I have another video I'd like your input on.

[EC]

Slightly different system, but let me spin you a tale here.

I loved teaching. The sheer joy of seeing someone "get it" got me up in the morning and got me through the day in a tough inner city school. Lots of crap, lots of shit, all ignorable for that look in a kid's eyes when they finally understand something - be it the laws of thermodynamics or valences or "Mix this with this and it goes boom and this is why."

So, why haven't I taught in 15 years? Because for the 4 years preceding my quitting, I was not teaching. I was ticking boxes and filling out forms. I had a full class load - 36 hours per week. Another 40 hours a week doing the obligatory paperwork. I never signed up to do paperwork. I wanted to teach. Not just my subjects, but a little about life and a little about tolerance and a little bit about fun.

Instead of looking at each student as a person, with their own needs and interests, I was looking at them as boxes to be ticked, grades to be obtained and assets to be kept. Not for me. Sorry. Anything that depersonalizes a person into a pigeonhole is something I detest.

My very first day on the job - I remember it well. Some stroppy kid pulled a blade on me in the hallway. Told him to put it away before it went up his ass. He, oddly, turned out to be one of my best students and someone I am still proud of 25 years later. We keep in touch. Went to his wedding. 

My first A level class - that was frightening. They were dedicated and - most of them - a hell of a lot smarter than me. 23 of them in the class. 18 of them are now Ph.Ds, or doctors, or lawyers. Two are dead, three are in prison. Not a bad average, over all.

[ABX]

Regardless of what the situation is now, I feel devoting money to education and learning can add value, and that is just one of several places I feel money from the federal government could help a lot. It'd certainly do a lot more good than it is doing while wasted on the war on drugs.

As someone in the education industry myself this is quite important to me.  I want to challenge you on something. I challenge you to do a bit of analysis of the ratio of funds put into the school system through the federal government and performance.

Based on that trend line, your next challenge is to try to figure out why (spoiler alert) more federal money has resulted in far lower performance.

[Liberal_Spy]

When I went to college, a college education was affordable.

How do we make a college education affordable again?

[massadvj]

How do we make a college education affordable again?

Get the federal government out of it, for starters.  All the tax credits and student loans just drive up the cost and add no value to the product.  These programs are designed to make politicians look indispensable, and to make people government-dependent.  They are also designed to inflate the salaries of the academically privileged, who are disproportionately Democrat.  In short, young man, you are being screwed.
 

[Lando Lincoln]

How do we make a college education affordable again?

Like most things today...

Tremendously scale back the (not so) free government subsidies and loans.  Get government regulation out of the way and let the free market work. 

[aligncare]

What's interesting is liberal spy acknowledges the problems within our educational system and yet when presented with unassailable logic can't seem to connect the dots—or won't:

More federal money has not resulted in better educational outcomes.

Please, liberal spy, if you can, pick that sentence apart. Enlighten us.

[Lando Lincoln]

Get the federal government out of it, for starters.  All the tax credits and student loans just drive up the cost and add no value to the product.  These programs are designed to make politicians look indispensable, and to make people government-dependent.

Did I type yours, or did you type mine?

[massadvj]

Did I type yours, or did you type mine?

Well, if I'd have known what you were going to type, I'd have just used copy and paste.

[Bigun]

If he is a history major, he is not really learning American history.  He is learning "identity" history: the revised history of African Americans, the revised history of women, the revised history of GBLT peoples, etc.  Basically, the curriculum follows the political strategy of the Democrat Party.  Find subcultures and split them off from the dominant culture by showing them how oppressed they were, and are.

Virtually no one teaches traditional American history today, and when they do, the books all make heroes out of people like Wilson and FDR, and paint people like Coolidge and Reagan as short-sighted idiots.

I really feel sorry for you, LS, that you have put yourself $50K in debt to be programmed to think the way you do.  As a marketing professor, however, I have to really admire the marketing savvy of the Democrat machine.  Not only did they reel you in as an advocate to their way of thinking, they got you to pay $50K for the privilege of being brainwashed by them.

 

I know of only one place, Hillsdale College, that even comes close and even that is slanted toward a particular viewpoint.

[Liberal_Spy]

Get the federal government out of it, for starters.  All the tax credits and student loans just drive up the cost and add no value to the product.

How are young students just leaving their parents houses supposed to pay for college without student loans? It's hard for young people with no experience to get a decent paying job. You might be looking at 10 dollars an hour starting somewhere if you're lucky. Minimum wage in Florida is 7.25. Do you think the cost would actually go down enough to make it possible for students to pay for college out of pocket? There are lots and lots of students that just barely make enough to get by.

[massadvj]

How are young students just leaving their parents houses supposed to pay for college without student loans? It's hard for young people with no experience to get a decent paying job. You might be looking at 10 dollars an hour starting somewhere if you're lucky. Minimum wage is Florida is 7.25. Do you think the cost would actually go down enough to make it possible for students to pay for college out of pocket? There are lots and lots of students that just barely make enough to get by.

