vision2020
Re: sharing wealth
Interesting isn't it that people who talk about "throwing money at
education" are often the ones who talk about "investing" in other arenas. I
just wish I'd had someone to "throw money at my students" so we could have
had the funds we needed for travel, supplies, etc. without my having to
spend so much time fund raising. And as for "social promotion," seems to me
the folks who protest it recognize it makes fine political rhetoric, but
they either don't know (or don't care) that other options are worse. Study
after study confirms that most students who are held back in elementary
school don't ever catch up. Local districts which provide summer programs
for those young people to help them catch up manage to hang on to some of
them, but even so, keeping age mates together and individualizing for those
who need more attention is currently much more successful than other
remedies. That solution, of course, requires "throwing money" or more
precisely, investing in those students. Now if you don't care that they
probably will drop out somewhere along the educational pathway, then by all
means don't promote them. And afterwards we can all feel justified knowing
that every 6, 7 or 8 year old in public school has "earned" her promotion
and your taxes.
Sue H.
. ----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Probasco <rcp@uidaho.edu>
To: Vision 2020 <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: sharing wealth
> On Wed, 5 May 1999, bill london wrote:
> > Our discussions of schools (cuts in Moscow, violence seemingly
everywhere)
> > also are discussions of resources. Counselors, new classes in anger
> > management, fewer students per teacher, increasing teacher salaries,
> > etc.--many of the suggestions about "fixing" school problems cost money.
> >
> > And that discussion is stymied by the wave of cut-taxes mentality that
has
> > dominated our government lately.
> [snip]
>
> Since our governments have demonstrated a regrettable ability to
> exacerbate problems by throwing money at a problem, I submit we should
> not continue to subsidize ineffectiveness by raising taxes.
>
> The ability to reduce prison spending in probably more closely tied to
> educational philosophy than to educational spending. Many persons would
> accept the limited monetary rewards of teaching if they did not have to
> tolerate the Byzantine rules and customs of the modern public school.
>
> Until the public schools halt social promotion and instill real
> discipline and solid requirements (especially in the elementary grades), I
> choose not to throw good money after bad.
>
> It has been a few years since Willard Daggett excited the local
> educational community with his presentations, but I have yet to see any
> results of his visit. Whenever I inquire, I hear a burst of enthusiasm
> followed by a lament over the difficulties. What's the latest?
>
> Robert Probasco rcp@uidaho.edu
>
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