Texas Schools

[Mr. Deez]

But the kids who can't get out of the crappy schools get an even crappier school.

First, you're buying the Left's assumption about education spending - that money means a better education. You assume that school districts actually need to spend all the money they spend to deliver a quality education. They don't. Keep in mind that huge amounts of "education" spending never get anywhere near the classroom. If it was about money, DC would have the best schools in the United States, and of course, the US would have some of the very best public schools in the world. Virtually nobody spends on education like we do.

Second, at least under the voucher bill I had to learn about when I worked at the Capitol, the full proportion of funding didn't follow the student. Accordingly, the per pupil funding for the public school actually went up.

 

[Monahorns]

We need November election of all school board trustees (though RRISD already does this), and they need to partisan officeholders. In the case of Round Rock, the district might still be a mess but probably wouldn't be quite as bad.

Making school board elections partisan is a necessary step. Right now there isn't an easy way for most people to know who they are voting for. Jeremy Story did a good job getting the information out, but largely failed because most voters walk in without any prior study. Also, he allied with a lightning rod or two for controversy.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Making school board elections partisan is a necessary step. Right now there isn't an easy way for most people to know who they are voting for. Jeremy Story did a good job getting the information out, but largely failed because most voters walk in without any prior study. Also, he allied with a lightning rod or two for controversy.

I'm not sure it would make a difference in Round Rock. It's a Democratic city now, and it would probably elect a similar batch of clowns - maybe a little better. But it would make a difference in more conservative suburbs and rural areas.

 

[guy4321]

First, you're buying the Left's assumption about education spending - that money means a better education. You assume that school districts actually need to spend all the money they spend to deliver a quality education. They don't. Keep in mind that huge amounts of "education" spending never get anywhere near the classroom. If it was about money, DC would have the best schools in the United States, and of course, the US would have some of the very best public schools in the world. Virtually nobody spends on education like we do.

Second, at least under the voucher bill I had to learn about when I worked at the Capitol, the full proportion of funding didn't follow the student. Accordingly, the per pupil funding for the public school actually went up.

The correct answer isn't if a talking point is left or right. It's what's better for educating children. Do you think less funding in public schools will in general make education

a) the same
b) better
c) worse

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

If you fund fewer football fields, fewer administrators and bureaucrats, and significantly fewer Dept of Education bureaucrats at both the federal and state levels, you can eliminate "c".

 

[Monahorns]

The correct answer isn't if a talking point is left or right. It's what's better for educating children. Do you think less funding in public schools will in general make education

a) the same
b) better
c) worse

It's an oversimplified question as Deez and Sangre have pointed out. With the amount of books out there and access to information on the internet, proper education should cost much less today than it ever has. But we get money ripped from our pockets ever month to give to one of the Left's strongest support organizations, the public teacher's union. It's time to cut them off from the trough.

 

[Monahorns]

I think the terminology we use is also completely deceptive. Public schools are not public, or are no more public than private schools. What we call public schools should be called state propaganda institutes. They are not controlled by the public. They are controlled by the Federal Dept of Ed, teacher's unions, and industry lobbyists. The vast majority of these groups represent the vanguard of woke cultural marxism. Their control over our children's minds must end.

One anecdote is my oldest daughter's sociology class at UTSA. She did very poorly on a test because their was confusing language around the difference of gender non-binary and gender non-conforming. There were also questions about the sources of inequity in society. It was multiple choice and she read me the options. They were all word salads of garbage, which is the typical communist method of confusion. UTSA is a "public" school too, run by the government of Texas. It shows how much work there is to purge even the Texas government of this destructive ideology.

On the other side are private schools, which are open to the public. They aren't some secret society. They have guidelines and regulations they have to meet for certification. You can choose which one or none of them to send your children to. That sounds much more like a school that serves the public than a government school. Yes, they are privately owned. Parks can be privately owned too. Shops are privately owned but open to the public. It would be better to call them market schools or something like that.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

RE: Standardized Testing
I really don't understand the logic against standardized testing. There should be a body of knowledge that we can identify that is most important to impart and we should have a standardized test to measure each district, school and teacher as to how well they are teaching that. IMO, teaching to the test is exactly what we want teachers doing. We just have to do a better job at defining what those tests should look like. (and private schools should be held to this standard as well)

My sons all took similar classes in high school and there was a HUGE variance in the material taught and tested. I don't think that is an efficient or wise path. We can give teachers some leeway in the HOW, but the WHAT should be pretty standard.

