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If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

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121–130 of 153 posts

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#121
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with that conclusion is that some of the highest-funded public schools in the country such as DC are among the worst performers. Funding is not the sole (or even most important) determinant of quality in education.

Do you have a breakdown for how much of DC schools funding makes it to the classroom and to teachers? It's my understanding that administrators soak up a huge amount of budget in many districts.

Don't about DC. In Long Island, New York State. Per student funding is $22K+. Our kids get very good educations.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#123
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fascinating! How is this possible? How come the traders (is that the right terminology) don't get poached by bigger firms? Are they doing well because they know the local market?

I have no idea how they do it. They also committed to more responsible investing after it was noticed they had investments in cigarettes and alcohol- then made more money than before after the changes. They still have big challenges though, as they have a lot of baby-boomer teachers retiring, living longer, etc. They only real way they stay afloat at all is because teachers are paid pretty well in Ontario, and they g…

What's the market like for teachers who're fully French-English bilingual?

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#124
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't understand why the cofounder biotech conglomerate was necessary, except to give Walter and out he would not take and say 'hey he is smart but choosing a life of crime'

The biotech firm was to demonstrate options already taken. He already tried the "right way" to monetize his intelligence. And then, as the high school teacher, he has already tried "plan B", which is good enough for most people that fail to succeed in the only moonshot they can afford to take in their lifetimes, but it turns out that the healthcare in "plan B" really sucks. Those aren't just already explored options.…

Ok.. but Walter left the company and then sold his shares for $5k.. how was he screwed? He made the choice to sell them back.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems well-researched, and there are some reasonable points, but your section #4 and conclusion really discredit the rest of the article. Section 4 describes how racism (or tribalism or whatever you want to call it) is really natural and healthy, with no references except your own "common sense". > Now imagine growing up and looking forward to playing on the same football team as your elders in front a cheering…

Section 4 describes how racism (or tribalism or whatever you want to call it) is really natural and healthy, with no references except your own "common sense". My view on tribalism is similar to my view on "greed" or "personal self-interest." It exists. We are a tribal species, as any survey of human history will show, from the time of the Chimpanzees onward ( https://www.amazon.com/Demonic-Males-Origins-Human-Violen…

> My point is simply that large-scale, forced integration made race relation problems much worse. It created problems where little existed.

Are you really arguing that desegregation created these problems? Seems a bit backwards to me. I think it's incredibly obvious that race relation issues existed long before the desegregation of schools.

You could argue that desegregation caused problems for white people where there were none before, but even that I find a bit questionable. There are many disadvantages to growing up in a homogeneous society.

I think everyone agrees that correcting racism, or tribalism if you prefer, is a difficult task, and one that we are still grappling with. Of course, there were other methods of desegregation proposed at the time, but very few were proposed in good faith, and none that I know of were as swift or effective as mass desegregation.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do they do besides make the population so desperate to escape poverty that they will push their kids to the brink of madness to study for exams that are make or break for their lives?

Most people in places like France and Germany are not "desperate to escape poverty".

I was referring the India and China.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what he/she meant is that higher education has become the new high school. What we need is a restoration of secondary school education, not "universal college degrees." That, and we need to re-value our currency in the same fashion.

Actually I meant that we should probably send fewer people to college and have fewer people graduate high school. Maybe some of them should go to trade school instead, but generally we should just reduce the quantity of education provided. Most education seems to be wasteful; see Bryan Caplan's writings on the topic, for example.

Why do I get downvoted for offering what is thoughtful criticism? I'm not just some nobody who walked in off the street and I have actual credentials and experience teaching higher education. Furthermore, I am not wishing ill will upon others. I would like to stop the outright fleecing of today's college students, however. It's high time that ended.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#128
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you be willing to cite some of this evidence? That's a conclusion I'd be interested to see...

So one important fact is that most of the knowledge taught in school is not directly useful. Combine this with the fact that transfer of learning is almost nonexistent (e.g. http://amzn.to/2hExO6u ) and you discover that most education is wasted. There is extensive evidence of a sheepskin effect, and most studies of educational effectiveness are consistent with signalling theories and ability bias (more able individu…

That could simply mean that our education system is inefficient, not that education isn't valuable.

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#129
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true in MN--you can open enroll your kids in any district. You may not get the exact school you want due to demographics, but it's still a valid counter-example. By the way, why do you think wealthier people shouldn't get more advantages in life? I'm all for trying to pull people up by their bootstraps, but we can't just level everything out in some misguided attempt at 'fairness.' You will never achieve that fai…

> By the way, why do you think wealthier people shouldn't get more advantages in life? Sure, let wealthy ADULTS have more advantages. However, children have no say in their circumstances, so I do think it is right to at least give CHILDREN equal opportunity and resources.

Focus on what I said: You can never achieve that. The wealthy will always find ways to undo whatever leveling you attempt. The elite social class in the US is its own little society and most of us are not in it!

Re: If the U.S. Won't Pay Its Teachers, China Will

#130
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might argue that children are the responsibility of the parents. As far as equal resources, DC schools spend among the highest per student in the country and yet have some of the worst outcomes. The problem isn't financial, it's political. There isn't a correlation of budget per student and outcomes. Successful schools aren't the richest schools -- they are the ones with the most involved parents. The problem is cu…

There isn't a correlation? I'll have to look more into that but it seems to me you picked the one notable exception. The cultural problems are describe are the symptoms of much larger problems, particularly systemic and deliberate deprivation of resources and opportunities for more than a century. You are correct to an extent though that part of that problem is political: the lack of political will to spend any amoun…

Well, we have thrown welfare at what? Three generations now? How has that worked out? It hasn't. We're right back where we began but now with three generations of people who have never worked for a living.
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