Luisa may want to look at this-

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/index.htm

I didn't realize that Gatto had fleshed out his ideas about American education. We apparently see a lot of this the same way. When you look at his ideas remember that he was New York's teacher of the year in '91.

What I didn't express very well was that the majority of parents I knew growing up were very much involved in their children's lives. My niece and nephew are at state school and trust me - there isn't an aspect of their lives that my sister doesn't currently have input into.

Perhaps British schools involve parents more? When I was at secondary school (12+) I can't remember a month going past without some sort of communication between the school and parents for one reason or another- school fete, musical, carol concert, voting for the Board of Governors, athletics team schedule, Parents' Evening etc etc.

The parents of course. I can't stress how much I believe that. It's very difficult to take a child from a home where there is no respect, discipline, love of learning, manners etc etc and expect them to perform well in school. And parents are responsible - ultimately - for their children's education. But they are also responsible for their children's health - it doesn't mean that every parent should be capable of performing surgery on the kitchen table. I know it's stretching the point, but it is more cost effective to educate children together and I believe it is reasonable to raise taxes to do so.
We have had a right-leaning watered-down socialist government for the last 10 years. In the last 100 years Conservative rule has far exceeded Labour or Liberal rule. I grew up seeing access to education as practically a right, rather than a socilalist ideal. And I grew up under a right-wing Prime Minister.

I prefer to see it as a form of freedom. It doesn't matter whether your parent is poor. They might have a low IQ, or they might simply be lazy. If you work hard and are blessed with some natural talent you will be able to use the education society has given you to benefit yourself and indirectly society in return. I thought that was one of the central tenets of American life - that any child can grow up to be the President?

This how I think we can ease the situation.

Pay the teachers more and on performance. Teachers get paid shit and no one can deny that. No one wants to become a teacher anymore so the would be best in the buisness go off in different fields. I also think that paying teachers based on how long they have been working is horrible for the system. Teachers have no motiviation to teach well and like any other person, will do the minimum and try to just get by.

Along with bad parents, this is another big hitch in our system. Without any motivated teachers, there is no way to make a class interesting for the students, even kids interested in that topic. Get good teachers back in the system and it will start to flourish.

But don't the rich kids parents who send their kids to private schools also pay taxes that subsidize the public schools? In which case, isn't that an imbalance in the educational funding? After all, they are paying taxes for school system to which their children are not participatory in? So, just for the sake of arguement, shouldn't the private system be subsidized so the parents can get benefits from their tax dollars as well?

Keep in mind, I have not changed my stand on the issue. I just want to hear all sides here :)

My take on it is that it's no different than celebrities paying 40% tax on their income, which amongst other things helps to subsidise drug counselling and treatment on the NHS. They pay again to book themselves into a private clinic when their own addictions get out of hand. If it's important to you, and you can afford it - go ahead. Just don't take funding away from people who have no other choice.

We pay taxes for the benefit of society - so that poor people's children have a chance to grow up to benefit society in return.

No, no, no, no, no. Everyone must contribute to paying for public schools or the system will fall apart. It is like having the choice to pay social security taxes or give to private charity, if you were given the choice and everyone gave to private charity then welfare would fall apart. It is the parent's choice to send their kids to private schooling, they shouldn't hurt other kids becuause of their choices.

This is often repeated, but I'm not sure I believe it. There are lots of teachers in my family. All of them are able to lead solid middle class lives. I briefly considered teaching when I graduated from college. I had no certificate, so I was only qualified to work in a private school. Those private schools really did pay shit to beginning teachers.

I know that teacher pay varies wildly by location, but in my hometown, Arlington, VA, a beginning teacher get $42K, the average teacher salary is $69K and the max teacher salary is $91K. I don't think they are underpaid. See page 37 of this report for all the jurisdictions in the DC area. By the way, Prince George's County, which is a high crime area in Maryland, with many minorities, has a similar pay scale. Beginners $41K, Average $55K and max $84K. Those schools are worse than Arlington's schools, so it's not just about money.

Also, those figures are for nine months work.

Griff: Thanks for the John Taylor Gatto link. I put that up a couple of years ago when we had this conversation in a different form. I see there is a lack of parental engagement and a desire to make the schools responsible for *everything*. But I think that is also part of the zeitgeist; you know, complete abdication of personal responsibility.