So you think expanding the student loan program and increasing the minimum wage will do the trick, huh?  Good luck with that.

[Bigun]

Slightly different system, but let me spin you a tale here.

I loved teaching. The sheer joy of seeing someone "get it" got me up in the morning and got me through the day in a tough inner city school. Lots of crap, lots of shit, all ignorable for that look in a kid's eyes when they finally understand something - be it the laws of thermodynamics or valences or "Mix this with this and it goes boom and this is why."

So, why haven't I taught in 15 years? Because for the 4 years preceding my quitting, I was not teaching. I was ticking boxes and filling out forms. I had a full class load - 36 hours per week. Another 40 hours a week doing the obligatory paperwork. I never signed up to do paperwork. I wanted to teach. Not just my subjects, but a little about life and a little about tolerance and a little bit about fun.

Instead of looking at each student as a person, with their own needs and interests, I was looking at them as boxes to be ticked, grades to be obtained and assets to be kept. Not for me. Sorry. Anything that depersonalizes a person into a pigeonhole is something I detest.

My very first day on the job - I remember it well. Some stroppy kid pulled a blade on me in the hallway. Told him to put it away before it went up his ass. He, oddly, turned out to be one of my best students and someone I am still proud of 25 years later. We keep in touch. Went to his wedding. 

My first A level class - that was frightening. They were dedicated and - most of them - a hell of a lot smarter than me. 23 of them in the class. 18 of them are now Ph.Ds, or doctors, or lawyers. Two are dead, three are in prison. Not a bad average, over all.

Great story! And all to common these days!

It is also worth noting that when I was going to school there were lots of people in classrooms who had done other things for varying lengths of time before the came to teaching but now days that is virtually impossible to find for all manner of reasons all of which I'm sure you are quite aware of!

[Bigun]

How are young students just leaving their parents houses supposed to pay for college without student loans? It's hard for young people with no experience to get a decent paying job. You might be looking at 10 dollars an hour starting somewhere if you're lucky. Minimum wage in Florida is 7.25. Do you think the cost would actually go down enough to make it possible for students to pay for college out of pocket? There are lots and lots of students that just barely make enough to get by.

Hard to find a job huh! Perhaps you should blame that on the FACT that the minimum wage laws you so love work strongly against the very people you are talking about! And also perhaps you are looking in all the wrong places. You want to know who in your generation is going to be making the kind of money doctors and lawyers make today? Well I'm gong to tell you anyway! It's going to be plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, engineers of all stripes, and anything else that requires one to get his hands dirty! OH!. BTW every one of those trades I mentioned are begging for competent young folks to join their apprenticeship programs which PAY you to learn a trade!

[ABX]

Well, if I'd have known what you were going to type, I'd have just used copy and paste.

Those who created education budgets can learn a lot from you- find efficiencies. :)

[Liberal_Spy]

So you think expanding the student loan program and increasing the minimum wage will do the trick, huh?  Good luck with that.

I was asking you what you think. What is your solution to that problem? I'm sure young people would love to be able to work hard and pay for college as they go, but the reality is most of them can't.

[happyg]

How are young students just leaving their parents houses supposed to pay for college without student loans? It's hard for young people with no experience to get a decent paying job. You might be looking at 10 dollars an hour starting somewhere if you're lucky. Minimum wage in Florida is 7.25. Do you think the cost would actually go down enough to make it possible for students to pay for college out of pocket? There are lots and lots of students that just barely make enough to get by.

My son has six kids, two biological, three step kids, and one foster kid. The dads are out of the picture financially, and they don't take foster care money. The older three are in college, and two took out student loans. However, they have been saving money since they were small, as well as their parents setting aside a little here and there, so they don't have the burden other kids do. All three worked at mowing lawns, baby sitting, and when they got their license, one worked at Arby's while the boys did roofing. The girl got scholarships, so is working her way through college. The preparation for college needs to begin as children.

[Liberal_Spy]

Hard to find a job huh! Perhaps you should blame that on the FACT that the minimum wage laws you so love work strongly against the very people you are talking about! And also perhaps you are looking in all the wrong places. You want to know who in your generation is going to be making the kind of money doctors and lawyers make today? Well I'm gong to tell you anyway! It's going to be plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, engineers of all stripes, and anything else that requires one to get his hands dirty! OH!. BTW every one of those trades I mentioned are begging for competent young folks to join their apprenticeship programs which PAY you to learn a trade!

Not everybody wants to have a blue collar job for the rest of their lives. I have done construction work before. I know first hand how hard they work. I don't want to do that crap for the rest of my life. I choose to do other things because I am better suited for them.

