Serious Educational Problem?

[DGS49]

The Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools was quoted yesterday as saying that an 11% drop in the size of the Fall 2014 Pittsburgh kindergarten class was a serious problem for the school system that would have to be addressed.

Why?

Fewer kids means higher teacher-student ratio - which is particularly important with the younger kids.

Fewer kids means higher spending per student (tax revenues are not affected by student population).

The relevant demographic trends in Pittsburgh are (1) minority women having fewer kids, and (2) quite a bit of upscale construction and renovation as older folks (like me) decide they want to move back into the City as they get closer to retirement. And happily one might note that old bastards who can afford the upscale housing don't generally have school-age children.

It's all good. Even for the schools.

It's only a "problem" if you see the schools as your personal fiefdom and fear that it might get a little smaller. But it's a good trend for the students and for the School System as a whole.

Please correct my thinking, if I'm wrong.

 

[Moonglow]

Schools receive operational funds from student populations..derp...

 

[jasonnfree]

The Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools was quoted yesterday as saying that an 11% drop in the size of the Fall 2014 Pittsburgh kindergarten class was a serious problem for the school system that would have to be addressed.

Why?

Fewer kids means higher teacher-student ratio - which is particularly important with the younger kids.

Fewer kids means higher spending per student (tax revenues are not affected by student population).

The relevant demographic trends in Pittsburgh are (1) minority women having fewer kids, and (2) quite a bit of upscale construction and renovation as older folks (like me) decide they want to move back into the City as they get closer to retirement. And happily one might note that old bastards who can afford the upscale housing don't generally have school-age children.

It's all good. Even for the schools.

It's only a "problem" if you see the schools as your personal fiefdom and fear that it might get a little smaller. But it's a good trend for the students and for the School System as a whole.

Please correct my thinking, if I'm wrong.

Less students per teacher sounds like progress to me. Still, I hear old retired bastards at the gym complaining about their property taxes going to schools, and since they don't have kids in school, it's unfair. Go figure.

 

[DGS49]

I'm horrible at predicting the future, but...

In the coming years, as the invoices for our teachers' fabulous retirement plans start to come due, all of the school districts are going to be (a) raising taxes every year to pay for it, and (b) complaining that their actual operating revenues are declining "dangerously."

We Old Farts, who haven't had a kid in school for DECADES, will complain to the State Legislatures that funding schools with property taxes is unfair to us - fund them with Income Taxes, why don't you?

And we Boomers have a hell of a lot of electoral clout, wouldn't you agree?

It will be interesting.

 

[jasonnfree]

I'm horrible at predicting the future, but...

In the coming years, as the invoices for our teachers' fabulous retirement plans start to come due, all of the school districts are going to be (a) raising taxes every year to pay for it, and (b) complaining that their actual operating revenues are declining "dangerously."

We Old Farts, who haven't had a kid in school for DECADES, will complain to the State Legislatures that funding schools with property taxes is unfair to us - fund them with Income Taxes, why don't you?

And we Boomers have a hell of a lot of electoral clout, wouldn't you agree?

It will be interesting.

Income taxes or better yet from privatizing the oil and coal industry and use those resources for education and health care. I tend to be one not to blame our financial problems on food stamps, decent wages, and retirements but on how most of the wealth in this country has gone to a small percentage at the top.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous.

We have the money and we already pay the taxes. Why are we not investing in our own future?

Germany Now Offering Free College Tuition To Americans If You Only News

Germany made headlines a few weeks back when it had the unmitigated gall to condemn its student population to a life of non-Ramen Noodles and non-debt when abolished college tuition fees. But now you can really blast that techno music as it seems all German universities are free to Americans as well. But before American kids start pretending to give a crap about Octoberfest and minoring in David Hasselhoff, they must learn German in order to attend. As long as it’s not 1939-1945 German, then that’s one hell of a deal.

Last week, the final German State (Laender) to charge tuition ended the practice, allowing all income groups a shot at bettering themselves without the onerous burden of spirit-crushing debt. According to Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a Hamburg senator, tuition fees were simply unjust. I guess Dorothee Stapelfeldt is german for ‘corporations are not people’.

“Tuition fees discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany,”said Stapelfeldt (WTSP.com)


It should probably be noted that Germany offered free tuition until 2006. That move triggered so much rancor that the German states began abolishing the policy. In America, schoolkids can get murdered and policies don’t budge.