As Piercehawkeye points out: Maybe the system falling apart wouldn't be the worst thing. (somewhat tongue in cheek) It is being disemboweled by the current admin anyway. "No child left behind" could also be "no child allowed to proceed" depending on how you look at it. The push to make schools "faith based" would be another way of funneling an enormous amount of tax money (which would still be collected, just redirected) from schools to halliburton and bechtel etc.

An educated populace is a liability for our current admin and they know it. You can't have a democracy with out an educated populace.

I need to eat lunch now. and then have recess.

Speaking of lunch, at our local school the kids get a 20 minute lunch break. The grade schoolers have lunch at 10:30 in order to accomodate the middle and high schoolers in shifts in the cafeteria. Recess? 15 minutes.

That's not living, I wouldn't wish that on an enemy.

Glatt: Well maybe it was just where I came from. I think my school paid almost three times less than the surrounding schools so that issue got pounded in my head year after year. Teachers do get a lot of benifits so if a teacher has a spouse that makes a decent living they could live pretty well together.

Wise words. We don't elect officals on issues anymore (did we ever?) but on popularity. Sometimes I get the feeling that the presidential race is more suited to be a Homecoming King kind race than an actual poltical race.

I doubt it. Most teachers I know do so much work from home that if you averaged it out to an hourly or weekly rate of work it would be way more than 9 months work. Bear in mind also, that just because the schools close for 9 months, does not mean that teachers stop working for the other three. Most teachers I know do a lot of work during the holidays: administration type work; learner progress charts; marking work; writing lesson plans; engaging in additional training to keep up to date; escorting classes of children on school camping trips etc.

My experience is different. Public schools were more flexible whereas the private (read Roman Catholic) schools were of the grind 'em down and form them into drones, regimen.

Living in the suburbs, bordering on rural, public school was local and for High School, bussed to the city. They had three High Schools, Classical, Commerce and Trade. The names pretty well describe the schools goals but it worked. Then when it was my turn, my town and the next town, built a regional High School, which I had to attend or go to private(RC) school.

Now instead of three choices with three distinct paths, there was Public/Private school that was college prep or skate. Either you were going to college or they didn't give a shit ....as long as you weren't disruptive. Here's your diploma. You can't support yourself? We're always looking for bus drivers and crossing guards.

A halfway decent system should realize that some students can't or won't go to college, and provide alternatives. But hey, don't blame me....I just pay thousands every year, I have no input.:rolleyes:

What do private schools teach? Why do conservative Christian colleges do particularly poor at education? This was demonstrated in the Cellar on 3 Aug 2006 entitled:
Evolution’s Backers in Kansas Start Counterattack Substancially missing in their curriculum was math and science. Calculus and statistics not taught. No wonder a student is so easily manipulated in attributing it all to god. As one student from a Christian College noted (when his only math is called business math - better called accounting); we are being trained to spread the word. How is that any different from Middle East Madrassas so criticized by conservative western leaders; schools that also train extremism – religious inspired politics? Why would we criticize Middle East governments for financing their 'private' schools and yet do same domestically?

Just like reasoning for Saddam’s WMDs, this advantage by financing private schools is predicated on popular myths. If the problem is quality of education in public schools, then fix the problem. Instead micromangers want to impose massive programs from the top without first learning the problem. Will throwing money at a problem solve it? Yes when the micromanger comes from business schools. But then those same people said Einstein could run any restaurant better – a concept taught to micromanagers in business schools.

Will making class sized smaller solve all problems? Yes where the micromanger read some study – rather than also read the other studies that demonstrate no. But again, the devil is in the details. Micromanagement is the concept behind “No child left behind”. I don’t know any education industry professional who talks kindly of that micromagement example. Details quickly get lost in executive summaries and micromanagement. Forgetting details – such as what is the problem – and taxpayers should now finance private schools.

Nothing would solve all problems.

Making class size smaller would solve some problems. If class size were irrelevant, then there would be lecture halls in elementary schools.

The public school, which contribute to fabulous American success in 1900s, is an investment by every worker. Only countries that educated everyone achieved. Even if it is an illegal immigrant who will be here the rest of his life - we all pay for his education because that is investing in America's future.

The average student costs more than $20,000 annually to educate properly. You want to send your kid elsewhere? Fine. But like the single man and grandparents - we all pay annually to educate kids in public schools. We all must make that investment annually. That was America's secret to success. That invest is necessary for America 20 and 30 years from now. Unfair is to not have everyone paying annually for the education system.

Want to send your kid to a private school? Fine. Nobody is stopping you. But still, just like every taxpayer who does not have kids, you must pay for a public school system - to invest in the nation.