Observations on Global Warming.

[Ban my account ffs!]

With regards to education, Gully... I think you're on the right track, but you might have taken it too far.  School is certainly not where you will learn everything.  What school will hopefully teach you is HOW to learn things and instill you with a passion to go out and learn them.  Learning is something you must do on your own, though.  People always say here that you keep learning the same things over and over.. and indeed we do.. we have American history all through elementary school, more formally in 7th or 8th grade, and again in 11th grade.  Each time, the thinking becomes more critical and specific and it falls more and more on the student to make the learning process run smoothly and not the teacher.  They become more and more of a "consultant" if you will and the learning is left up to you.

Schools that have some basic requirements but allow the student to explore subjects that they excel at will bring the most positive results in society.  As children develop, their gifts and talents become more and more defined and they should be able to have a little "wiggle room", if you will, to explore the things they like.

By the university level, it becomes apparent that it is no longer plugging in information to get a degree and move on.  It continues to instill a passion for learning in you and stresses the point that learning is a life long venture.

Concrete public schools that wish only to prepare the student for the work world are completely lacking and that is why most schools, at least in the U.S., do not follow this concept.  We don't separate our children according to their future careers at age 11 like they do in Germany, for example.  Everybody develops at different times and many don't know what they want until after they start doing it.  The least we can do is throw people together from all walks of life and help them learn from each other.

Sorry this is completely off topic, but I do want to post in response to your thoughts about Global Warming.  I think what you're saying is certainly an opinion that a lot of people hold but don't share because, like you, they feel they might not be the best qualified.  But i has become much more than a science issue and I think every person is at least someone qualified to say something about it, since if true, will affect each and every one of us.