I cant wait til I retire

[chickenhunter]

Im so fuggin sick of the politics in public education. Absolutely sick of it. The way some kids are protected and other kids arent given a shit about.

Last week, we had a kid threaten to come to school and shoot the school up if he got bad grades on his report card. This wasnt a rumor, he said it front of several students and a teacher. He has been in trouble multiple times this year and last year.

He ended up getting 5 days suspension and now he is back on campus. Students ask me why he is back after what he said. I plainly tell these kids..because the people in charge think his education is more important than the safety of anyone in the school. Not even trying to get a referral to the alternative schooly, just let him come back to school like nothing has happened.

Its an absolute travisty what our education system has become. In NC, we have NCDPI that is over our schools. Ive decided that NCDPI should actually stand for Nothing Changes with Dumb People In charge. I fuggin despise those SOBs.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Congrats on your imminent retirement. I’d get the hell out if I were you too. No one wants to be on a sinking ship.

Lol at public education. If I have one piece of advice for new or expecting parents, it’s this; do whatever you have to do to get your kids in private school. Whatever sacrifices you have to make, make them.

 

[heelmanwilm]

I retired last year and it’s awesome.

A few years ago by mistake I came across a post on twitter from apparently a student in coloroda (why is it always Colorado?) saying he was gonna shoot up his school the next day which was the anniversary of columbine. At first I was Mehh but after talking to my wife I decided to call the sheriff dept for the school mentioned. God what a clusterfuk. It was like I was being accused of doing something wrong. They acted like I was interrupting them then had someone call me back and basically interrogated me aggressively. Finally I was like “look do what you like, idgaf”. I googled their local news next day and found a blurb saying a fake shooting scare had been phoned in and charged were pending. I called them
Back and begged them to come get me. Idiots. Never heard anything more.

 

[bluetoe]

I retired last year and it’s awesome.

A few years ago by mistake I came across a post on twitter from apparently a student in coloroda (why is it always Colorado?) saying he was gonna shoot up his school the next day which was the anniversary of columbine. At first I was Mehh but after talking to my wife I decided to call the sheriff dept for the school mentioned. God what a clusterfuk. It was like I was being accused of doing something wrong. They acted like I was interrupting them then had someone call me back and basically interrogated me aggressively. Finally I was like “look do what you like, idgaf”. I googled their local news next day and found a blurb saying a fake shooting scare had been phoned in and charged were pending. I called them
Back and begged them to come get me. Idiots. Never heard anything more.

dang dude, I knew you were excitable but I never figured you for someone to threaten to shoot up a school. Do you own guns?

 

[bluetoe]

Im so fuggin sick of the politics in public education. Absolutely sick of it. The way some kids are protected and other kids arent given a shit about.

Last week, we had a kid threaten to come to school and shoot the school up if he got bad grades on his report card. This wasnt a rumor, he said it front of several students and a teacher. He has been in trouble multiple times this year and last year.

He ended up getting 5 days suspension and now he is back on campus. Students ask me why he is back after what he said. I plainly tell these kids..because the people in charge think his education is more important than the safety of anyone in the school. Not even trying to get a referral to the alternative schooly, just let him come back to school like nothing has happened.

Its an absolute travisty what our education system has become. In NC, we have NCDPI that is over our schools. Ive decided that NCDPI should actually stand for Nothing Changes with Dumb People In charge. I fuggin despise those SOBs.

sounds like a good plan to me. Take a threatening kid with a chip on his shoulder, send him away to humiliate him for a few days and then bring him back to the place he was threatening. What could go wrong?

Just curious, did you give him an A or an A- ? I would have gone with an A+ with some extra credit kind of thing.

 

[Heelicious]

Congrats on your imminent retirement. I’d get the hell out if I were you too. No one wants to be on a sinking ship.

Lol at public education. If I have one piece of advice for new or expecting parents, it’s this; do whatever you have to do to get your kids in private school. Whatever sacrifices you have to make, make them.