RE: More money == better outcomes
I think we all know that this is a fallacy. IMO, better outcomes for individual students are determined by (1a) home environment (1b) peer groups. But that is not something we are ever going to be able to control with legislation or policy. Better outcomes in the aggregate come from continuity in the curriculum and properly motivated teachers.

RE: money following the student
if we can control for the impact of a flood of new money being available to private ed then I don't have a problem with it, but legislators have to be smart enough to get way ahead of what the private schools will do. If they can't raise tuition, they'll raise fees, if they can't raise fees, they'll charge for books, if they can't do XXXX they'll do YYYY. Private schools will likely try every maneuver to increase their income based on this policy.

 

[guy4321]

If you fund fewer football fields, fewer administrators and bureaucrats, and significantly fewer Dept of Education bureaucrats at both the federal and state levels, you can eliminate "c".

Yet no school choice bill will restrict football field funding nor the other two (all which I'd be okay with).

 

[Mr. Deez]

The correct answer isn't if a talking point is left or right. It's what's better for educating children. Do you think less funding in public schools will in general make education

a) the same
b) better
c) worse

It depends on what the school system does. Bad policy makes our education system poor, not a lack of funding. Again, that's why many of the best funded school systems are terrible and why many that aren't very well funded are much better. Accordingly, if funding is cut but policy changes for the better, things will get better.

And like I said before, there's no reason to assume funding will actually go down. Is it really a funding cut if there are fewer students to educate?

 

[Mr. Deez]

RE: money following the student
if we can control for the impact of a flood of new money being available to private ed then I don't have a problem with it, but legislators have to be smart enough to get way ahead of what the private schools will do. If they can't raise tuition, they'll raise fees, if they can't raise fees, they'll charge for books, if they can't do XXXX they'll do YYYY. Private schools will likely try every maneuver to increase their income based on this policy.

I'm all for reasonable degrees of financial accountability on any money handed out, and I do think schools should be required to accept the voucher as full and final payment of tuition and fees and should not be allowed to charge for books. In other words, it should not be allowed to become a supplement.

However, I find it kinda remarkable how suspicious you are of private schools. If we don't clamp down on them, you assume they and parents will run a bunch of scams. I have every confidence that there will be fraud and abuse to some degree, as there is with all government programs. However, will it rip the taxpayer off and deliver a worse product than the public school system does? I doubt it and have far less reason to suspect them.

 

[SabreHorn]

Stmpe,

I'm not against standardized testing; in fact I think it is a necessity are to make sure all kids aree getting exposed to the basics. There are districts where less than 5% will go to college, and districts where 90%+ are going to college. Math, grammar, communication are essential for all.

What I am objecting to is them learning nothing but "teaching the test", which in no way helps them go get meaningful employment. It also drags the capable kids down

 

[Mr. Deez]

And they need more of our money.

 

[nashhorn]

Where are we losing students? Not where my kids grew up for sure. Middle Tenn and now Katy the area is exploding with new schools and students to fill them.

 

[guy4321]

However, I find it kinda remarkable how suspicious you are of private schools. If we don't clamp down on them, you assume they and parents will run a bunch of scams. I have every confidence that there will be fraud and abuse to some degree, as there is with all government programs. However, will it rip the taxpayer off and deliver a worse product than the public school system does? I doubt it and have far less reason to suspect them.

There's a large number of people who assume a private school is always better than a public school. It's true in certain areas but false in other areas, which is in part related to the quality of teachers. For example, a brother-in-law of mine has a political science degree from a small college, which means he could never find a real job. He had no training, experience, or certification in teaching so ... he got a job at a private school. You might assume he teaches political science. Nope. Last I heard he teaches astronomy, Latin, and something else that I forget. I guess he took some Latin in college, but I know he had zero astronomy knowledge when he started. Those poor kids and parents who are paying for this!

 

[nashhorn]

Reminds me of my daughter’s Spanish teacher. She was Japanese and not only did not know Spanish she spoke with an incredibly thick accent. My wife, who is bi-lingual, had to teach my daughter the lessons. Oh, and this was Vanderbilt, not HS. Her HS was even more ridiculous.

