"That pretty much shoves your northern don't give a crap attitude right out the window..." LMAO!!.... maybe we need a new blog: THE NORTH VS THE SOUTH I'm not even going to comment on your statements Mary Jane. We can just agree to disagree. Have a great day! :)

Since the No Child Left Behind Act, implemented on January 8, 2002, all school systems are required to teach exactly what they are told to teach. Basically they are teaching our children to test. They are teaching our kids single-mindedly because OUR government thought it would help more people go on and do more. Several issues about this program could be brought up. It is not faliable to any extent. It is NOT a southern thing. But you have a good point and maybe you can elaborate the differences in what and how they are learning. I am not taking sides. I have lived all over the world and have seen first hand the differences. They have them it is just we southerners are raised to talk the way we do with Yah'll, aint gonna, and general statements like that. My grandmother talks like that and she has a MA in English. Taught it for several years in Tenn., and writes articles for her local paper. If you sit down with her it is a different story. Sorry your children are suffering from the lack of education in the south. Maybe you should consider moving them to a private school that teaches to learn not to test. On your statement, " I wonder why someone such as yourself that doesn't like kids would have any.", I am glad you are concerned with my parenting skills. I love my children. I don't however like the little carrier monkeys that put me under the bed for up to a week at a time. I don't like kids in my house throwing all my stuff around or my other childrens stuff. Do not ever try to down a mother. You are one yourself and I seriously doubt you would appreciate a comment like that from someone you did not know. I at least can take my southern education and know I was raised with manners even though my vocab sucks. That pretty much shoves your northern don't give a crap attitude right out the window. For more information on No Child Left Behind, go to http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

Mary Jane.. I have to comment on this sentence: "If you think parents have even a little bit to do with the lack of education that is received here in the south, you are wrong." I totally disagree! It isn't 100% the teachers' responsibility to make sure the child(ren) learn. Parents have to take an active role as well, which includes helping with homeowrk, making sure homework is finished, making sure the kids get a good night sleep, etc. Since moving to the south two years ago, my boys are still doing work they had learned in Iowa two grades ago! Something is wrong with that! And it most definitely IS a southern thing, I've seen it first hand. I wonder why someone such as yourself that doesn't like kids would have any. I am not a teacher either, but basic common sense in the English language should be known by now in Georgia/SC and other southern states. The word AINT is NOT proper English. My boys have been ridiculed by teachers for not saying "Yes, Ma'am" but it's okay for other students to say, "I AINT GOT NO PEN!!"

I had to disagree with some of the points made. It is not a southern thing. It is a low income thing. I am not a teacher. I have no plans to do that either. I kind of (hehe) not like kids so that is not an option. But I do have them and one old enough to fit into this category. In Dennis's original blog he states "in and around the internet" which would make it a national problem, not a local one. The school system in Georgia used to be third in the worse schools in the US back in 2001. Now it is way up in the list. There has been some work done to fix the education system. Parents don’t help out like they used to for some of the reasons listed above, I do agree. I do not agree with the statement that parents should 'teach' their children. That is why there is a school system. If you think parents have even a little bit to do with the lack of education that is received here in the south, you are wrong. This area is controlled, or at least my area is, by political b/s with rich snobs controlling the outcomes. Educational leaders can only do as much as the children will let them do. We give our children so much freedom they pick and choose the things they want to learn. That is just my two cents. I try to not blame anyone for the retards that are going to inherit the earth. I do however blame false freedom of a minor. This state is too fast to kick a child out to the wolves. All together, I understand what you are saying. I want to constantly knock a kid on the back of the head and ask them WTF????

I have to agree with the southern thing...I have never heard such poor English in my life until I moved to the south six years ago. I think the worst I have heard that just kills me is "Can I axe you a question?" And I get a lot of comments about being a "Yankee." One thing is for sure, I am a Yankee with good grammar! Seriously, with the Yankee thing aside, kids today have things too easy: They have computers, video games, cell phones, etc., and parents that don't have the time for them because they have to work hard to keep up with all of this technology and therefore spending less time teaching and disciplining them. Unfortunately, these undisciplined, under-educated kids are our future.

I just thought it was a southern thing. No one down here knows proper English that I've talked to! Nor do they know how to spell or know the difference between one word that has two separate meanings, i.e., hear/here. It's super annoying and I feel I have to correct them!