Now this makes more sense than the stuff they've been spraying into the Gulf that turns the oil into globs.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Make That Almost $12,000 a Year
Several months ago, I posted about the almost $10,000 a year per kid Americans spend on average to educate kids in the public school system. Today an ex-public school teacher sent me an article entitled "End Them, Don't Mend Them". This is one of the paragraphs talking about cost of our public education system.
According to an annual Gallup poll conducted from 2004 through 2007, Americans think insufficient funding is the top problem with the public schools in their communities. But if throwing money is what’s needed, American school kids are getting smacked in the head with gobs of cash aplenty. That $11,749 is a lot more than the $7,848 private school pre-K through 12 national spending norm. It’s also a lot more than the $7,171 median tuition at four-year public colleges. Plus $11,749 is much less than what’s really being spent.
How can it possibly cost more to educate a high school students than college students? At least we know what it actually costs to get a college education because we have to pay for it or get student loans for it. But as the author of the article points out, districts sometimes pretend to be "poor" by not including things like teacher benefits in their reporting. Some under reporting by as much as 90%.
Schaeffer calculated that Los Angeles, which claims $19,000 per-pupil spending, actually spends $25,000. The New York metropolitan area admits to a per-pupil average of $18,700, but the true cost is about $26,900. The District of Columbia’s per-pupil outlay is claimed to be $17,542. The real number is an astonishing $28,170—155 percent more than the average tuition at the famously pricey private academies of the capital region.
If that doesn't make you want to puke, you must have a stronger stomach than I do. The more sickening thing is this: What do we get for our money?
The average IQ in America is—and this can be proven mathematically—average. Logic therefore dictates that National Assessment of Educational Progress eighth grade “at or above proficient” reading and math levels should average 50. This is true in only one of the 50 states. National averages are 29 and 31 percent. Either logic has nothing to do with public education or that NAEP test is a bear.
For all of that Ivy League School spending, we certainly aren't getting brilliant kids. So I agree with the author's proposal.
Here’s my proposal: Close all the public schools. Send the kids home. Fire the teachers. Sell the buildings. Raze the U.S. Department of Education, leaving not one brick standing upon another and plow the land where it stood with salt.
OK, I might not plow with salt, but I do think we would be better if all education was private or at home. You can find out more about this interesting idea at The Alliance for the Separation of School and State. The author goes on to clarify:
Gather the kids together in groups of 15.4. Sit them down at your house, or the Moose Lodge, or the VFW Hall or—gasp—a church. Multiply 15.4 by $15,000. That’s $231,000. Subtract a few grand for snacks and cleaning your carpet. What remains is a pay and benefit package of a quarter of a million dollars. Average 2008 public school classroom teacher salary: $51,391.
And for all of you asking, "What about socialization?" . . .
“Don’t kids need to experience the full range of human diversity that public schools provide?” No. And if you don’t understand the process by which modern kids become socialized, you seriously need to update your Facebook page. Also, let the Statistical Abstract tell you something about the diverse experience provided by public schools. During the 2005-2006 school year 78 percent of public schools reported “violent incidents,” more than one in six schools reported “serious violent incidents” (robbery, rape, sexual battery, or a fight or attack with a weapon), and 46 percent of schools reported thefts or larcenies. More than 10 percent of high school boys admitted to carrying a weapon to school during the previous 30 days. Among middle schools, 8.6 percent reported daily sexual harassment, 30.5 percent reported daily disrespect shown to teachers, and 43 percent reported daily bullying. Operating on the assumption that adults notice only about a third of what goes on among kids, this means that daily bullying occurs at 129 percent of middle schools. Furthermore 31.5 percent of middle schools and 38.7 percent of high schools reported “undesirable gang activities.” As opposed to the desirable kind.
The author also gives answers to other common questions. I encourage you to read the whole thing.
According to an annual Gallup poll conducted from 2004 through 2007, Americans think insufficient funding is the top problem with the public schools in their communities. But if throwing money is what’s needed, American school kids are getting smacked in the head with gobs of cash aplenty. That $11,749 is a lot more than the $7,848 private school pre-K through 12 national spending norm. It’s also a lot more than the $7,171 median tuition at four-year public colleges. Plus $11,749 is much less than what’s really being spent.
