11-29-2012, 05:46 AM
(11-28-2012, 05:23 PM)kandrathe Wrote: And regarding education... There is no evidence that just throwing more money at education results in better educated people. Other societal issues, such as lack of parenting, use of drugs or alcohol, teen pregnancy, poor nutrition & health, crime, etc. may be as much a problem with poor educational attainments. Often, I feel there are myriads of local issues that a one size fits all "education" mandate can not solve. What is wrong in urban Detroit may be entirely different than what is wrong in rural Minnesota. And, then, with education, what is the end goal of our investment? For example, we have a "failing" school here in Minneapolis called Anishinabe Academy -- a which is 90% American Indian school, and 95% of the students are from poor homes. Their goal is to immerse students in native language and culture. They are "failing" according to statewide MCAIII tests, but are they failing in their mission? I think not, and I support what they are doing. Is it an investment that will benefit our workforce and create jobs? It is hard to tell if they aren't creating the types of standard worker widgets that fit the traditional work force.
And, in the end, these choices of winners and losers are made by bureaucrats who's concepts of ROI are mired in favoritism to win elections.
I don't understand this argument. Sure there are tricky details to education reform, but some high level facts stand out. College educated people are more employable and earn more than those without a college education. The cost of attending public colleges has dramatically increased. Students are now graduating with considerably more student debt than the previous generation. We spend a lower fraction of government money on public education than previously.
Of course there are a lot of details as to why tuition has increased and why the shifts in spending have occurred, but I think we do know how to spend to make education more accessible and have a better educated population. I benefited from a quality public school education, and now I make a comfortable living. I have considerably lower tax brackets than my parents did. I'm oversimplifying a complex budget process, but I'm paying less and the current generation is graduating with a lot more debt.