On a related subject, just another opportunity for me to say that public school is a 19th century paradigm that outlived its usefulness in the late 20th century. It should be abolished.
Those who want their kids to get an education can send them to private school or go to places like this and get a LOT better education than a typical public school: Khanacademy.org
Those who don’t really care enough can just not bother. In those cases, the kids can get the same quality of education that many kids in America are already getting in inner city and other schools - none. And their kids will suffer the consequences just as many kids are today. At least it is a lot less work than sending them to worthless schools.
Online education can be BETTER than brick and morter and it is substantially cheaper than brick and morter. It is the future. Period.
Slate: Only bad people won’t sacrifice their children on altar of public education, or something
I have both of my kids, 16 & 19, utilizing the Khan Academy website. I learned of it last year while watching one of Stossel’s education shows about charter schools, etc.
It is GREAT. With over 4,000 videos. I mentioned it to my daughter who was away her freshman year and majoring in Chemical Engineering . . . some of the professors have a very difficult to understand accent combined with a difficult subject, AP Chemisty or whatever her Calculus or Physic level classes were, and even at college level, up through maybe sophomore classes, she found the videos very helpful to watch after certain lectures on chapters or sections and prior to exams for review.
Now, I’m trying to get son, junior in high school, to utilize the videos to up his ACT score. Plus he is taking three AP classes this year.
I plan on sending a small donation . . . of course nothing quite so significant as Bill & Melinda Gates, but the videos are a great resource. I even tell other parents, the kid who carries my groceries out at the store who mentions he is taking Organic Chemistry in high school, just about anybody who I think they might benefit . . .and they quickly add the name/website into their cell phone. :)