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With the system set up as it is, the choices for parents are:
- the public schools in the town they live in
- private school. If one has a lot of money or is willing to work an extra job to pay for school
- move
Why not give every parent the ability to choose their kid's school without having to move?
Agreed...and look at the comparison to other states...there are even lower.
I get that "back in the day" plenty of folks didn't graduate highschool and went on to trades; but today there are high school programs that are designed for these students and give them real training/experience in various skilled trades; there really is no excuse for this.
That said, I definately know a guy who left college with ONE semester left because "college was stupid"...and is planning on telling his kid "not to waste his time". Which would be fine if he actually was an electrician/mechanic/plumber or had some useful skill...but no...he has a BS job and is miserable.
College is stupid. This guy could run for orifice.
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Originally Posted by sgthoskins
Let me guess who he voted for.
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Originally Posted by sgthoskins
It's not unfair. The whole summer off. All holidays, a week at Christmas, a week in Feb, and a week in the spring.
My ex is at school at 7:30am and done at 2:00pm every day. Even if they brought a 1.5 hours of work home EVERY NIGHT, that is still only 8 hours a day, minus the almost 4 months off of vacation time.
It's pretty hard to defend salaries with actual time spent working and the end product the system is kicking out. Much like the UAW ruined the American auto industry, the teachers union is doing the same to the socialist public education system.
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Originally Posted by seamusnh
My sister teaches school and she is off all summer as well as two weeks at Christmas, a week at the end of February, and a week in April. She still complains about how much work teaching is, but has never gone for a job in the private sector as one works 241 days per year (365 - 52 Saturdays, 52 Sundays, 10 holidays and 10 vacation days) rather than 180.
The comparisons to the UAW are not entirely valid as the teachers union has little competition. The UAW has car companies that make cars in the US without the union (Toyota - 1.2M cars made in the US each year, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes). Most families cannot afford a private school tuition of $10k+ per year per kid, so the public schools and the teachers union have a near monopoly on K - 12 education. We need vouchers as they have in Europe and some cities in the US.
Vouchers and total school choice, with preference for neighborhood schools, would benefit the customer/employer (students & their parents/taxpayers) and if the NEA cared about the product rather than power that is the way it would be.
Unfortunately their mission seems more to harm and dumb down the product so as they grow up they will vote pro-union.
Totalitarians can never win the battle of ideas, hence their use of subterfuge and muscle.
Vouchers and total school choice, with preference for neighborhood schools, would benefit the customer/employer (students & their parents/taxpayers) and if the NEA cared about the product rather than power that is the way it would be.
Unfortunately their mission seems more to harm and dumb down the product so as they grow up they will vote pro-union.
Totalitarians can never win the battle of ideas, hence their use of subterfuge and muscle.
I cannot jump into this discussion w/out it becoming a long rant about our variety of educational experiences, but I will say that we just learned that at the Hollis-Brookline Middle School the kids are given TWO sets of textbooks. One they keep at home and one at school. That way they don't need to carry books back and forth and they will be sure to always have the book they need. Does this seem like a ridiculous waste of $ to anyone else? And a removal of personal responsibility at the same time?
I cannot jump into this discussion w/out it becoming a long rant about our variety of educational experiences, but I will say that we just learned that at the Hollis-Brookline Middle School the kids are given TWO sets of textbooks. One they keep at home and one at school. That way they don't need to carry books back and forth and they will be sure to always have the book they need. Does this seem like a ridiculous waste of $ to anyone else? And a removal of personal responsibility at the same time?
Amazing. I suppose that prepares children for life where one's employer gives you one computer at work and another at home so you don't have to carry a laptop back and forth to work..... They really coddle their children in Hollis, don't they?
I cannot jump into this discussion w/out it becoming a long rant about our variety of educational experiences, but I will say that we just learned that at the Hollis-Brookline Middle School the kids are given TWO sets of textbooks. One they keep at home and one at school. That way they don't need to carry books back and forth and they will be sure to always have the book they need. Does this seem like a ridiculous waste of $ to anyone else? And a removal of personal responsibility at the same time?