How Germany Funds Education Is Quite Different From The US

Just in case you were curious how Germany can offer free tuition, it’s crucial to understand how Germany funds its education.

 

[jasonnfree]

Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous.

We have the money and we already pay the taxes. Why are we not investing in our own future?

Germany Now Offering Free College Tuition To Americans If You Only News

Germany made headlines a few weeks back when it had the unmitigated gall to condemn its student population to a life of non-Ramen Noodles and non-debt when abolished college tuition fees. But now you can really blast that techno music as it seems all German universities are free to Americans as well. But before American kids start pretending to give a crap about Octoberfest and minoring in David Hasselhoff, they must learn German in order to attend. As long as it’s not 1939-1945 German, then that’s one hell of a deal.

Last week, the final German State (Laender) to charge tuition ended the practice, allowing all income groups a shot at bettering themselves without the onerous burden of spirit-crushing debt. According to Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a Hamburg senator, tuition fees were simply unjust. I guess Dorothee Stapelfeldt is german for ‘corporations are not people’.

“Tuition fees discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany,”said Stapelfeldt (WTSP.com)


It should probably be noted that Germany offered free tuition until 2006. That move triggered so much rancor that the German states began abolishing the policy. In America, schoolkids can get murdered and policies don’t budge.

How Germany Funds Education Is Quite Different From The US

Just in case you were curious how Germany can offer free tuition, it’s crucial to understand how Germany funds its education.

Republicans have convinced their base that our economic woes are due to teachers and other workers getting decent wages and retirements among other things.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous.

We have the money and we already pay the taxes. Why are we not investing in our own future?

Germany Now Offering Free College Tuition To Americans If You Only News

Germany made headlines a few weeks back when it had the unmitigated gall to condemn its student population to a life of non-Ramen Noodles and non-debt when abolished college tuition fees. But now you can really blast that techno music as it seems all German universities are free to Americans as well. But before American kids start pretending to give a crap about Octoberfest and minoring in David Hasselhoff, they must learn German in order to attend. As long as it’s not 1939-1945 German, then that’s one hell of a deal.

Last week, the final German State (Laender) to charge tuition ended the practice, allowing all income groups a shot at bettering themselves without the onerous burden of spirit-crushing debt. According to Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a Hamburg senator, tuition fees were simply unjust. I guess Dorothee Stapelfeldt is german for ‘corporations are not people’.

“Tuition fees discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany,”said Stapelfeldt (WTSP.com)


It should probably be noted that Germany offered free tuition until 2006. That move triggered so much rancor that the German states began abolishing the policy. In America, schoolkids can get murdered and policies don’t budge.

How Germany Funds Education Is Quite Different From The US

Just in case you were curious how Germany can offer free tuition, it’s crucial to understand how Germany funds its education.

Republicans have convinced their base that our economic woes are due to teachers and other workers getting decent wages and retirements among other things.

And its future of our country that is suffering for those lies. And, its gonna get a lot worse before they wake up.

Then, they'll blame Obama.

 

[jasonnfree]

I'm horrible at predicting the future, but...

In the coming years, as the invoices for our teachers' fabulous retirement plans start to come due, all of the school districts are going to be (a) raising taxes every year to pay for it, and (b) complaining that their actual operating revenues are declining "dangerously."

We Old Farts, who haven't had a kid in school for DECADES, will complain to the State Legislatures that funding schools with property taxes is unfair to us - fund them with Income Taxes, why don't you?

And we Boomers have a hell of a lot of electoral clout, wouldn't you agree?

It will be interesting.

Income taxes or better yet from privatizing the oil and coal industry and use those resources for education and health care. I tend to be one not to blame our financial problems on food stamps, decent wages, and retirements but on how most of the wealth in this country has gone to a small percentage at the top.

I forget to add in our military adventures since WW2. Another reason for our economic problems. Germany and other countries don't fall into this trap.

 

[DGS49]

Don't be stoopid, people.

"Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous." How fucking clueless are you? This is a generally-acknowledged nationwide problem. If your particular school district doesn't have a CBA that offers an early and generous retirement plan for its teachers (e.g., retire at 55 with 80% of your salary), then your particular school district is out of the mainstream - and not relevant to the discussion.

"...add in our military adventures..." WTF? Military expenditures affect school taxes? Jesus.

