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I find high school rankings in magazines to be beyond stupid. One thing that I think speaks to New Jersey (and this is in no way scientific) is that there are tons of NJ kids at every good college up and down the east coast, Boston all the way down to Atlanta. That's gotta speak for something (beyond the fact that NJ doesn't have enough good schools).
So you were talking without knowing the situation on the ground. Isn't that the essence of what a "baseless assumption" is? You didn't even bother to look how the tax rates in the Northeast vs. California match up, but want to make the connective assumption anyways.
Again, using this thread as an example, you opened it up as part of the conversation. If you don't want to be called out, then don't talk about it. We've been down this road too many times.
See above.
I don't want to drag this out for too long, since it is off topic for this thread. All I am saying is that if you want someone to not make assumptions about where you live, then don't make assumptions about places where other people live based on some hastily thrown out statistics without interpretation.
California is ranked 45th in percentage of people who are HS graduates, but also ranked 12th in percentage with those who have bachelor's degrees and above, so there's more going on here than meets the eye.
Yeah, since around maybe 60 of those times is just me writing down "New York" and adding some statistic to it. I only gave my opinion maybe one or two times on the place aside from what I write about statistically. Not exactly the same as what you did here. And even so, my year in New York is still way more experience than what you've had in California.
Same for me, that's my point, I don't think you give opinions on stuff you don't know about.
As for this, yeah you got me, I assumed that CA had high taxes (which doesn't really mean much to me since I'm too young to pay them, for me taxes are just taxes) like the Northeast, and I know CA has a highly educated population and a top college system. I only meant lower ed where it is ranked lower than it once was. I would've brought up a NE state but they're the ones in question and the point was they're generally ranked more highly than other states for ed. I wanted an example and reached the wrong way, I don't do it often.
I find high school rankings in magazines to be beyond stupid. One thing that I think speaks to New Jersey (and this is in no way scientific) is that there are tons of NJ kids at every good college up and down the east coast, Boston all the way down to Atlanta. That's gotta speak for something (beyond the fact that NJ doesn't have enough good schools).
If you look at the Newsweek link provided, it said many of the NY-NJ area schools (among others) were "too elite" for their ranking. Also, a list of "top 20," regardless of methodology, doesn't represent state averages.
I'm sure the hours that the school starts have a big factor. When I was in SC my freshman, my high school didn't start until 7:25 in the morning. There were barley any days that I wasn't tired and/or didn't take a nap in class. The school here in Brooklyn doesn't start until 9:00. I always feel so refreshed and my grades are much better now then freshman year.
I'm sure the hours that the school starts have a big factor. When I was in SC my freshman, my high school didn't start until 7:25 in the morning. There were barley any days that I wasn't tired and/or didn't take a nap in class.
Wait, elaborate more, and the last part of your sentence you can word a bit better. Like what are you saying?
Wait, elaborate more, and the last part of your sentence you can word a bit better. Like what are you saying?
So up North school hours are not as long?
It's not that the school hours aren't as long. They are the same for the most part. It's just that a lot of Northern schools start later than Southern schools. People tend to perform better when they are well-rested, hence why this might be the underlying reason as to why a lot of schools in the South perform so poorly compared to schools in the North.
I would sleep in a lot of my classes back in SC, because I had to wake up so early. Plus, I would take naps at home after I got home from school. I had a hard time concentrating and doing my work because of the fact that I was so tired throughout the day.
I really do weather is a part of it. I know people are going to be quick to disagree, but notice how nearly all counties in tropical/sub-tropical regions are 3rd world. I think with rough winters in cities such as NYC/Toronto/London/Boston people had to create a more accessible living style (denity being key), and there was more time spent indoors (in winter)- So people valued education due to the NEED for progression, and the people had to be "quicker"
Places without harsh winters usually didn't really value these things (as much) because things are slower, and more laid back when you don't have to worry about frigid temperatures and such. Less time indoors, more time outdoors- It distracts a lot of people from valuing education
Higher taxes of course is another reason. And states like MA/NJ/CT really do show that with higher taxes comes a more educated, wealthier population- IE Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
I've seen a few of your posts on this topic. I don't know if a sorority house full of Latina women will fall into your lap the moment you arrive at Newark Airport, but such a "pairing" is possible, and I see them on the regular (although it's not like I'm always looking to see "who is with who").
Anyway, back on topic of education. I don't know that "money" is the only answer here. I'm sure it's a big factor, but I think another is class size and school size. Schools in NJ tend to be smaller. Most kids I know who went to high school in NJ only had 100 kids in their graduating class. I went to high school in the south and had more than 500 kids in my graduating class. And there were many schools twice as large. I haven't seen any studies nor conducted any, but it would be my hypothesis, that a more "intimate" environment fosters a more productive learning environment for kids. All of the faculty know all of the students, fewer kids "getting lost" or "falling through the cracks," etc. I'd assume that would help kids do better, also assuming there's enough faculty to keep class sizes small, and funding for programs, etc.
It can also be political will and parental involvement. I've worked over the past decades with a lot of well-educated, well-employed black people who grew up in poverty in Newark in the 60's and 70's. At that time there were programs to improve education in such areas, and these people are the children whose parents made sure they took advantage of every opportunity. Most of them seem to have parents who grew up in rural parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, then moved north to New Jersey in the 1950's.
Okay maybe not the most reliable website but generally it is believed that the best high school education system is in the northern states like Connecticut and so on. I always wondered about this myself.
Why is it that states up North rank so high in terms of education (high school mainly) compared to states elsewhere, what makes them so hood?
It is hard to compare regions. Each state have their own criteria for each grade. In any region, in any state, you have good and bad school districts. It all depends in which district you live, which schools you attend, and what effort you put in your education.
Last edited by Yac; 03-08-2011 at 07:25 AM..
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