The 65 percent solution (George Will)

TownHall ^ | 4/10/2005 | George Will

[NYS_Eric]

PHOENIX -- Patrick Byrne, a 42-year-old bear of a man who bristles with ideas that have made him rich and restless, has an idea that can provide a new desktop computer for every student in America without costing taxpayers a new nickel. Or it could provide 300,000 new $40,000-a-year teachers without any increase in taxes.

[gobucks]

Good post ... didn't know that D.C.'s budget had less than .50 on the dollar spent on classroom instruction ... but it figures ..

[baystaterebel]

You can hear the howls already coming from the NEA. 65% of the money for education must be spent on.....classroom education and students?

Bingo! Mr. Byrnes has Bingo!

[Samwise]

: If you had a silver bullet, what competitor would you shoot, and why? Byrne says he would shoot the National Education Association -- the largest teachers union.

Bumpity bump

[SkyPilot]

``Educrats,'' he says, ``have become what city hall was 50 or 60 years ago'' -- dens of patronage and corruption.

Yes--and they are a key pillar of the Democratic party.

[PGalt]

Why not 80%? It still doesn't address root causes as to why Johnny can't think. Solution that.

[pageonetoo]

...Chester Finn, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, notes that, while the number of pupils grew 50 percent in the last half-century, the number of teachers grew almost 300 percent.

...and their performance dropped by 500 percent...

[kitkat]

The 65 percent includes TEACHERS' pay. So, what does this plan solve? The NEA will love it.

[carlr]

I guess I don`t see the benefit.Right now,locally 70-75% of the school budget for a given district is dedicated to teacher salaries.The same percentage of the sports program part of the budget,which is the first to get cut when citizens get fed up with rising budgets,is dedicated to the coaches salaries.
Getting rid of incompetent teachers being paid $45,000-65,000 for 180 days of work would show some results.
Stop using computers as electronic babysitters would also raise education standards as well.Many of us were educated in the 60s and 70s without a computer in every room and with 30+ pupils in the class.It can be done.

[elfman2]

"Why not 80%?"

Baby steps work.

[elfman2]

"The 65 percent includes TEACHERS' pay. So, what does this plan solve? "

Either buy more teachers or attract better teachers with the money from fired bureaucrats. Localize the decision. At a minimum, it’s a step in the right direction.

[Smartaleck]

"didn't know that D.C.'s budget had less than .50 on the dollar spent on classroom instruction"

20% is spent on security? LOL

[Smartaleck]

"It still doesn't address root causes"

What would that be?

[elfman2]

"I guess I don`t see the benefit.Right now,locally 70-75%"

The national average is 61.5%. Check out the whole article.

[Smartaleck]

"The NEA will love it."

It gets rid of many administration, featherbedding jobs, held by union members. It's not likely that'll be a warm fuzzy.

[Smartaleck]

"Many of us were educated in the 60s and 70s without a computer in every room"

Perhaps you hadn't noticed. The world has changed since 1960. PC's are everywhere now and some knowledge is required in just about any business.

[Jim Noble]

Why not 80%? It still doesn't address root causes as to why Johnny can't think. Solution that.

"The number of pupils grew 50 percent in the last half-century"

Johnny can't think because you cannot educate the minority which is capable of abstract reasoning alongside of the majority who cannot.

It's really simple. In 1941, the HS graduation rate among draftees was 25%. This probably approximates the natural rate-but you can add 10-15% if you like to represent those who could have done so but lacked opportunity.

This means that, for 60-75% of the age 13+ population, that school should end after eighth grade.

It would then be possible to teach the remaining students to "think".

The public schools deserve every ounce of criticism directed at them, but their social mission-12th grade for 100%-is an absurdity which has never been accomplished by any human culture anywhere, and to achieve it requires so changing the meaning of education that it becomes impossible for anyone.

[Smartaleck]

No Child Left Behind: The Football Version
1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

[Jim Noble]

No Child Left Behind: The Football Version

Outstanding!

Please see my #17.

[AlbertWang]

This means that, for 60-75% of the age 13+ population, that school should end after eighth grade.


No one wants to hear the truth. Look at the rest of the world, and the Amish. They have figured this out.