Maybe our schools aren’t doing so well after all
When I was in Salt Lake City in January, I saw a truck pulling one of those combination trailer/billboards. The ad was in support of Utah’s new school voucher program, wherein the state will pay you money not to send your kid to public school, or something like that.
Here is a picture I took of the billboard in question:
In case you can’t quite make it out, here’s an enlargement:
This is a pretty good endorsement for the voucher program, actually. The people who made this sign were probably educated by public schools, and look where it got them.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:50 am
I don’t understand how people can think that that is correct. When I read about it in “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” I figured it was a British aberration. I am dismayed indeed to see it in the United States.
May 15th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I’ll have to admit, I had to read it a couple times before I found the error. I think the voucher program is a good idea. If the child is not using the resources provided in the public school, a portion of the taxes that the parents pay should be available for their private school education. It would be nice to also have something available for home schoolers, but that would open the door to parents abusing the program to just put money in their own pockets without using it for educational purposes.
May 15th, 2007 at 7:27 am
I never have understood the temptation to use an apostraphe to make a word plural. Some people, just love; using - as many! punctuation mark’s: as {possible}.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I heard a comedian several years ago (can’t remember who–sorry) say that apostrophes have come to mean “Warning! S approaching!”
May 15th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I can understand an apostrophe slipping through in an email or something. But the number of people who had to look at that ad to approve it — it’s ridiculous.
I’m terrified of what text messaging will do to the rising generation. Makes me want to be an English teacher just so I can mock kids that fail to learn decent grammar.
Can I still get into heaven if I dislike stupid people?
May 15th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Oh, I mean “kids WHO fail” — that was a grammar rule you taught me, Eric.
Though I must say it seems to be an accepted colloquialism, unlike aberrant apostrophe’s.
UGH. It hurts to even TYPE that.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Speaking of things that passed numerous editors’ scrutiny, has anyone heard that random radio commercial that says “did you know that onions in a paper bag in the refridgerator keeps them from sprouting for months”. Spoken out loud (as is it on the radio, of course) it sounds ever worse, and I don’t know how it got by anyone. Maybe they only had the lady in the studio that one day, and they were really set on using her voice.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Sure Randy - the FUN part of Heaven. I’m thinking it will be crowded, though.
May 15th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
This looks like a case for Bob the Angry Flower:
http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
May 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I gotta tell my favorite apostrophe catastrophe. A father enrolled his kid at my school, and the last name was Phillips. And yes, the father used an apostrophe in Phillip’s. I went to school with him, and I know that’s not the way his parents spelled it.
May 15th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
I dont see the problem. There billboard make’s sence too me.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I hate the voucher program, and Utah is stupid to implement it. They can’t even afford to have a textbook per child, and they want to take money out of schools that are sadly underfunded to help one child get a better education. The tuition for one child could probably buy a year group a set of textbooks. Or, you know, take a teacher’s salary out of the poverty level.
Yeah, can you tell I student taught there?
May 16th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
I didn’t even get to the “Parent’s” part… my brain was stuck on the “People need choice” and I was sure that’s what this blog entry was going to be about.
No, people need choices. Or “A choice.” not just “choice.”
May 16th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I love Bob the Angry Flower! Thanks!
May 17th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I’m confused by Chrystle’s last sentence. Took me a few go’s at.
May 17th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
>The tuition for one child could probably buy a year group a set of textbooks.
But if they are in the public school, then you would have to educate them, thereby making the problem worse.
Most voucher programs I’ve seen are nothing but a plus for the schools. They usually cost the system less than the government and taxes pay in. Utah might be a bit different. I can buy a full curriculum for about $800 dollars, yet the government spends > $8000 per student. And this is the curriculum that public school systems use for distance learning. I figure it would be a good thing for the system overall. A LOT cheaper.
May 17th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
$800 dollars. Wow. 18 Years of school did me a lot of good.