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Stories of possible interest from The Best Schools blog

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Never mind what it is like to be a bat What is it like to be an octopus?

(Like nothing we can imagine, yet the creatures are intelligent.)

Home schooling now beats public school enrolment in some US districts . Hmmm.

Why you might not learn what you hope. Or might.

Comments
Oh, Eric, it's just our regular forum troll. He wants to be fed.Barb
June 9, 2013
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Joealtle @3, what was that about?Eric Anderson
June 9, 2013
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If you were an octopus, Barb, youd have a much higher IQ than you do now.Joealtle
June 9, 2013
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"What is it like to be an octopus?" I dunno. Cool, I guess, especially if I were a giant Pacific octopus. Or a venomous blue ringed octopus sitting on the Great Barrier Reef. Oh, and having jet propulsion would be cool, too. Many animals are also jet-propelled and have been for millenniums. Both the octopus and the squid excel in this. They suck water into a special chamber and then, with powerful muscles, expel it, shooting themselves forward. Also using jet propulsion: the chambered nautilus, scallops, jellyfish, dragonfly larvae and even some oceanic plankton. This is is from 1979: As reported in the “Sunday Times” of Johannesburg, almost every morning Dr. Arthur Wright of Durban dons mask, snorkel and flippers and dives into the sea. One day he set up a most unusual friendship with an octopus, whom he called Okkie. His own description follows, as quoted in the “Sunday Times”: “I came across Okkie one late summer afternoon about four years ago. He was lazing outside his rock home. My first thought was to bring him back alive for the Durban Oceanarium. . . . “Okkie immediately began waving his tentacles, as if in greeting, then to my great surprise he reached for a newly-cleaned arabica shell and extended it in my direction with one of those incredible feelers of his. I was delighted. And of course, completely disarmed. I decided to leave Okkie where he was. “During the days that followed I thought quite a lot about Okkie. So I called again. Sure enough, I got the same happy greeting. And the same gift of a shell. The next time I passed by, Okkie was more generous. There were two shells. Over the months I built up quite a large collection from Okkie. “Then one day I happened along and, to my sorrow, there was no Okkie. I called back several times. But still no Okkie. I felt very sad. What could have happened to him? Maybe he had grown too large for his home. Maybe some predator had taken him. Or maybe he, too, had been fired with adventure, seeking new waterways. Who can say? I only know I was conscious of a great loss.”Barb
June 9, 2013
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Re the 'suboptimal'(!) education - the stuff of nightmares. Unfortunately, more properly designated, as an all too real daymare'.Axel
June 9, 2013
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