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The Cato Institute economists were behind the US gov't coup in Chile, that brought the dictator Pinochet to power, resulting in horrific human rights abuses.
Incorrect again. Economists are never behind a coup. The Cato Institute had nothing to do with the coup.
Chile's anti-business Marxist dictator Salvador Allende had driven the economy to the brink of total collapse, nationalizing entire industries and having the standard of living plummet.
The Chilean military correctly saw the country was on the verge of complete anarchy and chaos that would likely result in mass starvation and complete de-industrialization. They overthrew Allende. It is believed the CIA backed the military. The military chose Pinochet to lead the country back, and that's what happened.
He brought in the "Chicago Boys", Chilean nationals who had earned their PhDs in Economics under Milton Friedman and George Stigler at the University of Chicago (both one Nobel Prizes in economics). Some of the students earned their PhDs elsewhere (MIT, Harvard) but were generically called "Chicago Boys" as they were well educated.
The Chicago Boys pulled off an Economic Miracle. They saved the Chilean economy from complete and total implosion, removing failed Marxist economic handcuffs and straightjackets. The Chilean economy rebounded, and of course we now recognize it as nothing less than an Economic Miracle.
Not really. So Gen Z can't read an analog clock. Who cares?
Can you read a sundial?
Can you milk a cow?
Can you start a fire without matches?
If you can, great. If you can't, who cares?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
You will when you need to and can't.
On a serious note, a lot of parts of education aren't about needing to do a specific thing. They are about training your mind. I love that line from The Paper Chase:
"You teach yourselves the law, I train your minds."
That's what the classical part of an education used to be about; training minds to think. Not what to think (indoctrination). Not how to think (skill). But to think.
All those little snippets about "Why do I have to learn this?" or "I'll never use algebra!" aren't about learning a specific thing. Algebra isn't simply about learning algebra. It's a tool to train your mind to become a thinking, capable adult vs an automaton serving a master.
On a serious note, a lot of parts of education aren't about needing to do a specific thing. They are about training your mind.
This ties in with what you said on another thread about fixing high school before we can fix college. Looks like we'll have to fix early childhood education, too. I remember learning to read in 1st grade in 1966 but I don't remember learning how to tell time, and all the clocks in school were analog. I must have learned in kindergarten (or earlier?).
Quote:
Originally Posted by YorktownGal
Last year, my daughter spent a whole class period teaching 7th graders how to read a clock. Scary!
It sounds scary, but thinking of my own house I can only picture one analog clock. It's almost a novelty item that we bought just because my wife liked it. Come to think of it, I'll have to ask my wife if there are any analog clocks at out local Head Start or if telling time is part of the lesson plan there. I bet it's not a high priority and I wonder how many of the young HS workers can teach it off the top of their heads.
I used to take three days to teach telling time in French 1.
Day 1 was the basics: numbers 0-23, time on the hour with an analog clock, parts of the day, and what exactly was noon and midnight.
The Socratic questions included (but not limited to!)
how many time zones are there and why?
how long does each time zone include?
what do A.M. and P.M. stand for and what do they mean?
what is noon?
what is the difference between 12pm and noon?
why are there standard time zones?
what industry is most associated with standard time zones?
what is the 24-hour clock?
why is it called military time?
Day 2 was digital time-telling: practice using numbers 0-60, converting between 24-hour and traditional hours with AM/PM and parts of the day, using minutes up to 59.
Day 3 was traditional time-telling with minutes after or until the hour, quarters of the hour, practicing with school, transportation, and tv schedules.
The Socratic questions included
How much is a quarter of hour?
How much is a quarter of a dollar?
How many minutes are there in a quarter of a basketball game?
Is it the same for high school, college, and pro?
What is a quarter really?
What is a quarter of a chicken?
What does it mean to be drawn and quartered?
Why did people get drawn and quartered?
Is it still done today?
Why is it not done in the United States?
I had the students make their own clocks using paper plates, cardboard hands, and a paper fastener, just like I had done in kindergarten. We practiced, first in English, then in French. We did various hands-on activities to engage all students with their preferred learning styles. We did practice tests that strongly resembled their actual tests. Yet every year the students would do worse than the year before.
I eventually decided that I would teach the concepts in a day, forgo the hands-on and practice, and just barely test the objective rather than have a dedicated test. I had to try to rationalize to myself that those who needed to learn would get it at some point.
The most distressing thing is when I talk to other adults about the experience, only to learn they they too believe that there are 25 minutes in a quarter of an hour.
Incorrect again. Economists are never behind a coup. The Cato Institute had nothing to do with the coup.
Chile's anti-business Marxist dictator Salvador Allende had driven the economy to the brink of total collapse, nationalizing entire industries and having the standard of living plummet.
The Chilean military correctly saw the country was on the verge of complete anarchy and chaos that would likely result in mass starvation and complete de-industrialization. They overthrew Allende. It is believed the CIA backed the military. The military chose Pinochet to lead the country back, and that's what happened.
He brought in the "Chicago Boys", Chilean nationals who had earned their PhDs in Economics under Milton Friedman and George Stigler at the University of Chicago (both one Nobel Prizes in economics). Some of the students earned their PhDs elsewhere (MIT, Harvard) but were generically called "Chicago Boys" as they were well educated.
Enter: the CATO Boys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moguldreamer;
The Chicago Boys pulled off an Economic Miracle. They saved the Chilean economy from complete and total implosion, removing failed Marxist economic handcuffs and straightjackets. The Chilean economy rebounded, and of course we now recognize it as nothing less than an Economic Miracle.
Widespread horrific, highly disturbing human rights violations were committed in this process.
Quote:
On 11 September 1973, after an extended period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress and the socialist President, as well as economic war ordered by United States PresidentRichard Nixon, a group of military officers led by General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a coup, ending civilian rule.
[...]
The Nixon administration, which had worked to create the conditions for the coup, promptly recognized the junta government and supported it in consolidating power.
This is how, more often than not, coups are pulled off in Latin America. The military rarely of its own accord and benevolently decides to remove a popular leader. The US encourages them, and coordinates activities to set the stage for a takeover. See the example of Guatemala, 1954, in the book "Bitter Fruit", which provides a blow-by-blow narrative of the CIA-arranged coup to save United Fruit company's agricultural holdings. The story is based on US government documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
There has to be a way to speed up the K12 process. Not counting anything before or after first grade or senior year, that’s 12 years of waste.
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