Shedding Tears
Regarding Ms. Cameron’s letter last week (“Survivors of Suicide,” Aug. 20): I’m sorry to hear that those you come into contact with would have anything at all to say about your father’s suicide, let alone anything unkind. That said, why even bring it up? Especially when you seem to be in such pain from the baggage that you still insist on carrying.
You also not only do yourself a disservice but all others when you compare cancer to depression. I’ve had cancer and I’ve suffered from depression my whole life, and I can assure you, they are not the same, not even close. Have you had either, or are you testifying as a witness? And if you’re going to shed tears, why shed them for yourself and other survivors, unless you’re still feeling sorry for yourself? How about shedding a tear or two for those who also gave up and gave in the same day that Mr. Williams did but with one difference: they died alone in run-down motels or rooms that rent for almost nothing down on any town’s skid row. Who mourns their loss?
Sonoma
Children and Technology
A very balanced article (“The Digital Divide,” Aug. 13). Kudos to the author, and to the schools that are enabling children to grow up in a healthy, balanced relationship to technology.
Via online
Schools based on anthroposophy refuse outright to prepare children for life in a tech-driven world. Instead, they leave children without tools or an understanding that computers, mobile phones, iPads, etc., are just inanimate devices. The kids can come away believing the devices control their own behavior and even brain function, because, unlike their peers, they haven’t been taught something as basic as how to manage technology.
People pay good money for anthroposophical education, which is certainly their prerogative. But prospective Waldorf parents: don’t be surprised when you find yourself shelling out tutoring money on top of tuition because your children have been deliberately denied STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. At the same time, the children (and parents) are told they are getting some kind of superior schooling.
Digital divides are one thing. But deliberate digital divides in the name of absurd, esoteric beliefs from World War I–era Germany is about as counterintuitive as you can get in 2014. I guess some people think that is a good thing. Do your own research.
Via online
One of the main architects of Common Core just went to head the SAT testing. The plan is to make Common Core mandatory learning for all Waldorf school and home educators if they wish to take the SAT exam in the near future.
Common Core, by big corporate business, is being run into schools through the iPadding of our children. No one is even mentioning the many ill effects of WiFi radiation proven by many scientific and medical studies.
Children need to unplug and connect back with their natural rhythms of the natural world, not get plugged into a culture that relies on technocracy, capitalizing on nature for net bottom line profit and shopping for personal pleasure as our primary value systems.
We are golden, we are stardust, and we must get back to our gardens.
Via online
Me and the DMV
Count yourself lucky if you haven’t needed to go to the DMV in Santa Rosa. The conditions there are nothing short of scandalous. I had the misfortune of needing to visit recently. The only positive thing about that visit was the transaction itself, which took about one minute.
The office is obviously completely unprepared to handle the volume of traffic it receives. It’s as if it was brand-new and had no idea about what to expect. (The security guard mentioned that every day is about the same.)
The employees seemed totally unconcerned about the frustrations of their clients. It took hours to get through the front door (this was on a day with 90-plus degrees outside), with absolutely no accommodations available (how about providing a portable toilet or handing out water bottles to the people who pay their salaries?). Whoever runs this office is either a perfect example of the Peter Principle or is just totally indifferent to what goes on in his or her bureaucratic fiefdom.
What did I find upon entering the inner sanctum? Roughly 50 percent of the windows were unoccupied and with lots of empty chairs for the peons to rest on! One obvious way the long wait outside could be alleviated would be to add at least one person at the entrance desk to speed up the process, so that at least the people can get inside and sit down while waiting, or do we sense something nefarious in the air that things are the way they are on purpose?
Santa Rosa
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