Are you kidding me? This is ridiculous and a waste of $$. And I agree- a removal of personal responsibility-something that is ever increasing in today's world!
I cannot jump into this discussion w/out it becoming a long rant about our variety of educational experiences, but I will say that we just learned that at the Hollis-Brookline Middle School the kids are given TWO sets of textbooks. One they keep at home and one at school. That way they don't need to carry books back and forth and they will be sure to always have the book they need. Does this seem like a ridiculous waste of $ to anyone else? And a removal of personal responsibility at the same time?
Not necessarily, as a result of lawsuits against schools due to back problems resulting from extremely heavy loads of books some publishers have taken to selling their books in a "Home & Family Pack" where one is kept home/one is kept at school. So this might not be the drain on $ or stem from a personal responsibility reason (although I'm sure publicly the "selling point" is "one at home so you always have it").
Not to mention- doesn't the child still need to bring the assignment home/notes and subsequently bring the assignment back to school, it seems like the kid still gets the "remember to bring your work where it belongs" experience?
To be completely honest, where we moved from- middle school kids frequently had wheeled suitcases to carry there books. I thought it was ridiculous (kids needed to toughen up) until my neighbor showed me her kids books weighed over 40 pounds...more than 50% of her kids weight (and her kid was a "walker"...about .5 miles). While I remember the obligatory heavy book or two...I don't recall ever having that much stuff that I HAD to carry.
Again, I'm all for reducing waste...but there may be more at play here- so I'd really want to know the real cost & reason before necessarily calling it wasteful. (I go back to my example of of the $700 air force screwdriver...sounds like a huge waste...well since only 10 exist, its 32" long has to be thin but very strong...and are hand made since there is no mass production for quantities of 10...and looks like a big Z to some extent...not so much...but outside observers just see $700/screwdriver). If kids have a reasonable book load (weight wise) and the books are costing 2x...well- then it is probably a waste...but if they are highly discounted and it prevents kids from hauling a ton (or has some other clear quantifiable benefit)...then maybe its not a waste.
Kind of an aside: Do any schools in the state employ low energy heating options (geothermal) or renewable energy? I can't help but think that with our high energy costs and high heating demand- such projects would have a fairly fast ROI.
Not necessarily, as a result of lawsuits against schools due to back problems resulting from extremely heavy loads of books some publishers have taken to selling their books in a "Home & Family Pack" where one is kept home/one is kept at school. So this might not be the drain on $ or stem from a personal responsibility reason (although I'm sure publicly the "selling point" is "one at home so you always have it").
Not to mention- doesn't the child still need to bring the assignment home/notes and subsequently bring the assignment back to school, it seems like the kid still gets the "remember to bring your work where it belongs" experience?
To be completely honest, where we moved from- middle school kids frequently had wheeled suitcases to carry there books. I thought it was ridiculous (kids needed to toughen up) until my neighbor showed me her kids books weighed over 40 pounds...more than 50% of her kids weight (and her kid was a "walker"...about .5 miles). While I remember the obligatory heavy book or two...I don't recall ever having that much stuff that I HAD to carry.
Again, I'm all for reducing waste...but there may be more at play here- so I'd really want to know the real cost & reason before necessarily calling it wasteful. (I go back to my example of of the $700 air force screwdriver...sounds like a huge waste...well since only 10 exist, its 32" long has to be thin but very strong...and are hand made since there is no mass production for quantities of 10...and looks like a big Z to some extent...not so much...but outside observers just see $700/screwdriver). If kids have a reasonable book load (weight wise) and the books are costing 2x...well- then it is probably a waste...but if they are highly discounted and it prevents kids from hauling a ton (or has some other clear quantifiable benefit)...then maybe its not a waste.
They need to make more CD versions of books for the students. It would save money and forests.
Last edited by GraniteStater; 04-25-2009 at 12:00 PM..
I agree. If they are selling 2 for 1 packs, the school could simply reduce their orders by 50% and put the extra $$ towards extracurriculars, arts programs, or whatever. I would love to see more kids walking to school but the wheely bags should be sufficient to prevent back strain.
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