Response to Mike, "Special Education in the Public School System"

So, I ask you, given the specific, albeit fragile, parameters of Individual Education Plans, are they really beneficial to the students that have them?

Yes, they are. When you have a disability, chances are you cannot function in school normally without special accommodations. I think it is insulting to refer to this as a "get out of jail free card", and to suggest that special education kids use it to their advantage. How do you know this is what's happening? It is possible that the child's disability is "invisible" to you. What looks like a child being "lazy" and opting out of schoolwork may actually be very necessary for the child. I think you made a lot of harmful assumptions based on your limited experience with special needs children. You refer to these children as "running the show" when they ask for accommodations that they are entitled to. You're implying here that it is easy to live with a disability. With this logic, wheelchair users are "running the show" if there is a ramp to get inside the building for them. There is a reason these accommodations are available for people with disabilities: they need them. Not because they are fun, cool, or get them out of work.
You also suggest that we "baby" students with disabilities. As Professor Johnson has said, paternalism is not necessarily harmful; it if often necessary. It is appropriate to give disabled children accommodations that are suited to their needs and will help them achieve academic goals. I don't doubt that students sometimes get misdiagnosed, and maybe IEPs are not always designed the best way possible. But generally, they give students benefits that they are entitled to, not a "free ride".

Philosophy in Elementary School

When I was in elementary school, we had a "philosophy class" (it wasn't it's own separate class but there was some time designated to philosophy in the classroom). This philosophy time mostly consisted of discussions of ethics. The teacher would often give us a scenario involving an ethical dillema, and ask us what we would do in that situation. These discussions got us thinking about fairly complex things. Not only did it get us thinking about how we would act in an ethical dilemma, but it got us thinking about why we would act a certain way. I think these discussions were a positive experience for me personally. When you are young, you are still learning "right" from "wrong", but it is rare that you get an opportunity to reflect on and even challenge why certain things are considered right and certain things are considered wrong. Allowing children to explore these ethical questions could actually stengthen their understanding of right and wrong. For example, if you tell a child not to hit people, they may not obey you because they don't understand why hitting is wrong. If you allow the child to explore what they believe is right and wrong, and why, they may develop a deeper understanding of morality.
Question: Should children be taught logic and reasoning?

The Value of Work

What makes certain types of work more valuable than others? We have talked in class about "hard work", but I honestly think most people work pretty hard. Some jobs may be more intellectually demanding, while others are more physically demanding, but that doesn't mean they are not "hard work". Also, how do we determine how much to pay a worker? Women do two-thirds of the world's work, but because much of this includes raising children and running a household, they only receive 10% of the world's income. This is because we do not value women's work. Why should some workers get paid a lot, and some get paid barely anything, or nothing? Like I said before, I think everybody works hard, so that's not it. We don't pay people based on how valuable their job is, because we give the most money to athletes and movie stars instead of firefighters and teachers. So, why do we pay some workers more than others?

Response to Bryan, "American Dream"

Q: In your view, Is the ‘American-Dream’ truly an illusion?

Yes, it is. You said in your post that hard work usually leads to success. I disagree with this. I think that most people who are successful have worked hard, but many people work really hard and do not become successful. This is because everyone in this society is born into a class (middle class, working class, etc) and class mobility is not easy. It is much easier for people born into wealth to achieve success (this is not to say that they still don't work hard). It is very hard for someone born into a lower class to make their way to the top of the hierarchy. It is possible with a lot of hard work, but it's more work than someone born into wealth has to put in to get to the same place. It's extremely hard to get out of poverty in this society. Even if somebody worked as hard as he or she could, they still have very limited resources to help them achieve success (money for college, connections, parents who can help them achieve their goals).

Question: How can we make class mobility easier?