EDU: Public Schools (Was: Re: [extropy-chat] Game theory ofcommon cold)

[Kevin Freels]

> >
> > Also, it is important to realize the benefit of having an "educated"
> > populations (I use the word educated VERY loosely here). It is a
> > shame that more parents simply don't get even slightly involved
> > in their children's education. The resource is there, paid for
> > by everyone, and yet many parents just don't seem to give a damn!
> > Most of them are like this because of how their parents were. It's
> > a vicious cycle of stupidity!
>
> It isn't that at all. It is that the humongous taxes of today prevent
> parents from having the time to get involved.

I wish I could believe that. After being a store manager for Rent-A-Center
(I did this for 6 years before I realized that Rent-A-Center was
contributing to the problem and quit) and then going through what I went
through and speaking with various counselors and child protective services,
I have found this to be a lot more common that I had previously thought
possible. There is a class of people in this country who don;t care a lick
for their kids, nor for themselves. They throw trash in their yards and on
their floors, they spend their days sleeping and their nights drugging. They
have babies that run around playing in the garbage in the house with diapers
that have been full for hours and are spilling over. They don't bathe, but
they do have enough money to pay Rent-A-Center $52.00 per WEEK to have a big
screen television, playstation, DVD player, and $2000 worth of chrome wheels
on their car.  These people simply don't care. They exist, whether we want
to acknowledge it or not, and they are reproducing rapidly. Most of the
filth is simply a matter of choosing to clean. It's not their taxes. It is
the way they were raised and/or their poor understanding of what they are
capab;e of. Many bought their Big screen TV with YOUR tax money. I have been
in HUNDREDS of these houses over the years. Most people can hardly believe
me when I tell the the stories of how some of these people choose to live. I
feel so terrible for their children!

I think that if more parents simply became a bit more involved, it would
drastically alter the outcome of their children's education. If I were
home-schooling, I would have to cover the basics as well as the other things
I want to teach them. In short, if parents treated the public school as a
supplement to their children's education rather than relying on it to
provide all of their education, both  the children and parents benefit much
more than if they were relying on home-schooling alone. With parents as
those I described above, this is simply not an option. Too many kids would
come out if it with little or no education whatsoever except what they learn
from the TV.

Personally, I like the idea of a tax credit system that rewards those that
home-school, but it would have to be administered in such a way to ensure
that the children are actually being home-schooled rather than just taken
out of school so their parents can buy more drugs.

Besides, this is outside the scope of the issue being discussed, unless
> you want to present evidence about the monetary benefits of low quality
> public education outweighing the benefits of proven superior home
> schooling and private education, in addition to the health benefits
> that home schooling provides.
>
Actually, that's why I changed the subject line to a new thread. :-)