Or homeschool but yeah public ed everywhere is a disaster. Like having dmv educate your kid. It with a sick twisted indoctrination agenda. Good luck.

 

[bluetoe]

Im so fuggin sick of the politics in public education. Absolutely sick of it. The way some kids are protected and other kids arent given a shit about.

Last week, we had a kid threaten to come to school and shoot the school up if he got bad grades on his report card. This wasnt a rumor, he said it front of several students and a teacher. He has been in trouble multiple times this year and last year.

He ended up getting 5 days suspension and now he is back on campus. Students ask me why he is back after what he said. I plainly tell these kids..because the people in charge think his education is more important than the safety of anyone in the school. Not even trying to get a referral to the alternative schooly, just let him come back to school like nothing has happened.

Its an absolute travisty what our education system has become. In NC, we have NCDPI that is over our schools. Ive decided that NCDPI should actually stand for Nothing Changes with Dumb People In charge. I fuggin despise those SOBs.

several years ago I listened to my SIL who was a public grade school teacher, now retired, unload about the frustration of being dedicated in that situation. She said her latest problem was that she could not teach her class effectively due to one particular kid who was a constant disruption, and a nasty one at that. They tried different things but realized they were also dealing with not just a derelict kid but a derelict parent as well. But they absolutely would not remove him, and ultimately their solution was to tell her to deal with it as best she could.

When I was in school, I was a cutup. When I was in school, I got the wooden paddle with holes drilled in it or a size 16 sneaker hard across my ass multiple times. That didn't really stop me but it slowed me way down, to the point that I rarely took a teachers attention away from teaching. And I deserved it and I knew I deserved it and I took it with no complaint. Sometimes I would even apologize, but that was usually to escape the paddle. Now, you can't even look at a kid cross-eyed without it becoming a federal case. And that pretty well sums up the larger issues we have in society. The soft-headed among us can't tolerate the idea that when you ask for the stick, you should get the stick; and if you're incorrigible, you get removed to the benefit of everyone else.

 

[bleeduncblue]

Congrats on your imminent retirement. I’d get the hell out if I were you too. No one wants to be on a sinking ship.

Lol at public education. If I have one piece of advice for new or expecting parents, it’s this; do whatever you have to do to get your kids in private school. Whatever sacrifices you have to make, make them.

even better, do whatever you have to do to homeschool your kids. post-Covid homeschooling options / resources have gone through the roof. it's easier than ever for the parents. and now there are homeschool co-ops and sports leagues everywhere. the days of homeschool meaning anti-socialization and no organized sports are gone. if you have kids that are mature enough to handle it, i highly recommend it. we have 6th, 7th and 11th graders who have excelled at home since Covid.

 

[gunslingerdick]

even better, do whatever you have to do to homeschool your kids. post-Covid homeschooling options / resources have gone through the roof. it's easier than ever for the parents. and now there are homeschool co-ops and sports leagues everywhere. the days of homeschool meaning anti-socialization and no organized sports are gone. if you have kids that are mature enough to handle it, i highly recommend it. we have 6th, 7th and 11th graders who have excelled at home since Covid.

Sure. No doubt home schooling has come a long way. That’s a legit option now. And if my area didn’t have a private school I felt good about, I’d definitely consider that. But private school makes parenting easier. At least the school my kids go to. Home schooling doesn’t offer the same relief there IMO. Plus, my kids’ school has a classical education curriculum. There’s no way I could homeschool that. Or at least, I don’t want to have to try.

 

[bleeduncblue]

Sure. No doubt home schooling has come a long way. That’s a legit option now. And if my area didn’t have a private school I felt good about, I’d definitely consider that. But private school makes parenting easier. At least the school my kids go to. Home schooling doesn’t offer the same relief there IMO. Plus, my kids’ school has a classical education curriculum. There’s no way I could homeschool that. Or at least, I don’t want to have to try.

for sure, homeschooling is not for everyone. we're fortunate that my wife works from home full time and our kids are very self sufficient and motivated. they do everything online except math - that's textbook and my wife helps them out here and there then does grading / corrections in the evening as necessary.

all 3 of our kids were in a classical curriculum charter school prior to Covid. during the "online learning" part of the Covid year we realized just how much wasted time there was at school, so we looked into homeschooling, gave them the option of trying it out and have never looked back.

i love the fact that the 3 of them are home most of the time. we only have this window for a few years. i would honestly hate it now if they were all off to school 8-9 hours every day. but again, i understand not everyone would feel that way. i do not miss the days of homework, school projects, science fairs and on and on and on. this is much easier and we can literally "do school" anywhere.

