Dumbo Univeristy
Dom
assorted materials--produced by the "free market"--that play such a
key role, along with fanciful theories of education, in the continuing
pseudo-education of American students. Urban schools continue to be
prime laboratories for conducting the disgraceful experiments concoted
by pseudo-educators and assorted huckster.
=============================
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20091120/cm_uc_crpbux/op_3312049
Dumbo Univeristy
Pat Buchanan
Fri Nov 20, 3:00 am ET
Creators Syndicate – As George W. Bush famously asked, "Is our
children learning?"
Apparently not in the twin capitals of liberalism, D.C. and New York.
In a ranking of 50 states and D.C. by how much each spent per pupil in
public schools in 2005, New York ranked first; D.C. third. The state
spent $14,100, and New York City just a tad less.
And the bountiful fruits of this massive transfer of taxpayers'
wealth?
In D.C., nearly half of all black and Latino students drop out. Of
those who graduate, nearly half are reading and doing math at
seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade levels. D.C. academic achievement
ranks 51st, last in the U.S.
Yet last week came a report from New York that makes D.C look like
M.I.T. Some 200 students, in their first math class at City University
of New York, were tested on their basic math skills.
Ninety percent could not do basic algebra. One-third could not convert
a decimal into a fraction.
[snip]
Rowley
> It is unfortunate that Buchanan has not examined the junk books and
> assorted materials--produced by the "free market"--that play such a
> key role, along with fanciful theories of education, in the continuing
> pseudo-education of American students. Urban schools continue to be
> prime laboratories for conducting the disgraceful experiments concoted
> by pseudo-educators and assorted huckster.
> =============================
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20091120/cm_uc_crpbux/op_3312049
>
> Dumbo Univeristy
> Pat Buchanan
> Fri Nov 20, 3:00 am ET
>
> children learning?"
>
> Apparently not in the twin capitals of liberalism, D.C. and New York.
>
> In a ranking of 50 states and D.C. by how much each spent per pupil in
> public schools in 2005, New York ranked first; D.C. third. The state
> spent $14,100, and New York City just a tad less.
Are the amounts of how much spent per student for the ranking of the 50
states adjusted for the differences in local economies? Or are they just
gross amounts?... and does that amount spent also include
transportation? The cost of running buses....
>
> And the bountiful fruits of this massive transfer of taxpayers'
> wealth?
>
> In D.C., nearly half of all black and Latino students drop out. Of
> those who graduate, nearly half are reading and doing math at
> seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade levels. D.C. academic achievement
> ranks 51st, last in the U.S.
How does the D.C.s drop put rate compare to those in other states -
areas? And what exactly is the economic / ethnic population profile for
DC? My understanding is that it ain't all wealthy politicians and their
families..
>
> Yet last week came a report from New York that makes D.C look like
> M.I.T. Some 200 students, in their first math class at City University
> of New York, were tested on their basic math skills.
>
> Ninety percent could not do basic algebra. One-third could not convert
> a decimal into a fraction.
Is there really a correlation between how much money is spent and how
motivated students are to learn basic algebra? IMO, most of the high
school students I taught while I was teaching didn't bother with
fractions... not all that surprising, given that they all have grown up
using calculators... Heck, we even took out all the old analog clocks at
the school where I was and replaced them with digital ones...
You know - if we had been successful in migrating to the metric system,
there would probably be people complaining that students today don't
know how many feet there are in a mile... or quarts in a gallon...
Martin
> [snip]