(11-07-2015, 04:22 PM)Benton Wrote:
along similar lines, I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about gun control and gun safety, and why we should have gun education in schools. The short if it was I had skeet shooting as part of a two week lesson in middle school Ag. Everybody had to take it and the teacher made everyone learn about gun safety. Even if you didn't shoot (and several students opted not to take part in the final test of safely retrieving, loading and firing the shotgun at skeet.
that district now offers nothing like that. In the past four years, they've had two accidental teen shootings. The class might not have prevented either (and honestly probably wouldn't have) but who knows.
two of the classes i use every day were life skills classes. Home ec and one called consumer math. It was how to balance a check book, simple interest, all that simple stuff you don't exactly learn in algebra. We need more of that. The majority of kids I see are unhireable because they don't know basics. My own son is in advanced classes at school and his councilor is encouraging him to become an engineer. He doesn't know state capitals. He's got know idea how many senators a stare has. He can't make a grilled cheese sandwich.
(11-07-2015, 04:05 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: I'm okay with taxes funding schools, there has to be give and take in every society for it to function.
Schools are worth putting money into to better everyone. Better schools make entire neighborhoods better.
The problem is where the money is spent. Too much goes to the bureaucracy of schools.
No problem with using taxes. But cutting costs on Admins would give the schools a bump to keep top classroom talent How about charging parents a fee. I think if more parents had actual skin in the game they would be involved with their kids education.
In high school, I had to do essay style writing prompts in every course every year (except math classes) to practice writing timed essays for the state standardized tests all PA students had to take in the spring of 11th grade. Just like for the state standardized tests, the facts or correctness of the statements in the essay were irrelevant. It was graded solely on how it looked as an essay. Grammar mistakes were okay as well, as long as they didn't make it difficult to understand what you were writing.
The only research that had to be done was for academic research papers in English classes.
None of this writing is applicable to business communication, the work place or anything in real life. Most of it isn't even relevant to college writing, except maybe the research papers from English class. And almost no one in college, except English major, use MLA formatting, and that was the only thing used in grade school.
(11-07-2015, 04:33 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: No problem with using taxes. But cutting costs on Admins would give the schools a bump to keep top classroom talent How about charging parents a fee. I think if more parents had actual skin in the game they would be involved with their kids education.
So you want to essentially tax parents for their kids' school struggles?
Cutting costs on admins is the right start.
Making it potentially harder on poor families is not.
Giving them the option to send their kids to charter schools or private schools is a better way to get them involved.
There is no way to tax or legislate family involvement. It's largely a cultural thing. It has to start there.
(11-07-2015, 04:33 PM)6andcounting Wrote: In high school, I had to do essay style writing prompts in every course every year (except math classes) to practice writing timed essays for the state standardized tests all PA students had to take in the spring of 11th grade. Just like for the state standardized tests, the facts or correctness of the statements in the essay were irrelevant. It was graded solely on how it looked as an essay. Grammar mistakes were okay as well, as long as they didn't make it difficult to understand what you were writing.
The only research that had to be done was for academic research papers in English classes.
None of this writing is applicable to business communication, the work place or anything in real life. Most of it isn't even relevant to college writing, except maybe the research papers from English class. And almost no one in college, except English major, use MLA formatting, and that was the only thing used in grade school.
The most productive writing classes I took in college were a business class, econ class and poetry.
Poetry seems odd, but it actually forced me out of my comfort zone and taught me a lot about word choice and how the flow of even a history essay can change how it is perceived.
(11-07-2015, 04:37 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: Giving them the option to send their kids to charter schools or private schools is a better way to get them involved.
Anyone can send their kid to a private school. But funds for public education should not go to private schools unless you want to pay for every single student to go to private school.
(11-07-2015, 04:43 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Anyone can send their kid to a private school. But funds for public education should not go to private schools unless you want to pay for every single student to go to private school.
If people who send their kids to private schools still have to pay taxes used to fund public schools then a scholarship or voucher program is absolutely fair.
(11-07-2015, 04:37 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: So you want to essentially tax parents for their kids' school struggles?
Cutting costs on admins is the right start.
Making it potentially harder on poor families is not. Giving them the option to send their kids to charter schools or private schools is a better way to get them involved.
There is no way to tax or legislate family involvement. It's largely a cultural thing. It has to start there.
I highlighted a couple of spots but this will pertain to the whole deal.
I don't see a problem with them paying a users fee. Obviously there are ways to lessen that blow by allowing monthly payments or allowing parents to volunteer at school to pay their fees.
On the opinions .... I agree and this is why the first step in my mind is a users fee. If parents have to write a check or volunteer. Then they can see if their kids school is working or not. No one wants to make a bad investment. And it's time we let these bad schools die off.
(11-07-2015, 05:02 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: I highlighted a couple of spots but this will pertain to the whole deal.
I don't see a problem with them paying a users fee. Obviously there are ways to lessen that blow by allowing monthly payments or allowing parents to volunteer at school to pay their fees.
On the opinions .... I agree and this is why the first step in my mind is a users fee. If parents have to write a check or volunteer. Then they can see if their kids school is working or not. No one wants to make a bad investment. And it's time we let these bad schools die off.
Paying the taxes IS the user fee.