 

[chickenhunter]

Homeschooling would be a great suggestion for some kids but many parents nowadays cant read or write well enough to homeschool. So many parents are recipients of the social promotion parade that they don't have the intelligence or education to homeschool their kids.

In NC, parents have the option to get vouchers to take the kids to a private school. Heres my issue with that. If a parent takes the voucher so their child can attend a private school. Many parents of troublemakers will take the voucher and send their child to the private school but their child gets kicked out because of behaviors. So now, the kids parents have taken the voucher but now their child gets to return to public schools. See, thats an issue for me. They have already taken the money that was allocated for your child but they got kicked out of the private school and now comes back. I think that's bullshit. Parent should have to figure out what to do with child. They should not be able to return to public schools.

 

[Heelicious]

for sure, homeschooling is not for everyone. we're fortunate that my wife works from home full time and our kids are very self sufficient and motivated. they do everything online except math - that's textbook and my wife helps them out here and there then does grading / corrections in the evening as necessary.

all 3 of our kids were in a classical curriculum charter school prior to Covid. during the "online learning" part of the Covid year we realized just how much wasted time there was at school, so we looked into homeschooling, gave them the option of trying it out and have never looked back.

i love the fact that the 3 of them are home most of the time. we only have this window for a few years. i would honestly hate it now if they were all off to school 8-9 hours every day. but again, i understand not everyone would feel that way. i do not miss the days of homework, school projects, science fairs and on and on and on. this is much easier and we can literally "do school" anywhere.

@bleeduncblue great comments. We had our first kid in a small private school for a few months but after that we home schooled all three thru high school. . Last one just finished home schooling in high school. All three were off the charts for standard testing like 98-99 percentile. And last son was captain and mvp of local high school swim team. And they all can be very involved / successful at music (all very good piano players). This isn’t a “that parent” brag - I’m just saying home schooling results can be great in academics and extracurriculars.

But I get that it is not possible for everyone. But imagine if the collective tax money spent on public ed was allocated somehow to free market even for profit private sector education. It would be so much more efficient and effective- hard to describe. If you say parent x “couldn’t afford the private school” - taxpayers are already paying for their kids and other kids of parents who don’t make enough income to pay taxes. There has to be some way to make it work for all parents. Vouchers or whatever.

Public school system is characterized by crazy maddening waste, corruption, ineptitude, bloated bureaucracy, incompetence, atrocious results - failing so many kids. Kids that do well are because of the parents, kids, and good teachers despite (not because of) the public school administration, unions, government mandates.

 

[bleeduncblue]

the other program that parents in NC should consider for their high school junior / senior is the FREE community college dual enrollment program. it is amazing! obviously it's easier to pull off if your kid is homeschooled and has that flexibility. but we do know students that have done it while going to traditional school.

the comm college classes count for both college and high school credits, so they're not doubling up on english, history, etc. our daughter is going to graduate from high school with her Associates and the credits automatically transfer to any of the 16 State universities. she'll enroll as a Junior (likely at UNC-CH). so 2 years of college are literally free 🤑

 

[bluetoe]

the other program that parents in NC should consider for their high school junior / senior is the FREE community college dual enrollment program. it is amazing! obviously it's easier to pull off if your kid is homeschooled and has that flexibility. but we do know students that have done it while going to traditional school.

the comm college classes count for both college and high school credits, so they're not doubling up on english, history, etc. our daughter is going to graduate from high school with her Associates and the credits automatically transfer to any of the 16 State universities. she'll enroll as a Junior (likely at UNC-CH). so 2 years of college are literally free 🤑

is that an absolute that credits will transfer to colleges in the UNC system from any CC? If so, this is a resource that should really be taken advantage of. It's fantastic. That being said, however, and forgive me for saying this...but I would be leary of those two years being adequate preparation for a smooth transition to a school like UNC-CH. Just purely surmising, don't hate me..

