However, today, I learned that a few fifth graders from an small elementary school down the road got to participate in a $20,000 Department of Defense STARBASE rocketry program. The vision statement of this DoD exercise is to:
"... raise the interest and improve the knowledge and skills of at-risk youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which will provide for a highly educated and skilled American workforce that can meet the advanced technological requirements of the Department of Defense."In other words, "spending your tax money on 50 children who at risk of being hoodlums, in hopes that we can get one or two to be a gang-banger for us in their adults years."
I understand the day went well. The instructor for DoD taught science and, more importantly, "life lessons." At the end of the program, as each children received their certificate, this highly paid government employee taught each student "to shake hands, look the adults in the eye, and to respect their peers as they waited."
I am glad to learn that our tax dollars have been used to teach a few lucky children out of millions how to shake hands, and how to respect their peers, all while playing with rockets. I know most of those parents probably do not have the means to expose their children to such an experience, including the rocketry part. Hopefully, those children won't get confused and end up shaking rockets at their peers, respectfully. But if it happens in my town, it probably won't get reported in the news -- unless there's a vote to be had, of course.
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