Should we spend more money on education?

[WisconsinBillzFan]

No. The problem isn't that we don't spend enough. It's that the students don't have parents who are raising them to achieve academically and a culture where its not "cool" to be smart. This is a good read on what school is like in one of these schools.

 

http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2009/06/whi...what-is-it.html

 

Despite almost 50 years of large and accelerating efforts to improve the school achievement of African-American students, the gap between their achievement and that of whites and Asians remains about as large as ever.

 

Yet proposals for what to do about it seem basically unchanged: Spend more money and divert existing money to reduce class size and train teachers better, have more students take a rigorous college prep curriculum, work on improving self-esteem, have high expectations, eliminate ability-grouped classes, use cooperative-learning techniques, and reassign top teachers to schools with a high percentage of African-American students.

 

And BTW DC Tom and JA- I agree with this-

 

Also, while the author made passing mention that not all Blacks behaved as he described, those comments felt, to me, too parenthetical. Of course, many black students are high-achieving and motivated.

 

So, in my blog, I look for opportunities to present perspectives that are often censored. Certainly, this post is the most extreme essay I've ever posted and, indeed, I feel its position is too extreme and broad-brush--Of course, many African-American students are bright and hardworking.

 

But I felt that, especially in education, we mainly hear lofty rhetoric from politicians and educational leaders (who often themselves are politicians) and from academics worried that political correctness is required for getting hired or tenured. That's not the whole story.

[Magox]

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

kill them all.

 

don't educate them and in a decade or so you can complain about one of two or both things

 

That these uneducated slackers are syphoning off of welfare and unemplyment

 

That the uneducated are filling the city and federal jails getting 3 squares and cable TV.

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

The family is a flawed institution. So are schools

[Bronc24]

Why not actually make teaching a true profession? If you have better people in key positions and pay them better, they will deliver a better product. The Canadian education system mandates each teacher must have an actual education degree. While not a perfect public system, at least we have teachers who know how to teach and how to manage classrooms effectively.

[Celtic_soulja]

I think we need to either upgrade or abandon the public school system. If we upgrade the technology and material, we might be able to make the public school system more efficient. If we just keep going the way we are going, it's a complete waste of money. Privatize the school system and let the market upgrade the system.

 

I like the homeschooling method myself, much more effective.

[Alaska Darin]

Why not actually make teaching a true profession? If you have better people in key positions and pay them better, they will deliver a better product. The Canadian education system mandates each teacher must have an actual education degree. While not a perfect public system, at least we have teachers who know how to teach and how to manage classrooms effectively.

The education system in America is a mess for a variety of reasons but lack of a piece of paper isn't one of them.

[John Adams]

The education system in America is a mess for a variety of reasons but lack of a piece of paper isn't one of them.

 

Exactly. Requiring teachers to get the absurd Masters in Education degree is stupid. Who would you rather teach science? A teacher with a PhD or Masters in Physics or someone with a BS in psychology who has a Masters in Education. Or how about this--just find someone who loves and knows science...maybe someone who worked in the field.

 

Masters in Education is the Masters equivalent of a Communications major. (Sorry Dean or whoever was on OTW defending a communications major as useful.)

[whateverdude]

Yes spend more money on the re-education system. The following are a few examples of what I learn from K through grad school:

 

1) The Communist Manifesto has very “empowering” language in it.

 

2) A true Marxist economy has yet to be started.

 

3) Marxism was never intended to be implemented in an agrarian society like Russia but was in a rich industrial capitalist society like the UK then and the US now.

 

4) Marxism is the natural evolution of capitalism through social revolution and collective ownership.

 

5) The alienated proletarian class will throw off oppressive chains of the exploitative bourgeoisie seizing the machinery of the capitalist.

[DC Tom]

Yes spend more money on the re-education system. The following are a few examples of what I learn from K through grad school:

 

1) The Communist Manifesto has very “empowering” language in it.

 

2) A true Marxist economy has yet to be started.

