Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is a real bad idea. We need to think long term not a short term fix. Things are going to be bad for years to come. If the feds bail out the states this time. They will cry wolf every year. They will waste a good part of it and still laid off teachers. That is what they did with the stimulus cash. If they do this most of the taxpayers will not even pass future ballots for funding. They will just think the feds can bail them out do not raise my taxes.
I don't know why so many people just don't get that investing in education is a better investment for the country than anything else.
Funding of education is very important. However, since the passage of NCLB more money has gone to adding educational experts, highly-paid specialists and administrators than adding teachers to the classroom.
In many cases teachers have been let go while the number of curriculum directors, specialists and administrators have not been reduced accordingly.
The whole way education gets funded needs to be reworked. NCLB needs to go and the federal government needs to stop cranking out costly unfunded mandates that the states cannot afford.
The mess we are in has little to do with education and learning and more to do with political agendas, favoritism, and coercive funding.
I highly recommend that everyone should read Diane Ravitch's new book - The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education . It is a very accurate assessment of how the American people are being sold a false bill of goods with NCLB.
I don't know why so many people just don't get that investing in education is a better investment for the country than anything else.
many people don't seem to acknowledge that our education spending keeps going up but the children are not getting a better education as a result. throwing money at a problem doesn't solve the problem.
it would be a much better idea to privatize schools and let the parents investigate and send their children where they will receive the most benefit, and it might even bring costs down. that would be a much more efficient use of taxpayer dollars and it would open up more opportunities for teachers and students.
it is so typical that these representatives think that pulling more money from the private sector "fixes" anything......
many people don't seem to acknowledge that our education spending keeps going up but the children are not getting a better education as a result. throwing money at a problem doesn't solve the problem.
it would be a much better idea to privatize schools and let the parents investigate and send their children where they will receive the most benefit, and it might even bring costs down. that would be a much more efficient use of taxpayer dollars and it would open up more opportunities for teachers and students.
it is so typical that these representatives think that pulling more money from the private sector "fixes" anything......
I highly suggest that you read Racitch's book that I referenced above. It is a real eye opener that everyone should read as it is an accurate depiction of the games being played with education including the arguements for and against privatization.
Senator Harking makes Obama look like a moderate. If you buy anything that guy tells you I've got some oceanfront property in Kansas I'd like to sell you.
many people don't seem to acknowledge that our education spending keeps going up but the children are not getting a better education as a result. throwing money at a problem doesn't solve the problem.
it would be a much better idea to privatize schools and let the parents investigate and send their children where they will receive the most benefit, and it might even bring costs down. that would be a much more efficient use of taxpayer dollars and it would open up more opportunities for teachers and students.
it is so typical that these representatives think that pulling more money from the private sector "fixes" anything......
Throwing money at education fixes absolutely nothing. Schools will continue to waste money. They won't use it to save teachers' jobs. My school didn't use a dime of the stimulus to save a teacher's job.
In order to fix education, families need to be fixed. Parents can not neglect their children and expect them to do well in school. Even the best teachers are no substitute for a loving family.
Throwing money at education fixes absolutely nothing. Schools will continue to waste money. They won't use it to save teachers' jobs. My school didn't use a dime of the stimulus to save a teacher's job.
In order to fix education, families need to be fixed. Parents can not neglect their children and expect them to do well in school. Even the best teachers are no substitute for a loving family.
In order for this to happen it requires a unifying societal goal that focuses on family unity. I don't expect to see this anytime soon as pop culture promotes the myth that marriage is disposable, that being raised by one parent is just as good for the child as being raised by two, and that the right government social program can overcome any problems a broken family experiences.
Until we begin to have honest discussions about these myths we will not see any improvement. A society can not advance the quality of life of the majority of its citizens if it is absent of core morals, values, and common courtesies. As a child, it was pretty clear to me that the American Dream was to own my own home, have a family, and get a good job to be able to provide for my family. It was a given that working hard and doing well in school was a key to that dream. Families supported the schools and expected their children to listen and be respectful to the teachers, try their best, and make the most of what was being offered to them.
What is the American Dream today? I don't think it is that simple or clear. Unfortunately, I believe for many it is all too often an individual mindset that is highly centered on the acquisition of material possessions. This often comes at the detriment of others, including members of the individual's own family. The latest financial meltdown should have been the warning bell.
many people don't seem to acknowledge that our education spending keeps going up but the children are not getting a better education as a result. throwing money at a problem doesn't solve the problem.
it is so typical that these representatives think that pulling more money from the private sector "fixes" anything......
To re-share a quotation from an earlier post:
"Education legislation in the 1950s and ’60s led to an era of substantial improvement in schools and gains in equity. By the mid-1970s, achievement had improved, college-going rates for African American and Hispanic students were equivalent to those for white students, and teacher shortages had been nearly eliminated. The United States led the world in education.
However, many of these initiatives were ended in the 1980s and the gains lost when the federal share of education spending was sharply cut in half. Although modest progress was made in the 1990s, other countries have surged ahead with strategic investments in systems that promote top-flight teaching for higher-order skills in every school"
-- The Forum for Education and Democracy
Before Regan got maniacal about small government, we did used to fund education better. We have some information on the positive changes from the 1950 to the 1970s and information on negative changes after the 1980s that seems to show that funding matters.
"Education legislation in the 1950s and ’60s led to an era of substantial improvement in schools and gains in equity. By the mid-1970s, achievement had improved, college-going rates for African American and Hispanic students were equivalent to those for white students, and teacher shortages had been nearly eliminated. The United States led the world in education.
However, many of these initiatives were ended in the 1980s and the gains lost when the federal share of education spending was sharply cut in half. Although modest progress was made in the 1990s, other countries have surged ahead with strategic investments in systems that promote top-flight teaching for higher-order skills in every school"
-- The Forum for Education and Democracy
Before Regan got maniacal about small government, we did used to fund education better. We have some information on the positive changes from the 1950 to the 1970s and information on negative changes after the 1980s that seems to show that funding matters.
Shows federal expenditures from 1970 to now. Seems to stay fairly constant over time, regardless of who was president. Even so, it's not surprising that things improved from 1950-70 only to level out afterward: you were bringing minorities up from nothing in some states during that period, so obviously if this was achieved in the 1970s then the level to which improvements are seen aren't going to be so extraordinary afterward.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
