[Everdeen]

Originally Posted by LAappraiser

Plus, I hear your schools suck which doesn't help. Note, my sister is a teacher in Henderson.

You better tell her to step up her game, then.

I hear LAUSD is pretty rough, too.

Originally Posted by 08grad

Progress is difficult because a large segment of the population has the "don't tax me if it doesn't help me" mentality. When proposals come to the table that help the community but increase taxes, they're often shot down.

Priority #1 is to convince the residents that education is worth investing in. An educated population realizes the issues in the city (like lack of public transportation and businesses) and votes to fix them.

It's hard for a city whose selling point for new residents is "it's cheap here and the weather isn't cold", to bring in educated residents, as that selling point attracts selfish people.

This is so true, but there is another dimension to it.

I know I often vote things down because of the waste, cronyism, and outright stealing. If the city council/county commission would be transparent about the spending prior to voting, I think more people would trust the process.

Originally Posted by EA

Finland spends less per student than we do and has far superior results.

Are you sure?

I am a huge fan of the Finnish education system, but it is small population of, basically, homogeneous people. They have a national character, as well, so when they redid their education system in the 1970's, it was easier to get everyone on board than it would be here.

Originally Posted by EA

My point was money won't fix the problem.

Not unless attitudes change.

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

That's a problem all over the Southwest. No one renovates. Don't like your house? Why fix it up? Buy a new one ten miles down the road. No road to get there? Wait til enough houses go up and Walmart will pressure the local government to put one in. Your apartment building doesn't have a Starbucks INSIDE it? Who wants to walk across the street? The newest one over in the next neighborhood does.

I know. In other places, it is not unusual to live in a 60 year old home.

But LV is a relatively young city and there has not been enough time to have blighted neighborhoods revitalized. We are just now starting revitalization projects. But there is very little of that old charm in Las Vegas to revitalize.

One other thing that MUST improve is healthcare. I had to go to the ER in September and I was treated horribly - at every level. And I was discharged with the issue unresolved, so I had to return eight hours later. There are not enough doctors and when you need urgent care, be prepared to wait.

I am out of state more than in-state, but if I were going to be in LV more, I would sign up with one of their concierge doctors. It would be worth the extra money. But why should anyone have to? Where I am now, I am always treated with "concierge" service.

[clutchcargo777]

Throw more money at education and all we'll end up with is better paid administrators. It's like when Metro panders for higher sales tax and instead of more cops, they just give themselves raises.

[EA]

Both of my children's teachers raved about my kids during the parent teacher conferences I had last week.
They had to create new programs for my daughter, and they are picking her brain to do it. Whenever administrators or other important people visit the school, my daughter is tapped to assist.
Both kids are ahead of the rest of their class and the school district.
My daughter is so far ahead they want to move her up 2 grades but she's not mature enough.
My son just started this year and is already ahead. He'll be further and further ahead as he goes.
They sit at home and read, draw, or color. That's not what they're made to do, that's what they want to do. We go out and I teach them things about the area we're in. I've never used baby talk or even dumbed things down for them. They don't watch tv other than an occasional movie, usually from Pixar.
They're not even being challenged in school. I would try for a magnet school, but I go to work at 5am. I can't drop them off 4-5 hours early every day.

When you have disengaged kids planted in front of the tv, with ignorant parents that coddle them, you are not going to spend your way out of dumb kids.
A bachelor's degree doesn't mean anything to me, especially not in today's economy. Unless you get a scholarship or your parents pay for it, it's just not worth it for most people. Having one doesn't make you smarter, either.
Thousands of stupid people have bachelor's and or master's degrees.
Put an American with a bachelor's up against a Finnish high school grad. My money is on the Finn.


My kid's school stats.

77% of the students are in a minority, 51% Hispanic.
Spending per student is a tick less than the district average, but still over 9,000 per student.
66% get free or reduced lunch.

[Prosze]

How can someone say a degree is not worth it? Higher education is always a plus. If anything, you should say that some people choose a major that goes against their own personal goals, values, strengths/weakness etc.

Better education options in Las Vegas would definitely be appreciated.