How can it possibly cost more to educate a high school students than college students? At least we know what it actually costs to get a college education because we have to pay for it or get student loans for it. But as the author of the article points out, districts sometimes pretend to be "poor" by not including things like teacher benefits in their reporting. Some under reporting by as much as 90%.
Schaeffer calculated that Los Angeles, which claims $19,000 per-pupil spending, actually spends $25,000. The New York metropolitan area admits to a per-pupil average of $18,700, but the true cost is about $26,900. The District of Columbia’s per-pupil outlay is claimed to be $17,542. The real number is an astonishing $28,170—155 percent more than the average tuition at the famously pricey private academies of the capital region.
If that doesn't make you want to puke, you must have a stronger stomach than I do. The more sickening thing is this: What do we get for our money?
The average IQ in America is—and this can be proven mathematically—average. Logic therefore dictates that National Assessment of Educational Progress eighth grade “at or above proficient” reading and math levels should average 50. This is true in only one of the 50 states. National averages are 29 and 31 percent. Either logic has nothing to do with public education or that NAEP test is a bear.
For all of that Ivy League School spending, we certainly aren't getting brilliant kids. So I agree with the author's proposal.
Here’s my proposal: Close all the public schools. Send the kids home. Fire the teachers. Sell the buildings. Raze the U.S. Department of Education, leaving not one brick standing upon another and plow the land where it stood with salt.
OK, I might not plow with salt, but I do think we would be better if all education was private or at home. You can find out more about this interesting idea at The Alliance for the Separation of School and State. The author goes on to clarify:
Gather the kids together in groups of 15.4. Sit them down at your house, or the Moose Lodge, or the VFW Hall or—gasp—a church. Multiply 15.4 by $15,000. That’s $231,000. Subtract a few grand for snacks and cleaning your carpet. What remains is a pay and benefit package of a quarter of a million dollars. Average 2008 public school classroom teacher salary: $51,391.
And for all of you asking, "What about socialization?" . . .
“Don’t kids need to experience the full range of human diversity that public schools provide?” No. And if you don’t understand the process by which modern kids become socialized, you seriously need to update your Facebook page. Also, let the Statistical Abstract tell you something about the diverse experience provided by public schools. During the 2005-2006 school year 78 percent of public schools reported “violent incidents,” more than one in six schools reported “serious violent incidents” (robbery, rape, sexual battery, or a fight or attack with a weapon), and 46 percent of schools reported thefts or larcenies. More than 10 percent of high school boys admitted to carrying a weapon to school during the previous 30 days. Among middle schools, 8.6 percent reported daily sexual harassment, 30.5 percent reported daily disrespect shown to teachers, and 43 percent reported daily bullying. Operating on the assumption that adults notice only about a third of what goes on among kids, this means that daily bullying occurs at 129 percent of middle schools. Furthermore 31.5 percent of middle schools and 38.7 percent of high schools reported “undesirable gang activities.” As opposed to the desirable kind.
The author also gives answers to other common questions. I encourage you to read the whole thing.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Seriously?
I got this article in an e-mail today. It is about how our founding documents are no longer politically correct and therefor in the eyes of Wilder Publishing need a warning label. The following warning was in a book they published titled "The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and The Articles of Confederation."
Seriously?! Have we come to this?
I suppose they are right. We do not have the same values as a country as we did in the late 1700's. In a few ways we are better off for it (no slavery quickly springs to mind), but are we better off in most ways? Back then most kids had a mom and a dad that actually lived together. Back then kids went to school to learn to read and write and do arithmetic and came out of the 8th grade knowing more than we do in college. Back then people valued working hard and liberty and capitalism. People used to understand that truth was real not some nebulous concept that changed with fad and fashion. Back then people feared the Lord.