 

[Heelicious]

the other program that parents in NC should consider for their high school junior / senior is the FREE community college dual enrollment program. it is amazing! obviously it's easier to pull off if your kid is homeschooled and has that flexibility. but we do know students that have done it while going to traditional school.

the comm college classes count for both college and high school credits, so they're not doubling up on english, history, etc. our daughter is going to graduate from high school with her Associates and the credits automatically transfer to any of the 16 State universities. she'll enroll as a Junior (likely at UNC-CH). so 2 years of college are literally free 🤑

Yes we did that here too - it was called post secondary ed option. Pseo. But the credits didn’t really transfer to where our kids went to college Hillsdale college. In Michigan) - but it was good challenging classes and put them in front of line for signing up for classes they wanted in college.

 

[WarriorHeel]

After 27 years in public education, I finally retired last year. My only comment to all of this is to say that both of my kids are in private school and I'll sacrifice a kidney before they ever walk into a public school.

Great comments on this thread, btw.

 

[bleeduncblue]

is that an absolute that credits will transfer to colleges in the UNC system from any CC? If so, this is a resource that should really be taken advantage of. It's fantastic. That being said, however, and forgive me for saying this...but I would be leary of those two years being adequate preparation for a smooth transition to a school like UNC-CH. Just purely surmising, don't hate me..

sorry for the late reply @bluetoe - this one got me somehow. yes the credits automatically transfer to any of the 16 state universities.

and i can tell you from the experience of some close friends whose 3 high schoolers took this path over the last 5 years, they were way ahead of the game when they transferred in with all those credits (one went to UNC-CH, one to Western Carolina and one to App). all 3 got their bachelors in 4 or 5 semesters. however, none of them joined a sorority/fraternity or really had much of a social life, but that's not why they were there.

honestly i would rather our daughter be taking these standard pre-reqs at the CC vs UNC-CH or NCSU bc she's being taught by an actual college professor and not a grad student. the class sizes are much smaller and the quality of the instruction seems much higher. and it's FREE (thank you tax payers).

you are right that more families should be taking advantage of this but i dont think many HS juniors and seniors have enough foresight or work ethic to do it. and their parents arent paying attention.

 

[bleeduncblue]

After 27 years in public education, I finally retired last year. My only comment to all of this is to say that both of my kids are in private school and I'll sacrifice a kidney before they ever walk into a public school.

Great comments on this thread, btw.

congrats @WarriorHeel .. thanks for 27 years of hard ass work and caring!

my dad (70yo) is working on his 45th year of teaching - mostly middle school (7th grade this year). the last decade has been at a charter school and he has enjoyed that so much more than the traditional public school grind. he also taught at a private high school and a small private college.

 

[tarheel0910]

honestly i would rather our daughter be taking these standard pre-reqs at the CC

If I could go back in time, that's what I would do. No need for anyone to spend money on tuition and room and board for math and English.

 

[Grayhead]

sorry for the late reply @bluetoe - this one got me somehow. yes the credits automatically transfer to any of the 16 state universities.

and i can tell you from the experience of some close friends whose 3 high schoolers took this path over the last 5 years, they were way ahead of the game when they transferred in with all those credits (one went to UNC-CH, one to Western Carolina and one to App). all 3 got their bachelors in 4 or 5 semesters. however, none of them joined a sorority/fraternity or really had much of a social life, but that's not why they were there.

honestly i would rather our daughter be taking these standard pre-reqs at the CC vs UNC-CH or NCSU bc she's being taught by an actual college professor and not a grad student. the class sizes are much smaller and the quality of the instruction seems much higher. and it's FREE (thank you tax payers).

you are right that more families should be taking advantage of this but i dont think many HS juniors and seniors have enough foresight or work ethic to do it. and their parents arent paying attention.

