Whenever something that is government-run fails, people always want to fix the problem by throwing more money at it. This is often the case with public education here in the United States. Although it is true that our students are not nearly as educated as they could or should be, more money is not always the answer to everything-especially not education. A survey done by University of Chicago’s William Howell and Brown University’s Martin R. West shows that most people underestimate the amount we spend per pupil in the first place. I recommend reading the results of this survey; but before you do, come up with the number you think we spend, as well as what you think we should be spending.
Most of the people surveyed guessed far below the true amount, which means we already spend much more than many think, and it clearly hasn’t solved the problem. Besides the fact that most people grossly underestimate the amount we spend per student, it has already been proven in the Kansas City experiment that money cannot solve our education woes. When a federal judge ordered the Kansas City school district to spend whatever amount was necessary to raise test scores and promote integration, the results were disheartning. After more than ten years of spending to their hearts content, test scores did not rise and the schools were even less integrated than they were to begin with. This is not to say that our students are unable to learn, or that nothing can be done. As the Evergreen Freedom Foundation points out in their movie flunked, school choice may be one way to combat the one-size-fits-all system we have in place today. Competition amongst schools can foster this, along with less interference from bureacrats.
The problem with simply throwing more and more money at education is that appropriate educational funding is just one of many many different factors impacting a student’s ability to learn. Have we gotten to a point where we’re just throwing money away, we’re long past it and sadly abuses are rampant as you’ll see in my post “Super Windfall.” Here’s the link: http://wheresthesun.org/2008/05/21/super-windfall/
I also discuss voucher programs in another post, http://wheresthesun.org/2008/05/27/study-finds-vouchers-student-graduate-rate-better/
Hey, looks like the good cop, bad cop thing worked out… Pretty good post. : )
Flunked also challenges those who are in education to DO something. Do something, anything innovative, creative, to do better by the kids we are charged with educating and caring for.
Working in a poor small town, seeing the bond levy process,
it is obvious where the money comes from to pay my salary. The money comes from people who raise a family on half what I make a year. I have an obligation to make their hard earned tax dollars count.
School choice might be an answer, but it is not the panacea. Until people begin to engage the education system, get out there and see what’s going on (and not just if and when they have kids in school), very little will change. There is a daily battle against systemic mediocrity going on and teachers who are doing a good job need support from the public, not editorials or think tank papers.
Another piece of the problem is the fact that universities are not training future teachers to deal with educating 21st century kids. Until ed. departments begin to focus on the real world and not their esoteric areas of interest, we will be hit or miss on decent teachers.
I apologize for being long winded, but I just wanted to add a few thoughts.
Angie Dorman
You raise some good points. Now it’s my turn to be long winded.. I hope you don’t mind.
I agree Universities are not training future teachers to actually face the demands of teaching. From my own educational experience at a large University I know for a fact I was not adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the classroom. When I entered the classroom I was not prepared and much of what I learned was through trial by fire. If I knew then what I know today.
There needs to be more oversight and practical based application rather than a oblivion of learning theory without appropriate real world preparation. Teachers also need support from the students, the parents, and community members where they serve. Teachers today face problems that were unheard of years ago. The atmosphere is challenging and communities need to help teachers meet the growing obstacles to student centered learning within the classroom. Without this teachers will be hindered in their abilities to reach students effectively and NCLB will continue to fall short.