On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
On 9/7/26 5:02 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 09:26, T wrote:
On 9/6/26 12:40 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Not around here. It is against the law.
Do you know your administrator to teacher ratio?
Not related to the paragraph I commented on and which you deleted:
Also not why I was asking.-a America is not at the bottom of
education since our Education Department was created.
Our administrator to teacher ratios is wildly out of
control.-a-a Since your system is better and probably much
better than ours, I was curious if you know the ratio
in your country.
No, I don't.
On public schools (ie, those owned by the administration) one teacher is selected as director, and there may be administrative staff. Private
schools try to minimize all staff.
Then there is of course the ministry and the regional administration.
Has it helped or hurt?-a In America it has hurt.
Private school turn away folks with education degrees and
use on the job training in place of it.
Not around here. It is against the law.
Our Education Degree are garbage, which is why
our private schools tend to avoid them.-a Maybe
yours are better?-a Or are the political payoff
made work jobs like over here?
Neither hurt nor helped, AFAIK. Generally seen as progress.
To teach in primary school you need to pass through the teacher school, whatever is the name. And to teach on the upper levels you need the
degree on the subject, plus two years of training to be a teacher. Prior
it was an exam, now it is a two year course that I think includes
practising with close supervision. Same requisites on private schools.
On 09/07/2026 12:30 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
On 9/7/26 5:02 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 09:26, T wrote:
On 9/6/26 12:40 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Not around here. It is against the law.
Do you know your administrator to teacher ratio?
Not related to the paragraph I commented on and which you deleted:
Also not why I was asking.-a America is not at the bottom of
education since our Education Department was created.
Our administrator to teacher ratios is wildly out of
control.-a-a Since your system is better and probably much
better than ours, I was curious if you know the ratio
in your country.
No, I don't.
On public schools (ie, those owned by the administration) one teacher
is selected as director, and there may be administrative staff.
Private schools try to minimize all staff.
Then there is of course the ministry and the regional administration.
Has it helped or hurt?-a In America it has hurt.
Private school turn away folks with education degrees and
use on the job training in place of it.
Not around here. It is against the law.
Our Education Degree are garbage, which is why
our private schools tend to avoid them.-a Maybe
yours are better?-a Or are the political payoff
made work jobs like over here?
Neither hurt nor helped, AFAIK. Generally seen as progress.
To teach in primary school you need to pass through the teacher
school, whatever is the name. And to teach on the upper levels you
need the degree on the subject, plus two years of training to be a
teacher. Prior it was an exam, now it is a two year course that I
think includes practising with close supervision. Same requisites on
private schools.
In the US. the teacher to administrator level in the U.S. is 49:1
-ai.e. 'T' could be drinking the MAGA/Professional Wrestling/Education Secretary McHahon koolaid lies(not much different than McHahon lying to
the Connnecticut Board of Education that she had a degree in Education,
when her BA was in French)
Noted, administrator roles have grown in the past two decades(the denominator(number of students) is 10% smaller - steadily falling U.S.
birth rate and increase in enrollment in private and charter schools.
-a- which also indicates that the U.S. will never have sufficient enrollment in any area(public, private, charter) to meet the need of increasing demand of technical and skilled labor without an infusion of foreign talent and/or immigration.
i.e. administration to teacher ratio is a naive, smoke-screen comment masking much more important issues!
On 9/6/26 12:40 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Not around here. It is against the law.
Do you know your administrator to teacher ratio?
On 2026-09-07 20:55, ....winston wrote:
On 09/07/2026 12:30 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
On 9/7/26 5:02 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 09:26, T wrote:
On 9/6/26 12:40 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Not around here. It is against the law.
Do you know your administrator to teacher ratio?
Not related to the paragraph I commented on and which you deleted:
Also not why I was asking.-a America is not at the bottom of
education since our Education Department was created.
Our administrator to teacher ratios is wildly out of
control.-a-a Since your system is better and probably much
better than ours, I was curious if you know the ratio
in your country.
No, I don't.
On public schools (ie, those owned by the administration) one teacher
is selected as director, and there may be administrative staff.
Private schools try to minimize all staff.
Then there is of course the ministry and the regional administration.
Has it helped or hurt?-a In America it has hurt.
Private school turn away folks with education degrees and
use on the job training in place of it.
Not around here. It is against the law.
Our Education Degree are garbage, which is why
our private schools tend to avoid them.-a Maybe
yours are better?-a Or are the political payoff
made work jobs like over here?
Neither hurt nor helped, AFAIK. Generally seen as progress.
To teach in primary school you need to pass through the teacher
school, whatever is the name. And to teach on the upper levels you
need the degree on the subject, plus two years of training to be a
teacher. Prior it was an exam, now it is a two year course that I
think includes practising with close supervision. Same requisites on
private schools.
In the US. the teacher to administrator level in the U.S. is 49:1
-a-ai.e. 'T' could be drinking the MAGA/Professional Wrestling/Education
Secretary McHahon koolaid lies(not much different than McHahon lying
to the Connnecticut Board of Education that she had a degree in
Education, when her BA was in French)
Noted, administrator roles have grown in the past two decades(the
denominator(number of students) is 10% smaller - steadily falling U.S.
birth rate and increase in enrollment in private and charter schools.