[Bigun]

Just to back up what I said up thread:



From http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/09/does-spending-more-on-education-improve-academic-achievement

[ABX]

How are young students just leaving their parents houses supposed to pay for college without student loans? It's hard for young people with no experience to get a decent paying job. You might be looking at 10 dollars an hour starting somewhere if you're lucky. Minimum wage in Florida is 7.25. Do you think the cost would actually go down enough to make it possible for students to pay for college out of pocket? There are lots and lots of students that just barely make enough to get by.

I did it. Work hard, take your time going to college, get a job, did I mention work hard?  I found an employer who offered tuition assistance and I finished my Bachelors and Masters through that. I see college students do it all the time. There is just a big mindset difference. I see single mothers work their butt off during a day at a low paying job and go to nursing school at night without taking out loans. Everyone's circumstance is different and living on campus, joining frats, taking 15 hours, and having the traditional 'college experience' isn't for everyone.

How one was able to attend and pay for college used to be one of the first big life lessons for the young that helped define their success in the future.

I have one friend who was dirt poor, and I mean dirt.... as in dirt driveway, bumming rides off friends, plywood floors, dirt poor. He worked his butt off to attend a 2 year Jr. College and while he was doing that, he earned money by installing car stereos in his garage. He and some friends opened a stereo shop a few years later (and he continued to go to college after hours, one or two classes at a time).  Now, he is probably the youngest millionaire in our city (39). He took his business and his eduction, and looked for any opportunity to grow. Now, he is a property developer who has built about 6 hotels and 2 restaurants.

The irony is he couldn't do that in today's regulatory environment. Most of what I described he was able to achieve from about 1993 to 2006.  He told me if he tried to do this today, he couldn't because there were just too many regulations in place. He would probably still be installing car stereos.

[Bigun]

Not everybody wants to have a blue collar job for the rest of their lives. I have done construction work before. I know first hand how hard they work. I don't want to do that crap for the rest of my life. I choose to do other things because I am better suited for them.

Fine! But when you are whining be sure to tell the truth and  say that I can't find a job THAT I LIKE!

Oh and BTW! This is the LAST post you will see from me!  Hope you find what you are looking for and have a nice life!

[Liberal_Spy]

My son has six kids, two biological, three step kids, and one foster kid. The dads are out of the picture financially, and they don't take foster care money. The older three are in college, and two took out student loans. However, they have been saving money since they were small, as well as their parents setting aside a little here and there, so they don't have the burden other kids do. All three worked at mowing lawns, baby sitting, and when they got their license, one worked at Arby's while the boys did roofing. The girl got scholarships, so is working her way through college. The preparation for college needs to begin as children.

Not everybody has the luxury of being able to set aside money to help their kids with college. In fact a LOT of parents do not have the ability to do that. Student loans are absolutely massive. That would be a lot of money for anybody to pay.

[aligncare]

I loved teaching. ..., I was not teaching. I was ticking boxes and filling out forms. I had a full class load - 36 hours per week. Another 40 hours a week doing the obligatory paperwork. I never signed up to do paperwork. I wanted to teach. ...

Substitute "practice" for "teach" and you've underscored my feelings about my healthcare practice today.

[happyg]

Not everybody has the luxury of being able to set aside money to help their kids with college. In fact a LOT of parents do not have the ability to do that. Student loans are absolutely massive. That would be a lot of money for anybody to pay.

My son didn't have extra money. He and his wife gave up a lot, and the money they set aside was $5 here or $10 there. And, the kids all worked for extra money. My neighbor kid has the cash to buy his first car. He is only 14 years old, but is looking ahead. I imagine he will get to college the same way. They used to be dirt poor, but slowly worked their way out of it, sometimes working several jobs.

[Bigun]

Substitute "practice" for "teach" and you've underscored my feelings about my healthcare practice today.

LOL! My daughter is a trauma certified RN with a degree in business management who is now teaching and loves it!

[massadvj]

I was asking you what you think. What is your solution to that problem? I'm sure young people would love to be able to work hard and pay for college as they go, but the reality is most of them can't.

You are not going to like my answer. 

I teach my students to think of themselves as individuals who are responsible for themselves.  This means they must set goals and objectives for themselves, then develop a plan to achieve those goals.  Their responsibility is not to the society, but to themselves.  Paradoxically, the best thing each of them can do for the society is to be successful as individuals. 

I also teach them that the macroenvironment, which includes politics, is something they should consider uncontrollable.  They may like or not like the things that are happening in society, but they must not let that cloud their judgment in terms of predicting what is going to happen next.  Since their primary responsibility is to themselves, then pursuing their plans requires that they figure out what is going to happen in the macroenvironment (we call this "forecasting") and then try to capitalize on it so that when it happens, they benefit.  In the coming years, my students are going to be capitalizing on all the turbulence that is certainly coming to society as you and your ilk chase rainbows looking for unicorns. 

In short, I don't teach them to sit in a nest and beg for scraps from mama bird government, unless, of course, that's the best avenue available to them to personally succeed.

Either way, they are taught to understand that change is fundamentally good, since without change there will be no opportunity.