This is as stupid as the "soda tax"
It doesn't discourage bad behavior, it just increases the strain on low income families.
(11-07-2015, 04:40 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: The most productive writing classes I took in college were a business class, econ class and poetry.
Poetry seems odd, but it actually forced me out of my comfort zone and taught me a lot about word choice and how the flow of even a history essay can change how it is perceived.
My school makes every student take what amounts to an unofficial minor in communication. There are 4 general courses about communication (Argument and Research, Public Speaking, Business Communication and Intercultural Communications) along with 1 major specific course focused on the communication skills specifically required for the industry you will use your degree. It was a very useful program to include in the requirement for a degree and there were no timed essays.
(11-07-2015, 05:11 PM)6andcounting Wrote: My school makes every student take what amounts to an unofficial minor in communication. There are 4 general courses about communication (Argument and Research, Public Speaking, Business Communication and Intercultural Communications) along with 1 major specific course focused on the communication skills specifically required for the industry you will use your degree. It was a very useful program to include in the requirement for a degree and there were no timed essays.
Sounds incredibly useful.
Most colleges seem to focus on A&R type essays over practical ones.
(11-07-2015, 05:03 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: Paying the taxes IS the user fee.
This is as stupid as the "soda tax"
It doesn't discourage bad behavior, it just increases the strain on low income families.
Ofc it is. But if you send your kids to private or charter schools you are still paying. And you have the ability to not pay twice. This would encourage choice .
(11-07-2015, 05:13 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: Sounds incredibly useful.
Most colleges seem to focus on A&R type essays over practical ones.
It's hard to compare to other schools that I never attended, but everything seems to be geared to being relevant to what you are going to have to do in your industry.
The President of my university said they'd never consider offering liberal arts or poli science (among other things) as majors because tuition is too expensive to give out a worthless degree. It started as a business college, but has grown into a university made up of 5 schools. I guess being rooted in business and actuarial science has kept numbers and performance focused as opposed to taking on the sheltered, pretentious academia stereotype of so many schools. It's definitely not just a business/math/engineering focused university anymore, but that's how it used to be 15 - 20 years ago.
(11-07-2015, 05:22 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Ofc it is. But if you send your kids to private or charter schools you are still paying. And you have the ability to not pay twice. This would encourage choice .
I fail to see any upside in what you are suggesting
(11-07-2015, 04:49 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: If people who send their kids to private schools still have to pay taxes used to fund public schools then a scholarship or voucher program is absolutely fair.
It is not fair unless every single student can get sent to a private school.
Everyone benefits from public education, not just people who send their kids to public schools. So the fact that people who send their kids to private schools pay taxes for public education is irrelevant. Even people with no kids pay taxes for public education because everyone benefits from public education. The only way school vouchers can work is if every single kid gets one.
Yea, we devote time in 11th grade for resume writing and job interviews. We also have a graduation requirement where you either take 2 years of a language, 2 advance tech classes, or 2 classes where you learn about finding and getting a job.
"I was never taught how to pay taxes"
We teach you all the taxes in government/civics class
"i was never taught how to vote"
Again, government class taught you about elections.
"I was never taught how to look after my health"
It's called health class
"Never spent a lesson on current events"
Again, government class and almost every social studies class
"I was never taught what laws there are"
Umm... government class again. You can then take Law and the Citizen as an elective.
"Financial Advice"
Financial literacy is the last quarter of govt. There's also econ and a financial literacy math
"I was never taught my human rights"
Seriously? It's called ***** goverment class
"Stocks and money"
See my response to financial advice
I stopped at this point. This guy clearly didn't pay attention in school.
(11-08-2015, 05:20 AM)fredtoast Wrote: It is not fair unless every single student can get sent to a private school.
Everyone benefits from public education, not just people who send their kids to public schools. So the fact that people who send their kids to private schools pay taxes for public education is irrelevant. Even people with no kids pay taxes for public education because everyone benefits from public education. The only way school vouchers can work is if every single kid gets one.
You are confusing every single kid gets one with every single kid gets a chance at one.
(11-07-2015, 03:19 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: I know this video is a few months old, and some have probably seen it or heard about it already, but I was wondering what your opinions are on the subject matter? This video (among other things) was actually used in our school district by students, and a handful of teachers, to start a discussion and ramp up support for including more transferable 'life classes' into the curriculum. So, what do you think?
The video probably gets in its own way while trying to deliver a relevant message. From the early 20th century up until the present surveys of parents across the US have consistently shown the #1 thing parents in communities large and small, urban and rural, want their kids to learn in school is citizenship. And, from the early 20th century up until the present schools have gradually spent less and less time teaching it, and it is now almost entirely absent from every curriculum. As Luke in Cool Hand Luke said, "What we got here is a failure to communicate."
JOHN ROBERTS: From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly so that you will come to know the value of justice... I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
(11-08-2015, 12:07 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: You are confusing every single kid gets one with every single kid gets a chance at one.
No I am not. Are you in favor of committing enough money to vouchers for every single kid to get one? Because as soon as a majority start getting vouchers no kid is going to stay behind in a failing school.
Maybe the ones that are just to poor to handle the transportation issue, but surely you are not suggesting that we just leave those poor kids behind, are you?
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