| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| The Great Education Rip-Off |
| 2011-04-19 |
| h/t Gates of Vienna It has taken a severe recession, combined with rising costs for gas and the weekly grocery list, for Americans to begin to seriously question where their tax dollars are going and why. As individuals, as families, and communities, we can no longer be indifferent or profligate. The events in Wisconsin where the teacher's union led to protests against collective bargaining has made many Americans begin to question all those TV ads about what a great job teachers are doing and the reassuring message that it's all about the kids. No, it's all about salaries, health benefits, and pensions that far exceed those in the private sector. ... A recent Policy Analysis (No. 662) published by the Cato Institute on March 10th and written by Adam Schaeffer is titled "They Spend WHAT? The Real Cost of Public Schools." The analysis is based on a review of district budgets and state records for the nation's five largest metro areas and the District of Columbia. "It reveals that, on average, per-pupil spending in these areas is 44% higher than officially reported." In other words, taxpayers simply had no idea how big a part of their local and state budget the educational system actually represented. That is deceit on a massive scale. The money quote If a district is spending $30,000 per child, surely that is enough to ensure a high-quality education. If the school buildings are nonetheless in disrepair and the kids can't read, then there is good reason to suspect that a massive share of that money is being wasted. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #14 At least he didn't visit Pakistan or disappear with no known or recorded address, into the streets of NYC for two years. Lots of National Guard folks in Afghanistan right now. I'm proud of them. Always have been. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-04-19 22:38 |
| #13 Quayle joined the Indiana Army National Guard [journalism unit] and served from 1969–1975, attaining the rank of sergeant. Maybe it was the 'Army' part. Couldn't have been the 'journalism'... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-04-19 22:30 |
| #12 Join the Navy, learn to weld,.....The Other Beldar Didn't help Dan Quayle. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-04-19 21:17 |
| #11 When I went to the college you could work your way through school, i.e. college was affordable for nearly everyone who wanted to go. Today students often go into debt for 100-150K for their college education. As The Other Beldar said going into the military, getting training such as welding, and then using the GI bill to pick up specific courses might be a good way to go. A friend's son got training in welding, started his own company and was making more than an exceptionally good living. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-04-19 21:14 |
| #10 P. S. Her absences have not been due to health issues. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-04-19 17:16 |
| #9 I personally know one teacher here that has missed 52 school days and still has her job. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-04-19 17:15 |
| #8 Right now, if asked, I would recommend being a welder rather than being an IT worker, to a young man finishing high school. As a welder he will not be competing with cheap IT from overseas, and H1B who lower salaries, all while trying to pay off his student loans. Join the Navy, learn to weld, then get out and do it for a living, and take accounting and business classes at night on the GI bill so you can eventually run your own company. |
| Posted by: The Other Beldar 2011-04-19 16:41 |
| #7 Yet I keep hearing the statement that for every dollar "invested" in education we get a $7 return.Yet somehow I got a better education for less money per pupil than my son, and the only reason his son's not getting a lower quality education is because he's home schooled. |
| Posted by: Fred 2011-04-19 10:43 |
| #6 Get rid of the Teacher's unions, the Department of Education and sit down with a clean piece of paper and start over. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-04-19 10:06 |
| #5 If a district is spending $30,000 per child That's considerably more than charged by the International School of Brussels, one of the top-rated American-style private schools in the International School system. ISB students get annual class trips abroad from 4th grade on, preparation for the very rigourous International Baccalaureate diploma, several foreign languages, and tutoring in their home language if there is not a regular class offered in it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-04-19 08:26 |
| #4 We don't Care! We don't have to! We're the |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-04-19 08:13 |
| #3 Just like the UK National Health Service problems the US has an equaivalent "National Education Service" and all the same problems that entails. Get the government out of providing treatment, and get it out of providing schools! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-04-19 06:13 |
| #2 IOW: "We work for the government, and we're here to help ourselves." |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-04-19 05:09 |
| #1 AFAIAC, education has been the go-to cash cow for governments at all levels to cover deficits. You vote for a new school and half of it gets put to use covering something else. |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-04-19 04:40 |