Re:Ways to save American education
by tokenadult on Wednesday December 14, 2011 @08:07PM
(#3354562)
The US has had a high level of economic activity and innovation for decades. I think that points to a strong education system.
There is no denying that the United States is a largely prosperous, innovative, and peaceful place. This was true of the United States before school attendance was compulsory in any state, when many states made no effort generally to fund schools for all learners, and it is still true today. This is a legacy of founders of the United States who themselves largely learned without a public school system.
Today, the United States still benefits economically in comparison to other countries because of a more honest and transparent system of governance and business regulation
While K-12 schooling continues to be one of the top three state budget line items in many states (it is number one in mine) there will be legitimate concern about whether those hundreds of billions of dollars a year
are being spent with the best effect they can. Having lived in another country for six years (and having brought up children there during the second of two three-year stays), and knowing many first-generation immigrants, I don't think it goes beyond the facts to say that the United States has a thing or two it could learn from administration of public schools in other countries, just as those other countries could in several cases learn from United States governance. It's best for all countries all around the world to be open to information first learned in some other country.
There is no denying that the United States is a largely prosperous, innovative, and peaceful place. This was true of the United States before school attendance was compulsory in any state, when many states made no effort generally to fund schools for all learners, and it is still true today. This is a legacy of founders of the United States who themselves largely learned without a public school system.
http://learninfreedom.org/Founders_free.html
Today, the United States still benefits economically in comparison to other countries because of a more honest and transparent system of governance and business regulation
http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/...
and because of general freedom in United States society.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=15
While K-12 schooling continues to be one of the top three state budget line items in many states (it is number one in mine) there will be legitimate concern about whether those hundreds of billions of dollars a year
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66
are being spent with the best effect they can. Having lived in another country for six years (and having brought up children there during the second of two three-year stays), and knowing many first-generation immigrants, I don't think it goes beyond the facts to say that the United States has a thing or two it could learn from administration of public schools in other countries, just as those other countries could in several cases learn from United States governance. It's best for all countries all around the world to be open to information first learned in some other country.