Public Education rant

[yomama]

We have to get a ton of supplies, as well as things like kleenex, clorox wipes and such. What alot of people don't realize, at least where I am, if the teachers don't get these things from the kids, they have to pay for them themselves. I don't think alot of people realize how much these teachers pay out of their own pockets. Alot of the class supplies are paid for by the teachers themselves. I'm not saying this is right, therefore justifying asking parents for money, just the way it is. People around here keep voting to not pay for certain taxes, then wonder why school days, certain classes, etc, are being cut. I realize that many people will say that there are enough taxes, it just needs to be allocated better. I agree with this. However, so many people are struggling, like ourselves, their afraid to vote anything that has the word "tax" in it. Just my 2 cents.

Please note, I am just like the op, I'm getting very tired of having to pay for all the stuff that came standard in school when I was a kid. Definitley some tough times we are going through.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/26/public-school-student-spending-increases-state-funding-decreases/

State funding ranges from a little over $6000 per student (Utah) to a little over $18,000 per student (New York). Schools still don't have enough money. Test scores are falling. Children are getting dumber.

My nieces go to a small private school. It is 100% paid for by the parents. They pay about $3500 per kid. My eldest niece (3rd grade) is learning Latin, excels at math, is reading over 2000 pages a month, can speak intelligently about Greek and Roman mythology, can explain to you how the Egyptians made mummies and why, has a strong grasp on the middle ages and modern history, and is learning art history as well as how to create art (and this isn't cut and paste art. Last projects I saw were Japanese style prints and expressionist style art.). She is 9. Because so much of their education is based on writing, she has developed a passion for creative writing. She says she wants to be a journalist when she grows up.

The other two nieces in school there are pretty much on that same path. The school accomplishes this for less than $4000 per student. Classes max out at 15 students per teacher. There is an art teacher and a music teacher. A materials list goes out at the beginning of school for things like TP, paper towels, etc.

There are downsides, of course. The teachers are paid a pitiful amount of money. The school just bought property to build, but they are currently meeting in portables until they save up enough to build a facility. There is no gym or auditorium. The kids play outside on the playground or inside each classroom if the weather is bad. There is no school library (although each teacher has an extensive classroom library of books to lend).

All of this to say that if their program can do all of this for less than $4000 per child, why can't the public schools do better for two and three times as much? Where is it all falling apart? I understand why this tiny private school asks parents to donate goods. Why are the public schools though? And on top of that asking parents to purchase text books? There is a money pit somewhere along the line.

 

[WriterofWords]

Rather than blame the schools, look at your State Public Education Dept. It's your politicians doing this to you, not your schools. When they cut all the funding for schools, who do you think gets the bill? You do. Let your politicians know you are upset, ranting at the schools will do no good because it's not the schools choice either.

 

[australorpchick]

Sonoran - Yes, DD's just found out about the text today. Unlike most years, we could not buy anything but the basic school supplies (paper, pens, etc.), until school started and the teachers handed out their specific lists. I read the syllabus (when provided) and supply lists and this was not listed. DD's are very good at texting me from school as soon as they find out I'm going to need to spend money. Then they post it on the white board on the fridge, so I don't forget.

Rufus - I don't mind buying school supplies, but this is a public high school. If they can revamp a 3 year old field, they can surely supply the students with the texts that they need. What bothers me most is the last minute notification from the teachers. This is not the first time, the teachers have given students and parents very little notice that they need to supply books or various items. Just like when I was in college, I try to purchase used books and get the best deal I can. We only have the two, so there's no younger siblings to pass them down to. The younger cousins go to a private school or live out of state.

DD's were told they needed an AP World History Study Guide, any kind would do, the price range would probably be $18 - $30, maybe available at Walmart, they would be using it for the rest of the school year and not having it could affect their grade. No author, no publisher, no edition. Walmart didn't have anything in-store or online. Luckily when I showed DD1 what was available on Amazon, she recognized the one he had held up and we purchased two of the newest version. They were on sale for about $10/ea. Yay! $60 is about half of our weekly grocery bill. Luckily, if we had had to spend that much, we could have done it, but I would have preferred more notice, so I could have budgeted for it. This semester I've been dropping $20's like they're hot potatoes.

 

[pbjmaker]

Quote:

Not only that - there are plenty of public schools out there that are wonderful. The difference is parents that actually CARE about their kids education. Many of our "failing" schools are in inner cities or poor rural communities filled with kids who's families are just surviving, let alone think about spending the money for a private school.

On top of that publically funded schools have their hands tied by NCLB. It is killing our school systems and driving the top, excellent teachers out.

 

[chickened]

It is pretty obvious with our schools... the more the unions demand the less left for the classroom, simple economics, we have a spending problem not a taxing problem.

 

[justbugged]

This is a part of why we homeschooled our children.

 

[cupman]

Just don't go knee-jerk crazy and think you need to home school your kids. It'll pass

 

[WriterofWords]

Our Unions here have nothing to do with the greedy politicians who love to slam the teachers and schools while taking away the needed funds to have what we need to teach. It's a Gov. who will not be re-elected.
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[JD4570]

Just 3 1/2 years ago our district spent millions on renovating and refitting the campuses,now they demolished them and stuck the people with $16 million bill for new campuses, which is going up constantly because of cost overruns. Now they're griping that they are going to have a $800,000 shortfall in the operational budget. Yet test scores keep going down. I don't fault the teachers, instead I fault the insanely wasteful administrators and school boards that want new buildings and increasing the athletic spending all the time just so they can beat some rival district!