Public education good or bad?

[comana]

This is to discuss whether or not the concept is good or bad. Not necessarily how the system is currently failing in some cities.

Some thoughts:
1. Should it be the government's responsibility to guarantee an education for every child?
2. If not, how would a completely private system be better?
3. What about public universities, should the government pay 100% , continue to subsidize only, or leave higher education to the private sector?

It is not my intent that this discussion move into the content of what schools teach, although, I'm sure it will anyway.

 

[Ninja Turtles]

I'll speak on the university level stuff. People should familiarize themselves with somehting called the NIH. They provide a lot of research money to public and private universities. If you follow trends in research, a lot has moved from private to public as that's where the discoveries are being made.

The one big issue with private institutions is that because profit is the huge motive for funding, less money will be allocated for less popular things, and when you're talking about disease research public funding is critical.

If someone is for 100% private, to me that just leans on the side of ideological hackery and it's a definite sign that the person isn't really involved in the education field in the first place.

 

[Machjo]

As for public education, is it good? i think education ought to be compulsory for all. And who should pay? Every mature man and woman is responsible for the education of every child. In other words, if a child's parents can pay for his education, great. If not, then we are responsible to pay for that child's education, either by giving the money to the school directly, or by the government paying through our taxes. I would say that is a god-given duty upon every adult.

 

[butterfoot]

As for public education, is it good? i think education ought to be compulsory for all. And who should pay? Every mature man and woman is responsible for the education of every child. In other words, if a child's parents can pay for his education, great. If not, then we are responsible to pay for that child's education, either by giving the money to the school directly, or by the government paying through our taxes. I would say that is a god-given duty upon every adult.

I would agree with you because those that can not afford it shouldn't be deprived of an education. I also think that Higher education should be affordable for those of lower incomes.


-cw

 

[jayem]

All of our worldwide economic competitors--Germany, Japan, China, Korea, etc,. provide rigorous public education for their children. India, in particular, has free universities where students study science and engineering that are fully equal to our best, i.e., Cal Tech, or MIT. If we can't provide world class public education for everyone who wants it, especially in math, the physical and biological sciences, and language, our future is bleak.

 

[Antoninus Verus]

Public education- Good idea, bad carry-out

The problem with the US education is that it hardly ever changes its base but it just keeps piling on new stuff for students to learn. We need to go back, select things that are not needed for this society to survive, and eliminate them. The education system needs a TOTAL over-haul, but its a MASSIVE project and no one wants to touch it, they'd rather put MORE work on students.

 

[Ninja Turtles]

Public education- Good idea, bad carry-out

The problem with the US education is that it hardly ever changes its base but it just keeps piling on new stuff for students to learn. We need to go back, select things that are not needed for this society to survive, and eliminate them. The education system needs a TOTAL over-haul, but its a MASSIVE project and no one wants to touch it, they'd rather put MORE work on students.

Well the problem really is that no one wants to do the hard work, it's easier to throw something new in to make it look like you're doing something and it's something seen across the board in this country.

 

[419gam]

All of our worldwide economic competitors--Germany, Japan, China, Korea, etc,. provide rigorous public education for their children. India, in particular, has free universities where students study science and engineering that are fully equal to our best, i.e., Cal Tech, or MIT. If we can't provide world class public education for everyone who wants it, especially in math, the physical and biological sciences, and language, our future is bleak.

I had to reword this because at first it sounded too flip, and I don't mean to be insulting in any way, but I seriously doubt India's universities are as good as you make them out to be. If they were I doubt that almost every wealthy Indian family with college age children would send them to the U.S. or elsewhere abroad on student visas. Also most Indians do not have the luxury to attend school for very long into thier childhood anyway.

I have mixed feelings about public education. I like the idea of a voucher system, private schools, public money.

 

[Willtor]

I'd like to make the controversial assertion that a free society is necessarily an educated society. I can't imagine how a private educational system would do better at educating the poor than a public system. It's true that the public educational system has largely failed the poor, in this country, but I think a stronger argument can be made for reworking it, than for denying it to the poor, altogether.

 

[Ninja Turtles]

I have mixed feelings about public education. I like the idea of a voucher system, private schools, public money.

A voucher system? I hope you wouldn't be denying money allocated to the public system to help a few and forsake the many. I think one of the big problems with our public school system is what happens in poor communities because middle class and wealthy communities seem to do fine.

 

[Antoninus Verus]

Well the problem really is that no one wants to do the hard work, it's easier to throw something new in to make it look like you're doing something and it's something seen across the board in this country.

Which bites because it throws more and more ontop of the students

 

[jayem]

I had to reword this because at first it sounded too flip, and I don't mean to be insulting in any way, but I seriously doubt India's universities are as good as you make them out to be. If they were I doubt that almost every wealthy Indian family with college age children would send them to the U.S. or elsewhere abroad on student visas. Also most Indians do not have the luxury to attend school for very long into thier childhood anyway.

.

I don't belive all of their schools are high quality, but their technology institutes are standouts. They don't have the facilities, and certainly don't do the research we do, but they turn out well trained people who are in high demand around the world. I think we could learn a thing or two. The link is to an older article from Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/1998/49/b3607011.htm

 

[Abbadon]

Publek edukashun is guud.

I lernd to spel att skool.

(Another example of success by the No Child Left Behind act.)

 

[k]

This is to discuss whether or not the concept is good or bad. Not necessarily how the system is currently failing in some cities.

Some thoughts:
1. Should it be the government's responsibility to guarantee an education for every child?
2. If not, how would a completely private system be better?
3. What about public universities, should the government pay 100% , continue to subsidize only, or leave higher education to the private sector?

It is not my intent that this discussion move into the content of what schools teach, although, I'm sure it will anyway.

1. yes
2. private systems utterly fail communities on the whole
3. funding should meet each students' economic capabilities

I'm not sure how this thread could avoid discussing what is taught in public schools...the two are inextricably linked because it is what students learn that help shape their future and world ethos.

 

[rebel_conservative]

ein education system, ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer...

 

[comana]

ein education system, ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer...

Paranoid?




Edit to add: Playing with the translator I got this for you

"einschulwesen, ein Volk, einreich, ein Fuhrer..."

 

[rebel_conservative]

Paranoid?

certainly!!!

I see nothing wrong with a healthy mistrust of government! I don't think that one body, especially a centralised body, should control education or the media.

Playing with the translator I got this for you

"einschulwesen, ein Volk, einreich, ein Fuhrer..."

danke schon!

 

[419gam]

I don't belive all of their schools are high quality, but their technology institutes are standouts. They don't have the facilities, and certainly don't do the research we do, but they turn out well trained people who are in high demand around the world. I think we could learn a thing or two. The link is to an older article from Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/1998/49/b3607011.htm

Thanks for the link, out of 100,000 apllicants only 2500 are admitted so thats why they go abroad. It has nothing to do with the quality of the insitution its access.

 

[chuck010342]

This is to discuss whether or not the concept is good or bad. Not necessarily how the system is currently failing in some cities.

Some thoughts:
1. Should it be the government's responsibility to guarantee an education for every child?
2. If not, how would a completely private system be better?
3. What about public universities, should the government pay 100% , continue to subsidize only, or leave higher education to the private sector?

It is not my intent that this discussion move into the content of what schools teach, although, I'm sure it will anyway.

It depends on what is being taught. The government does what the government wants to do if it didn't it couldn't be a government. What kind of government are you talking about?

 

[Voegelin]

K-12 is a near government monopoly run by militant left wing unions. Throw all the money at it you want, such a system is incapable of delivering quality.