines!

I'll mention that conditions here are extremely dry and dusty most of the year. There is quite a cadre of intrepid young men who work the huge parking lots, armed with buckets, soap, rags, and 5 gallon jugs of water. They work the lots all day washing cars for the equivalent of about $4 each. No hoses, no wasted water, and these cars are kept spotless! Quite a little underground business.

In November there was a car and motorcycle show on camp, and I went down and got a few shots. Here are a few of the collectible vehicles shown that day!  I'm not certain on the years for these guys:
1949 Cadilac

 1960 VW Beetle

1964 Chevy Impala

1960s Cooper Mini

1967 Chevy Camaro