Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
The Atlantic published an article earlier this month comparing U.S.'s moribund healthcare system to its education system, providing several facts that would probably surprise the average American.
- "In education, just as in health care, the United States turns out to have the highest cost system in the developed world, on a cost-per-client basis, save only for Luxembourg."
- For all this spending, our returns are at best mediocre when compared to other highly developed nations. This is true even of the school districts we think are our best—such as wealthy suburban public schools that spend as much as $20,000-$25,000 per student (enough for them to go to a prestigious "Asbury Country Day School" or the like).
- ""Health care and education together account for about 24 percent of the American domestic economy." One-quarter of our economy is consumed by education and healthcare, which are highly government subsidized and regulated and the only sectors (besides government itself) predicted to grow in the near future.
- "[T]he United States spends 63 percent more than other countries spend to educate and care for its citizens. As a result, the United States has taxed itself a whopping 63 percent more than necessary to have a profile of subpar performance. Put another way, if our health and education systems were as efficient as those of the average OECD country, we would save $1.4 trillion per year and, if they were as effective as those of the average OECD country, we would experience a very large improvement in education and health outcomes at the same time" (italics mine).
What should a normal person think when confronted with just a few of the many such astounding statistics? The first thing to know, which usually provokes a little astonishment and outrage, is that average K-12 per-pupil public school spending in the U.S. is $13,000. That baseline figure is actually rather low (perhaps even half the true cost) because it doesn't include infrastructure spending like new buildings, debt payments, and employee benefits.
The second thing to know is that, even factoring in the budget cuts since the recession, school spending is at an all-time high (in inflation-adjusted dollars). At the same time, as The Atlantic article points out, U.S. students are not demonstrating they know more on average and are actually slipping when compared internationally.
The Atlantic article's author, Marc Tucker, paints this as a moral problem because middle-class and rich folks, as with healthcare, have ways out. They can pay for expensive insurance, healthcare treatments, tutoring, and tony private schools. They can move zip codes to attend a mediocre-but-better-than-urban public school paid for with higher property taxes. Poor people can do none of these things and, as a consequence, are stuck in abysmal, self-perpetuating, generational poverty, both of pocket and soul.
Education is intertwined with the economy and our national character. Its oft-overlooked decline in this country has contributed, like healthcare, to a broken economy and our decaying culture. This, too, needs comprehensive and individual-driven reform.
Image by Judy Baxter.
- Comment (38)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (6)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Feb '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
At my last interview I was informed that I was one of 2,200 to apply for the post. My heart sank. I along with 50 others made the first cut. It is a buyer's market for teachers, any savvy district or school that wants the best and the brightest can find them, easily, and the teachers are desperate for work; but in many districts - it is this scenario instead: the local cousin of the assistant administrator of x, who has promised to coach boy's Jr. High basketball has won the job with his 3.1 GPA, meanwhile the Engineering honor degree holder with a passion for teaching is turned away. A real life example, though not mine.
So were does it all come from and where does it all go?
I think it is a symptom of a self-indulgent culture that has bought into a host of theological and progressive lies about human nature, individual responsibility, and the value of ideas. Conservatives need to attack education on the political front: local, state and federal, but bright, smart conservatives need to join me in the trenches.
Wanted a job teaching History and/or English - Private or Public.
Edited on May 30, 2012 at 5:44amMar '12
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Some random thoughts on education:
1. Because testing creates objective comparative data, education is a public institution that invites evaluation. And because the testing takes place in schools, we tend to assign blame or credit for the results solely to the educational institution. But the testing may be measuring effects of broader social causes (e.g., changing demographics, rise of single parent households and two working parent households, ever greater and earlier exposure to TV, social devaluation of deferred gratification) that teachers or schools have little to do with.
2. As others here have noted, universal K-12 education was designed in the 19th century more to create a minimum set of 3R skills and social discipline (being on time, sitting for hours in neat rows, following instructions) to train masses of farm kids for urban manufacturing jobs. In that sense, it resembled drivers' education; excellence is not the point, so much as getting everyone to a minimum level of competence. Expectations of excellence from a universal education institution are bound to be disappointed.
3. That said, teachers have burdened the system with unions that prevent accountability, that elect school boards which escalate salaries, benefits and costs without results.
