> [Platt] > I sent my children to private schools where they leaned reading, > writing and arithmetic. > > [Arlo] > How many children from poor families were in your children's classes? > If someone can't afford that school, do we send them to work in the > factories instead? Or what? > > [Platt] > The also learned self-discipline, self-responsibility and the value > of individual liberty. In other words, they learned what today's > government schools fail to teach. > > [Arlo] > In other words they were brainwashed to be right-wing ideologues. > Great. Thankfully, my daughter has escaped this neocon brainwashing > by going to a public school where she learned the value of community, > of collaborative achievement and social participation. > > [Krimel] > My children attended public school and earned public scholarships that paid > their way through state universities. As we speak the state universities are > restricting freshman admissions as a result of under funding. Our local > school board announced it will hire 900 fewer new teachers as a result of > economic considerations. > > I wonder where the money went? > > Taxpayers in the United States have paid $522.5 billion for the Iraq War > thus far. For the same amount of money, the following could have been > provided: > > 38,313 New Elementary Schools, or > 71,703,033 Head Start Places for Children, or > 8,583,162 Elementary School Teachers, or > 8,960,343 Music and Arts Teachers, or > 80,782,313 Scholarships for University Students > > Or you could mix and match at: www.costofwar.com
Or all the above could have been wiped out by Saddam's chemical weapons. > I would say that my kids learned a portion of the values both of you > mentioned. Each learned something different, each in her kind. From essay > contests and science fairs to the band and sports programs there were > competitive programs emphasizing both individual and group effort. Each year > in addition to recognizing athletics and academic achievements, schools > honor students who provide thousands of public service hours in our > community. Funny that judges often punish criminals by sentencing them to hours of community service. > Public schools have a host of problems but lack of funding contributes to > all of them. Our reluctance to invest in future generations is a causality > of the adage, "You can't solve a problem by throwing money at it." Instead > we solve problems by defining them away, or denying that they exist. We hold > car washes and bake sales to fill in gaps. To see the fallacy of the "lack of funding" cry, check the cost-per-pupil in the Washington, D.C. school system and the results. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
