Here it is again. This calendar has governed my whole life, spent on the periphery of academe as it has been. OLGS started today, although he had no classes. But he did have 45 freshmen advisees. Joe High School and Joe College also started today. Joe High School has a schedule that includes two classes he's already taken before. They don't have the teachers and sections at Minneapolis South High to give him what he requested, but I will not allow him to take classes he's already taken. I can't begin to spell out how stupid that is. Joe College seems on track, although the AFSCME staff at the U of M are planning to strike on Wednesday. I've urged him to buy his books, but he hasn't. So unless they settle tonight, he (and 49,999 other students) is out of luck.
And so it goes, Academe is not a bad life, as such things go. But OLGS does not recommend it to either his students or his sons. Especially in public institutions, the urge to justify the educational activities of the place to the yahoos who provide the funding has lead to some truly nutso stuff. And the mossback legislators, all of whom benefitted from atending schools like the University of Wisconsin or the University of Minnesota, seem to feel that now that they and their children are out of college, it's OK to turn off the spiggot. Not surprising, but sad for the community, the state, and the country.
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