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spongebob
Former FFL Champion
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Joined: 15 May 2002
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 Posted: 10/15/04 - 22:23 Post subject:
| airehead wrote: |
How do you feel about school vouchers or privatizing schools? i.e. letting private corporations come in and run them? |
On one hand, they have money. But on the other hand, they scare me.
When I was in jr high and high school, we weren't allowed to have soft drinks. There weren't any vending machines and you couldn't even bring a can of Coke to school and drink it at lunch. You could only drink the 1/2 pint of milk that came with your lunch. And you only had 1 option for lunch. Whatever the hell they put on your plate. No seconds. No choices.
Now, vending machines are everywhere because schools get kick back revenue. Some schools are encouraged to meet product sales quotas. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are in some of the cafeterias.
And we have more fat kids than at any point in our history.
I remember being told that our lunches were carefully planned by some important government body that knew exactly what kids needed to eat. Everyone knew soft drinks and candy bars were bad for kids, so they didn't let us have any. And as a teenage athlete, I got a whopping 1/2 pint of milk each day for lunch. Three years after I graduate from HS, those wise government bodies got together and thought it wise to put fast food services as "options" (who is gonna pick the lunch lady crap over that kind of food?) and then concluded soft drinks weren't so bad and put vending machines all over the campus. And portion control was strongly discouraged.
So that first introduction of allowing corporations in the schools doesn't sit well with me. I don't think they can avoid teaching the kids to buy their products over teaching them the skills they really need. It might start out nice at first, but ultimately money will rule. I fear that instead of students, some districts will see future consumers. I don't think that is a good idea.
I don't have any answers. Maybe I'm just pissed that I was forced to eat 12 years of mystery meat and my siblings got to eat Pizza Hut for lunch. And I sure could have used a Coke and a smile back in the days of puberty.
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copteacher
Adjunct
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Joined: 08 Jun 2002
Posts: 20588
Location: Teaching in the Halls of Justice
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Posted: 10/15/04 - 22:26 Post subject:
school vouchers are great. I think it give parents more choice. With a profit motive, there would be greater incentive to produce a better more attractive product (the school)
something like 85 % of school district budgets generally go to teacher/staff salaries. There is not enough left for programs.
Something has got to change.
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MechEngDropout
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Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Posts: 10474
Location: Off the grid
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Posted: 10/15/04 - 22:31 Post subject:
I think it's a lot deeper than vending machines X. Currently there's a lot of corporate sponsorship at LSU, and I think they're getting something else out of it aside from "brilliant minds of the future." Our ASME lounge was paid for by BP. The quad is officially the Exxon-Mobil Quad. I kid you not. I think you'd have to make one heck of a donation to have the quad named after your company, and I know they didn't just do it because it makes them sound cool.
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spongebob
Former FFL Champion
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Joined: 15 May 2002
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Posted: 10/15/04 - 23:00 Post subject:
For some reason, I don't mind it at colleges and universities as much as I do for K-12.
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 10/15/04 - 23:09 Post subject:
| Runner X wrote: | | For some reason, I don't mind it at colleges and universities as much as I do for K-12. |
Less ability to warp fragile little minds?
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camelia bedelia
Member
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 2808
Location: God's Country
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 09:00 Post subject:
| Cappy wrote: |
What about education are you looking for? |
I want to see NCLB fixed and adequately funded.
I want to see money for earlychildhood programs.
I don't want to see school vouchers.
Though after thinking about it, I would say education is probably not in my top three. That did come to mind after a frustrating day at work, though. 
One of the main issues in this election for me is the Supreme Court, and the ability of the next president to affect the make-up of the court. Anyone who says there is no difference between Bush and Kerry should think about what happens if there is a need to appoint a justice.
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BridgetAnne
Newbie
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Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Minneapolis
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 09:19 Post subject:
*Education-full funding of no child left behind. stop closing so many schools (not fair to the students or teachers who work there)
*Homeland Security
*Fix social security problem
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Gogirlgo
Member
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Joined: 25 Jul 2002
Posts: 4777
Location: No deal, stalker.
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 14:54 Post subject:
Iraq, and the getting the hell out thereof
America's image internationally
corporate welfare ties with healthcare for #3
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kattzoo
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Joined: 28 Feb 2003
Posts: 3813
Location: Happily at the back of the pack
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 16:54 Post subject:
Education. Far to many differences between schools that have cash, and those that don't. Vouchers are a nice idea, but they aren't solving the core problem.
Homeland Security
Taxes
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 19385
Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 17:29 Post subject:
| megawill wrote: |
Good one....
Did anyone else sense that neither candidate felt comfortable talking about this in the last debate?
I have another one that is often over-looked....Energy Policy & Alternative sources of Energy...
---
megawill |
1) They should be uncomforatble. The demographics are going to dictate something along Bush's concept, or a refiguring (i.e., drastic decrease) in computing benefits for future recipients. With (best case scenario) 2 employees paying for one recipient's benefits in the not-too-distant future, workers will not put up with the idea of raising the FICA deducted from their paychecks.