Seriously?! Have we come to this? I suppose they are right. We do not have the same values as a country as we did in the late 1700's. In a few ways we are better off for it (no slavery quickly springs to mind), but are we better off in most ways? Back then most kids had a mom and a dad that actually lived together. Back then kids went to school to learn to read and write and do arithmetic and came out of the 8th grade knowing more than we do in college. Back then people valued working hard and liberty and capitalism. People used to understand that truth was real not some nebulous concept that changed with fad and fashion. Back then people feared the Lord.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
No Where to Cut
The Heritage Foundation released a study called Federal Spending by the Numbers. My favorite (or most annoying) section is "No Where to Cut". In it they highlight some of the most obvious (to thinking people) places the government could cut if it was serious about having any kind of a balanced budget. I'll point out some, but recommend you read the whole thing.
The federal government made at least $98 billion in improper payments in 2009.
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties. (Maybe we should start selling federal property.)
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them—costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually—fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve. (Is there any discussion about cutting these programs?)
Because of overstaffing, the U.S. Postal Service selects 1,125 employees per day to sit in empty rooms. They are not allowed to work, read, play cards, watch television, or do anything. This costs $50 million annually. (I know that $50 million is just a drop in the bucket, but this seems ludicrous beyond words.)
While we are talking about the post office. . .
A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, including “over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold.” The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.
Improper or fraudulent Medicare spending now totals $47 billion annually—12.4 percent of its budget.
Federal employees owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008. (I wonder how many of them work for the IRS?)
Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades. (Again a drop in the bucket, but if it is good enough for we the people, it should be good enough for our servants.)
Congress recently spent $2.4 billion on 10 new jets that the Pentagon insists it does not need and will not use.
The federal government made at least $98 billion in improper payments in 2009.
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties. (Maybe we should start selling federal property.)
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them—costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually—fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve. (Is there any discussion about cutting these programs?)
Because of overstaffing, the U.S. Postal Service selects 1,125 employees per day to sit in empty rooms. They are not allowed to work, read, play cards, watch television, or do anything. This costs $50 million annually. (I know that $50 million is just a drop in the bucket, but this seems ludicrous beyond words.)
While we are talking about the post office. . .
A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, including “over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold.” The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.
Improper or fraudulent Medicare spending now totals $47 billion annually—12.4 percent of its budget.
Federal employees owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008. (I wonder how many of them work for the IRS?)
Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades. (Again a drop in the bucket, but if it is good enough for we the people, it should be good enough for our servants.)
Congress recently spent $2.4 billion on 10 new jets that the Pentagon insists it does not need and will not use.
Friday, May 28, 2010
IndoctriNation Movie
There is another independent movie that is being made that I am looking forward to seeing. It is called IndoctriNation. You can see clips and the trailer here. (They aren't allowing embedding at this time.) This documentary ties the indoctrination of our kids in the public school system to the decline of Christianity in America.
One thing that the movie points out is that there is no such thing as a worldview neutral education. All education seeks to transform the mind not just with straight facts but with ideals. I think many Christians don't want to believe this. They want the broad way, the easy way to be the best way when it comes to education.
I know that people can send their kids to public school and end up with devout Christians. I also believe that this is only possible with intense re-doctrination when the kids are at home.
I also know that some parents have no other choice. But I would say that this number is far fewer than the number of Christian parents that send their kids to public school.
Thoughts? Comments?
One thing that the movie points out is that there is no such thing as a worldview neutral education. All education seeks to transform the mind not just with straight facts but with ideals. I think many Christians don't want to believe this. They want the broad way, the easy way to be the best way when it comes to education.
I know that people can send their kids to public school and end up with devout Christians. I also believe that this is only possible with intense re-doctrination when the kids are at home.
I also know that some parents have no other choice. But I would say that this number is far fewer than the number of Christian parents that send their kids to public school.
Thoughts? Comments?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sad but Funny
I happened upon this Rasmussen survey and thought I would share.
The latest national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds that 41% say a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress. Almost as many (38%) disagree, however, and another 20% are undecided.
The latest national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds that 41% say a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress. Almost as many (38%) disagree, however, and another 20% are undecided.
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