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Wow. Someone dug this thread up two and a half years later? I was thinking about this thread yesterday (due to events going on in my state) and the sentiment in my OP is still pretty much the same. Not all Republicans, but many truly do hate public schools. At best, the attitude is ambivalent. So in a way, this thread proved my point.
In the past two years, I've been teaching, and my attitude toward public ed. isn't as rosy as when I started, but I still believe in the idea of public education. I scratch my head at some of the comments I read here, and some of the discussions I have with people. I'm blessed to work in a great school district with awesome support from parents, administration and the town. If everyone tried supporting their public schools the way my town does--including moral support--instead of constantly tearing them down, I think we'd have a real educational revolution in this country.
It might also help if this country actually learned to understand the value of an education for its own sake as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawkeye2009
1. It is ineffective- parochial and home schooled kids do better on exams
2. It is too expensive- parochial education costs half as much and produces a better product.
3. It is too administration heavy
4. It is too dominated by the teacher's union
5. The lunacy of political correctness and liberalism rules in the public schools
The public schools are liberal indoctrination camps that have failed in their stated purpose. Who supports public schools?
Really? EVERY public school from San Francisco to rural Iowa is training kids to be liberals? Guess that explains why the GOP has been the majority party for the better half of 30 years. Yet more evidence of a poster who has no clue what he's talking about vis a vis American education.
Actually he knows quite a bit... I remember during my education that there was a large drive for liberal ideology (global warming, social programs, adoration of liberal leaders, unions, etc, etc)... I didn't realize it at the beginning because I was a liberal back then... but hawkeye is spot on... unfortunately for you...
Wow. Someone dug this thread up two and a half years later? I was thinking about this thread yesterday (due to events going on in my state) and the sentiment in my OP is still pretty much the same. Not all Republicans, but many truly do hate public schools. At best, the attitude is ambivalent. So in a way, this thread proved my point.
In the past two years, I've been teaching, and my attitude toward public ed. isn't as rosy as when I started, but I still believe in the idea of public education. I scratch my head at some of the comments I read here, and some of the discussions I have with people. I'm blessed to work in a great school district with awesome support from parents, administration and the town. If everyone tried supporting their public schools the way my town does--including moral support--instead of constantly tearing them down, I think we'd have a real educational revolution in this country.
It might also help if this country actually learned to understand the value of an education for its own sake as well.
Really? EVERY public school from San Francisco to rural Iowa is training kids to be liberals? Guess that explains why the GOP has been the majority party for the better half of 30 years. Yet more evidence of a poster who has no clue what he's talking about vis a vis American education.
Yes, really. I just had two aunts and one uncle retire from teaching in the Iowa school system. They have all said that the teacher's union has ruined the teaching profession and the quality of education in the US. All taught in the public school system from the early 1970s to last year.
Tell me why-
1. parochial and home schooled kids perform 50% and 100%, respectively, better on standardized tests?
2. Why it costs double to educate a kid in the public schools vs the parochial schools?
3. Why teachers, as a profession, are collectively 85% registered democrats?
4. Why has the ratio of adminstrators to teachers changed from 1:18 in 1970 to 1:3 today?
Of course the public schools are liberal indoctrination camps.
Now I'm not talking about all Republicans. But ever since I got my teaching degree, I noticed that conservatives, in general have a much more hostile attitude toward public ed. than liberals. My Democrat friends have always encouraged me in my career choice, while some conservative friends act like "well...whatever floats your boat man...". One friend even tried to get me to switch careers because public schools were so "anti-God". I got the impression that you can't be a true conservative and agree with universal public education. I really believe that what I'm doing is very beneficial to society.
Now I know public schools have problems, and there needs to be reform, but why are so many conservatives wanting to throw the baby out with the bathwater?
The federal government has a big say in what gets taught. They aren't in the business of education. The States should be in control of that. Not the feds. AND them being out of the loop would mean lower costs all around.
No, it happened via liberals' control of Ed Schools, teachers' unions, and the public education system in general.
No, it happens because of the socioeconomic status of the parents of the kids who attend public schools. There is a big correlation between that and the "quality" of a public school district
Parents are more responsible for a child's development than teachers. Reducing poverty and income inequality in America would go a long way towards making the public education system better .
Yes, really. I just had two aunts and one uncle retire from teaching in the Iowa school system. They have all said that the teacher's union has ruined the teaching profession and the quality of education in the US. All taught in the public school system from the early 1970s to last year.
Tell me why-
1. parochial and home schooled kids perform 50% and 100%, respectively, better on standardized tests?
2. Why it costs double to educate a kid in the public schools vs the parochial schools?
3. Why teachers, as a profession, are collectively 85% registered democrats?
4. Why has the ratio of adminstrators to teachers changed from 1:18 in 1970 to 1:3 today?
Of course the public schools are liberal indoctrination camps.
1. Easy. Parochial and homeschooled kids have parents who care deeply about their own kids' education (I care about my kids, but nobody can match a good parents' level of care). Also, homeschooling allows kids to get more individualized instruction. Sorry, but class sizes just aren't going to go much below fifteen kids per class. It just is what it is.
2. Never said there wasn't bloat, but people like you want to cut the bloat by getting rid of the entire system.
3. Easy. Because most Republicans b**** about them to no end and draw no distinctions between good and bad teachers. We're called lazy government employees who do nothing but collect a check at the end of the month. If I had a dollar for the number of right wingers who made snarky comments about my profession, my colleagues, and my students, I'd be a rich man. And it's never just the union they attack. I don't agree with the NEA on everything, but Conservative attitudes toward teachers are ambivalent at best and hostile at worst. Why would I support such people who despise what I do for a living?
In contrast, I get nothing but support for my calling from people on the left end of the spectrum, and it's not because I supposedly manipulate kids' minds to think the way I do. I keep my opinion out of my lessons.
4. See response #2. I have no problem with guidance counselors, principals and assistant principals.
And no, they are not liberal indoctrination camps. You can't take a random story about some teacher in CA and say SEE!! EVERY SCHOOL IS LIBERAL!!!! GET RID OF PUBLIC ED. NOW!!!!! Nice try, but try not to paint with such a broad brush next time.
Actually he knows quite a bit... I remember during my education that there was a large drive for liberal ideology (global warming, social programs, adoration of liberal leaders, unions, etc, etc)... I didn't realize it at the beginning because I was a liberal back then... but hawkeye is spot on... unfortunately for you...
Hawkeye is not as spot on as you may think. I won't deny that there are liberal teachers who let their biases get the better of them, but it doesn't happen that often, but then you'd have to actually work in a school and know teachers to know that, which very few education-haters do.
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