-a-a- which also indicates that the U.S. will never have sufficient
enrollment in any area(public, private, charter) to meet the need of
increasing demand of technical and skilled labor without an infusion
of foreign talent and/or immigration.
i.e. administration to teacher ratio is a naive, smoke-screen comment
masking much more important issues!
Here, that ratio is simply a question that I have not heard asked, so I asked chatgpt; I have no idea where else to search for that data. Take
with a pinch of salt.
Q: Do you know what would be the teacher to administrator ratio in the Spanish school system?
A: Yes rCo but thererCOs an important distinction between teachers vs. all administrative/non-teaching staff and teachers vs. school management.
For Spain's non-university school system, the Ministry reports about
793,215 teachers in 2024rCo25: 576,786 in public schools and 216,429 in private schools.
For the specific teacher-to-administrative-staff question, OECD data are useful. Their definition of administrative staff includes receptionists, secretaries and administrative assistants, while management staff
includes principals/directors and their deputies.
The OECD's comparable data for lower-secondary schools (ISCED 2) put
Spain at roughly 0.7 administrative/management staff per 10 teachers
around 2018 rCo in other words, approximately:
1 administrative/management person for every 14rCo15 teachers.
That's considerably lower than the OECD average, which was around 1.5
per 10 teachers in that dataset.
So, very roughly:
Spain
Teachers-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a ruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerueruerue-a 100
Admin + management-a-a ruerue-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a ~7
Or, expressed as a ratio:
~14 teachers : 1 admin/management staff member
But I'd be cautious about treating that as the Spanish-school-system
ratio, because it varies enormously depending on what you count. A
school has teachers, directors, secretaries, administrative staff, counsellors, special-education personnel, cleaners, maintenance, etc.,
and Spanish statistics don't necessarily put all of those in one "administration" category.
If what you're trying to establish is something like "how many people in Spanish education are actually teaching children versus doing administration?", I can dig into the Ministry's latest 2024rCo25 data and calculate a much more meaningful teacher : non-teaching employee ratio, including (or excluding) principals, counsellors, support staff,
cleaners, etc.
On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 00:26:57 -0700, T wrote:
On 9/6/26 12:40 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Not around here. It is against the law.
Do you know your administrator to teacher ratio?
I don't know the ratio but I have observed an interesting phenomenon.
There often are one or more mill levy proposals on the ballot for parks & recreation, the fire department, the library, and schools. Most pass by a wide margin except schools. The schools can try again in six months and
do.
The school proposals are funding everything but teachers and the people aren't buying it.
On 9/7/26 12:41 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 20:55, ....winston wrote:
On 09/07/2026 12:30 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
No wonder you are kicking out asses in education!
Thank you for looking this us an sharing it.
My mother in law taught 2nd grade.-a She used Phonics.-a Her students
were three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class
that taught look see.-a When the administrators show up, she
had flip over charts to make it look like she was teaching looked
like look see.
Several families that had their children go through both
2nd grade classes came to the skool and BEGGED the principle
to transfer their other kids to her class.-a The principle,
bless him, fully supported her and ran interference for
her with the "Curriculum Consultants" that had to constantly
change things so they could keep theirs cushy jobs.
Oh and Phonics has been used for centuries to successfully
teach English, but noooooooo...
After reading your English as a second language, I would posit you
are better at it than most of our publik skool students.-a I
had to admit, better than me.
On 2026-09-08 00:11, T wrote:
On 9/7/26 12:41 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 20:55, ....winston wrote:
On 09/07/2026 12:30 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
...
No wonder you are kicking out asses in education!
Thank you for looking this us an sharing it.
My mother in law taught 2nd grade.-a She used Phonics.-a Her students
were three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class
that taught look see.-a When the administrators show up, she
had flip over charts to make it look like she was teaching looked
like look see.
Several families that had their children go through both
2nd grade classes came to the skool and BEGGED the principle
to transfer their other kids to her class.-a The principle,
bless him, fully supported her and ran interference for
her with the "Curriculum Consultants" that had to constantly
change things so they could keep theirs cushy jobs.
Oh and Phonics has been used for centuries to successfully
teach English, but noooooooo...
My mother taught kids of 4 and 5 years old to read (maybe writing, I don't remember, but I guess that not all kids managed writing). She used a different method of her own, taking things from new methodologies (Montesori?) and traditional methods. Her success in getting most kids to read was known, parents in the neighbourhood choose her.
Nobody in the administration challenged her, but they neither told other teachers to imitate my mother. Her method was a lot of work.
After reading your English as a second language, I would posit you
are better at it than most of our publik skool students.-a I
had to admit, better than me.
Thanks. I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles.
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret.
I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles.
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret.
My mother in law taught 2nd grade. She used Phonics. Her students were three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class that taught
look see. When the administrators show up, she had flip over charts to
make it look like she was teaching looked like look see.