2) Your suggestion of energy as an issue is also a very good one. Since Jimmy Carter, (actually there was some of this occuring in the Nixon administration, but Carter's was the firstwhere this got serious media coverage), much of the policy has been lip service. The percentage of oil we use daily that comes from overseas is essentially the same as in the late 70s (if not slightly higher), and homeowners have done what they can for their homes so far as fuel-efficient furnaces, appliances, insulation, etc. The non-oil/gas energy industry should be much better developed than it is by now. Both parties have had their turns in the White House and Congress, so all have to take their share of the responsibility.
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AlaninTX
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Joined: 14 May 2002
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Location: Austin, Texas
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Posted: 10/16/04 - 18:17 Post subject:
Iraq
Newly blooming federal deficit and tax/spending issues
Stabilty of Social Secuity and Medicare
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sonnylax
Member
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Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2942
Location: Living in a lollipop and unicorn world
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Posted: 10/17/04 - 12:36 Post subject:
| gretriever wrote: | 1) They should be uncomforatble. The demographics are going to dictate something along Bush's concept, or a refiguring (i.e., drastic decrease) in computing benefits for future recipients. With (best case scenario) 2 employees paying for one recipient's benefits in the not-too-distant future, workers will not put up with the idea of raising the FICA deducted from their paychecks.
2) Your suggestion of energy as an issue is also a very good one. Since Jimmy Carter, (actually there was some of this occuring in the Nixon administration, but Carter's was the firstwhere this got serious media coverage), much of the policy has been lip service. The percentage of oil we use daily that comes from overseas is essentially the same as in the late 70s (if not slightly higher), and homeowners have done what they can for their homes so far as fuel-efficient furnaces, appliances, insulation, etc. The non-oil/gas energy industry should be much better developed than it is by now. Both parties have had their turns in the White House and Congress, so all have to take their share of the responsibility. |
Part of the problem with oil consumption/production is the lack of new refinieries (sp?). We aren't allowed to build new ones and you can't spend investment money to upgrade existing ones due to unrealistic environmental laws. I thought I read somewhere a while back that we haven't built any new refinieries (sp?) in over 30 years - yet our population continues to swell and demand for oil has risen.
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gretriever
Hipster Doofus
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
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Location: A moving target in a firing range.
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Posted: 10/17/04 - 13:55 Post subject:
| sonnylax wrote: |
Part of the problem with oil consumption/production is the lack of new refinieries (sp?). We aren't allowed to build new ones and you can't spend investment money to upgrade existing ones due to unrealistic environmental laws. I thought I read somewhere a while back that we haven't built any new refinieries (sp?) in over 30 years - yet our population continues to swell and demand for oil has risen. |
All true (though I think the companies could build these and comply with the laws). I think you're right on that no new refineries in 30 years too.
The oil companies will either find a way to get to the sources, or as in the case of big tobacco, diversify into other fields as a matter of survival.
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runaroundsue
Member
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Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
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Posted: 10/17/04 - 17:16 Post subject:
| camelia bedelia wrote: |
I want to see NCLB fixed and adequately funded.
I want to see money for earlychildhood programs.
I don't want to see school vouchers.
Though after thinking about it, I would say education is probably not in my top three. That did come to mind after a frustrating day at work, though.
One of the main issues in this election for me is the Supreme Court, and the ability of the next president to affect the make-up of the court. Anyone who says there is no difference between Bush and Kerry should think about what happens if there is a need to appoint a justice. |
I'm curious about the EC funding....would that be for every child....or child of low-income only as it's set-up now? I think EC is for middle class parents that want the same benefits of low income and don't want to pay money for expensive daycare. Sorry, but for all those childless couples out there, I don't expect you to pay for my child to go to school at 3 or 4.
But thank you for paying for their 12 years, I do appreciate it.
Kids need their childhoods. I think I did okay with 3 hours of kindergarten which included 15 minute nap. Now we have them in all day kindergarten and pushing for 1/2 day for 4 year olds. Socialized daycare on the backs of taxpayers.
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camelia bedelia
Member
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Joined: 15 May 2002
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Location: God's Country
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Posted: 10/17/04 - 17:43 Post subject:
| runaroundsue wrote: |
I'm curious about the EC funding....would that be for every child....or child of low-income only as it's set-up now? I think EC is for middle class parents that want the same benefits of low income and don't want to pay money for expensive daycare. Sorry, but for all those childless couples out there, I don't expect you to pay for my child to go to school at 3 or 4.
But thank you for paying for their 12 years, I do appreciate it.
Kids need their childhoods. I think I did okay with 3 hours of kindergarten which included 15 minute nap. Now we have them in all day kindergarten and pushing for 1/2 day for 4 year olds. Socialized daycare on the backs of taxpayers. |
I'm not aware of any EC programs out there for middle class families who need daycare. I'm referring to EC programs that serve at risk children, whether that is due to socio-economic reasons or because of a disability. Give the kids a little boost early on and head off some problems in the future.
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