Where Colorado Ranks In Education

[nbtmn]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

We used the benefit of WA (and HI). FREE college instead of wasting time in HS.
Running Start - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We have a program similar in MN called PSEO, which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college full or part time. Both my husband and I participated in it, and as a result, each of us only had to pay for three years of college. If you have motivated kids who are ready to be done with high school, it's great to have this option. My only regret is not also participating my junior year.

[mbalmedpoet]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

OP, you mention college for your kids...

WY is close and has one of the lowest cost Public Universities in USA (and is excellent in many majors)

CA is suffering, but still has very affordable excellent schools (Higher ed). and a HUGE choice.

The CA state income tax will cause some suffering in the short term you need to be there, but that higher edu for your kids is quite important for future earnings / opportunities.


We used the benefit of WA (and HI). FREE college instead of wasting time in HS.
Running Start - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One kid got an excellent WA state University EDU. Another... not so excellent (bigger school, 'watered-down-programs').

Should have sent them packing to WY or CA for final 2 yrs of U.

WY doesn't offer the majors that we were looking for, unfortunately. CA wasn't a place we wanted to go. I had looked at it back in my day actually. The concerning thing to me is how so much funding for so called state schools has been taken away. Most are very close to becoming private schools whether we like it or not. Just a simple fact of life.

[mbalmedpoet]

Here is a recent article about how TABOR has affected the school system throughout Colorado. It's quite telling, especially seeing how we are now falling behind Alabama and Mississippi in per student spending. I love the state, but there are things that definitely need to be improved upon.

To me, it's worth the $19 to have a world class education system.

In Colorado, School Funding Lags Despite A Booming Economy | CPR

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by mbalmedpoet

Here is a recent article about how TABOR has affected the school system throughout Colorado. It's quite telling, especially seeing how we are now falling behind Alabama and Mississippi in per student spending. I love the state, but there are things that definitely need to be improved upon.

To me, it's worth the $19 to have a world class education system.

In Colorado, School Funding Lags Despite A Booming Economy | CPR

Like every other time people bring up Tabor it is a crutch to hide reality. The fact is the US spends considerably more money on schools than any other country, yet our education system has been dumbed down to the point of not even being close to the top 10 in the world. The problem is not money, but in the way our schools are being used for social engineering and brain washing instead of teaching actual knowledge and facts.

[SWCM7950]

Originally Posted by jwiley

Like every other time people bring up Tabor it is a crutch to hide reality. The fact is the US spends considerably more money on schools than any other country, yet our education system has been dumbed down to the point of not even being close to the top 10 in the world. The problem is not money, but in the way our schools are being used for social engineering and brain washing instead of teaching actual knowledge and facts.

It's even worse at the higher education level.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by jwiley

The problem is not money, but in the way our schools are being used for social engineering and brain washing instead of teaching actual knowledge and facts.

Right! Like the movement to teach our kids that scientific consensus is just an opinion or that the bible is a factual text book. Talk about brainwashing!

[davidv]

Originally Posted by jwiley

Like every other time people bring up Tabor it is a crutch to hide reality. The fact is the US spends considerably more money on schools than any other country, yet our education system has been dumbed down to the point of not even being close to the top 10 in the world. The problem is not money, but in the way our schools are being used for social engineering and brain washing instead of teaching actual knowledge and facts.

I teach world history, geography and AP versions of both.

My colleagues teach English, Math, Science, Foreign Languages, Arts, Business, and more.

When you talk about social engineering and brain washing, to what are you referring?

Are you referring to new perspectives in history that some people seem to hate? American exceptionalism is a good example. I think that America is a great country, but is it the greatest? How do I quantify that assertion? What data do I use? Other countries have just as much money, other countries have just as much freedom, other countries are as socially progressive. Teaching that America is the greatest country is biased, not the other way around.

Climate change? Guess what, it's happening. Look at the data. It's here.

I am tired of the folksy, "well, I am not a scientist..." approach because people who start an argument like this immediately dismiss all scientific evidence that doesn't mesh with their view. The fact is that 97% of climate scientists believe in that the earth is warming and that warming is likely due to human activities. Do they know everything? No. Climate change seems to be a lot like Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the universe. It was correct in that the earth revolves around the sun, but it was incorrect in many other aspects. It took time to work out the flaws in Copernican theory; it will take time work out climate change issues.

Teachers are teaching facts and knowledge, but the general public, has started to idolize the uneducated and the ignorant. Say something smart, and you will be shouted down by the masses. Say something like a smartaleck and you are revered for "putting that person into his place."

Education must be reinforced at home, but poverty, single-parent households, the emergence of a ridiculous sports culture that keeps children busy all hours of the evening and weekends, has made home life for many children tougher.

[hollyt00]

An incredible amount of money is directed towards state assessments and programs that detract from the actual business of teaching, including the teacher evaluation process. I remember (as a French teacher) getting marked "partially proficient" as a teacher in part because I didn't effectively use technology (my husband's TV from the 90s is in my classroom and at the time all I had else was a DVD player and an overhead projector) and because I did not teach enough math in the classroom. Too much time is spent looking for innovative ways to improve education instead of putting it in places that would matter: new desks, chairs, textbooks, paying teachers more, etc.

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by davidv

When you talk about social engineering and brain washing, to what are you referring?

Just a guess, but such references seem to be the type of thing Mrs. Palin was referring to when she said she has foreign policy experience because you can pretty-much see Russia from Alaska. As we see throughout human history (pre-civil-war era, etc. etc.), we all get socially engineered and brain-washed to a degree depending on where we happen to be. Thank you and your colleagues for your service to the country, the efforts of quality conscientious teachers should be appreciated more than they are. Attacking our teachers is roughly as despicable as attacking our soldiers. Are all teachers and all soldiers perfect? No. Is everything done by the military (as directed by politicians) or done by the educational system (as directed by politicians) right? No. But should we insult soldiers or teachers because we don't agree with the politics of what they do or are forced to do by the system in which they exist?


Back to the topic at hand, I get the sense Colorado has long relied on highly-educated transplants from other regions for its professional and educated class. Almost every educated professional person I know came to Colorado from somewhere else or grew up here and went to school in another state and came back.


Like every other state, there's an abundance of bad-to-mediocre public K-12 schools and districts (within which many excellent teachers and few great students operate) and a very small handful of wealthy high-achieving public K-12 districts. The "system" we call "life" is rigged in favor of the already successful and their offspring. How can it not be? Rich kids in Colorado with rich highly educated parents and grandparents will (surprise surprise) end up in Ivy League type colleges, just like they do in every other state. Nothing unique about Colorado and I'd guess a doubling of education funding would barely make a dent in the reality of student/life outcomes. Not that we shouldn't double education funding! Poor kids from broken homes and substance abusing undereducated single parents are still gonna find it pretty darn hard to break out and have the same educational outcomes as my math genius neighbor kids who have two parents (both wealthy physicians) and are expected to not just graduate fancy college but also get into fancy professional schools like their parents and all their parents' friends. It is what it is.


But still let's not go insulting teachers. Inequality of opportunity and of outcome isn't their fault. They do their best with the cards (students, resources) they're dealt.