Former U.S. Education Secretary: 'We're top 10 in nothing'

[deviake]

The US doesn't have money for education. We have money for bombs and tax cuts for the wealthy (and especially ultra wealthy), but not for education.

 

[NoDak]

That sounds oddly like "American exceptionalism." Or, as the god most of my fellow Americans worship said: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Or, as the forebears of western civilization and the inventors of democracy would have said: "Hubris describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. In its ancient Greek context, it typically describes behavior that defies the norms of behavior or challenges the gods, and which in turn brings about the downfall, or nemesis, of the perpetrator of hubris."

So basically the Saga of Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping.

It's really just newfound confidence in the knowledge that the US finally woke the fuck up. It's been a perpetual onslaught of glory since March, starting with the 2018 omnibus bill that name dropped China specifically when it all but threw down the gauntlet with the highest level of inflation-adjusted R&D funding in US history.

China has had more holes exposed than Jamaican clothes in the last five months, so let's have it then. They've earned nothing but the right to be treated with hysterical aggressiveness and full blown hostility, the dial could certainly be turned up a few more notches. There's no lack of focus here.

 

[NoDak]

 

[bushman505]

Well I don't drink beer but you're welcome in any case!

When I was in high school there was a Belgian exchange student chick, a bunch of dudes fucked her (not me though unfortunately). I almost got picked up by a Belgian cycling team back in 2004 but I was a Pusey and was scared to move....I should have taken the gig.

 

[Deleted member 196663]

Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has strong opinions about how to fix the U.S. school system, and he’s skeptical that the current administration will deliver on key initiatives.

Duncan, who served in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2015 and just published a new book, says the country needs to improve access to early childhood education and increase wages for teachers to make the U.S. more competitive on the global stage.

“I think obviously the best investment we can make is in high-quality early childhood education,” Duncan told Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith on Midday Movers. “The brutal truth is that whether you look at early childhood education access to that, whether you look at math and science scores K-12, whether you look at college completion rates, we’re top 10 in nothing. And that’s not good enough.”

Duncan’s comments reflect how apart from college rankings, the U.S. lags behind most of the developed world — and even parts of the developing world — when it comes to education.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fmr-education-secretary-were-top-184626455.html

Education is about safe/controlled environments, burning curiosity, and resources of knowledge. Money has little to do with it. When will these idiots figure it out?

 

[JonnyRingo84]

I have no proof of this but I think it's what drives some of the support for charter schools. It's a way to address obvious school failings without helping the entire communities reliant on those schools. Fund a charter that helps a few hundred kids while ignoring the neighborhood schools that affect thousands of kids.

theres a famous analogy related to why education cannot be run like a business. ive mentioned it in here before, so hopefully im not beating a dead horse. but if you have a pie company, and a distributor sends you rotten blueberries, you can send them back for a refund, or get them exchanged. public schools cannot do that. if a kid is being assaulted at home, or doesnt know where theyre going to sleep that night, teachers are still going to be held accountable for the test they take on that one day. then the teacher will often be blamed for their failure (though, some teachers deserve to be blamed).

but yea, many charter schools, by my estimation as well, are eliminating that blueberry problem. theyre picking and choosing which kids they take, and how many. in many cases, sucking public funds from the same schools that theyve jumped ship from. oddly enough, many states have fairly powerful charter lobbies. in those same states, one might almost think that legislators are attempting to sabotage their own state's public schools.

 

[Andy Capp]

I never said it was great, their education system is just incredibly more efficient. They get more done with less resources and service a much larger population.

It's not limited to China. Many other countries have much better results than our own.

That's all.

In the above chart on education spending, Canada isn't even on the list, but we clearly outperform in many measures.
"When there are debates about the world's top performing education systems, the names that usually get mentioned are the Asian powerhouses such as Singapore and South Korea or the Nordic know-alls, such as Finland or Norway.

But with much less recognition, Canada has climbed into the top tier of international rankings.

In the most recent round of international Pisa tests, Canada was one of a handful of countries to appear in the top 10 for maths, science and reading.

The tests, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are a major study of educational performance and show Canada's teenagers as among the best educated in the world.

They are far ahead of geographical neighbours such as the US and European countries with strong cultural ties like the UK and France.

At university level, Canada has the world's highest proportion of working-age adults who have been through higher education - 55% compared with an average in OECD countries of 35%." - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421
Population doesn't appear to have much to do with it.

 

[WandySaku2]

My simple-minded observation: It's mostly parenting and culture.

Either someone has or has been taught the value of education/knowledge. As long as you can read, you can be knowledgeable, so while a teacher/school can help with that, it starts at home.