I think alot of the credit Transfer is based on the CC itself. My youngest went to Early college at our local CC. She graduated in 3 years with an associate degree as well as a diploma. She then went the online college route, and every school she looked at accepted. The out of state colleges may be harder, but worth checking into.

 

[carolinablue34]

We spend more per capita on our students than any other country and yet don’t see the results. It would take days to outline the problems, years to implement solutions. Can’t blame parents for doing what’s best for their kids.

 

[bluetoe]

We spend more per capita on our students than any other country and yet don’t see the results. It would take days to outline the problems, years to implement solutions. Can’t blame parents for doing what’s best for their kids.

 

[WarriorHeel]

congrats @WarriorHeel .. thanks for 27 years of hard ass work and caring!

my dad (70yo) is working on his 45th year of teaching - mostly middle school (7th grade this year). the last decade has been at a charter school and he has enjoyed that so much more than the traditional public school grind. he also taught at a private high school and a small private college.

Appreciate that. I coached every thing under the sun and the grind eventually got to me. My father is 80 and is in his 53rd year in the airline industry.... still working. I have no intention to kick back and not work. Just was burnt out in education.... and the job has drastically changed in the past 10 years, for sure.

I took 6 months off and am back working (in a temporary role). Trying to figure out my next career at the moment.

 

[bleeduncblue]

the student loan crisis is another ball of wax altogether. i cannot believe parents continue to sign off on giving their kids a debt payment when they finish or stop going to college. what a gut punch. most 18 year olds have no idea what they're signing up for.

millions in scholarship money goes unused every year ... our 11th grader has a part time job of finding and applying for schollies. every dollar counts. but the bigger thing is this: able bodied 18 year olds can go to a STATE (aka more affordable) school and WORK WORK WORK while they learn and pay for their education. i realize this will severely hamper their ability to socialize and play beer pong, but it will be worth it many times over. the average person graduates with $37k in student loan debt ... that's some expensive beer pong!

 

[bleeduncblue]

I think alot of the credit Transfer is based on the CC itself. My youngest went to Early college at our local CC. She graduated in 3 years with an associate degree as well as a diploma. She then went the online college route, and every school she looked at accepted. The out of state colleges may be harder, but worth checking into.

our kids know that out of state is not happening UNLESS they get a full ride.

last fall a friend of ours sent their daughter to Auburn instead of UNCG, UNCW or App (she got accepted to all 3). if she stays 4 years it's going to cost approx $86k more than staying in State - all because she liked the Auburn campus the most 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

[tarheel0910]

the student loan crisis is another ball of wax altogether. i cannot believe parents continue to sign off on giving their kids a debt payment when they finish or stop going to college. what a gut punch. most 18 year olds have no idea what they're signing up for.

millions in scholarship money goes unused every year ... our 11th grader has a part time job of finding and applying for schollies. every dollar counts. but the bigger thing is this: able bodied 18 year olds can go to a STATE (aka more affordable) school and WORK WORK WORK while they learn and pay for their education. i realize this will severely hamper their ability to socialize and play beer pong, but it will be worth it many times over. the average person graduates with $37k in student loan debt ... that's some expensive beer pong!

The problem is the push for everyone to go to college that started however many decades ago. Not everyone should go to college. Then that started the snowball effect of having to go to grad school because everyone had an undergrad. Now you have a bunch of people with massive debt just so they could be hired for a job that pays them 50k a year. Technical schools and associate degrees need to be pushed as an option just as much as college. There are plenty of good paying jobs for those types of degrees.

 

[blazers]

If I could go back in time, that's what I would do. No need for anyone to spend money on tuition and room and board for math and English.

