My oldest son has his masters in math to go with his education degree and so he he's been teaching Algebra and Calculus at a local high school here in Florida. I am wondering now if Devos as Education Secretary will kill his career? He works very hard.... is a great teacher and is a huge asset to his high school and to the kids he teaches. If America has turned it's back on him with Trump and now Devos I am going to recommend that he turn his back on America and get out of teaching and in to the private sector with his masters degree.
Why is DeVos going to kill his career? He's a teacher, are you thinking she'll close schools? She's been a big advocate for Charter Schools, which we have plenty of here in Houston, but public schools and teachers aren't closing and teachers aren't losing jobs.
Dave, you need to learn about charter schools. Your son has nothing to worry about. I predict that if she tries to impose her personal philosophy on the public education system in the U.S., she will fail miserably. Contrary to the comments from the helicopter parent segment of society, public education is strong and successful. Because it is supported by taxes, and the urban school districts are experiencing dwindling tax bases, urban schools are suffering, and charter schools are viable options. However, outside of the cities, charter schools can't compete with the quality of public education. The key to success for charter schools is adequate funding and effective management. Many charter schools have both, but many have one and not the other, hence they fail. Bottom line: Charter schools never will replace public education. Won't even come close. They will, however provide an option for, 1) urban youth who otherwise are stuck in failing public school districts, and 2) other children whose parents for one reason or another, don't like public education but can't afford private schools without aid from vouchers.
We have lots of public school districts in NJ with 50% grad rates. If you can't get through a public high school with a diploma then you are a constant danger to hurt yourself walking.
My son teaches at a suburban Tampa school that is a quality high school. If their funds are re-directed or cut Because of a clueless billionaire's folly and his already modest earnings are limited or reduced he needs to get out of public education and provide for his wife and two daughters.
Proponents for charter schools and vouchers try to make that case as a smokescreen to cloud the real issues of society, the failure of families to provide their children with the incentive to learn or to walk without hurting themselves. To be sure, this conflict won't go away. The argument over who's to blame for a child's inability to learn, the family or the school, is polarizing. Relax. Won't happen.
Hate to tell you Dave but under Obama, under Clinton, under any President that you like a teacher is always going to be under paid and certainly teachers do leave the profession so that they can earn more money to better support their families.
Teachers are woefully underpaid for what they contribute..... that's true Terry . It's a scrimpy way to make a living. So it's even more incredible that anyone can get the notion that there should be cuts in any education budget that would negatively impact Public Education.
Why is the federal government involved in education in any way? Shouldn't this be a local, county and state fucntion only? And in that order? Also, remember, if you are in a union you get paid according to contracted scale. Peformance, dedication, ability and results have nothing to do with it. Tenure rules.
Look at some of those tax resistant ultra-conservative rural red state areas on the map and tell me if they will vote to pay taxes for the funding of local schools. This country is already ranking somewhere in the 20s internationally in the quality and performance areas of education. There is no room for slippage and reduction and redirecting funds to a billionaire's pet project.
I believe that there is plenty of data out there to show that funding is not the problem with our education system.
Yes. There is a small role for the federal government in providing assistance to treat poverty-stricken kids via free and reduced meals and other forms of aid that local and state authorities either can't afford or choose not to fund. However, it's always the proverbial camel with his nose in the tent. Because the feds are involved, the door is open to greater involvement. We've seen it ebb and flow over the years.We may be in for a period wherein the camel creeps farther into the tent.
http://www.teacherportal.com/teacher-salaries-by-state/ The states with the lowest average teacher salaries also happen to be traditional red states: Alabama Arkansas Fla Ks Ms Mo Montana Neb Tenn SouCarolina Texas W Va Oklahoma Do you think that by paying teachers the lowest possible wage that you can attract the best teachers?
I respectfully beg to differ with you, Stu. Yes, there are many non-urban and rural school districts who are adequately funded and who do an excellent job of educating their students. There also are many urban school districts who are hanging by a thread and cannot afford the manpower or facilities to provide an adequate learning environment for their students. If you're referring to the quality of the instruction, that's a subjective judgement, usually based on individual student performance. It's not uncommon for parents whose child is not performing up to standards to blame the teachers and ignore their role in the process. If you have data from objective sources that refutes what I'm saying, I'd like to see it. I'm willing to eat crow if I'm wrong.
Back in the late 90's a federal judge not only ordered that Kansas City Schools receive increased funding. Incredibly, the court increased taxes to raise the ordered funds. (This despite the Constitution reserving taxation to the legislatures.) So what did all these millions accomplish? Here's the result: https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/money-school-performance-lessons-kansas-city-desegregation-experiment And while we have some excellent schools the national performance compared to other countries it pretty pathetic. We come up with crap like common core and new math and in the end, our kids are mediocre at best in math and other subjects. Notice that we spend twice as much as they do in the Slovic Republic but our results are the same . If it isn't the money what is it? Dumber kids, poorer teachers or God awful administrators? https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/american-schools-vs-the-world-expensive-unequal-bad-at-math/281983/
Gip, for starters, I think you would agree that the Cato Institute is not an objective source. However, citing the KC situation has merit. To be clear, I disagreed with Stu's sweeping contention that "money is not the problem". I believe it is PART of the problem in certain locations like large cities, but it I am at fault for not being clear in giving equal weight to the crippling impact of poverty on the inability of kids to learn. That certainly was and is the case in KC, where enormous funding could not reverse the problem, which is that the kids just could not learn. To use this singular example to generally blame the educators alone for the problem sadly misses the mark. I've met firsthand a number of dedicated and talented educators who try to overcome the ongoing cycle of poverty-ridden families who don't know how to provide their kids with incentives to learn. It can be a thankless effort, but they keep trying. Still, there are kids from povert-ridden families who want to learn badly enough that they work to overcome their shortcomings and end up doing well, going to college, and living successful lives. The educators and administrators are neither fully to blame, nor do they deserve 100% of the credit for the success stories. I don't want to keep rambling, but I'll say one more thing. Do you really want to throw the "we're behind other countries" at me? How does comparing our kids to kids in the Slovic Republic affect our kids' potential to be successful in our society? Or, for that matter, in the Slovic Republic if they should choose to go there to live?
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-education-spending-tops-global-list-study-shows/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/school-efficiency-report_n_5768776.html I don't like being described as making "sweeping contentions"...but maybe it sounded like that. My mother was a teacher and a damn good one. She had a master's degree in psychology and taught advanced classes in a school that had lots of underprivileged students. Many of them still stop me and tell me how much they remember her. She taught for years...an entire career. I believe that like so much of our society, (particularly those elements supported by our tax dollars)...it isn't how much we are spending as much as it is where the money is going. I am not the end-all in knowledge about the triumphs and foibles of our educational system...but those are my beliefs until somebody convinces me otherwise. Yeah the states with lowest teacher salaries happen to be red states. What the hell does that prove? Those states have lower salaries overall...along with lower cost of living. What? you expect a teacher in Arkansas to make the same amount as a teacher in Silicon Valley? In New York City?
Thanks, Stu. Both articles are interesting and informative. I didn't mean to imply that you're a "sweeping contention" kind of guy. I know you're not. I just focused on the "money is not the problem" and went on from there. I apologize for the inference. Your mother clearly was a model educator. Congratulations to her on a successful career. I've met many like her, and I admire them all. I agree with your comment that it isn't how much we are spending as much as it is where it's going. My friends who were superintendents would agree with you. I believe most teachers also would agree with you. The more dollars that reach the classroom, the better is the potential to reach the kids in a positive way. Unfortunately, that is not universally the case. We could start a whole new conversation on that topic alone.