Obama '08?

No, but the cost has skyrocketed, which has driven our efficiency down. I think I saw that over 30% of students now hit the university in need to remedial classes, defined as needing to learn at the university what they should have learned before they hit university. Every hour Universities spend doing work that should have been done in High School is one less hour for university work.

What is the adjusted for inflation total cost per student to provide primary education compared to the 1950's I wonder. I bet it is multiple above the what we used to spend, and we get less for it.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/09/the_schools_scandal.html

hawk, How does "that" inflation compare with all other cost of living products and services?

There is no system in the country, to which I say thank god. My position is 180 degree from that of my daughter who may be more liberal than me.

However, education is run by two different kinds of organizations. One is a large group made up of numerous individuals across the nation: the many local boards which are peopled by those who have some ax to grind (usually because they have hare-brained ideas that range from eliminating tracking to save money all the way to teaching Intelligent Design);or those who wish to launch a career in politics; or those who want to protect their own children from the hare-brained parents.*

The other group is small but it has national influence. That group consists solely of the school boards of the States of Texas and California. Their power consists of their ability to dictate the wording of textbooks.

*I moved my family to a community in which the parents exercised their power judiciously. They created safe and spacious play areas. They kept the system in the top ten of the state.

Now, I will just sit back and wait for the uninformed opinion that contradicts mine.

Are you aware that your second sentence has nothing to do with your first?

It is true that 30% of students now need remedial classes but that has nothing to do with what was spent on their educations nor how it was spent, which I will address below.

And it is not universities but all post-secondary education, which includes community colleges and for-profit schools, both of which are much easier to gain admission to than most universities.

Shall we discuss the reasons why remedial classes are needed?

The first is that many older people are returning to school after long hiatuses from formal education. Some because they are unhappy with the field they have been in and others because they lost jobs and are seeking training in order to find work in more secure fields. Many of these students are people who wouldn't have been admitted to competitive schools at the time of their high school graduation and being away from school has eroded what skills they had.

The second is that many foreign students attempt to go to school in the US without an adequate understanding of English.

The third is the acrobatics that have been put in place for special needs students. Special needs has become an omnibus category that includes people with varying levels of intelligence, mental health, physical disabilities and more. The more includes pushy parents who want individualized learning plans for their kids.

Fourth is the emphasis put on a college education which has opened to doors to people who would have been on welfare 40 years ago.

Now, are you aware that the statement of per capita spending may be high not because of books or teachers' salaries but rather because of administrators' salaries and because of the high cost of heating and maintaining school buildings.

I will sit back and wait for your uninformed contradictions as well.

So pom, I just want to make sure I have your answer straight, I read your answer several times, and apparently you claim there is no educational system in this country. This is but another loony statement made by you, pom. I have to inform you that you are wrong, there is in fact an educational system in this country, and most of it is known as "public education," which is funded and run by various government entities, including local, state, and federal. The feds have increased their influence as time passes. The public school system used to be funded almost entirely by local taxes and run by local school boards.

Teachers in states like CA, MA, MD, VA and northern IL where the cost of living is higher must be paid more than teachers in states with lower annual costs.

There is no overall national education system. Shall I repeat that? There are no federal standards. There is something disruptive that came about during the bush Error . . . sorry, that was supposed to be Era . . . known as No CHild Left Behind which was a misguided attempt created by lobbyists paid by publishing houses who created all those misguided exams.

We have more than one friend that are teachers, and they are generally not thrilled with NCLB. I would like to remind you, pom, that I was not a supporter of everything Bush did. I thought the Prescription Drug Plan was a terrible initiative, and I oppose any further intervention of the feds into the education system. I sympathized with Bush's desire to install some standards and goals for education to meet, but I think it is more efficiently done on the local level, handled by teachers and local school boards as they receive input from teachers, their taxpayers, and parents.

The truth is however that we do have an education system, but it is not currently efficient because there are too many chiefs and not enough indians.

okie, Funny you should be asking that question when GW Bush is the one who imposed a federal mandate on all schools without properly funding it. How does that fit into the conservative "less government" meme? Have you caught on yet? Or, is that too spacial for you?

ci, I have said many times, just repeated above, that I do not support all of Bush's policies, and I oppose any further intervention and funding by the feds into the education system. I believe it is time we the people assume more of the responsibility to run the schools. I also believe in privately funded schools, even home schooling if it is done right, and I think it would be proper to investigate the feasibility to adopt a voucher system of some kind, so that parents could have more control over where their children went to school and how the schools are run.

I have also posted in the past my opinion that Bush was not conservative in total, in particular in regard to some of his domestic policies.

You're talking nonsense. All those issues have been talked about for decades by most parents and school administrators. What you want now is a non-issue.

