[TriLUG] OT: Education

[Warren Myers]

I'm not a big fan of the NCLB either. It doesn't address the major issue of
getting decent teachers. Teaching is not a high-enough paid job for people
to opt to teach because of the money (in most places). The do it either
because they love to teach (very few out of the teachers I've met), or
because they couldn't do anything better (the more common scenario).

Most people who become teachers weren't at the tops of their classes when
they were in school, which means they tend to teach towards the middle of
the pack. Following this cycle for just a few iterations leads to people
teaching now who probably wouldn't have passed school 30 years ago.

It really shows what happens when the government tries to do something that
private parties can (and do) do better. Most private schools have
better-educated students than the public schools because they get better
teachers (ie they pay more). It's why a voucher system frightens lawmakers:
they know that if such a thing existed, the public schools would have to
compete, which most can't.

WMM

On 9/26/05, Mark Fowle <mark at thefowles.com> wrote:
>
> I have to disagree with NCLB (or as it is refered to as No child left
> untouched, No school left standing) -- It was a good idea (accountability)
> - but never was funded at the federal level and most states wont put money
> into it - instead, like here in North Carolina, they play the shuffle
> game.
>
> The whole problem is that the school system is based on an industrial
> design, but no one knows what it's suppose to do any more -- I have been
> involved with the charter school movement since 98 - and I think it could
> be a good thing for education.
>
> I agree with you that parents don't care (and unfortuantely neither do
> most kids) - A voucher system would be great (charter schools were the NC
> answer to quick and easy) -- The sad part is we are dubming down education
> and before long, the population as well.... (just my opinion)
>
> The school I help with IT does have linux :-) (It's the only way to go --
> except, believe it or not, the state requres windows only for computer
> testing -- go figure)
>
> - Mark
>
> > Unfortunately, the "fixing of schools" has been far from lip service.
> > "No Child Left Behind", a federal initiative to improve the quality of
> > public education, has not only been implemented at great cost and
> > fanfare, but it's largely created (perhaps "worsened") the "teach to
> > the test" problem you described.
> >
> > If you want to fix public schools, you need to fix the problem, not
> > the symptoms. In my book, the problem is the vast number of parents
> > that don't seem to care what quality of education their children get.
> >
> > In the short term, I agree with your "charter schools are doubly
> > doomed" comment. They are an "alternative" to a state-provided poor
> > education which, while an "alternative", are not necessarily an
> > improvement. Personally, I'd rather see a voucher system. If people
> > can vote with their tax dollars, someone (public or private) will
> > begin to step up to provide a better value proposition for the tax
> > payer that's interested in a better education for their kids.
> >
> > Shane O.
> >
> > P.S. Put LINUX in our school computer labs!!! The price is right &
> > the technology is sound/appropriate. (wanted to make the post
> > relevant for the list...)
> >
> >> When somethings broken you tend to want to fix it -- except for schools
> >> -
> >> fixing them is just lip service.
> >>
> >
> > --
> > Shane O.
> > ========
> > Shane O'Donnell
> > shaneodonnell at gmail.com
> > ====================
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--
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"God may not play dice with the universe, but something strange is going on
with the prime numbers." --Paul Erdős