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The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

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Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#41
post #15

>> In case you needed further proof of the American education system's failings, especially in poor and minority communities, consider the latest crime to spread across the country: educational theft. I'm not sure if it is entirely fair to single out the education system here (once again), or at least batch it in with "yet another failing". I believe more is at fault here. Unless I'm mistaken, tax payers in a particu…

Her father, registered in that school district, obviously pays the taxes; So there's no reason why it would not cover the tuition of her chidren. You're just dropped back from "it's fair that way" to "the rules say that way". It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right? So it should not matter where the children go to school, it's still fair.

"It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right?"

I'm not sure, but I believe that people with children in their household pay more school taxes.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Her father, registered in that school district, obviously pays the taxes; So there's no reason why it would not cover the tuition of her chidren. You're just dropped back from "it's fair that way" to "the rules say that way". It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right? So it should not matter where the children go to school, it's still fair.

"It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right?" I'm not sure, but I believe that people with children in their household pay more school taxes.

It's not a tax then, but rather a teaching fee. A conditional tax is a fee. Why can't she choose a school freely and pay a fee where she wants to?

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#43
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you two actually disagree. You want to send your kids to a place where the parents value education, and you're using ethnicity as an easy indirect way of measuring this. A lamentably reasonable strategy.

No, they definitely do. LoveLinux is basing his/her decision on racial bias, the other guy is not.

What decision? He simple stated, accurately, a fact. How can a fact be racially biased?

White and Asian neighborhoods generally generate higher property taxes than black neighborhoods. Schools are largely funded by property taxes. Therefore it should come as no surprise that White and Asian schools are on average better.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#44
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you two actually disagree. You want to send your kids to a place where the parents value education, and you're using ethnicity as an easy indirect way of measuring this. A lamentably reasonable strategy.

No, they definitely do. LoveLinux is basing his/her decision on racial bias, the other guy is not.

Their technique differs, but their motivation is the same. They both just want to be good parents.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#45
Don't try to send them to a 'good' school, certainly not an 'academically good' school. Bluntly, the K-12 teachers don't know anything worth much serious study or effort.

The best can hope for from a K-12 school is that it will do no harm.

Find a school that has a nice 'social atmosphere' and otherwise is RELAXED, e.g., with as little homework as possible.

Then for the real learning, have your children do that at home -- evenings, weekends, summers, and/or school study hall.

What materials? Sure, academically by far the crown jewel is just math. So, get them through math to the college sophomore level ASAP. The next best subject is physics. So, get them through freshman physics based on calculus ASAP. How? Get the best texts (good used copies are FINE, especially for the math) and work through them. If need some help, ask some friends who know the material well and/or find an appropriate, helpful college prof. Or have one parent enroll in, say, a community college course and there learn enough to guide their children and be able to ask the prof questions.

After math and physics, emphasize writing, say, letters, notes, blogs, whatever.

Sure, get 'computer literacy' and also learn the basics of programming.

Then emphasize geography, history, and art history. For English literature, at least learn about the basics of 'drama' and 'formula fiction' and touch on the more famous works. For as many of the works as can, start by watching a movie of the work. For more in drama, understand how movie and TV dramas work.

Somewhere get some basic coverage of 'people and personality', especially about human emotions. E.g., lacking anything else, read E. Fromm, 'The Art of Loving'.

For more, have the child take some community college courses, e.g., biochemistry and biology.

For more, look at the International Baccalaureate program and pick and choose from that or, maybe, just go through the whole thing.

During the last 2-3 years of the 'high school' time, review what else, if anything, is required to do well on the SAT tests.

For more? Maybe learn piano?

Likely could study accounting and take the CPA exam. A CPA would be nice to have.

For more? Jump into college material at the junior level and keep going. Get through college ASAP and then go for graduate or professional school.

For K-12? Don't ask for much and mostly just circumvent it.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#46

I'm not sure if, as I progress through my 30s, I am becoming more liberal, more cynical or more jaded, or what, but it seems like every day I read some article about the United States which elicits a, "What the FUCK?" from me. This is one of those articles. Seriously? Prison ??

Why do you associate this with becoming more liberal? Seems the reverse should be true.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#47
post #15

>> In case you needed further proof of the American education system's failings, especially in poor and minority communities, consider the latest crime to spread across the country: educational theft. I'm not sure if it is entirely fair to single out the education system here (once again), or at least batch it in with "yet another failing". I believe more is at fault here. Unless I'm mistaken, tax payers in a particu…

Her father, registered in that school district, obviously pays the taxes; So there's no reason why it would not cover the tuition of her chidren. You're just dropped back from "it's fair that way" to "the rules say that way". It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right? So it should not matter where the children go to school, it's still fair.

Mandatory Herluf Bidstrup: http://www.herluf-bidstrup.ru/bidstrup1_30.htm

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Her father, registered in that school district, obviously pays the taxes; So there's no reason why it would not cover the tuition of her chidren. You're just dropped back from "it's fair that way" to "the rules say that way". It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right? So it should not matter where the children go to school, it's still fair.

"It's not like that his taxes are of a different color than her taxes, right?" I'm not sure, but I believe that people with children in their household pay more school taxes.

Not in the district I live in. Except that the city does collect a sales tax, which someone with 15 kids would presumably pay more of than someone with no kids. But in general taxes and school levies aren't at all correlated with number of children.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#49

AS if anybody cared - how it works in Russia: - There are virtually no private schools, every school is public. - There are better schools and worse schools. In a big city there are a few really good ones and a bunch of mediocre ones. - A school have to accept anyone living in a proximity, but it may also accept anyone else. So the good ones set up entry exams. Mediocre ones enroll everybody. - I guess there are some…

The problem with that in America is that allowing entrance to schools based entirely on tests scores results in large numbers of Asians and whites and very few black and Hispanics and you end up with this racial discrimination mess.

Efforts must be made to eliminate systematic biases in standardized testing. When we are reasonably convinced that has been done, as far as I'm concerned it's all just how the cookie crumbles. Make sure that you're acceptance policies are merit based, and damn the consequences.

Re: The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School

#50
post #21

Good examples of the effects of government getting involved in education, particularly tying it to location. The solution to this problem is clear but politically difficult: limit government involvement in education to vouchers at most, preferably none at all.

That's right, poor people shouldn't have an education!

That's what you are advocating with "Government shouldn't be involved in education." Is that really what you mean?

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