 

[carolinablue34]

The problem is the push for everyone to go to college that started however many decades ago. Not everyone should go to college. Then that started the snowball effect of having to go to grad school because everyone had an undergrad. Now you have a bunch of people with massive debt just so they could be hired for a job that pays them 50k a year. Technical schools and associate degrees need to be pushed as an option just as much as college. There are plenty of good paying jobs for those types of degrees.

Fully agree.

Adding to this and @bleeduncblue's point, the loan system is borderline, if not completely, exploitative. It's one of many things that should be reform in education. A lot of universities have ceased being public institutions focused primarily on accessible education. A friend of mine who works in academia told him his college created dozens of admin jobs over the past 10 years but only a handful of new teaching positions. Harvard has an endowment of nearly 60 billion (enough to pay the tuition for every student) and yet it's 80 grand a year to go there without aid.

This is not to say a college education is worthless. For those who can afford it, receive aid, or are interested in a field of study that requires a degree, they should go. But the focus is all wrong. A good example of this is DEI departments, which are little more than administrative boondoggles.

 

[carolinablue34]

Adding to this, for general public education, to me it's a question of standards.

I can speak from experience. In this field, teachers are squeezed between entitled parents who yell at them for not giving little Johnny or Susie an 'A' and the administrators who tell them to pass students who haven't earned that distinction. They receive no support, especially in a public setting where grades have been artificially inflated across the board to make this country's collective GPA look good.

Then there's lack of discipline. I can safely say most kids I come across are decent children and want to do well, but the 10-15% who don't are catastrophic in their behavior. And it's worse in poorer areas. It's a classic case of how an idea with good intentions leads to problems. There are no consequences for misbehavior. In the effort to prevent minority children from being targeted, too many school districts have softened rules and teachers can't take appropriate action. California passed a law preventing suspensions for 'low level offenses' or 'willful defiance.'

It starts at home. Teachers aren't being paid to raise your children. I remember fearing the wrath of God if my teacher called my parents about something I did wrong. That fear isn't there for a lot of them.

And for the love of God, I wish parents would stop giving their kids electronics to keep them quiet. It's incredibly harmful in a number of different ways.

 

[gunslingerdick]

The problem is the push for everyone to go to college that started however many decades ago. Not everyone should go to college. Then that started the snowball effect of having to go to grad school because everyone had an undergrad. Now you have a bunch of people with massive debt just so they could be hired for a job that pays them 50k a year. Technical schools and associate degrees need to be pushed as an option just as much as college. There are plenty of good paying jobs for those types of degrees.

It wasn't the push for everyone to go to college. Just white people of middle or upper class. Minorities and low income folks weren't pushed to go to college until recently when "diversity" started to dominate everything. So maybe 15 years or so ago. But throughout the 80s and 90s, it was just middle and upper class whites that were pushed toward college. Granted, the cost afforded the culture of people just going and figuring things out on the fly whereas that is no longer the case.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Adding to this, for general public education, to me it's a question of standards.

I can speak from experience. In this field, teachers are squeezed between entitled parents who yell at them for not giving little Johnny or Susie an 'A' and the administrators who tell them to pass students who haven't earned that distinction. They receive no support, especially in a public setting where grades have been artificially inflated across the board to make this country's collective GPA look good.

Then there's lack of discipline. I can safely say most kids I come across are decent children and want to do well, but the 10-15% who don't are catastrophic in their behavior. And it's worse in poorer areas. It's a classic case of how an idea with good intentions leads to problems. There are no consequences for misbehavior. In the effort to prevent minority children from being targeted, too many school districts have softened rules and teachers can't take appropriate action. California passed a law preventing suspensions for 'low level offenses' or 'willful defiance.'

It starts at home. Teachers aren't being paid to raise your children. I remember fearing the wrath of God if my teacher called my parents about something I did wrong. That fear isn't there for a lot of them.

And for the love of God, I wish parents would stop giving their kids electronics to keep them quiet. It's incredibly harmful in a number of different ways.

That's a good poast.

