Our meeting was great! we missed many of you but hope your Easter weekend was wonderful!
Tirsa's Presidents message came from this article (3 pages) about a book called Bare Branches. It talks about the statistical gender differences in greater Asia and national security implications. The numbers were eye-opening! Ultimately the question Tirsa posed with this article was this: what does this have to do with mothers? She suggested when women's roles are devalued the sense of freedom drastically changes. We don't have to just understand our value as mothers but society at large must understand the value of motherhood as well.
As part of our current events discussion Emily mentioned an article she read in the Wall Street Journal about United States Educational System being a national threat. Natalie mentioned the documentary (on netflix) called "Waiting for Superman". While we discussed education in our country Tirsa posed this question: How can we improve the educational system we have?
The ideas were:
~less time at school. Number of hours spent sitting around, waiting for the next thing to happen are wasteful.
~Vouchers. Encourage free market economic principles to take place in schools. Competition is not a bad thing.
~Teachers pay and to one degree or another, performance based pay
~more incentives for teachers
~ easier firing of poor teachers
~more Mentoring
Then we discussed principle two in 5000 year leap. Jill posed this question: How virtuous of a people (population) are we really?
Emily contended we are more virtuous than we give ourselves credit for however we are apathetic
Tirsa suggested good people don't know how to live truly good lives because they don't have good principles to live by.
Natalie said she thought the media tends to bring out the bad in all of us because it promotes nothing good. And because of this people are not living virtuous lives, parents are not disciplining their children and children are growing up without accountability.
This line of discussion brought Tirsa to ask this question:
What do you think??
We ended with this quote from Founding Father Samuel Adams:
"But neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest las will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man" (p. 59; 5000 Year Leap).
For May's meeting read through Principle 16. Come and join in the discussion! We need many opinions and voices.
Tirsa's Presidents message came from this article (3 pages) about a book called Bare Branches. It talks about the statistical gender differences in greater Asia and national security implications. The numbers were eye-opening! Ultimately the question Tirsa posed with this article was this: what does this have to do with mothers? She suggested when women's roles are devalued the sense of freedom drastically changes. We don't have to just understand our value as mothers but society at large must understand the value of motherhood as well.
As part of our current events discussion Emily mentioned an article she read in the Wall Street Journal about United States Educational System being a national threat. Natalie mentioned the documentary (on netflix) called "Waiting for Superman". While we discussed education in our country Tirsa posed this question: How can we improve the educational system we have?
The ideas were:
~less time at school. Number of hours spent sitting around, waiting for the next thing to happen are wasteful.
~Vouchers. Encourage free market economic principles to take place in schools. Competition is not a bad thing.
~Teachers pay and to one degree or another, performance based pay
~more incentives for teachers
~ easier firing of poor teachers
~more Mentoring
Then we discussed principle two in 5000 year leap. Jill posed this question: How virtuous of a people (population) are we really?
Emily contended we are more virtuous than we give ourselves credit for however we are apathetic
Tirsa suggested good people don't know how to live truly good lives because they don't have good principles to live by.
Natalie said she thought the media tends to bring out the bad in all of us because it promotes nothing good. And because of this people are not living virtuous lives, parents are not disciplining their children and children are growing up without accountability.
This line of discussion brought Tirsa to ask this question:
why do you think it is fair to impose your beliefs/morals on someone else through law?
These were our off-the-cuff answers:
-for betterment of society.
-principles generally agreed upon that improve society... these should be protected and left as a foundation of society.
-protect basics
why is it ok for governments to impose criminals or illness on others and not good principles??
-i have the right to vote on my beliefs. that is imiposing our beliefs.
What do you think??
We ended with this quote from Founding Father Samuel Adams:
"But neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest las will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man" (p. 59; 5000 Year Leap).
For May's meeting read through Principle 16. Come and join in the discussion! We need many opinions and voices.
