Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

That's cool.

Thank you! I found it fascinating and rewarding in a personal growth way. It's been rewarding in a monetary sense too.

 

[Shadrach]

The socialization that they get in school is one of the main reasons why I homeschool.... there are much better ways of socializing than socializing with peers all day in school...

My problem with this is, it often means that the values of the parents are passed on to their children, especially if the parents control who the child socialises with.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yup, somewhere it all changed from, we teach you how to think, to we teach you what to think.

I agree with this 100% and it has A LOT to do with student satisfaction. Young people find thinking hard to do, so they rate a class negatively. Every time someone says, "If we do x, we'll make it easier for the sfudents" my answer is "why would you reduce your students' learning opportunities? Try adding value instead of reducing it." The jaws drop. It's not hard to make smaller, more frequent learning tasks packed full of opportunities to think.

The other point is that many students have gaming habits which reward them for thinking within precise boundaries. Then it's harder for them to apply technical creativity when there are no boundaries. So meeting them at that point of naivety and gradually bringing them away from it is an important teaching task.

 

[MaryJanet]

That's awesome, good for him & your boys! Education is so important...I didn't mind paying for classes that are relevant to the chosen vocation...but it makes me mad when they force you to pay a fortune for the ones that aren't! It should be up to the individual to decide if they want those classes or not...I'm not against a well rounded education...but some people just don't want to be in debt for the next 20 years, because of the bloated system...

I'd have thought absolutely no one wants a 20 year debt! That's shocking!!

 

[drstratton]

I'd have thought absolutely no one wants a 20 year debt! That's shocking!!

I honestly just threw that number out there...but some students debt could purchase a home...so that's a mortgage payment!

 

[MaryJanet]

I have to state I'm not a fan of home schooling. In this day and age not many parents have the knowledge, or education to teach many of the sciences and technical subjects.
There is also the matter of teaching kids to socialise.

I prefer experts teach children too. Challenges are a key factor in intellectual growth and getting them at the right size for a learner takes deep wisdom. Some parents have this, most don't.

 

[BY Bob]

I guess it was not a state funded university. I know someone who got his tertiary education from a state-funded university in... Maryland I think it was, and it's been no barrier to success. He's now running an enormous research group in Auckland in New Zealand which he was targetted for, and advises government on health data policy.


I forgot to add the next bit: please tell me more about the public-private divide.

Soap box challenge accepted.

Each individual state funds their own state system of higher education. Maryland funds their system much better than Pennsylvania does. No law schools are cheap even those with some state funding. The law school my daughter went to was actually cheaper than the "state" law school.

Students that go to state funded schools outside of their home state pay a much higher rate than "in state" students.

For example, if you attended the University of Connecticut, a state funded University, from out of state. The tuition is comparable to Princeton. At least it was when my kids were looking.

The rapid escalation of the cost of higher education is what drives me mad. Over a decade ago, when my children were looking to choose a college I was stunned by how rapidly the costs had risen from when I attended.

What I paid in Tuition, Room, and Board for 4 full years was the equivalent of around 85% of my first year's gross salary once I graduated. Not a bad deal.

At the same school, for my oldest daughter who went right to work after graduation in her chosen field, that ratio for tuition alone, no room and board, would have been nearly 200%. Add in room and board and you are getting into ridiculous ratios.

Let me put it another way. What I paid for 4 full years of education, soup to nuts, barely 17 years later would cover 1 semester's tuition at the same school.

Now how does that make any sense at all? How can that kind of growth be sustainable?

 

[MaryJanet]

I honestly just threw that number out there...but some students debt could purchase a home...so that's a mortgage payment!

Ohhh ok. I was stunned. I repaid my education in 4 years, by paying more income tax. In Australia the debt is repaid to the state.

 

[Shadrach]

T

Work-related snobbery is always a mistake. The trades are a brilliant option. My brother went straight from high school into his apprenticeship and it's been a rock-solid foundation throughtout his whole life.

My eldest became an accountant much to my disgust. Even worse, despite my aethism she decided to become a Catholic while still at school. I had to go to her baptism.
Strange really because the man she fell in love with and married in the end was a Polish man with a very traditional Catholic family. Maybe she knew...

 

[MaryJanet]

Soap box challenge accepted.

Each individual state funds their own state system of higher education. Maryland funds their system much better than Pennsylvania does. No law schools are cheap even those with some state funding. The law school my daughter went to was actually cheaper than the "state" law school.

Students that go to state funded schools outside of their home state pay a much higher rate than "in state" students.

For example, if you attended the University of Connecticut, a state funded University, from out of state. The tuition is comparable to Princeton. At least it was when my kids were looking.

The rapid escalation of the cost of higher education is what drives me mad. Over a decade ago, when my children were looking to choose a college I was stunned by how rapidly the costs had risen from when I attended.

What I paid in Tuition, Room, and Board for 4 full years was the equivalent of around 85% of my first year's gross salary once I graduated. Not a bad deal.

At the same school, for my oldest daughter who went right to work after graduation in her chosen field, that ratio for tuition alone, no room and board, would have been nearly 200%. Add in room and board and you are getting into ridiculous ratios.

Let me put it another way. What I paid for 4 full years of education, soup to nuts, barely 17 years later would cover 1 semester's tuition at the same school.

Now how does that make any sense at all? How can that kind of growth be sustainable?

Thank you for explaining!

I said "oh" in my head about five times as I read. Lots of new stuff in there for me.

Next question: can states raise taxes or is that a federal power? Here it's federal.

I'm thinking Pennsylvania could set a tax to better fund its state university if the people would like that to happen.