Could the government purposefully be lowering funding for schools?

I am usually very skeptical of "conspiracy theorys," but I can't get this out of my head. As you should know, schools suck. The funding is WAY to low and they're VERY inefficient. Poor education breeds apathy, the lover of a power hungry government. Anyone else think that perhaps the government is acctually making our schools uneffective? I cannot propose who is doing this, for I don't believe in the "new world order" etc. but it seems plausible, in an abstract, paranoid manner.

The government has never lowered funding for schools. It goes up every year. They spin the truth to make it look like the evil Republicans are taking money away from the schools. It's a play on words and its quite effective when people don't check to see if it is spin or the truth. Our local schools always say that when the teachers union wants more money. If people don't wise up soon our property taxes will be higher than our mortgage payments. Its the teachers that is conducting the real conspiracy. They keep saying that the reason our children are not learning is because they don't have enough money. All you need to teach kids to read and write is books, pencils, chalk and a chalkboard and they can not even do that.

By the way, I'm not a Republican, I just hate lies and I'm disgusted with the teachers union. I've had two people with diploma's this week who could not read or fill out an application. I can't hire them. Why do they have diploma's? I turn away a few dozen of these illiterate kids every year and most of them have diploma's. The teachers however did get a big pay raise and our property taxes have nearly doubled in the last three years. Of course the mayor says our property taxes actually went down and that we are not doing the math right. Only idiots are buying that though. In 2004 mine were about $280 per month. This year they are about $700 a month. Same math the teachers union is using and most of it is going to them. They have benefits those who are paying them can only dream of. If I got the things they get I'd be jumping for joy, not lying to get even more for not doing my job.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
The government has never lowered funding for schools. It goes up every year. They spin the truth to make it look like the evil Republicans are taking money away from the schools. It's a play on words and its quite effective when people don't check to see if it is spin or the truth. Our local schools always say that when the teachers union wants more money. If people don't wise up soon our property taxes will be higher than our mortgage payments. Its the teachers that is conducting the real conspiracy. They keep saying that the reason our children are not learning is because they don't have enough money. All you need to teach kids to read and write is books, pencils, chalk and a chalkboard and they can not even do that.

By the way, I'm not a Republican, I just hate lies and I'm disgusted with the teachers union. I've had two people with diploma's this week who could not read or fill out an application. I can't hire them. Why do they have diploma's? I turn away a few dozen of these illiterate kids every year and most of them have diploma's. The teachers however did get a big pay raise and our property taxes have nearly doubled in the last three years. Of course the mayor says our property taxes actually went down and that we are not doing the math right. Only idiots are buying that though. In 2004 mine were about $280 per month. This year they are about $700 a month. Same math the teachers union is using and most of it is going to them. They have benefits those who are paying them can only dream of. If I got the things they get I'd be jumping for joy, not lying to get even more for not doing my job.

Did not someone call this ..sometime back .."fuzzy math"??

I'm being a bit ficitious of course. I agree with your position on the schools. From my very biased standpoint..it is obvious to me you can triple or quadruple the moneys going into public schools and it wont make a difference. If anything the standards will go down.

You will often see me making a point in certain postings on ATS to the posters...

"Did you go to public schools????"

So many posters here obviously have public education school thinking. For public school education you can substitute the phrase ..."Television education.'

They have majored in Emotional Jags and consumption rates..not thinking or analyzing what they see. Just how to get to their next consumption or what they think they deserve..especially emotionally.

What you have going on in public education has become a pork barrel project.. a jobs program..not education. This should be obvious to many. A jobs program for teachers, politicians, and vendors who service this lifestlye.

IN the politics arena it is just like race issues, abortion issues, gay issues...etc etc etc...the teachers unions are a gauranteed, controllable, malliable voting block.
All of these groups are cultivated groomed and "victimized" for votes. The solution to all of them is pour more moneys into them for less results. It does however gaurantee votes to certain political afilliations and was designed to do exactly that.
Our children have suffered accordingly.

THe very politics involved in public education should tell us by common sense that it is not about education anymore but politics...and the education sufferes accordingly. Common sense here..not politics.
This should be obvious when you hear the horror stories about what happens to many of our children when they enter colleges here in America. Many of them become Anti American. This cannot be accidental..it must be deliberate. This can only happen in a cloistered enviornment away from parental control...and among children who are not well grounded in anything but the next consumption goodie or television program.

One more thing to notice..and of much importance..Politics finances public education ...the earliest grades through college. Politics is never going to educate you enough to put light on themselves. Only public education can dumb down an people so far they lose sight of this truth. THey will only finance the product they want...not what the pubic desires. Some of you should know better than this.