 

3) Marxism was never intended to be implemented in an agrarian feudal society like Russia but was in a rich industrial capitalist society like the UK then and the US now.

 

4) Marxism is the natural evolution of capitalism through social revolution and collective ownership.

 

5) The alienated proletarian class will throw off oppressive chains of the exploitative bourgeoisie seizing the machinery of the capitalist.

 

Fixed.

[whateverdude]

Fixed.

spasibo comrade!

[OCinBuffalo]

Exactly. Requiring teachers to get the absurd Masters in Education degree is stupid. Who would you rather teach science? A teacher with a PhD or Masters in Physics or someone with a BS in psychology who has a Masters in Education. Or how about this--just find someone who loves and knows science...maybe someone who worked in the field.

 

Masters in Education is the Masters equivalent of a Communications major. (Sorry Dean or whoever was on OTW defending a communications major as useful.)

How about this? Why don't we create incentives for retired math/science people to act as tutors? I am not saying force them into the classroom, but, I have seen some interesting public access TV call in shows where people, sometimes teachers, sometimes not, offer to help with homework. Seems like that might improve things.

[IDBillzFan]

How about we move forward on a voucher program? While no expert on this subject, something tells me NOTHING will get our schools doing better than some good old fashioned competition. In fact, I'd dare say a voucher system would all but wipe out the public education system, and for some reason that just doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.

[Booster4324]

How about this? Why don't we create incentives for retired math/science people to act as tutors? I am not saying force them into the classroom, but, I have seen some interesting public access TV call in shows where people, sometimes teachers, sometimes not, offer to help with homework. Seems like that might improve things.

 

I can just see an old DC Tom, molding young minds. The horror...

[Celtic_soulja]

Yes spend more money on the re-education system. The following are a few examples of what I learn from K through grad school:

 

1) The Communist Manifesto has very “empowering” language in it.

 

2) A true Marxist economy has yet to be started.

 

3) Marxism was never intended to be implemented in an agrarian society like Russia but was in a rich industrial capitalist society like the UK then and the US now.

 

4) Marxism is the natural evolution of capitalism through social revolution and collective ownership.

 

5) The alienated proletarian class will throw off oppressive chains of the exploitative bourgeoisie seizing the machinery of the capitalist.

 

Socialism is a natural evolution of capitalism, but not the way Marx put it or envisioned it. Socialism is an evolution of the spirit, not the government. Once government mandates socialistic policy, it destroys all that is good in socialism's spirit and you are left with left over crap from socialist spirit...they call it communism.

 

Until Socialists learn to utilize freedom to empower instead of a skull cracking revolutionary party, they will never produce a good example of the socialist pipedream.

 

Marx was a confused **** and the father of a bunch of other confused azzholes

[DC Tom]

I can just see an old DC Tom, molding young minds. The horror...

 

Could be worse. Could have Holcomb's Arm teaching math and conner teaching science.

[keepthefaith]

Why do we have laws that allow 16 year olds to drop out of high school?

[John Adams]

Why do we have laws that allow 16 year olds to drop out of high school?

 

Why do we have laws that force kids to go to school in the first place?

[keepthefaith]

Why do we have laws that force kids to go to school in the first place?

 

 

While our education system can be criticized, I can't imagine a system where we leave it up to parents to choose not to educate their kids. Home schooling is an option everywhere is it not?

 

My point is that taxpayers are funding education and allowing kids to quit before high school graduation. We're paying for them to finish aren't we?

[whateverdude]

Socialism is a natural evolution of capitalism, but not the way Marx put it or envisioned it. Socialism is an evolution of the spirit, not the government. Once government mandates socialistic policy, it destroys all that is good in socialism's spirit and you are left with left over crap from socialist spirit...they call it communism.

 

Until Socialists learn to utilize freedom to empower instead of a skull cracking revolutionary party, they will never produce a good example of the socialist pipedream.

 

Marx was a confused **** and the father of a bunch of other confused azzholes

When the government mandates socialistic policy it's fascism