Olives

So, I was making dinner (cheese enchiladas, spanish rice, and refried beans), when I got to thinking about whether olives were a fruit or vegetable. I did some looking around the internet, and here's what I found:

• From a purely scientific perspective, olives are technically a fruit because they are ripened ovaries and seeds of plants.
• From a culinary perspective, olives are more like a vegetable; they probably wouldn't go well in a fruit salad, but fine in a tossed salad.
• From a nutritional perspective, olives are more like meat, at least that's the gist of what I read in a very short time; they are high in fat, salt, and protein.

It appears, then, that the answer really depends on why you want to know, much like most everything else in the world.

Utah "Education" (Part One)

Okay. It's been a year, or close enough to it. I have, for the most part, maintained silence regarding my disappointment in the educational system we have here in Utah. But I'm done. What we have in Utah is not an educational system, it is an outrage. The schools are teaching our children to grow up to be immature, test-taking, button-pushers who can't judge whether what they have done is good or bad and require constant reassurance that everything they do is, in fact, good. I feel sorry for the children, and for the educators that are producing this generation.

The most recent event involves our boy Tony, who has been, yet again, suspended from school. Is he perfect? Hardly. But on the other hand, is he really such a problem that he needs to be kicked-out of school for about half the year? (Clarification: Tony was not suspended for half a year for this particular incident. The half-year refers to the total time he has been suspended over the course of this school year. This particular incident has, so far, resulted in about three weeks suspension, and will likely end up being four or five weeks, since he has already been marked absent for the rest of the year. A "hearing" is scheduled for tomorrow to determine his fate.) Not even close, in my opinion; but, you be the judge.

As parents, we have always tried to instill in our kids the virtue of finishing work ahead of time, rather than throwing something together at the last minute. We try to show them how to do quality work - work that gives them a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment because they know that what they have done is good, besides allowing them to have some extra free time later when everyone else is hurrying to finish their work. Apparently, the school, or at least one teacher, doesn't think that's a worthy lesson to be taught because, after spending an hour-and-a-half working on an assignment on his own time over the weekend, the teacher would not accept Tony's assignment, but instead, required him to redo the assignment in class, with the rest of the class. Understandably, Tony was frustrated by this and the situation escalated, ending in Tony's suspension.

Admittedly, Tony's actions in the end were probably enough to warrant suspension. I've seen first-hand how a situation like that with Tony can escalate far beyond what the original issue would seem to call for. But, I fail to see how these educated people can't, or won't, contain a situation so that it doesn't escalate to that point. It is as if they know that they have the final recourse, suspension, and because of that, they don't even attempt to contain it. I wonder if these situations would ever be allowed to escalate as far as they do if suspension were not a so easily implemented option. I wonder just how out-of-control this teacher might have gotten if (s)he had no choice but to actually deal with the problem. Instead, the teacher just has to send him away to the office... and then the office just has to send him home. Problem solved!

The point that I'm getting at here is that for Tony, there were no options available. The teacher basically said, "Oh, so sorry. You just wasted over an hour of your own time, and now that core testing is over, I don't have anything planned." It certainly wouldn't have been fair to the other students if Tony didn't have to do the assignment in class, now would it? I can tell you right now that Tony would have happily sat in the back reading a book if that option had been offered. But the teacher showed, in my opinion, that (s)he is nothing more than an immature dictator. "Just do what I say." "I don't have time to think about something different for you to do." "Don't bother trying to get ahead on your work; I won't accept it."

Feel free to leave your comments, but please try to refrain from name-calling. Most of this post is my opinion, and if there is anything constructive to be said in response, I would love to hear it. But, sadly, the most response I have ever gotten from any educators is to be called "ignorant," "stupid," and the like. Furthermore, the person who made those comments never wanted to even hear my response to what they said. In short, if you can't participate in a meaningful discussion, then don't bother posting.