Seriously, we have been declining ever since the Feds decided we needed one. Frankly, with results like this, why do we allow the NEA any say in our children's future?
__________________
John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
It is hard to see from reading that article how the Department of Education is in any way responsible for the relative decline in education in the U.S. compared to other countries. The countries that seem to be doing the best, like China, have central government agencies with far more authority over the education of its citizens than the U.S. Department of Education does.
The problem in the U.S. is that education is considered a local issue and funding and curriculum are determined at the local level. There are some areas in the U.S. that value education far less than others and devote far fewer resources to education than is neccessary to be competitive on a global basis. The example was brought up that a third of American adults do not know how long it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun. Do you really think that the percentage of people that knew the correct answer to that question was the the same in Mississippi as it was in Massachusetts? I am sure that there are regions of this country, the ones that devote the least amount of resources to education, where many people do not even know that the Earth orbits the Sun. While it is true that Massachusetts is a much wealthier state than Mississippi and has more resources to devote to education, it also puts a higher priority on education and devotes more funds to education on both an absolute and a relative basis.
There is nothing the Department of Education can do to force local communities to devote more resources to education and raise their educational standards as long as education is treated as a local perogative in the United States.
I have to disagree. Before we ever had the department of education, people excelled in learning. It's been since the federal government has gotten involved in education it has gone down hill. More and more resources are diverted from actually educating our kids to being overhead in the system to comply with all the frisking mandates. Even if you don't think their involvement has been detrimental to education in America, you would be hard press to explain how they are benifit to education since it's been going down hill since their inception.
I just found out my son has to once again, waste valuable classroom time taking the Iowa Tests again. I might understand that public education must do it because parents surrender their kids to the machine. I on the otherhand am paying for his education out of my pocket. I should be allowed to tell the Feds to piss off. I want my kid learning not testing. However, I can't do that.
I think when it comes down to it, it follows the sales rule 101. Anything for free isn't appreciated. China and India doesn't have free education for all. It's for only a select few who give a crap and I bet it isn't free like our system.
__________________
John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Last edited by Fieldmouse; 09-26-2010 at 02:31 PM.
I have to disagree. Before we ever had the department of education, people excelled in learning. It's been since the federal government has gotten involved in education it has gone down hill. More and more resources are diverted from actually educating our kids to being overhead in the system to comply with all the frisking mandates. Even if you don't think their involvement has been detrimental to education in America, you would be hard press to explain how they are benifit to education since it's been going down hill since their inception.
Goodness, i find myself agreeing with FM.
When a public school district gets strapped for cash they lay off teachers. There are counselors, administrators and other strap hangers in the school system who cannot be laid off because of unfunded federal mandates. This is totally wrong, the feds should keep their long noses out of education.
The problem in the U.S. is that education is considered a local issue and funding and curriculum are determined at the local level.
Funding has absolutely nothing to do with it. This country ranks #3 in the world in $ spent per student and yet we continue to fall farther and farther behind.
The real problem is that public education is primarily a government monopoly. Allow public education to be privately contracted and base those contract and the school admin and teachers jobs on student performance. Along those same lines allow parents to choose where to send their kids to school and the schools that are failing get their teachers/admin replaced and/or funding reduced and sent to the schools that are excelling.
Then, as with anything ran by the government, the absurd wasteful spending. Quit spending money on things like cell phone services, sex education, psychiatric counseling, lifestyle acceptance education, weeks of sick days for admin, mandatory pay raises for admin, reduce sports funding and apply it to actual education, etc... etc... etc...
Quote:
Goodness, i find myself agreeing with FM.
__________________
"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency........... Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
Common sense and facts win again! I love the comparison between MA and MS--lol. One gives you a traitor and walking gaffe machine (John Kerry) along with a drunkard murderer who's family connections were the difference between a life in prison or a life spent in elected office (Ted Kennedy) as two of their most famous residents...the other gives us the head of the Republican Governor's Association (Haley Barbour). Yep, just a bunch of dumb hicks......
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
The Lawton, OK school board was on TV last evening. They are going to have 2 about million fewer dollars to spend next year. The board refuses to cut any of the non-teacher positions. Last year they stopped busing kids who live less than one mile from school. This is a big safety issue because Lawton has no sidewalks.
Ooops, I'm in trouble with the Misses. My son is thinking about doing what I did every time I took the Iowas. Can you say Christmas tree the answer sheet?
__________________
John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Why do we have the Department of Education?