No wonder you are kicking out asses in education!
Thank you for looking this us an sharing it.
My mother in law taught 2nd grade. She used Phonics. Her students were three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class that taught
look see. When the administrators show up, she had flip over charts to
make it look like she was teaching looked like look see.
On 2026-09-08 09:17, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles. >>
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret.
Carlos, your written English is very good and understandable, probably
English spelling vs pronunciation is a PITA for foreigners who don't
learn it as a second language from a very young age. Not only are many
words which are spelt similarly pronounced completely differently, but people from different parts of the country, let alone other
English-speaking nations, pronounce exactly the same words differently.
Examples of the former must begin with words ending in -ough, -ought ...
Word Pronounced to rhyme with
============================================================
through true
thorough uh (like borough, curragh)
trough off
although go
ought sort
bough cow
bow (polite bending of the body) cow
bow (a knot) slow
Other examples too complicated to fit in a table include ...
'Borough', also spelt 'burgh', which besides the former being a word in
its own right meaning a locality or a branch of local administration or government, have their own confusions where they occur in place names
where each may be pronounced like the other, depending on the particular place name and perhaps the particular speaker, for example Edinburgh may
be pronounced 'Edinburruh' or 'Edinbruh'.
The Irish word 'lough' which is pronounced similarly to the Scottish
word 'loch', both meaning a lake or sea inlet. The most similarly pronounced English word is 'lock', but the last syllable is a guttural
'h' by raising the back of the tongue close to the top of the mouth. Officially it is termed "voiceless velar fricative (represented in linguistics as /x/)", but if, like me, that means nothing to you, then
it's pronounced like the "ch" in the German name "Bach" or the "j" in
the Spanish word "jam||n".
My mother was a minor aristocrat who spoke RP, often sounding like our
late Queen. She's the only person in the world I have ever met who
switched an electrical appliance 'orf' rather than 'off'. As children
we found this embarrassing - after all, while we all want parents who
will teach us to, like, "speak proper", there is a limit - so we used
to tease her about it in an effort to get her to be a little more common
in her speech, but she'd merely get annoyed.
I am very glad that I learnt English as my first language from
childhood, it would drive me nuts trying to get my head around all the
above at a later age!
It's not just English though ...
Some years back there was an excellent BBC documentary series called
"The Secret History Of Writing". The last episode particularly covered attempts by governments to modernise ancient alphabets. For example,
some central eurasian countries were dropping the Cyrillic alphabet in favour of a western-based one, and the Chinese were considering
something similar in devising a phonetics based lettering for their
language - it should be remembered that traditional Chinese lettering
is extremely complex and cannot easily be used in typewriting and typesetting, which is a huge drawback in an industrial era. However, in
the Chinese case, the project was dropped because attempts to codify the language in Western spelling based on phonetics kept running into
regional dialects, where the same word would be pronounced differently
in different parts of the country. Eventually it was decided to keep
the Ancient script, because everyone across the country knew what it
meant, even if they pronounced it differently. There was also a scene
where Chinese youths, who were used to spending most of their time
online using western scripting, were sitting around a table in a bar or
cafe trying to remember how to write in the original ancient pictograms
of their language.
On 2026/9/8 14:3:58, Java Jive wrote:
On 2026-09-08 09:17, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Carlos, your written English is very good and understandable, probably
I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles. >>>
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret. >>
Seconded.
[]
English spelling vs pronunciation is a PITA for foreigners who don't
learn it as a second language from a very young age. Not only are many
Unfortunately, English is /not/ a phonetic language, unlike most others
I have come across - certainly German, French, Dutch, Welsh, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish - are; you have to learn the rules, but once you have learnt them (only three or four for Welsh, for an English-speaker), you
can pronounce them. you may not have a clue what they _mean_, but you
can read them out.
I've come across a beautiful summary of the weirdness of English
punctuation - "The Chaos", actually written by a Dutchman in 1922: https://ncf.idallen.com/english.html (some of the pronunciations aren't
the current ones). Listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfRSvTSY0d4
words which are spelt similarly pronounced completely differently, but
people from different parts of the country, let alone other
English-speaking nations, pronounce exactly the same words differently.
Examples of the former must begin with words ending in -ough, -ought ...
Word Pronounced to rhyme with
============================================================
through true
thorough uh (like borough, curragh)
trough off
although go
ought sort
bough cow
bow (polite bending of the body) cow
bow (a knot) slow
Then there is "ghoti" = "fish" (gh as in couGH, o as in wOmen, ti as in staTIon).
Other examples too complicated to fit in a table include ...
'Borough', also spelt 'burgh', which besides the former being a word in
its own right meaning a locality or a branch of local administration or
government, have their own confusions where they occur in place names
where each may be pronounced like the other, depending on the particular
place name and perhaps the particular speaker, for example Edinburgh may
be pronounced 'Edinburruh' or 'Edinbruh'.
And American tourists usually get it - and others - wrong, often by pronouncing _too_ correctly; for example, they don't get that -shire is usually pronounced -shu' (well, a schwa).