This is interesting, Rove and Gillespie emphatically accuse Obama of lying, as shown below. One can delve into this and determine for themselves who is most likely telling the truth or lying. I will agree with Rove and Gillespie, because I do not think Obama is above lying to further his cause, nor do I trust the Soros funded radical groupees at Center for American Progress:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/10/rove-gillespie-slam-obama-spreading-baseless-lie-foreign-contributions/

"Rove, Gillespie Slam Obama for Spreading 'Baseless Lie' Over Foreign Contributions
Two top Republicans lit into President Obama and the Democratic Party Sunday over accusations that the GOP strategists and the Chamber of Commerce were using foreign contributions to influence the election, calling the claim a "baseless lie" and accusing the president of "abuse of power."

....

He said Obama was basing his original charge off a report from a group, the Center for American Progress, "that does not disclose its donors."

"This is the kind of abuse of power in a lot of ways ... that most Americans are rejecting," Gillespie said. "

okie, Get over it; all politicians lie. You also lie. Is that a new clue for you?

There is NO national system of education. That would be a disaster because rather than read the single book kids now read during the summer, they would read none. Why? Because instead of holding the nation to the standards of a CT or a MA, a standard on the level of Alabama would be put in place.

"I would like to remind you, pom, that . . ."{I am a pompous windbag with an ego the size of a small municipality}.

In your grammatically unacceptable sentence, you denied that there are local school boards.

Has anyone noticed that all of okie's rants have two votes? His sock puppet is active!



There he goes again, confusing George Soros with Emmanuel Goldstein, another bit of culture that he is unfamiliar with!

Watch out, okie, the paranoids might get you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_American_Progress
"The Center has no information on its website about its funding, but the Washington Post reported that "seed money pledged by such deep-pocketed Democrats as financier George Soros and mortgage billionaires Herbert and Marion Sandler" assisted its formation.[6] The authors of Her Way, a biography of Hillary Clinton, also assert that the Democracy Alliance, a progressive donors collective, has funded the Center. They also assert that the Sandlers and Soros provided seed money"

So, would it be wrong, in your mind, for Willard ("Mitt") Romney to fund a conservative think tank or a conservative information center?

From the Care2 Site:

Ok, so we get it. Coy or not, Sarah Palin is running for president in 2012. But despite the fact that she's sucking all of the Hail to the Chief air out of the room, she's not the only one who may be seeking the Oval Office, and they have star power, too.

Yes, I'm talking about two great New York icons. And the first is real-estate mogul and media celebrity Donald Trump.

[D]espite saying what a great honour it was to have the title of Doctor bestowed upon him, he was soon suggesting that a somewhat more prestigious honorific would perhaps be more fitting.

“A lot of people have asked me to run for President,” he said, “and until recently I would have no interest but someone has to do something. Obama is having a hard time. The US is a great country but it’s not doing very well. It should be doing much better and with proper leadership it would do unbelievably well.”

Despite all that, he said, he has not made a final decision on whether to run. Asked if Sarah Palin would make a good running mate, he just smiled.

This isn't the first time that The Donald has hinted at a presidential run. Seems he's been mulling it since the 90's.

Appearing by telephone on Tuesday’s morning shows, Trump said “I can tell you this – for the first time in my life, I am absolutely thinking about it.” But, ‘The Donald’ also adds “I don’t know that I’ll do it. It’s probable that I won’t do it. But I can tell you, I’m thinking about it.”

Trump has always been lurking around the corner for a presidential run. In 1988 he considered running as a Republican, since he was no fan of George Bush ‘41′. The Donald has also thought about running before under the banner of the Reform Party, started by H. Ross Perot.

Trump was a critic of both Bush 41and 43. While initially kind to Obama, Trump has become very public in rejecting the Obama agenda. Donald has recently said this week that he has great respect for the Tea Party movement. Trump addresses the economic woes of America, with it’s trillion dollar Obama-sized deficits and lame negotiators of the State Department.

But should Trump run, he might be facing some stiff competition. Well, hopefully not too stiff.

Yes, New York City's ubiquitous Naked Cowboy is running as well.

Yee-huh?

The Naked Cowboy -- Time Square's tighty-whitey wearing, guitar-toting tourist magnet -- announced he's running for President in 2012… as a member of the Tea Party.

The familiar white briefs, boots, cowboy hat, and long hair were nowhere to be seen at a press conference on Wednesday in his old haunt, Times Square. This time the underwear-sporting cowboy, whose real name is Robert John Burck, was garbed in a suit and tie with his cropped hair slicked back.

Burck, who is registered as a Republican in Ohio, slammed President Obama and declared the Tea Party was "the only legitimate grassroots movement."

....

Despite his efforts to be taken seriously, reporters pelted the Naked Cowboy with questions such as: Will he endorse Fruit of the Loom or Hanes? Is he wearing a codpiece? Does he feel like just another dishonest politician since he's not actually naked in Times Square?

When asked where his underwear was, the Times Square staple did not smile.

"No time for games," he said.

Donald Trump or the Naked Cowboy? Suddenly, Sarah Palin is looking a little less unqualified.

You lie again. I have never denied there are local school boards. Either prove your allegation or apologize, that would be the decent thing to do. In other words, also put up or shut up.

By the way, why don't you quit your stupid and inane postings, that would be nice.