I too am not a Republican. I am Conservative. I dont consider the Republicans to be conservative. I consider them to be professional politicians just like the Democrats. Which professional politician do you want to vote for in the next election cycle...which professional..the Republican professional or the Democratic professional?? Think long and hard on this one while they both jerk you around on the string with emotional jerk off techniques...the hits will never stop coming. Get used to it..being on the emotional string. They are grooming your children for this non stop.

Oh..and I went to public schools and have spent a lifetime getting over it.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by Blaine91555
Of course the mayor says our property taxes actually went down and that we are not doing the math right. Only idiots are buying that though. In 2004 mine were about $280 per month. This year they are about $700 a month. Same math the teachers union is using and most of it is going to them. They have benefits those who are paying them can only dream of. If I got the things they get I'd be jumping for joy, not lying to get even more for not doing my job.

You know, that's the same song and dance we heard in our city :shk:
One nearby district even allows non-residents to attend, well at least until that magic attendance day.
I can almost go along with school taxes for K-12. Almost. We have no children and we do feel it is an unfair burden. Nonetheless...

But the community colleges are another thing. Totally an unfair burden.



No, sorry to say, I can see no way schools are getting less money.
What I think is happening is someone's getting rich off the taxpayer's backs. And the kids are NOT getting an education.

As a high school student I think that there's at least three things that need to happen for education to improve.

1. Teachers need to get motivated and creative. I've seen a lot of teachers that just give you the air of apathy, and nobody seems to learn a thing from those teachers. On the other hand I've been fortunate enough to have some extremely creative teachers who have enthusiasm that can be quite infectous. Right now I've got an english teacher who's probably the most enthusiastic guy I've ever met and I've never learned this much in an english class. So props to the teachers who view teaching as more than just a job, they're the one's that truely make a difference.

2. Student's need to get motivated about learning early in life. One way that'll have some effect is what I just mentioned above. Although for a real solution that'll be truely effective I think that we need to focus more on what children are taught early on. I'll admit that I'm no expert on education for young kids, but that seems to be the root of a lot of problems as far as I can tell. But if I had to guess I'd say it's primarily the parenting, which sadly can't really be fixed through the school system. At least not for a generation or two, and even then the change won't be too drastic.

3. We've got to do something about the culture of it being cool to be stupid. I constantly hear adults telling me how it'll be the current dumbasses that'll be serving me at fast food resturants. Yet for some reason many students continue to practically worship stupidity. Part of the problem is just culture in general. In a culture where you're considered better than somebody else because you're dumb enough to buy clothes at brandname stores there's a problem. In a culture where you're better than somebody for being on the football team while they're on the academic team there's a problem.

One thing that needs to change is how much school's emphasize their sports teams. Why are we placing so much importance on athletics in an institution of learning? In my school the scholastic bowl team (it's like team jepordy) is the only comptetive academic activity, and for some reason it's never mentioned despite having one of the best records in the school. The JV scholastic team had the best record of any of the JV teams in my school yet the scholastic team isn't even mentioned at any of the pep rallies during the year. The scholastic team didn't even get on the announcements after slaughtering our rival school's team. This sort of thing needs to change. When your only academic team isn't even being mentioned on the announcements then you know that apathy concerning academics has gone way too far.

An enviroment where it's bad to be smart is no place for anyone who's their to learn. Simply put, education will not improve until the school culture (particuarly high school) of degrading intelligence changes.

Originally posted by cyberdude78
As a high school student I think that there's at least three things that need to happen for education to improve.

1. Teachers need to get motivated and creative. I've seen a lot of teachers that just give you the air of apathy, and nobody seems to learn a thing from those teachers. On the other hand I've been fortunate enough to have some extremely creative teachers who have enthusiasm that can be quite infectous. Right now I've got an english teacher who's probably the most enthusiastic guy I've ever met and I've never learned this much in an english class. So props to the teachers who view teaching as more than just a job, they're the one's that truely make a difference.

2. Student's need to get motivated about learning early in life. One way that'll have some effect is what I just mentioned above. Although for a real solution that'll be truely effective I think that we need to focus more on what children are taught early on. I'll admit that I'm no expert on education for young kids, but that seems to be the root of a lot of problems as far as I can tell. But if I had to guess I'd say it's primarily the parenting, which sadly can't really be fixed through the school system. At least not for a generation or two, and even then the change won't be too drastic.