I grew up poor, in a poor place. The schools weren't bad, but once I moved to a place where I was surrounded by more educated people in my age range, it became evident that the schools I went to just had lower standards and didn't really push the kids. What kept me from being a basic, dullard: my grandmother encouraged me to read these encyclopedias that she had. That instilled the desire to at least seek out more and more information. Most people I feel have the mindset of "let me do this school thing so that I can get a job that essentially follows the same path" and lack any kind of creativity or curiosity about anything above that.

A friend of mine came up through the exact same school system as I did, and she is in x year of her neuroscience schooling. How did she get that far going to basic schools in a podunk town: her parents (Nigerian immigrants) encouraged her to value education. Simple as that. If that's not there, then throwing money at the issue isn't going to turn the US into the land of geniuses.

...but on the flip side, we are talking purely about academics seems like. What about trades?

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

It's a combination of a) the government and b) the blacks and browns.

This is the universal, two-part, Trumpublican answer to any question regarding the root cause of any domestic problem being faced by the US.

Don't forget murka is the biggest country in the world.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

It may have something to do with the publicly funded religious school that teach kids that man and dinosaurs walked the Earth in the 80s. Just a thought.

 

[44nutman]

The GOP hates education. You have to keep the Rubes dumb otherwise they will realize that if you make less than 10 million a year, there is no way you would vote Republican, because it would be against your interest. Dog whistles only work on the uneducated.

 

[panamaican]

Education is about safe/controlled environments, burning curiosity, and resources of knowledge. Money has little to do with it. When will these idiots figure it out?

Well, money does have quite a bit to do with 2 of those 3. Perhaps they're not idiots after all.

I've been to a lot of private schools recently both inside city environments and outside. Money makes a very large difference in the physical school environment and the resources of knowledge.

 

[Deleted member 196663]

Well, money does have quite a bit to do with 2 of those 3. Perhaps they're not idiots after all.

I've been to a lot of private schools recently both inside city environments and outside. Money makes a very large difference in the physical school environment and the resources of knowledge.

I don’t really know what your point is based on other than you having walked inside a private school.

There was a period of time in history where books were rare, and ppl were thirsty for any letter they could find. Today, knowledge is literally at our fingertips at every second of the day. The Internet and public libraries are free resources of knowledge. Available knowledge is not the problem. That’s the point. It’s a cultural/people issue. Having great reverence for education.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Does anybody really think batty Betsy DeVos the Creationist is going to positively affect education in our country.

 

[Deleted member 196663]

Does anybody really think batty Betsy DeVos the Creationist is going to positively affect education in our country.

The ‘perception is reality’ mindset. The fastest way to stop thinking and examining.

 

[panamaican]

I don’t really know what your point is based on other than you having walked inside a private school.

There was a period of time in history where books were rare. Today, knowledge is literally at our fingertips at every second of the day. The Internet and public libraries are free resources of knowledge. Available knowledge is not the problem. That’s the point. It’s a cultural/people issue. Having a reference for education.

My point is that your comment was inaccurate by your own assessment. You laid out 3 categories that defined education. Then you said that money has very little to do with it. But 2 of the 3 things you stated are largely dependent on money.

That you didn't see that as you typed your post is clearly problematic. Your follow up post is the same.

Neither the internet nor the public library are "free resources" of knowledge. Access to the internet costs money unless you have a free device and access to a place with free wi-fi. I know quite a few people who refuse to spend the money for internet service (as a matter of choice, not inability), no one is giving it to them for free instead. Public libraries cost money to build, money to staff, and money to maintain. Transportation to those libraries costs money, unless you live within walking distance.

It's simply inaccurate to claim that resources of knowledge don't cost money. That's the point. People who haven't thought through the subject but are convinced that they've identified the problem.

 

[panamaican]

The ‘perception is reality’ mindset. The fastest way to stop thinking and examining.

I find this amusing given your previously internally inconsistent statements on education.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

The ‘perception is reality’ mindset. The fastest way to stop thinking and examining.

Fair enough. We'll have to wait and see.
I should've said, Batty Betsy DeVos the Creationist will not positively affect education in our country.

She doesn't understand the Scientific Method or the cornerstone of modern biology. That's a leeeeeeeeetle bit of a bad sign.
It isn't outrageous to speculate that she very much wants to filter the disposition of her responsibility to American students through the lens of her own religious preconceptions.

 

[ocfightfan]

And what did Arne Duncan do about that when he had the chance? He was education secretary for 8 years, the first two of which his president had a near supermajority in congress, but now that he is out we suddenly have a problem.

 

[Pessimystic]

The only thing stopping anyone from getting a goddamned education in 2018 America is lack of desire.
There is a world of information literally at our fingertips for any and all interested in learning something, from basic math to calculus to coding. Khan academy is a great site to go to if you are struggling with a concept. Thats just one of many.
All this talk of "more money needed" is a pile of steaming bullshit.