German universities? American universities? The parallels are almost non-existent. German universities teach the elite students who have made it through many years of a Darwinian educational system that weeds out the average students and those who are lazy, focusing on those with superior potential. If we did the same, it would be NO PROBLEM to provide free post-secondary education at public expense. But we provide a "college" education to basically everyone who cares to do it, or who wants to delay assuming adult responsibilties for another 5 or 6 years after high school.

Getting back to the original point of the thread, a declining student population would be a good thing, not a crisis. Unfortunately, we are inundated with hundreds of thousands of "anchor babies," children of illegal immigrants who are, due to a grotesquely flawed interpretation of the Constitution - young American citizens.

 

[jasonnfree]

Don't be stoopid, people.

"Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous." How fucking clueless are you? This is a generally-acknowledged nationwide problem. If your particular school district doesn't have a CBA that offers an early and generous retirement plan for its teachers (e.g., retire at 55 with 80% of your salary), then your particular school district is out of the mainstream - and not relevant to the discussion.

"...add in our military adventures..." WTF? Military expenditures affect school taxes? Jesus.

German universities? American universities? The parallels are almost non-existent. German universities teach the elite students who have made it through many years of a Darwinian educational system that weeds out the average students and those who are lazy, focusing on those with superior potential. If we did the same, it would be NO PROBLEM to provide free post-secondary education at public expense. But we provide a "college" education to basically everyone who cares to do it, or who wants to delay assuming adult responsibilties for another 5 or 6 years after high school.

Getting back to the original point of the thread, a declining student population would be a good thing, not a crisis. Unfortunately, we are inundated with hundreds of thousands of "anchor babies," children of illegal immigrants who are, due to a grotesquely flawed interpretation of the Constitution - young American citizens.

Don't be stoopid, people.

"Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous." How fucking clueless are you? This is a generally-acknowledged nationwide problem. If your particular school district doesn't have a CBA that offers an early and generous retirement plan for its teachers (e.g., retire at 55 with 80% of your salary), then your particular school district is out of the mainstream - and not relevant to the discussion.

"...add in our military adventures..." WTF? Military expenditures affect school taxes? Jesus.

German universities? American universities? The parallels are almost non-existent. German universities teach the elite students who have made it through many years of a Darwinian educational system that weeds out the average students and those who are lazy, focusing on those with superior potential. If we did the same, it would be NO PROBLEM to provide free post-secondary education at public expense. But we provide a "college" education to basically everyone who cares to do it, or who wants to delay assuming adult responsibilties for another 5 or 6 years after high school.

Getting back to the original point of the thread, a declining student population would be a good thing, not a crisis. Unfortunately, we are inundated with hundreds of thousands of "anchor babies," children of illegal immigrants who are, due to a grotesquely flawed interpretation of the Constitution - young American citizens.

Don't be stoopid, people.

"Teacher's retirement plans are anything BUT fabulous." How fucking clueless are you? This is a generally-acknowledged nationwide problem. If your particular school district doesn't have a CBA that offers an early and generous retirement plan for its teachers (e.g., retire at 55 with 80% of your salary), then your particular school district is out of the mainstream - and not relevant to the discussion.

"...add in our military adventures..." WTF? Military expenditures affect school taxes? Jesus.

German universities? American universities? The parallels are almost non-existent. German universities teach the elite students who have made it through many years of a Darwinian educational system that weeds out the average students and those who are lazy, focusing on those with superior potential. If we did the same, it would be NO PROBLEM to provide free post-secondary education at public expense. But we provide a "college" education to basically everyone who cares to do it, or who wants to delay assuming adult responsibilties for another 5 or 6 years after high school.

Getting back to the original point of the thread, a declining student population would be a good thing, not a crisis. Unfortunately, we are inundated with hundreds of thousands of "anchor babies," children of illegal immigrants who are, due to a grotesquely flawed interpretation of the Constitution - young American citizens.

I'm with you on fewer students being a good thing, also on the immigration. We can't bring the world here. I just added that the cost of our military adventures has reduced the amount of money we can put in education and other needs. I think that higher teacher salaries and benefits would attract even more people to the profession.

 

[Unkotare]

Getting back to the original point of the thread, a declining student population would be a good thing, not a crisis....

OK, now look a little bit beyond the end of your nose.