The Irish word 'lough' which is pronounced similarly to the Scottish
word 'loch', both meaning a lake or sea inlet. The most similarly
pronounced English word is 'lock', but the last syllable is a guttural
'h' by raising the back of the tongue close to the top of the mouth.
Officially it is termed "voiceless velar fricative (represented in
linguistics as /x/)", but if, like me, that means nothing to you, then
it's pronounced like the "ch" in the German name "Bach" or the "j" in
the Spanish word "jam||n".
A lot of British folk (and Americans) genuinely seem to think it _is_ pronounced -k- - they say Lock Ness, and the composer Bak.
[]
My mother was a minor aristocrat who spoke RP, often sounding like our
late Queen. She's the only person in the world I have ever met who
switched an electrical appliance 'orf' rather than 'off'. As children
we found this embarrassing - after all, while we all want parents who
will teach us to, like, "speak proper", there is a limit - so we used
to tease her about it in an effort to get her to be a little more common
in her speech, but she'd merely get annoyed.
My mother was northern English, and taught English in Germany (nice
symmetry: Dad taught German to the English [he had a teaching job with
the British Army in Germany], and she taught English to the Germans [she always got jobs in local schools wherever we were). People said her
students spoke with a Geordie accent. (I couldn't hear it over their
German one; very few Germans speak English without a rather comic German accent, though they don't think they do).
I am very glad that I learnt English as my first language from
childhood, it would drive me nuts trying to get my head around all the
above at a later age!
It's not just English though ...
Some years back there was an excellent BBC documentary series called
"The Secret History Of Writing". The last episode particularly covered
attempts by governments to modernise ancient alphabets. For example,
some central eurasian countries were dropping the Cyrillic alphabet in
favour of a western-based one, and the Chinese were considering
something similar in devising a phonetics based lettering for their
language - it should be remembered that traditional Chinese lettering
is extremely complex and cannot easily be used in typewriting and
typesetting, which is a huge drawback in an industrial era. However, in
the Chinese case, the project was dropped because attempts to codify the
language in Western spelling based on phonetics kept running into
regional dialects, where the same word would be pronounced differently
in different parts of the country. Eventually it was decided to keep
There's also intonation; I remember being told that the words for big, yellow, and king (I think - ~50 years ago!) were very similar, but
depending on whether said with a rising or falling intonation ...
Oh and Phonics has been used for centuries to successfully
teach English, but noooooooo...
My mother taught kids of 4 and 5 years old to read (maybe writing, I
don't remember, but I guess that not all kids managed writing). She used
a different method of her own, taking things from new methodologies (Montesori?) and traditional methods. Her success in getting most kids
to read was known, parents in the neighbourhood choose her.
Nobody in the administration challenged her, but they neither told other teachers to imitate my mother. Her method was a lot of work.
After reading your English as a second language, I would posit you
are better at it than most of our publik skool students.-a I
had to admit, better than me.
Thanks. I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles.
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret.
Unfortunately, English is /not/ a phonetic language, unlike most others
I have come across - certainly German, French, Dutch, Welsh, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish - are; you have to learn the rules, but once you have learnt them (only three or four for Welsh, for an English-speaker), you
can pronounce them. you may not have a clue what they _mean_, but you
can read them out.
'Borough', also spelt 'burgh', which besides the former being a word
in its own right meaning a locality or a branch of local
administration or government, have their own confusions where they
occur in place names where each may be pronounced like the other,
depending on the particular place name and perhaps the particular
speaker, for example Edinburgh may be pronounced 'Edinburruh' or
'Edinbruh'.
It is becasue "I" and "E" are pronounced opposite in German then in
Anglo Saxon.
On Tue, 8 Sep 2026 19:10:11 -0700, T wrote:
It is becasue "I" and "E" are pronounced opposite in German then in
Anglo Saxon.
Sort of, sometimes...
https://www.meetkleo.com/articles/ei-and-ie-pronunciation-in-german
"ThererCOs a notable family called Stein.
ThererCOs Gertrude, thererCOs EprCo, and thererCOs EinrCo,
GertrCOs writings are punk,
EprCOs statues are junk.
CanrCOt make head or tail out of EinrCo."
Jacob, not Jeffrey, Epstein. Maybe 'Ep's whores were drunk' ?
On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 15:11:07 -0700, T wrote:
[snip]
My mother in law taught 2nd grade. She used Phonics. Her students were
three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class that taught
look see. When the administrators show up, she had flip over charts to
make it look like she was teaching looked like look see.
I had 6th grade in a university town, so sometimes there were student teachers. One was teaching something she called "code 78". I have not seen that name anywhere else, but it was normally called "phonics".
[snip]
On 9/8/26 1:17 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Oh and Phonics has been used for centuries to successfully
teach English, but noooooooo...
My mother taught kids of 4 and 5 years old to read (maybe writing, I
don't remember, but I guess that not all kids managed writing). She
used a different method of her own, taking things from new
methodologies (Montesori?) and traditional methods. Her success in
getting most kids to read was known, parents in the neighbourhood
choose her.
