Why SHOULDN'T wealthy people have better school districts? (generation, education system, government)
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Schools in cities like Baltimore spend about $16,000 per kid per year. That's $320,000 per classroom with 20 kids. How can anyone say that failed schools such (which are the majority) in Baltimore would succeed is we just gave them even more money?
My daughter is a middle school teacher in an area that is at the confluence of affluent suburbs and poor rural areas. Her school is about half and half. On average the poor kids do far worse that the affluent kids, primarily due to dysfunctional home lives and a culture that does not value education. The parents of the poor kids (or grandparents depending upon who is raising them) will not come to parent-teacher conferences. In hopes of making it real easy for those parents to come her school arranged for parent-teacher conferences to be held in a community center in the neighborhood where many of these kids live. Still nobody came. When she calls parents/grandparents to discuss an academic or behavioral issue with the poor kids, most of the parents/grandparents aren't interested. Most of the affluent kids are getting a 1st class education in those schools. Most of the poor kids are not. What the schools spend per kid is not the reason so many of the poor kids don't do well.
And achieving "success" does not always mean that someone has worked for it, that they're particularly deserving of it, or even that they're particularly bright. Sometimes, they're just damn lucky. Maybe they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Maybe they've manipulated, lied, and cheated their way to "success." I'm sure you can think of someone who exemplifies what I'm talking about.
Of course I can think of someone off the top of my head. Without beating around the bush, let's call this person DT.
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Perhaps you don't realize how diverse countries like Canada and Australia are. Incidentally, I'm not using them as shining examples. I emigrated to, and became a citizen of, the US, after all, a country that I love. But I will not pretend to be blind to her serious faults. Well-documented data comparing the US's performance in various areas with those of other Western countries doesn't lie. As a scientist (I presume you are), you know that.
Not a scientist. I'm an engineer.
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I believe in America's greatness and her capacity to do better for her people. In reality, no other country in the world has the potential to do as well as the US in this regard, but she squanders her greatness.
I agree.
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Totally agree with you (remember, I'm not a "liberal" (or a "conservative"). But a slavish, dogmatic devotion to "free markets" and dog-eat-dog economic principles isnt, either. Because, sooner or later, the one espousing them will be the next to be eaten.
As I have said before, too much of anything is a bad idea. Unregulated capitalism would be a nightmare scenario for most people, including you and me.
I have heard Bernie Sanders make statements like "No one should get better health care just because they have more money" and similar statements about education I'm sure.
Think about how ridiculous those statements are. It is basically claiming that if there is life-saving treatment that costs 1 billion dollars, Bill Gates should not be allowed to have it (because it would be financially impossible for everyone in America to have said treatment).
Using hyperbole does not make a rational argument, your logic is getting clouded by emotion.
I would like to challenge the "equal opportunity" motif. Liberals believe it's not "socially just" for wealthy areas to have better funded and overall better quality schools than poorer areas. But, don't wealthy areas pay more in taxes? Why is unfair to get what you pay for?
Very philosophical but we are speaking to school districts, are you proposing everyone for themselves. Who exactly is the oppressed?
I think the OP's point was spot on. Those districts who pay more in taxes; i.e., wealthy districts, should get what they pay for. Their money should not be used to "equalize" education. Do some people send their kids to better colleges, and pay more for it? Yes they do. Why? Because they hope their kids are going to get a better education.
Common Core is a scam, and it deprives the children from wealthy areas from getting the education they deserve for the money their parents are paying.
As a former teacher, I say no. I saw too many poor kids who wanted to learn but were held back because their parents couldn't afford such things as shoes for the kids or food, let alone paper and pencils, computers, and books.
These kids were at a real disadvantage. They didn't have books in their homes, their parents weren't very involved with school --so they didn't stand a chance. It was sad. They were left behind and it was not their fault. But there is no convincing people who just want to gloat about their wealth and not really deal with a difficult situation facing Americans. Maybe this isn't a serious thread--I doubt many really are this cruel and uncaring about our children.
I grew up poor. My mother didn't finish 10th grade and my father didn't finish 8th, but they wanted us kids to succeed in life. My mother faithfully attended all of the P.T.A. meetings and any other meeting that the school had. There wasn't any money for luxuries but we did go to the public library on a regular basis because my parents encouraged us to read. There were 6 kids in the family and woe to the kid that brought home less than a B on a report card. Heaven help the kid that got detention. And guess what, all 6 of us are well educated and have had successful careers.
Kids from poor families can do well in school too, if the family wants them to. If the family doesn't want them to succeed, no amount of money spent on the schools will make much difference.
I think the OP's point was spot on. Those districts who pay more in taxes; i.e., wealthy districts, should get what they pay for. Their money should not be used to "equalize" education. Do some people send their kids to better colleges, and pay more for it? Yes they do. Why? Because they hope their kids are going to get a better education.
Common Core is a scam, and it deprives the children from wealthy areas from getting the education they deserve for the money their parents are paying.
What do children whose parents are not wealthy deserve?
Education of the populance benefits everyone in society. I mean, just look at the people posting to this thread. >.>
Now consider that the US political system is based upon voting and anyone with perspective can see why if they think their political views are educated and intelligent, would want more people being educated etc.
With unequal education your are intentionally wasting the national potential by relegating so many to substandard educations.
"Why SHOULDN'T wealthy people have better school districts?"
Because we want to make more people wealthy.....quite simple and answered by John Adams 100's of years ago - and probably by Plato and friends thousands.
A bigger question would be - why are people in our society asking questions which tend to send up back to being beasts as opposed to advancing us as a people and a nation? Only you can answer that.....
“Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially of the lower class of people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant.”
John Adams
(I think that is pretty clear)......this board would empty out quickly if people read books.
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