[baseball_fan]

"Our high schools were designed fifty years ago to meet the needs of another age."

[politicket]

Bill Gates needs to know that homeschoolers are teaching the leaders of tomorrow. We talk about the "Old Media" on FreeRepublic. Perhaps we should talk about the "Old Schools" as well. They are a Socialistic experiment that failed miserably.

[Waco]

All going per the liberals plan, keep suckin Bill. You idiot.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

I've always thought we need to get rid of non-essenital classes (elective course, PE). I mean I really use my woodworking class a lot and PE.....wow where would I be without it /sarcasm. We are not preparing our children, we are too busy having "pc classes" to teach our children to be tolerant.

[KoRn]

"China graduates twice as many students with bachelor’s degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many...in engineering."

That isn't surprising, considering their population compared to ours. He is correct that our education system does almost nothing to prepare students for a career. Hell, to a large extent I don't think college even prepares the students for the career they are there for.

[jeremiah]

What country are the best students from India attending? American colleges? The problem is, get the monopoly out of education. Give vouchers to parents, let them choose the schools their children attend. Of course what does Bill Gates know about momopolies.........I mean does he know they are bad?

[Golden Eagle]

Well Bill, if you're so concerned about our schools, why don't you start contributing more of your billions to them, instead of to all the other issues in other foreign countries?

Reform in America's schools is a practical impossibility, thanks to the Teacher's Union. My mother was still teaching back 20 years ago, and when she refused to join their union, they went about doing everything they could to get her fired. They never succeeded, she ended up quiting first, but not because of them trying to get her fired, but because the paddle was taken out her hand.

[twas]

Step up to the plate Mr. Gates and use your billions to fund the under-funded schools.

That should solve the problem.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Another foreign system...I guess Bill doesn't visit Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand - Forty-six young men preparing to take a military school entrance exam were caught trying to cheat using mobile phones taped to their bodies and hidden in their shoes and underwear, an army official said Monday.

hee hee

[Terpfen]

Still waiting for Mr. Gates to stop donating large amounts of cash to the party responsible for the high school educations Mr. Gates doesn't like.

[Brett66]

I am terrified of Bill's OS of tommorrow......

[GSlob]

Even Bill Gates' net worth cannot prevail against the laws of nature.
If one accepts "Bell Curve" analysis with 'college material' IQ cutoff about 110, then even with massive dumbing down one could not drive it below , say, 105 (nor should one try, but this is another story).
This by definition would leave >50% of population (50% with IQs below 100) as unfit for college and as essentially ineducable at advanced levels. Better approach would be to focus the education of those who could benefit from it into more productive channels and stop wasting their time on PC baboonery of all kinds.

[malia]

bttt

[goodnesswins]

I stopped reading his "speech" when he said the schools "needed more money."

I would have been VERY happy if he had talked about DISCIPLINE in learning....but I guess that's too much to ask!

[Tribune7]

ping

[ValerieUSA]

I am terrified for citizens of a free nation who allow themselves to be called "our workforce" as if they were slaves to a communist system.

[Nick Danger]

In math and science... By 12th grade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations... China graduates twice as many students with bachelor’s degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many...in engineering.

But Bill, we have to dumb down math and science to keep boys from getting ahead of girls in anything. It's all about equality. So what if the Chinese end up with six times as many engineers; we'll beat them with lawyers. Women lawyers.

[GOPJ]

A third? No way. That number's way to high.

Today, only one-third of our students graduate from high school ready for college, work, and citizenship.

[w6ai5q37b]

In the old days schools in this country not only taught "readin' ritin' & 'rithmatic" but moreover morality, and founding principles of our nation, so that students would turn out to be good stewards of their country.

Schools nowadays hardly teach anything about what made this country great, or morality, but mostly environmental hysteria, socialist propaganda, and how to be good "citizens of the world."

[armymarinemom]

He can't see the Forrest for the trees. He does give large amounts of money for public education but doesn't notice that the money is as good as flushed down the toilet. He blames our government instead of noticing that the Union is the biggest obstacle for education. If the NEA spent near the time on getting back the basics of education than it does on identifying key words for potential Ritalin subjects our schools would be top notch.

A good example of what is wrong with our shool system was a key phrase that a teachers husband dropped on my husband during a casual conversation. My husband asked him just what a teacher is supposed to do? His answer. Teachers are supposed to mold students.

[CL2850]

Two words: Vouch.......ers......

Polar Opposite Politics