Nobody in the administration challenged her, but they neither told
other teachers to imitate my mother. Her method was a lot of work.
She knew what she was doing and so did my mother in law.
They were "boots on the ground".-a They did not need a
whole stream of disconnected bureaucrats above them whose jobs
required constantly changing things.-a And the corruption
does not stop with the bureaucrats and their bloat.-a The
sellers of the books and materials make a ton of money
when things are constantly changing too.
Good teacher know what they need to do their jobs.-a They are
the ones that should be picking their materials.-a And it
should be part of their job description.
After reading your English as a second language, I would posit you
are better at it than most of our publik skool students.-a I
had to admit, better than me.
Thanks. I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign
language as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the
pronunciation of each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word.
And I have some trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and
have to read subtitles.
One of the hardest parts about learning English is all the
dual meaning of words and word that are pronounced the
same but are spelled differently.-a It is because we shamelessly
rip off words from other languages.-a It is one of the things
that makes English so powerful at the same time is its undoing.
Here is a good rule:
-a "I" before "E" unless after "C" or the you
-a are trying to spell.
It is becasue "I" and "E" are pronounced opposite in
German then in Anglo Saxon.
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the
secret.
You probably speak with that beautiful, almost musical,
Castilian Spanish too.-a If so, you should be careful with
your super powers.-a I have seem women's knees get weak
when they hear it.-a And some might faint and hit the
heads on the way down!-a You could do a lot of damage
just by opening your mouth.-a But, methinks Spanish women
would probably be immune to you.
On 9/8/26 7:55 PM, rbowman wrote:
On Tue, 8 Sep 2026 19:10:11 -0700, T wrote:
It is becasue "I" and "E" are pronounced opposite in German then in
Anglo Saxon.
Sort of, sometimes...
https://www.meetkleo.com/articles/ei-and-ie-pronunciation-in-german
"ThererCOs a notable family called Stein.
ThererCOs Gertrude, thererCOs EprCo, and thererCOs EinrCo,
GertrCOs writings are punk,
EprCOs statues are junk.
CanrCOt make head or tail out of EinrCo."
Jacob, not Jeffrey, Epstein. Maybe 'Ep's whores were drunk' ?
It took me years to get
The - ir
down. Now I always type "the" and then the rest follows.
On 2026-09-08 00:11, T wrote:
On 9/7/26 12:41 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 20:55, ....winston wrote:
On 09/07/2026 12:30 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-09-07 16:22, T wrote:
...
No wonder you are kicking out asses in education!
Thank you for looking this us an sharing it.
My mother in law taught 2nd grade.-a She used Phonics.-a Her students
were three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class
that taught look see.-a When the administrators show up, she
had flip over charts to make it look like she was teaching looked
like look see.
Several families that had their children go through both
2nd grade classes came to the skool and BEGGED the principle
to transfer their other kids to her class.-a The principle,
bless him, fully supported her and ran interference for
her with the "Curriculum Consultants" that had to constantly
change things so they could keep theirs cushy jobs.
Oh and Phonics has been used for centuries to successfully
teach English, but noooooooo...
My mother taught kids of 4 and 5 years old to read (maybe writing, I
don't remember, but I guess that not all kids managed writing). She used
a different method of her own, taking things from new methodologies (Montesori?) and traditional methods. Her success in getting most kids
to read was known, parents in the neighbourhood choose her.
Nobody in the administration challenged her, but they neither told other teachers to imitate my mother. Her method was a lot of work.
After reading your English as a second language, I would posit you
are better at it than most of our publik skool students.-a I
had to admit, better than me.
Thanks. I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles.
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret.
On 2026/9/8 14:3:58, Java Jive wrote:
On 2026-09-08 09:17, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Carlos, your written English is very good and understandable, probably
I don't know if other people learn English as a foreign language
as I did. I had to memorize both the spelling and the pronunciation of
each word. I can not pronounce correctly a new word. And I have some
trouble understanding movies, I miss some words and have to read subtitles. >>>
I did read a lot of books, so I got vocabulary. That's probably the secret. >>
Seconded.
[]
English spelling vs pronunciation is a PITA for foreigners who don't
learn it as a second language from a very young age. Not only are many
Unfortunately, English is /not/ a phonetic language, unlike most others
I have come across - certainly German, French, Dutch, Welsh, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish - are; you have to learn the rules, but once you have learnt them (only three or four for Welsh, for an English-speaker), you
can pronounce them. you may not have a clue what they _mean_, but you
can read them out.
I've come across a beautiful summary of the weirdness of English
punctuation - "The Chaos", actually written by a Dutchman in 1922: https://ncf.idallen.com/english.html (some of the pronunciations aren't
the current ones). Listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfRSvTSY0d4
words which are spelt similarly pronounced completely differently, but
people from different parts of the country, let alone other
English-speaking nations, pronounce exactly the same words differently.
Examples of the former must begin with words ending in -ough, -ought ...
Word Pronounced to rhyme with
============================================================
through true
thorough uh (like borough, curragh)
trough off
although go
ought sort
bough cow
bow (polite bending of the body) cow
bow (a knot) slow
Then there is "ghoti" = "fish" (gh as in couGH, o as in wOmen, ti as in staTIon).
