This is what conservatives want. They want the complete destruction of public schools. You have two camps of anti-education conservatives.
You have the religious zealots who rage that prayer is not mandatory at school, and want their children taught only creationism. They feel like their money should not go to support an educational system they don't believe in. I find these people crazy, but at least I sort of understand how their beliefs shape this.
The other camp is very wealthy people who don't want strong public education, because they want to pay for their children to have a leg up over others. They have the money to send their kids to well run private schools, and have the view of fuck everyone else. They want an undereducated class. These people are the worst.
Don't forget the call to privatize everything!
Ugh, you forgot the people who view the public schools as some sort of government-based brainwashing.
And don't forget the middle-classers who don't want their hard-earned tax dollars spent on OTHER people's snot-nosed brats, especially those whose parents earn less and therefore didn't contribute as much to the tax coffers.
It's like they don't understand how taxes wor ... oh, wait ...
Great, conservatives. I anxiously await for you to reap the rewards of not offering basic education to the Commoners. It will be glorious; when the people who are driving on the roads, working as your police protection, putting out your fires, ringing up your groceries, acting as your administrative assistants, babysitting your children, driving the trucks that deliver the goods that your business needs, delivering your packages (should I continue?) are UNABLE TO READ AND DO BASIC MATH.
It will be a utopia full of your taxes being super low. What a beautiful world that would be.
Here, here!
What? You didn't know we're in an idiocracy?
This article sums it up beautifully, in my opinion, and he mentions exactly what you do. He responds to someone who complains about coverage of the school crisis because it doesn't affect him - his kids are grown, and anyway he sent them to parochial schools. But it does affect him, and all of us. How many employers/businesses are going to stick around a city that doesn't educate its residents? I went to private school in Philly and have no kids, but you better believe I'm concerned. The school my dad's entire side of the family went to, Germantown High, is closed. One of my family friends was an assistant principal - he's 54 with a kid heading to college.
ANYWAY. I got mad all over again. Here's the article: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20…
Great read - it's heartbreaking how many people don't realize what a big deal it is to have free public education. For everyone.
Being a Philadelphian, the Corbett admin has indeed fucked every educational institution in the state. But to be fair, the philly school system holds us hostage for either $50 or $100 million every year. Literally. Its a giant cash suck for almost no benefit.
Except educated future generations. For which a tenth of a billion dollars is not that much..
$50 or $100 million is not that much money for education in a big city, at all.
For almost no benefit huh? Sounds like you need to go back.
This is what happens when you overpay public servants (both in salaries and benefits). Eventually, you run out of money and the system collapses.
Your powers of massive simplification are supurb.
You must have gone to private school.
It's like you're William Carlos Williams, you can insert just about any profession in there, and the statement would be true. For example, CEO's.
And, you're what happens when the educational system goes to shit.
Yes, let's underpay teachers instead of doing any number of other real fixes to the system.