And you're right, it does start at home. And it starts and ends with fatherless homes. Do realize how predictable a child's future success (or lack thereof) can be tied to the the family structure from which they came? The numbers are staggering. Basically, if you grow up without a father, the chances of you being a criminal, uneducated, working shit jobs, abusing drugs or alcohol and becoming an early parent yourself are exponentially higher in people who did not have a father in their lives growing up. It ain't about racial inequity. It's hardly about income inequity. It is more about family structure inequity than pretty much any other factor. I won't get into my feelings about which political party did everything they could (and still do) to ruin the black family structure in America. I'll just say that's why my animosity towards one party is far greater than it is for the other.

Regarding education, there is one easy fix - school vouchers. Give state funding to the student/family rather than the school. Parents are forced to become more involved in private school settings. Kids benefit. It's really a no-brainer and I'm befuddled by opposition by the left for school choice. It is the opposite of what they claim to be about.

 

[bluetoe]

Adding to this, for general public education, to me it's a question of standards.

I can speak from experience. In this field, teachers are squeezed between entitled parents who yell at them for not giving little Johnny or Susie an 'A' and the administrators who tell them to pass students who haven't earned that distinction. They receive no support, especially in a public setting where grades have been artificially inflated across the board to make this country's collective GPA look good.

Then there's lack of discipline. I can safely say most kids I come across are decent children and want to do well, but the 10-15% who don't are catastrophic in their behavior. And it's worse in poorer areas. It's a classic case of how an idea with good intentions leads to problems. There are no consequences for misbehavior. In the effort to prevent minority children from being targeted, too many school districts have softened rules and teachers can't take appropriate action. California passed a law preventing suspensions for 'low level offenses' or 'willful defiance.'

It starts at home. Teachers aren't being paid to raise your children. I remember fearing the wrath of God if my teacher called my parents about something I did wrong. That fear isn't there for a lot of them.

And for the love of God, I wish parents would stop giving their kids electronics to keep them quiet. It's incredibly harmful in a number of different ways.

It's a classic case of how an idea with good intentions leads to problems. There are no consequences for misbehavior. In the effort to prevent minority children from being targeted, too many school districts have softened rules and teachers can't take appropriate action. California passed a law preventing suspensions for 'low level offenses' or 'willful defiance.'

it's a classic case of a lack of common sense and acting on feelings instead of reason and a grip on reality. It's exactly the kind of thing that gets conservatives labeled as Nazis when they simply point out the flaw in the plan and attempt to resist it. We have gotten pushed further and further into this soft-hearted and soft-headed culture wherein people who don't understand how the world works try to create a cultural Disney World but instead create a nightmare that you can't wake up from.

Really good post, BTW.

 

[tarheel0910]

It wasn't the push for everyone to go to college. Just white people of middle or upper class. Minorities and low income folks weren't pushed to go to college until recently when "diversity" started to dominate everything. So maybe 15 years or so ago. But throughout the 80s and 90s, it was just middle and upper class whites that were pushed toward college. Granted, the cost afforded the culture of people just going and figuring things out on the fly whereas that is no longer the case.

It wasn't just middle and upper class. I would say that most of the people I went to school with, including me, would fit in the lower class category. Same thing for a lot of other schools in my county. I understand your need to always blame woke culture and/or the younger generations, but this isn't a new issue.

 

[gunslingerdick]

It wasn't just middle and upper class. I would say that most of the people I went to school with, including me, would fit in the lower class category. Same thing for a lot of other schools in my county. I understand your need to always blame woke culture and/or the younger generations, but this isn't a new issue.

I’m also 10 years older than you (at least). And it was exactly how I characterized it when I was coming along. I can’t speak to the environment in your youth. Maybe you’re right. I kind of doubt it but I’m not gonna argue it.

 

[carolinablue34]

That's a good poast.