On Tue, 8 Sep 2026 19:10:11 -0700, T wrote:
It is becasue "I" and "E" are pronounced opposite in German then in
Anglo Saxon.
Sort of, sometimes...
https://www.meetkleo.com/articles/ei-and-ie-pronunciation-in-german
"ThererCOs a notable family called Stein.
ThererCOs Gertrude, thererCOs EprCo, and thererCOs EinrCo,
GertrCOs writings are punk,
EprCOs statues are junk.
CanrCOt make head or tail out of EinrCo."
Jacob, not Jeffrey, Epstein. Maybe 'Ep's whores were drunk' ?
ChatGPT said:
In German, Epstein would be pronounced approximately with the rCLeirCY like English rCLeyerCY.
On Wed, 9 Sep 2026 18:26:01 -0700, T wrote:
ChatGPT said:
In German, Epstein would be pronounced approximately with the rCLeirCY like >> English rCLeyerCY.
To paraphrase Goethe, ChatGPT kann mich im Arsche lecken!
I do not watch
or listen to news broadcasts so I assumed it was Epstine. I'd also assume someone chattering about Albert Eensteen or Gertrude Steen was an idiot. I won't go into Wittgenstein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein
Like US slaves Jews often took the name of their employer or the fiefdom where they lived. After emigrating the names tended to be Anglicized. Sometimes they were radically Anglicized like Israel Ehrenberg turning
into Ashley Montague.
I do pronounce Springsteen as 'steen' since that is how it is spelled. His heritage is Dutch and 'stone' is 'steen' in Dutch so we're back to stein.
On Mon, 7 Sep 2026 15:11:07 -0700, T wrote:
My mother in law taught 2nd grade. She used Phonics. Her students were
three years ahead in reading than the other 2nd grade class that taught
look see. When the administrators show up, she had flip over charts to
make it look like she was teaching looked like look see.
'Look-say method'. I didn't know what you were talking about. I may have
used the look-say method. I would sit on my father's lap and he would read
to me. One day when he wasn't around I was reading one of my favorite
Thorton Burgess books. 'How cute! He's pretending to be reading!' Then I read a passage out loud to prove I wasn't faking it.
My father wasn't teaching phonetics and it was well before I saw a public school.
On 9/9/26 7:08 PM, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 9 Sep 2026 18:26:01 -0700, T wrote:
ChatGPT said:
In German, Epstein would be pronounced approximately with the rCLeirCY
like English rCLeyerCY.
To paraphrase Goethe, ChatGPT kann mich im Arsche lecken!
That expression is kind of dirty!
"bed" see the pillows at the head and the feet at the back.
You visualize instead of sounding out the words.
For one day here, all the news articles referred to "Straight of Hormuz".There's also the problem of machine translation leading to Artificial Stupidity, as in the following where ...
I mean, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That was the first
day of reporting on the area.
News editors used to be grumpy individuals, who would yell at
reporters for doing stuff like that. It's "Strait of Hormuz".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz
I do pronounce Springsteen as 'steen' since that is how it is spelled. His heritage is Dutch and 'stone' is 'steen' in Dutch so we're back to stein.
There's also the problem of machine translation leading to Artificial >Stupidity, as in the following where ...
Washer = spacer used with nuts & bolts
Washer = washing machine
... so ...
spacer used with nuts & bolts = washing machine
In article <117u1ge$1tjoh$1@dont-email.me>, java@evij.com.invalid
says...
There's also the problem of machine translation leading to Artificial
Stupidity, as in the following where ...
Washer = spacer used with nuts & bolts
Washer = washing machine
... so ...
spacer used with nuts & bolts = washing machine
Famously, an early machine translator was asked to translate, into
Russian and then back, the phrase "Out of sight, out of mind."
Came back with: "Invisible idiot."
Linux is a superior OS to Windows indeed.-a-a It is
faster, far more stable, the GUI's are easier to
use (well, not gnome, which it too weird to be
usable)
On 8/30/2026 1:08 PM, T wrote:
Linux is a superior OS to Windows indeed.-a-a It is
faster, far more stable, the GUI's are easier to
use (well, not gnome, which it too weird to be
usable)
All very true.-a If one can deal with the available software for Linux,
it offers every bit of the excellence Windows could claim, and really more.-a If I were making the choice solely based on the OS itself, it wouldn't even be a question that Linux would be the one.
I think linux is wonderful.-a Maybe some day we can get a linux newsgroup.
Fun etymology: washer vs washer
ChatGPT said:
YesrCoand this is actually a really interesting etymology, because the two meanings of washer may not have the same origin, despite being spelled identically.