3. We've got to do something about the culture of it being cool to be stupid. I constantly hear adults telling me how it'll be the current dumbasses that'll be serving me at fast food resturants. Yet for some reason many students continue to practically worship stupidity. Part of the problem is just culture in general. In a culture where you're considered better than somebody else because you're dumb enough to buy clothes at brandname stores there's a problem. In a culture where you're better than somebody for being on the football team while they're on the academic team there's a problem.

One thing that needs to change is how much school's emphasize their sports teams. Why are we placing so much importance on athletics in an institution of learning? In my school the scholastic bowl team (it's like team jepordy) is the only comptetive academic activity, and for some reason it's never mentioned despite having one of the best records in the school. The JV scholastic team had the best record of any of the JV teams in my school yet the scholastic team isn't even mentioned at any of the pep rallies during the year. The scholastic team didn't even get on the announcements after slaughtering our rival school's team. This sort of thing needs to change. When your only academic team isn't even being mentioned on the announcements then you know that apathy concerning academics has gone way too far.

An enviroment where it's bad to be smart is no place for anyone who's their to learn. Simply put, education will not improve until the school culture (particuarly high school) of degrading intelligence changes.

Wow Cyberdude!!

HOw did you escape the public school virus which is so common today. By what you post you seem to have more than a public school education and are thinking outside of the blocks which pass for most of education now days. I am saying that you seem to have more than a "Television Education" This is what I mean by public school education.

You seem to be able to think with something more than just emotions or four letter words to describe some emotional jag. Multidimensional thinking going on here...congratulations. Great going.

I agree with your position on sports teams. What causes this is that sports is where alot of schools get thier moneys. Sports teams and sports promotions. Not in academic achievements per se. Dont let this discourage you. I say this because look at what happens to most of the sports figures in High school say...ten to fifteen years down the road. Stick with the academics and multidimension thinking and analyzing...you will go much further in life.
Sports is ok..it is a dicipline too..but not the only dicipline. Sports teachs us to do physical things ..not just academic..to see things through to fruitition. Academia is a dicipline too. It does not teach us to use it on its own to accomplish physical goals with the academia we know...to make accomplishments and stick with them. Academia is just that ..academia. What do you do when school is out..and you have to get out in the real world ..and accomplish tasks ..to bring home the bacon.
The two compliment each other.
You will be learning for the rest of your life..one dicipline or another. Learning is part of the mosaic of being human..you never actually get a break from it. There is always something new to learn.

By the way ..its not cool to be stupid...that is not something about which to glory.
You dont have to let everyone know you are smart or can think outside of the very low standards of what passes for excellence today..sometimes its better to let people think you are stupid....but nevertheless being stupid is not cool.

Amusement....

A...without Muse....thinking

without thinking ..amuse..or amusement. Many of us need to be amused through life....and cool is often not thinking but reacting to a stimulus...an amusement...a trigger which is not even our own. Many of us need to be amused through life because thinking is often difficult. Many of us avoid it for a lifetime.
Has it ever occurred to you that much of television including sports is for the prupose of "amusement" to prevent thinking?? Same with the commercial appeal..to prevent thinking. Very easy to put people on a treadmill and seperate them from their moneys and labors..and even thier votes when they let thier guard down by "Amusements."
I could take this further ..but this will suffice for now...

Great cyberdude that you can think beyond public school education...keep up the good work..keep thinking ..dont just amuse like so many.


Deny Ignorance..is that not the motto here??

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by cyberdude78
As a high school student I think that there's at least three things that need to happen for education to improve.

When you decide to run for office, you've got my vote

Your post gives me hope. In the end, logic will win out. It's a timeless game. Each sucessive generation rights the mistakes of their elders before they make their own.

Originally posted by Blaine91555

Originally posted by cyberdude78
As a high school student I think that there's at least three things that need to happen for education to improve.

When you decide to run for office, you've got my vote

Your post gives me hope. In the end, logic will win out. It's a timeless game. Each sucessive generation rights the mistakes of their elders before they make their own.

Agree with you here Blane. Gives me hope too. That is why I asked ..how did Cyberdude escape the virus which passes for excellence today.

Thanks,
Orangetom.

I'd just say thanks a lot guys. A lot of what I know that's out of the norm I've learned from ATS, and doing research on topics that I first heard about on ATS. Learning something new is just something that I highly enjoy, so it just seems natural for me to have a good education. But on the otherhand I've got to say that although my family wasn't always in a good position financially earlier in my life, they've always been extremely supportive of learning. So I really do think that part of fixing education is getting parents to support learning much earlier on in life.

[edit on 10/11/2006 by cyberdude78]