Failing Education: The True Cause Of Income Inequality

Cutting Through The Fog ^ | January 27, 2014 | George B

[Petro]

Failing Education: The True Cause Of Income Inequality

This year -- an election year -- Obama and the Democrats think they have a winning issue in proposing spending measures and legislation that would fight income inequality. For any Democrat, the rallying cry to getting those measures passed and, subsequently, getting themselves elected (or reelected), will be that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; and, that they are the ones watching out for the poor while the Republicans only want to protect the rich. Thus, we will be going back to the 2008 campaign when Obama told "Joe the Plumber" that we need to "spread the wealth around."

However, the real reason that we have income inequality in this country has to do with something that the Democrats are completely complicit in: Sustaining a failing and highly unionized educational system for the sole purpose of garnering union votes. It is actually the level of someone's education that determines whether or not a person will be able to share in the wealth of this country and not a bunch of Democrat-sponsored "band aids" such as raising the minimum wage, or extending unemployment benefits, or whatever. There is no better proof of that than this chart:

[Vendome]

There you go...

[Secret Agent Man]

public education today is poorer than in the past.

compounding it is so many in public schools don’t care about their own education.

[Jimmy Valentine]

True enough. Gumption helps too. Henry Ford never graduated from high school

[Jim Noble]

Failing Education: The True Cause Of Income Inequality

Nonsense.

The cause of income inequality is human inequality. Individuals, and group medians, vary widely in various gifts and talents.

The resulting effects are quite apparent.

[driftless2]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the idea that poor students are the results of unionized schools is a myth. Speaking as a conservative, the student and his or her family is far more important in determining the academic success of the student than the school or the teachers at the school. Read Robert Weissberg's "Bad Students, Not Bad Schools" to get the lowdown.

Conservative pols and pundits have bought into the school choice scam as a panacea for lousy student performance. Charter schools and private/parochial schools were supposed to save everybody. It only works for students with the desire and intelligence to do well. Which leaves out a great percentage of the nation's students. Many students (especially inner city students) are unmotivated, violent, and have low IQs. Plus their parents don't care much or at all how they do in school. School is a babysitting service for those parents.

I'm for school reform as much as any conservative if it means halting the spread of leftist indoctrination and the return to time-honored, American values. But the idea that simply putting every failing student in a charter school or similar educational environment will turn them in the next Einstein or merely a little better student than they were before is hogwash.

[ilovesarah2012]

My niece teaches first grade with a “team” of other teachers. They have fancy lesson plans and lots of meetings. Teaching first grade should not be complicated. No wonder kids learn so much more when they are home-schooled.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

We must re-think the American educational system—its based on 19th Century concepts—schools are factories of training and they are failing. We need to develope new concepts and ideas to teach the students about life not useless facts that will soon be forgotten. As a former teacher my suggestions are:
1. More class days. We have the shortest calendar of school days in the world! Too much time is spent re-learning what students forget.
2. More classes in life skills—how to fill out an income tax form or ballance a check book—or survive in the world.
3. More training for jobs—last year at school should be Job training for REAL jobs not things that are outdated.
4. More fun and real things for kids to do—and hire the smart kids to help educate the slower ones.
5. Break the back of the Teacher’s Union—its too powerful and not about teaching any more.
6. Drop tenure—Or make it from 2 years to 10. It makes getting rid of the bad apples harder.
7. Make colleges (at least the Jr. Colleges) afforable to all who can make the grade. Don’t lower standars but give all a chance.

[glyptol]

dr of what?

[tallyhoe]

Really??? How about not teaching kids United States History or proper English.. Passing kids just to get them out of their class!! Gee I don’t know.. Do kids do book reports anymore? Most kids can’t write long Hand or cursive.. Kids can print but not much else...

[tallyhoe]

you dumb down the kids like this article!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/commentary-how-we-ended-up-with-a-generation-of-no-discipline-no-talent-job-seekers/2014/01/31/465f99f8-879c-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html