How to Fire an Incompetent Teacher

Reason ^ | October 2006 | John Stossel

[durasell]

Okay, that's interesting. Roughly what percentage of the school's operating cost was paid for by the dioceses?

[RavenATB]

Nearly half.

[kcvl]

The Walton's (WalMart) are opening 20 charter schools in Arkansas with a total of $80 million to start. Well, actually they can only open 16 at the present because, believe it or not, you are only 'allowed' to have four per congressional district. How stupid is that?! They are trying to get that law lifted because they want to open quite a few in the Delta area (poor area) to give them a chance at a better education. You know those 'dirty ole heartless' WalMart people. /sarcasm

[durasell]

So, if the average tuition is three thousand and change, then the church is paying --roughly -- $1,500. So, the total cost per student is about $4,500 a year.

Subtract out the cost of those pesky disabled kids that are expensive to educate and at least some of the salaries of teachers, because clergy/nuns teach for almost nothing...administrators, probably clergy, are also less expensive.

So yeah, the math works, it makes sense.

[RavenATB]

"Really? Which ones? "

Well, for starters, look at the Kansas City public education system. Stossel used it in his report.

"This stuff is expensive. It's expensive to teach a sevrely retarded kid or a kid with autism. Catholic and private schools don't have to take these kids. In rich communities, the retarded or autistic kid usually enters a private facility."

Well, interesting you mention autism. My wife teaches a special education class in my kids' private school, and she teaches a large group of autistic kids. Certainly, it does cost more to teach handicapped kids. It also costs more to have Olympic pools, football stadiums, basketball arenas, saunas, heavily staffed music departments, a large security staff, track and field facilities, weight rooms, and the like.

One of our local public schools is building a football stadium that will seat about 12,000 fans. The cost of that facility, not including the land its on, will be more than the total projected operating cost of my kids private school (900 kids attend) for the next 14 years. I wonder how many autistic kids could be helped for that cost...?

[durasell]

One of our local public schools is building a football stadium that will seat about 12,000 fans.


Okay, that's freakin' nuts. I agree with you there. I also agree with you that the weight rooms etc. should be second to education.

Here's my plan for fixing the public schools. Each year or every other year, you take the smartest local high school grad you can find and say, "Wanna go to Harvard/Yale/Princeton for free? We'll pay your full ride and all you have to do is promise to teach in the district for five years. During that time, you'll work summers for the school system, be available to consult with the school board, and give a series of seminars to other teachers."

Then go to local industries and local rich guys and beat the crap out of them to fund additional scholarships in the hard sciences for bright local students. Give the kids something to work towards.

[RavenATB]

"So, if the average tuition is three thousand and change, then the church is paying --roughly -- $1,500. So, the total cost per student is about $4,500 a year."

No, the per-student cost was about $2300, in 1996 dollars. The Church members paid about half that. I paid that full amount.

[durasell]

When you say "per student cost" you mean tuition and not the total cost, including whatever the church kicked in for new boilers or the new roof or salaries apart from tuition?

[RavenATB]

"Okay, that's freakin' nuts. I agree with you there. I also agree with you that the weight rooms etc. should be second to education. "


Yes, but you see when the public school advocates interject this "handicapped" student cost nonsense into the argument, trying to make the point that they're having to deal with costs that "SOME" private schools don't have to shoulder, they never want to talk about the cost of their athletic and arts programs and facilities, which would easily dwarf any costs associated with educating special needs students in your typical public school.

The cost of public education is obscene, and its made all the more so because of the abysmal product they're turning out with a diploma.

[RavenATB]

"When you say "per student cost" you mean tuition and not the total cost, including whatever the church kicked in for new boilers or the new roof or salaries apart from tuition?"

Total costs of running the school for a year, divided by the number of kids attending the school...per-student cost. I know that when you've spent a lifetime listening to the bureaucratic gibberish of public school administrators you've become use to money being discussed like some shell game, but per-student cost isn't really a difficult equation to grasp. Private schools typically brag about the number, so they're happy to hold it out to the public. Public schools like to play games with things like the cost of teacher retirement funding, costs of paying off their bonds, capital improvements, maintenance, and other budget items.

[durasell]

Education is expensive. If these communities aren't getting their money's worth, then they have only themselves to blame and will pay an even higher price down the road.

[durasell]

Private schools typically brag about the number, so they're happy to hold it out to the public...




I know a couple parents paying $25,000 and $30,000 a year in private schools here in NYC. Another parent I know is paying close to $70,000 for a kid with emotional problems that could be cured (in my considered opinion) with a good kick in the butt.

[durasell]

I've got to head out to work. Thanks for an extremely enjoyable and civil exchange. I've learned a lot. Hopefully we can continue the discussion at a later date!

[Eva]

The quality of public school education is inversely proportionate to the growth of the NEA.

[stevie_d_64]

Touche'!!!

[eleni121]

One simple and easy way to eliminate the detritus of inepitude is to eliminate the unions!

[The Mayor]

BINGO!!!!

http://albanysinsanity.com/?p=503

[LIConFem]

Give the teacher a subscription to the Limbaugh Letter.

[xkaydet65]

There's a bit of a difference between my pontificating in a bar and Stosssel being the yoice of God for 20 million people. Opinion is one thing, infallibility is something I take only from Rome, and then only once a century or so.

[RavenATB]

"The quality of public school education is inversely proportionate to the growth of the NEA."

Interesting statement... And, you've got a great point.

The NEA really doesn't give the quality of education much priority, nor concern. If you "google" the NEA Convention proposals over the last decade you'll find that most of what they're discussing and putting forward is nothing but liberal politics...boycotting of WalMart, support for Hugo Chavez...stuff like that.