 

[Mr. Deez]

There's a large number of people who assume a private school is always better than a public school. It's true in certain areas but false in other areas, which is in part related to the quality of teachers. For example, a brother-in-law of mine has a political science degree from a small college, which means he could never find a real job. He had no training, experience, or certification in teaching so ... he got a job at a private school. You might assume he teaches political science. Nope. Last I heard he teaches astronomy, Latin, and something else that I forget. I guess he took some Latin in college, but I know he had zero astronomy knowledge when he started. Those poor kids and parents who are paying for this!

It's not always better, but I trust the wisdom of parents to decide what's best for their kids more than I trust a bunch of school administrators who will go on with their lives and not give a crap if the kids fail long term.

Also, you do know that your Algebra teacher most likely had a degree in "education," not mathematics, right? They usually don't have a background in the subjects they teach.

 

[Horn6721]

I agree, parents know best and more and more are getting involved.
Except with too many of the single parents who either aren't interested enough(plenty of them) Or don't know how to make decisions because they grew up thinking gov't would take care of them.

 

[Mr. Deez]

I agree, parents know best and more and more are getting involved.
Except with too many of the single parents who either aren't interested enough(plenty of them) Or don't know how to make decisions because they grew up thinking gov't would take care of them.

I'm no fan of single parents, but I don't see a lot of downside in giving them choice in their kids' education. I don't think they'll do worse than school administrators.

 

[Horn6721]

Mr D
you know. If they were given information and explanations I think they would make good decisions.

 

[mchammer]

Where are we losing students? Not where my kids grew up for sure. Middle Tenn and now Katy the area is exploding with new schools and students to fill them.

Lost to homeschooling after COVID. This is obvious when looking at the graph.

 

[mchammer]

There's a large number of people who assume a private school is always better than a public school. It's true in certain areas but false in other areas, which is in part related to the quality of teachers. For example, a brother-in-law of mine has a political science degree from a small college, which means he could never find a real job. He had no training, experience, or certification in teaching so ... he got a job at a private school. You might assume he teaches political science. Nope. Last I heard he teaches astronomy, Latin, and something else that I forget. I guess he took some Latin in college, but I know he had zero astronomy knowledge when he started. Those poor kids and parents who are paying for this!

You choose affordable private school for values, not education. Only the very wealthy can afford private school with a great education.

 

[SabreHorn]

mc,

Are there any schools with "affordable education"?

 

[mchammer]

mc,

Are there any schools with "affordable education"?

Not really. Legacy prep in the woodlands is a hybrid homeschool program that has traditional class 3 days per week on a private school campus. It costs $7-8k if I recall.

 

[Monahorns]

Where are we losing students? Not where my kids grew up for sure. Middle Tenn and now Katy the area is exploding with new schools and students to fill them.

Some areas are gaining population and others are losing. Students are moving from public to charter, private, and home schooling. But even as students leave government propaganda schools more money is poured into them.

 

[SabreHorn]

That's really cheap compared to private school tuition of $35-50,000 a year.

 

[Monahorns]

There's a large number of people who assume a private school is always better than a public school. It's true in certain areas but false in other areas, which is in part related to the quality of teachers. For example, a brother-in-law of mine has a political science degree from a small college, which means he could never find a real job. He had no training, experience, or certification in teaching so ... he got a job at a private school. You might assume he teaches political science. Nope. Last I heard he teaches astronomy, Latin, and something else that I forget. I guess he took some Latin in college, but I know he had zero astronomy knowledge when he started. Those poor kids and parents who are paying for this!

That isn't the point. The point is there should be a large variety of options that all have to compete with one another for money/students. The best schools win business.

 

[Monahorns]

You choose affordable private school for values, not education. Only the very wealthy can afford private school with a great education.

With freedom, competition, and innovation there will be, and there are, relatively inexpensive private schools that teach culture and education well.

 

[SabreHorn]

Mona,

Not calling you out, just really curious. Can you list a few.

 

[Monahorns]

Mona,

Not calling you out, just really curious. Can you list a few.

Honestly, I know of one that was started by someone I know personally. It is a hybrid home school, private school model. I have extrapolated a little because I see people in the media saying they are using private school who aren't rich. If the person I know can start a schools that is affordable and private then others can around the country.