1. rCLWasherrCY = the little metal ring with a hole
The mechanical washerrCothe flat ring that goes under a nut or boltrCois recorded as far back as the mid-14th century. The Online Etymology Dictionary says its origin is uncertain. It has traditionally been considered related to wash, but the semantic connection is difficult to explain. Another possibility is that it came from the ancestor of French vis, meaning rCLscrewrCY or rCLvise.rCY EEtymology Online+1
So, surprisingly, we don't know for certain why a metal ring was called
a rCLwasher.rCY
2. rCLWasherrCY = a washing machine
This one is much more straightforward.
washer raA one who/thing that washes raA washing machine
The word washer comes from wash + the agent suffix -er, just as in
runner (one who runs) or worker (one who works). The rCLperson who washesrCY meaning is documented by about the 1520s. Then, by 1808, washer was
being used for a machine that washes. EEtymology Online+1
And wash itself is extremely old. It comes from Old English wascan, rCLto cleanse, bathe,rCY from Proto-Germanic watskan, ultimately associated with the ancient Indo-European root *wed-, meaning rCLwaterrCY or rCLwet.rCY EEtymology Online
So here's the fascinating part
We have:
WASHER (machine)
raA wash + -er
raA literally rCLa thing that washes.rCY
WASHER (metal ring)
raA first recorded in the 14th century
raA origin uncertain; possibly related to wash, but perhaps from a completely different word associated with screw/vise. EEtymology Online
And there's a fun historical wrinkle: the metal washer is actually the
older use of the word. The mechanical sense is medieval, while washer meaning a person/thing that washes came later.
So if you were wondering, rCLWhy on earth did we call that little metal donut a washer?rCYrCothe honest answer is: linguists aren't completely sure! That's one of those etymological mysteries where the dictionary actually says, essentially, we've got some theories, but we don't know.
I think linux is wonderful. Maybe some day we can get a linux
newsgroup.
On 8/30/2026 1:08 PM, T wrote:
Linux is a superior OS to Windows indeed.-a-a It is
faster, far more stable, the GUI's are easier to
use (well, not gnome, which it too weird to be
usable)
All very true.-a If one can deal with the available software for Linux,
it offers every bit of the excellence Windows could claim, and really more. If I were making the choice solely based on the OS itself, it wouldn't
even be a question that Linux would be the one.
Joel W. Crump wrote on 9/10/2026 4:29 PM:
On 8/30/2026 1:08 PM, T wrote:
Linux is a superior OS to Windows indeed.-a-a It is
faster, far more stable, the GUI's are easier to
use (well, not gnome, which it too weird to be
usable)
All very true.-a If one can deal with the available software for Linux,
it offers every bit of the excellence Windows could claim, and really
more.-a If I were making the choice solely based on the OS itself, it
wouldn't even be a question that Linux would be the one.
I think linux is wonderful.-a Maybe some day we can get a linux newsgroup.
On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:34:54 -0500, Hank Rogers wrote:
I think linux is wonderful. Maybe some day we can get a linux
newsgroup.
I tried to start a thread about the upcoming kernel and Omarchy in comp.os.linux.misc. It lasted about a day.
Similar attempts in the past--
have had the lifespan of a mayfly. I can argue politics with the best of
them if that's how it is.
Meanwhile comp.os.linux.misc has become a branch office of alt.fans.rush- limbaugh.
On 2026-09-11 06:25, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:34:54 -0500, Hank Rogers wrote:
I think linux is wonderful. Maybe some day we can get a linux
newsgroup.
I tried to start a thread about the upcoming kernel and Omarchy in
comp.os.linux.misc. It lasted about a day.
I read that thread when it came; I don't see any problem with it.
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:37:09 +0200, Carlos E. R. wrote:
On 2026-09-11 06:25, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:34:54 -0500, Hank Rogers wrote:
I think linux is wonderful. Maybe some day we can get a linux
newsgroup.
I tried to start a thread about the upcoming kernel and Omarchy in
comp.os.linux.misc. It lasted about a day.
I read that thread when it came; I don't see any problem with it.
No, but it didn't kick off much discussion about Omarchy, kernels, or anything Linux related. Too much fun talking about batteries and politics,
I guess.
Well, I know nothing about Omarchy, I can't comment.
I don't even use Tumbleweed, too much "movement". I use Leap, but it is
not my preferred model. It just is less effort than migration.
I'm running the Fedora 45 prerelease
On 9/11/26 8:20 PM, rbowman wrote:
I'm running the Fedora 45 prerelease
Welcome to the Dark Side!
<maniacal laughter>
I am on 44. 45 should hit general release sometime in October.
I will wait a month or two before upgrading
Meanwhile comp.os.linux.misc has become a branch office of alt.fans.rush- limbaugh.
I think linux is wonderful. Maybe some day we can get a linux newsgroup.
On 9/10/26 3:34 PM, Hank Rogers wrote:
I think linux is wonderful.-a Maybe some day we can get a linux newsgroup.
There was one. I have not looked lately. It was populates
with total asses. When I need help, I just use the Fedora
mailing list. Not a single ass. And extremely helpful.
Also ChatGPT is pretty Windows and Linux literate
More fun:8< snip >8
<https://itsfoss.com/news/switzerland-replace-microssoft-pilot/>
Switzerland's Federal Government is Replacing Microsoft on 3,000 Computers
This is the pilot phase, with 3,000 workstations moving away from
Microsoft 365. The federal administration has over 54,000 computers.
