We need to spend more than money on education - We need to spend time (Obama, cost)

[DRob4JC]

I think we are spending way more money than necessary on public education.

If we can make time for kids, make them put in their time to do schoolwork, show them that we care about their future - the results can be amazing - even with less money.


Former NFL QB Jon Kitna finds ‘gold mine’ at his troubled old high school

He sat with his team in a pregame study hall one fall day and told the players to close their books. Something was missing. What was it? He could sense they wanted to learn. He could see them working in school. They tried hard at football practice. And yet simple homework assignments went unfinished. Grades that had improved then mysteriously dropped. For every step forward there was a stumble.

“What is the disconnect?” he asked.

For several moments no one said anything. Then slowly the stories spilled out. Terrible stories. Heartbreaking stories. The players told of homes without parents. They said nobody in the house asked to see their homework. They talked of barely existing at all. They said the only place anyone seemed to care was at school. And they told him that even then he was the only one to whom they could relate.

...
Not long after he arrived, Kitna took the football team to Seattle for a series of 7-on-7 drills at the University of Washington. When he sent notes to the parents, only three called to ask about the trip.

Then when the bus returned to Lincoln at 11:30 p.m., Kitna was stunned to discover not one parent or relative had come to meet them. He and the coaches split the players up and drove them home. It was 12:15 a.m. when Kitna dropped off the last of the players in his car. And as the door shut and the player waved good bye, Kitna wept.

[HappyTexan]

No government law, no amount of money can fix the home life.
We need to take the kids away from these "non parent" parents that do not give two hoots about their kids.
I've seen my fair share as well and have heard stories that no 10-12 year old should live through.

Teachers keep saying this but no one is listening.

[AeroGuyDC]

You would think $30,000 a year would get you a decent education. For just a few thousand more, you could cover the cost of Harvard’s yearly undergraduate tuition or send your child to the prestigious Sidwell Friends School, which the Obama daughters attend.

But spending $30,000 to cover the cost of a child’s education in a district that has one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation and produces some of the country’s lowest achievement scores? Seems a bit steep. But this is the hefty per-pupil bill taxpayers are made to foot for D.C. public schools every year.

Despite this astounding price tag—$29,409 for the 2009–2010 school year, to be exact, compared to the national average of just under $12,500 (both figures are total expenditures calculated on a per-pupil basis, including capital outlays)—the graduation rate for D.C. students hovers around 60 percent, well below the nationwide average of 74 percent. Math and reading scores are also among the lowest in the country.

DC public schools' spending bears out this fact. Spending does not equal to success. In fact, success starts at home. In order for success to start at home, a child should be raised in a two parent home. In order for a two parent home to exist, individuals need to start taking responsibility for their actions.

Yes, YOU DO need your baby daddy, contrary to what your ignorant single mother told you, and contrary to what her single mother told her.

D.C. Public Schools Spend Almost $30,000 Per Student