[Lazydriver]

This article pretty much sums the problems we have. Take a look at the attached survey on the KLAS website, and see what you could cut.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Public Weighs In on School Budget Problems

[tijlover]

I say we put the high school curriculum on the Internet, just like Internet universities, and get that "worthless" piece of paper from home.

Internet universities are, eventually, going to leave big university towns ghost towns some day. They're rapidly becoming relics of the past. In many respects, they've outgrown their usefulness.

But the powerful education lobby in this country would rather bankrupt the country than hear of any alternatives.

[Atlas1337]

Las Vegas was ahead of the nation when it legalized gambling. Let's innovate again and privatize the entire school system, K-12. Offer parents vouchers to cover some of the schooling cost, and let competition boost quality & drive down prices.

Raising taxes won't work. Most people in Vegas aren't stuck here -- I'd leave if Nevada ever introduced an income tax or if my property taxes got too high.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Turn the schools into casinos and lower the legal gambling age to 6. Imagine all that lunch money being fed into the economy. With that kind of money we could fund a few more construction projects where you never actually see anyone building anything.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Internet universities are, eventually, going to leave big university towns ghost towns some day. They're rapidly becoming relics of the past. In many respects, they've outgrown their usefulness.

ROFL.

Yeah, right.

[yellowsnow]

Legalize the lottery with all, 100%, as is forever, of the monies to go to education. Everything else is legal here, why not the lotto?

[happyhunting]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Legalize the lottery with all, 100%, as is forever, of the monies to go to education. Everything else is legal here, why not the lotto?

I'm all for legalizing the lottery, think it would be a great idea to put that towards the schools......however it wont stop money mismanagement, administrative bloating and general mismanagement of the schools. We need to impliment something there too. Californias had the lottery for nearly 25 years and some of the worst schools. But I would like it legalized......

[SportyandMisty]

Why Can't Johnny Read (and Do Arithmetic)?

Here is a link to another thread. It is insightful even though it is about math education in another state.

Originally Posted by summers19

Some of you may find this link very interesting...She discusses the pros of 'old' math versus 'new' math (or Everyday Math, Terk).


YouTube - Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

[von949]

I blame the parents, not the teachers.

[quixotic59]

I promised myself I wouldn't get involved in this thread because it hits way too close to home. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the video. I have taught math at the secondary level for 23 years. I have been subjected to no less than 11 "new and improved" ways to teach math over that time. One year actually had a change in mid year.
Besides the obvious foolishness of most of this hogwash and the fact that it revolves around the idea of not requiring students to do actual (God forbid) memorization, learning or work, is the fact that much of it is a by product of "public" pressure.
Somewhere along the way, some bright politician had the idea to sell parents on the idea that if Johnny wasn't cutting the mustard in school it wasn't Johnny's fault but the school's. Sooooo, the politician got together with the local school board and the textbook publishers, kickbacks started flying around, and lo and behold, a "new and improved" curriculum complete with new textbooks that would relieve Johnny of all the cumbersome learning he was being asked to do. Johnny no longer worried about how to multiply numbers, he reflected on how he FELT about multiplying numbers.
Having been educated as an engineer first, I was well aware that if Johnny wanted a real job, he damn well better learn how to multiply two numbers together by hand. But nooooooooooooo, I was just a mean old dumb teacher and was expected to shut up and do as I was told so as not to anger Johnny's mommy who would call the school board and complain.
The sick part of all this is that in this convoluted process, teachers became the enemy, "reformers" became the heroes, schools became sewers and now we have a whole bunch of loons running around claiming that schools are broken, bad teachers abound like bed bugs, and the only way Johnny will learn is to destroy teacher unions, layoff teachers left and right, privatize schools and slash and burn school budgets.
Now Johnny's mommy is voting for idiots like Gov. Walker in Wisconsin who is one of those "reformers" who probably spent a fortune on Everyday Math books for his schools.
You know what Johnny's mommy? I hope you like the taste of what you're chewin' on, cause you made it!!
As for Johnny, Everyday Math is right, because if Johnny is lucky he'll get a job in Mcdonalds selling fries, where the register does all the math anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!