Sec'y Rice has it right.Public education in thiscountry has been dumbed down for decades. Washington, DC has absolutely no business sticking their dirty little noses into the public education systems of states.Public education started on the downhill slope with the establishment of a so called Sec'y of Education. All kinds of feel good stuff like NCLB were mandated without funds for implementation.
LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) "“ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that failing public schools pose her greatest national security concern, one she warned could undermine the United States' ability to lead and to compete in a global economy.
Equal access to educational opportunities, she said, also lies at the heart of one of the nation's most important core values -- the belief in the United States as a true meritocracy.
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"But as a secretary of state, it makes me terrified because ... if we cannot do better in educating all of our people, then we are not going to be competitive in a global economy," she said. "We're going to become protectionist, we're going to turn inward, the United States is not going to lead."
Moreover, she said, the lack of quality education for all children jeopardizes the fundamental American belief that every citizen has the opportunity for success, no matter their background or place of origin.
"If we can't keep that true for every American, we're going to lose who we are, and then we won't lead, and so it is for me the most pressing national security issue," she said.
In my affluent suburb North of Dallas thepublic schools are very good. My son got an excellent education there and is now off at college.
Now, to the point . . . other students at the very same schools are going to graduate with a poor education. The difference is expectations placed upon the student by parents and the culture of the family. In my home books abound and we use extensive vocabulary. Not because we are practicing and polishing our vocabulary, but because we are educated and literate. Other homes have a different culture.
The difference is not $$$, the difference isn't quality of the school, the difference is culture inside the home and inside the neighborhood.
I think formerly even low income, inner city children were encouraged and aspired to lift themselves with an education. I'm afraid that culture has been altered. I don't have a clue how you turn a culture around. I'm not going to worryabout that problem -- I'm just going to take care of my kids and keep ahead of the wave somehow. I didn't make the cultural decline that is occuring; I don't know how to solve it. My children, however, have been cultivated in a manner that they are at least as well educated and exposed to culture as I was when I left home for college.
A stupid public is in a politician's best interests.
Just look at the Obama followers...
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I love Christmas lights. They remind me of the people who voted for Obama. They all hang together; half of them don't work, and the ones that do, aren't that bright.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do
not understand, no explanation is possible.
A golf course is a willful and deliberate misuse of a perfectly good rifle range.
I think formerly even low income, inner city children were encouraged and aspired to lift themselves with an education. I'm afraid that culture has been altered. I don't have a clue how you turn a culture around. I'm not going to worryabout that problem -- I'm just going to take care of my kids and keep ahead of the wave somehow. I didn't make the cultural decline that is occuring; I don't know how to solve it.
Here's how, you do it from the inside-out, that means changing peoples lives, only way I see that happen, is spreading Christ. I work in a group that does an outreach in the inner city of Cleveland,TN (yeah, we have one, surprising enough), and we get services at the Boys and Girls' club, we have outreach events, help out a bit at Habitat for Humanity as well as some other things. We recognize that, I think that's the only way you change people's judgement with hope, love, trust and wisdom. Obama only offers "Hope" people give him their trust. But he's not the answer, and people will only know that if he's elected, if he's not, we'll either go for another round, or he'll not run again in the General Election (might get beaten by Hillary or a someone else), and people in the black and poor communites, eh, people who voted for him in general, will always salivate and think "That's when we had it, I wish he won, I wish he won so bad! I would die to see it happen"(that last sentence might be considered a jab at the intelligence of people who vote for Obama, so I'll just apologize in advance.)
In my affluent suburb North of Dallas the public schools are very good. My son got an excellent education there and is now off at college.
A function of the parents as much, if not more than the public school. Therein lies both the secret and the problem.
Absolutely!!!!! My high school ranks fairly low when it comes to average test scores. Yet some of my classmates did well and were admitted to good colleges. I myself maxed the ACT and got a full academic scholarship. There was no question about me doing well in school. Not meeting my mother's expectations would have meant substantial pain applied to my tail.
On the other hand, some of my former classmates made it clear that their parents could not have cared less about how well they were doing in school. Teachers, even if they aren't great teachers, can still teach. But it's up to the students to learn. And it's up to parents to be parents and make sure that their children are learning the material in school.
Somebody needs to start studying why some kids succeed in "sub-standard" schools instead of why so many fail.
May The Sheep Be With You
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Proud parents of our own "Daddy's Little Girls"
I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
There are other things that come into play as well. Part of that is the attitude of the community toward a good education. Every school bond issue in Lawton, OK has been voted down for years.Theaverage age ofschool buses approaches 20 years. Most folks in Lawton could care less about education.The older folks have the attitude that they have no kids in school so why should they pay for it.
Recently the Lawton school board decreed that kids living within 1.25 miles from school will not be bused to school. This puts a burden on parentswho mustdrive their kids to school. Lots of kids have to walk: Problem is that Lawton has no sidewalks. You heard right-no sidewalks.
Cache, OK has the best school system in OK. Most citizens there support their schools. Recentlysmoked the butt of a friend of mine who has kids in the Cache school system. The idiot voted against a school bond issue. The bond issue did pass.
Rice Cites Education as Top Concern
May The Sheep Be With You 
