Despite all of the talk of the nation’s political diversity and cultural differences, Americans made one decision without debate.
Actually, Americans made one of the largest universal shifts of thinking in generations about a decade ago. Had someone proposed such a change, it likely would have never succeeded. Yet, it happened.
We’re talking about the past decade, year after year, back to 2000. When you encounter a year such as the recent 2009, you likely read it or said it as two-thousand-nine. Not twenty-oh-nine.
You are likely thinking, So? Big deal. Everyone said, two-thousand-nine.
True, but that’s a big So What. Think about it. If you see the year 1973, do you think one-thousand nine-hundred seventy-three? Or do you think nineteen-seventy-three? We’re willing to bet, it’s nineteen-seventy-three because that’s what we did with all of those dates from the past millennium.
It was seventeen-seventy-six that America declared its independence, not one-thousand seven-hundred seventy-six. And it’s still seventeen-seventy-six despite the fact that we moved into a time when we considered a year to be two-thousand-nine, for example.
Think about it. Who said twenty-oh-nine? The only person who immediately comes to mind is Charles Osgood on CBS’ Sunday morning show.
Maybe everyone opted for the two-thousand-nine approach because twenty-oh-nine sounded old fashioned. Maybe two-thousand-nine subconsciously had the ring of a new millennium, a new era in human history.
They both had the same number of syllables whether it was two-thousand-nine or twenty-oh-nine, or two-thousand-seven or twenty-oh-seven. Perhaps two-thousand-nine and all of these past several years rolled off the tongue easier than saying twenty-oh-nine, or twenty-oh-eight.
And maybe it’s simply a matter of words rolling off the tongue that will decide whether we remain a culture of two-thousands or if we will revert to a society that will go from nineteen to twenty. It may not be 2010, but it may be coming.
Come 2011, for example, it will take less syllables to say twenty-eleven than it will to say two-thousand-eleven, and so it will go on into 2012, 2013, etc.
How most folks see those numbers will likely determine the path we take. Do you see them as two-thousand-twelve and two-thousand-thirteen, or twenty-twelve and twenty-thirteen?
Perhaps the subconscious revolution of jumping from twenty to two-thousand is complete. Maybe not. Though it could all well change again in the year 2100.
What We Think
What We Think: Two aught ten?
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Grading policy: A second chance?
In clarifying the Lowndes County Schools’ controversial grading policy, Superintendent Dr. Steve Smith spoke of second chances.
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Be up to any weather challenge
Georgia’s Severe Weather Awareness Week starts today and runs through Friday. The idea behind the week is to prepare Georgians for weather emergencies and how to keep these situations from becoming tragedies.
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Parents and schools
There is a lot of talk lately about school systems and grading policies, and how all of a child's problems come back to a lack of parenting. But is it really that simple? Can it be a case where the school systems are so focused on the problem few that the majority of students are ignored?
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To Brooks County High School engineering and technology teacher Don Morgan and his students. They recently received national attention for their work with biodiesel fuel. They collect used cooking oil from area fast-food restaurants then process this oil into biodiesel. Morgan hopes to next interest the Brooks County school buses into running on the fuel created in his class. This classroom not only prepares students for the future but may prepare all of us for an alternative energy source.
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Take me out to the ball park
The Valdosta State baseball season begins today. The Blazers host Lindenwood at 2:30 p.m. Nothing beats quality baseball played in warm weather with a great venue like Billy Grant Field.
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What We Think: Signing Day
Wednesday was National Signing Day, the day when high school athletes across the country make official announcements about what school they’ve chosen to sign with.
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School policy fails expectations
Lowndes County Schools recently implemented new grading guidelines for students. These guidelines have left many parents upset ...
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Just the facts, please
The Times has taken some hits this weekend following the reporting of the Rev. Floyd Rose’ rally on Saturday concerning the car which drove into a home, killing an infant on New Year’s, and an incident at Pinevale Learning Center. Some police officers think the VDT is not being fair, and Rose accused the VDT of not printing the facts, but the facts are as follows:
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Fathers teaching daughters
It began as a small gathering for fathers and daughters. It has become one of Valdosta’s most popular social events of the year.
Several years ago, Jeff Stewart co-founded the event with his wife, Becky, as a way for him to give a special night to his two daughters. Other fathers of First Presbyterian Church liked the idea and the Father-Daughter Valentine Dance was born. -
Sports tourneys: They will come
More than 20 years after its release, “Field of Dreams’” mantra, “If you build it, they will come,” has possibly become one of the most overused lines from any movie. Yet, it seems all too fitting for what’s been happening lately within the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority.
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Grading policy: A second chance?