My daughter goes to a magnet school, as stated in another thread, I'm pretty disappointed in it thus far. Her teacher has confirmed what my daughter has been saying in that this has been one of the toughest group of students she's had to deal with in years. You know what? Plenty of parents would do anything to get their kids in a magnet program. These kids who are disruptive and misbehaving should be thrown out of the magnet programs.

[ADI20151]

I agree and should of included that also. Education needs to improve. More per student spending necessary and better pay for teachers also - to attract more qualified teachers. That would go along way. I agree that UNLV needs another campus. There are two plots up in Centennial Hills off Durango and 95 that have had CSN boards on them for a future campus for a few years now. Nothing has developed. But, putting in new campuses there would be traffic disaster.

And yes, all of the new housing going in is not solving any problems. What's here already needs to be re-done, redeveloped and upgraded. Value needs to be instilled rather than a "I don't like it anymore so I'm moving on."

A concerted effort needs to be put in by the city, state and big businesses who already thrive here to redevelop struggling areas, improve the infrastructure and improve the school system. Somehow I don't feel that's necessarily a priority though...which is unfortunate.

[EA]

Originally Posted by Dltordj

How can someone say a degree is not worth it? Higher education is always a plus. If anything, you should say that some people choose a major that goes against their own personal goals, values, strengths/weakness etc.

Student loan debt and low income.

Bachelor's Degree Degree Salary, Average Salaries | PayScale


Very few of those make more than the average union construction worker in Vegas. When you take the debt into consideration, they make far less than a trade worker.
My pay package is 55 an hour. Even with 2-3 months of being laid off on unemployment I'm still better off than most bachelor's degree holders. As I said, if your tuition is paid for it's another story.
Obviously master's and higher will be more lucrative.

[hotjambalaya]

Originally Posted by EA

Student loan debt and low income.

Bachelor's Degree Degree Salary, Average Salaries | PayScale


Very few of those make more than the average union construction worker in Vegas. When you take the debt into consideration, they make far less than a trade worker.
My pay package is 55 an hour. Even with 2-3 months of being laid off on unemployment I'm still better off than most bachelor's degree holders. As I said, if your tuition is paid for it's another story.
Obviously master's and higher will be more lucrative.

Drifting totally OT now, but the degree is about opportunities. If you take an average or below average degree holder sure he's going to make less then a construction worker, however the construction workers salary will plateau at some point whereas the degree holder at least has the opportunity to have open ended earnings. It's a foot in the door chance, once your foot is in the door, sink or swim, at least you've had a chance. From what you've said, your children are performing well above average, so if they got degrees it's likely that their salaries would be well above average and thus well above the average construction worker, as a parent would you then tell them not to get a degree?

[EA]

If you're an average construction worker, sure. One foreman (foreman get 2 an hour more than normal workers under contract) made 250,000 last year. He started as an apprentice, no college, no special training.
My current foreman makes well above what a foreman should make because he is excellent at his job. Take home is over 6 figures.

My daughter will probably get a scholarship, and she's well suited to school, so she should get a degree or three.
My son, it's too early to tell. I'm leaning towards no. There's a good 12 years of congressional derping between now and when he graduates high school.

To keep on track, another college campus would be nice.

[Prosze]

Come on how many construction workers are making that amount of money? Also, how stable are construction jobs? What happens when the economy tanks and nothing is being built? They scramble and flee looking for work in desperation.

My father used to tell me why bother with college when you can work at a casino as a dealer, cocktail waitress yada yada and probably make more than someone with a degree. I would never, ever say something like that to my daughter. Only someone without a degree would make it seem like it's perfectly o.k. to not go to college or say that degrees are waste of time and money.


"Mr. Gates has just published a blog post with something of a reply: Yes, you do need one.
“Although I dropped out of college and got lucky pursuing a career in software, getting a degree is a much surer path to success,” he writes.
“College graduates are more likely to find a rewarding job, earn higher income, and even, evidence shows, live healthier lives than if they didn’t have degrees. They also bring training and skills into America’s work force, helping our economy grow and stay competitive.”
He adds, “It’s just too bad that we’re not producing more of them.”

[normy123]

Back to the orig. Question. I moved here middle of Oct. From Palm Springs where the traffic signals are timed to change by the number of cars waiting in line. If there are a couple cars waiting to make a left turn, the signal stays green very brief, etc. What a difference that would make here! Why don't they do it?