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:49:45 -0700, T wrote:
On 9/11/26 8:20 PM, rbowman wrote:
I'm running the Fedora 45 prerelease
Welcome to the Dark Side!
<maniacal laughter>
I am on 44. 45 should hit general release sometime in October.
I will wait a month or two before upgrading
That's no fun. Walk on the wild side! I haven't had many problems running the prerelease versions. I guess something went off the rails with the 8 September 6.7.5 KDE Plasma bug fix but it's all better now.
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 21:57:00 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote:
More fun:8< snip >8
<https://itsfoss.com/news/switzerland-replace-microssoft-pilot/>
Switzerland's Federal Government is Replacing Microsoft on 3,000 Computers >>
This is the pilot phase, with 3,000 workstations moving away from
Microsoft 365. The federal administration has over 54,000 computers.
Meanwhile, our minister-president (of Flanders) was very proud to
announce that civil servants would be starting to use M365 Copilot as of 2025. 5.000 licenses in 2025 and another 5.000 in 2026.
(What an idiot.)
On 9/11/26 11:55 PM, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:49:45 -0700, T wrote:
On 9/11/26 8:20 PM, rbowman wrote:
I'm running the Fedora 45 prerelease
Welcome to the Dark Side!
<maniacal laughter>
I am on 44.-a 45 should hit general release sometime in October.
I will wait a month or two before upgrading
That's no fun. Walk on the wild side!-a I haven't had many problems
running
the prerelease versions. I guess something went off the rails with the 8
September 6.7.5 KDE Plasma bug fix but it's all better now.
Ha!
I have a VM especially set up for that.-a Time for me to
upgrade it!
I like KDE, but don't use it.-a I have a Live ISO I can
run when I get curious.
My base system is Xfce by default and Mate by request.
I like having two so I can use the other one to fix my
screw ups.
You want to live on the bleeding edge and are feeling
particularly masochistic, try "Arch"
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 21:57:00 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote:
More fun:8< snip >8
<https://itsfoss.com/news/switzerland-replace-microssoft-pilot/>
Switzerland's Federal Government is Replacing Microsoft on 3,000 Computers >>
This is the pilot phase, with 3,000 workstations moving away from
Microsoft 365. The federal administration has over 54,000 computers.
Meanwhile, our minister-president (of Flanders) was very proud to
announce that civil servants would be starting to use M365 Copilot as of 2025. 5.000 licenses in 2025 and another 5.000 in 2026.
(What an idiot.)
My base system is Xfce by default and Mate by request.
I like having two so I can use the other one to fix my screw ups.
You want to live on the bleeding edge and are feeling particularly masochistic, try "Arch"
There's definitely more than one. When I search my directory of combined
news servers I find 1.258 newsgroups with 'linux' in their name.
On 9/12/26 12:28 PM, T wrote:
On 9/11/26 11:55 PM, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:49:45 -0700, T wrote:
On 9/11/26 8:20 PM, rbowman wrote:
I'm running the Fedora 45 prerelease
Welcome to the Dark Side!
<maniacal laughter>
I am on 44.-a 45 should hit general release sometime in October.
I will wait a month or two before upgrading
That's no fun. Walk on the wild side!-a I haven't had many problems running >>> the prerelease versions. I guess something went off the rails with the 8 >>> September 6.7.5 KDE Plasma bug fix but it's all better now.
Ha!
I have a VM especially set up for that.-a Time for me to
upgrade it!
I like KDE, but don't use it.-a I have a Live ISO I can
run when I get curious.
My base system is Xfce by default and Mate by request.
I like having two so I can use the other one to fix my
screw ups.
You want to live on the bleeding edge and are feeling
particularly masochistic, try "Arch"
ChatGTP's take:
for when one is feeling particularly masochistic
ChatGPT said:
Exactly. Efye
Arch Linux: for when you want to suffer with documentation.
Gentoo: for when you want to compile your suffering from source.
Linux From Scratch: for when you look at Gentoo and think, rCLThis is far too automated.rCY
Fedora Rawhide: for when you want your suffering to arrive via continuous integration.
And then there's TempleOS, for when you've decided the operating system itself should be part of the experience. Efye
On Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:37:28 +0200, s|b wrote:
There's definitely more than one. When I search my directory of combined news servers I find 1.258 newsgroups with 'linux' in their name.
Most of which are deader than Kelsey's nuts.
<https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXPV5J1V>
"The package includes: you will receive 2 pieces of universal toilet
screws kit, including 2 screws, 2 wing nuts, 6 flat washing machines, 2
hex nuts, 4 rubber washing machines, 2 cone washing machines, this set
can meet your requirements"
| Sysop: | Amessyroom |
|---|---|
| Location: | Fayetteville, NC |
| Users: | 74 |
| Nodes: | 6 (0 / 6) |
| Uptime: | 03:35:51 |
| Calls: | 1,194 |
| Files: | 1,353 |
| D/L today: |
2 files (1,590K bytes) |
| Messages: | 291,364 |