And you're right, it does start at home. And it starts and ends with fatherless homes. Do realize how predictable a child's future success (or lack thereof) can be tied to the the family structure from which they came? The numbers are staggering. Basically, if you grow up without a father, the chances of you being a criminal, uneducated, working shit jobs, abusing drugs or alcohol and becoming an early parent yourself are exponentially higher in people who did not have a father in their lives growing up. It ain't about racial inequity. It's hardly about income inequity. It is more about family structure inequity than pretty much any other factor. I won't get into my feelings about which political party did everything they could (and still do) to ruin the black family structure in America. I'll just say that's why my animosity towards one party is far greater than it is for the other.

Regarding education, there is one easy fix - school vouchers. Give state funding to the student/family rather than the school. Parents are forced to become more involved in private school settings. Kids benefit. It's really a no-brainer and I'm befuddled by opposition by the left for school choice. It is the opposite of what they claim to be about.

Lack of father in the home is a big part of it not just from an educational standpoint but from a cultural one too. Boys especially are more likely to have run ins with the law in a one parent home. Though I do think lack of economic opportunity is a big barrier for people of all colors when it comes to stability. Inner city Philadelphia and rural Appalachia suffer from the same symptoms.

Now as for your second point, I'm not in favor of giving state money to charter schools, especially religious ones. Weakening public education only widens the gap between haves and have nots, which will also make other problems worse- crime, drug use, lawlessness, theft, etc. Because not everyone has that option. For every poor kid who gets into a better school from a voucher, there's a hundred more who will not be able to even with state voucgers. Destroying public education means we destroy a basic function of society.

There are other reasons why I don't support giving public money to charter schools, but I'm bordering DSouthr length on this poast. That being said, any parent who has the means, education, and desire to pull their kids out of a bad public school and either home school or send to a private school, by all means. More power to them. Parents must do what is best for their children.

 

[carolinablue34]

it's a classic case of a lack of common sense and acting on feelings instead of reason and a grip on reality. It's exactly the kind of thing that gets conservatives labeled as Nazis when they simply point out the flaw in the plan and attempt to resist it. We have gotten pushed further and further into this soft-hearted and soft-headed culture wherein people who don't understand how the world works try to create a cultural Disney World but instead create a nightmare that you can't wake up from.

Really good post, BTW.

Thank you.

The pendulum has swung a bit too far in the other direction. This is partially a product of our own success and circumstance. I believe that strides made in understanding children aka those with learning disorders, ADHD, autism, dyslexia, etc. has been enormously beneficial. But we also coddle younger generations way too much. We don't set expectations.

We have two generations, mine and Gen Z, that have unrealistic expectations in certain areas of life. Obviously it's too simplistic to blame it on thing or another, or that young people don't have legitimate grievances. But we were coddled in many ways. We were not given enough independence and therefore, we've taken a lot of lumps in early adulthood. Older generations had to mature much faster.

Of course, there are exceptions and you can't generalize too much. But I've grown up more in the last 2 years than the prior 10 combined. Sooner or later, responsibility falls on you to build a life.

 

[gunslingerdick]

.

Weakening public education only widens the gap between haves and have nots, which will also make other problems worse- crime, drug use, lawlessness, theft, etc.

First of all, with school vouchers, when it comes to education, there won’t be haves and have nots. School choice would enable the creation of new schools that would take kids that couldn’t necessarily get in other schools. And secondly, it wouldn’t be weakening public ed for the students that remain because public ed should only be using the money allotted for each child.

 

[blazers]

A weak public Ed is going to make this country 3rd-world. Can't abandon it just because it sucks. Like healthcare it just needs a vast revamp. Let's reset priority, policy, goals, then start paying teachers more.

 

[bluetoe]

A weak public Ed is going to make this country 3rd-world. Can't abandon it just because it sucks. Like healthcare it just needs a vast revamp. Let's reset priority, policy, goals, then start paying teachers more.

what do you think we're talking about? We have a weak pub ed and we are heading toward third world status. We are resetting priorities and policy in order to hopefully reverse the trend....thank you republicans.

 

[bluetoe]

what do you think we're talking about? We have a weak pub ed and we are heading toward third world status. We are resetting priorities and policy in order to hopefully reverse the trend....thank you republicans.

And while you clamor for something to change, you in fact oppose it. Liberal.