Apr '12
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Schools are bloated and entirely too expensive, but how much of a difference does that make on achievement of our children? It is is cultural. What is rewarded in our society, what is "cool" for kids, and alas yes what is attractive for the opposite sex when your 16? It is not doing well on a math test that is for sure.
Apr '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
BrentB67
Joy, you really nailed it. The root of motivation for the centralized control is one stop shopping for lobbyist and special interest groups.
Mollie (I think) had a great post over the weekend about something like 9 of the counties around DC being the wealthiest per capita in the country....
I just wish there was a presidential candidate in the race with the courage to say it. ·
Mitt's education policy has federalist elements and neutral elements, but most of it is aimed at bringing education control closer to parents. Whether it's eliminating Federal standards (Highly Qualified Teacher) etc., or returning school choice to DC, some measures every federalist should rejoice in. Others are more ambiguous, such as the incentives for school choice; these reduce State's freedoms, but the power flows not to the Feds, but to parents and local communities.
Others, such as the critical abolition of tenure, are there because the Federal government is less easily intimidated by teachers' unions. The freedom of a legislature domesticated by abusive union thugs may be illusory.
In Massachusetts, Mitt supported charter schools and limited his own power over them. Repeated federally, this would help your desired lobbying reductions.
Apr '12
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
KC Mulville
Excellent point. The bulk of spending on education is directed at K through 12 ... but that segment of education doesn't actually change that much.
Therefore, the change in spending isn't caused by a change in the service. We're paying a lot more for basically the same service, and the results are worse. · 35 minutes ago
But it does change.
It went from being a place you sent your kids to be taught academics that might be beyond the parents' ability, especially new things and for those with lowly educated families, to being a glorified daycare with some sort of education offered.
IIRC, if you look at where spending has gone up, it's mostly admin and special ed. (Both of which can be good, but are taken to ludicrous extremes. I use to fumble for the name of the letter "T," so they decided I didn't know my ABCs, rather than that I performed poorly under pressure from someone that I knew didn't like me.)
Feb '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Indeed, the cost and expansion of administration has been incredible.
In some ways streamlining has been a good thing, especial for those students, but more often the entire class is bogged down by teachers who really aren't trained to handle such a huge disparity, and frankly, I think increasingly, it is impossible to handle such gaps while still being fair to all of your students. Also, aides make or break both the classroom and the district budget (along with bloating at the top).
May '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Mel Foil
Southern Pessimist
Are you etoiledunord's long lost twin brother?
Yeah, long lost siamese twins. · 7 hours ago
Well, once again, I feel clueless. I am used to that, but I have said that when I grow up and become both clever and wise I am going to change my name to eltouiledesud. What am I do do with Mel Foil?
Aug '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
An additional problem is pedagogy. Since John Dewey, we have had almost 80 years of "progressive education" metastasizing through the system. Our curricula are a mile wide and an inch deep. We tell ourselves we are teaching critical thinking. We aren't. We aren't even teaching very basic discipline-specific knowledge -- like the multiplication tables.
Fortunately, traditional teaching methods are now being reintroduced in some schools (like the KIPP academies) and in some private schools. I am particularly impressed with the Logos model.
Meanwhile as one of our posters pointed out, graduate schools of teaching do not even consider subject matter. They are firmly committed to methods of education that are purely process based. They are a big part of the problem.
May '10
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
In Re: TR's questions.
The general familial and cultural decline means that you have to have multiple teachers in each classroom to control behaviors. When I was in school each class only had a single teacher. Reduction in efficiency and increase in cost. Not to mention the ridiculous impact of unions on costs and efficiency.
BrentB67, you're not alone.
TR: What should we do? A President Romney must make education reform a centerpiece issue, commit to returning control and money back to the state, commit to a 25% reduction for each of the next four budget cycles. Get rid of it in a single term so that it doesn't depend on the 2016 election.
MF's comment about high quality vs. uniform quality. This is key; egalitarianism means teaching to the lowest common denominator. When I was in elementary school there were classes for accelerated kids, regular kids, and slow kids. In high school there were college prep tracks, business tracks, and trades tracks. Now we have a low overall quality and a large fraction of our best students still need to be held for "Bonehead English". Meanwhile we have no trained clerical people or trades craftsmen.
May '10
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Socialism degrades performance over time while costs increase perpetually. This is the inevitable result of the perverse incentives inherent in the system. We have socialized education, retirement, charity and (largely) health-care. Why should we be surprised that these are the problem areas in our country? Charter schools are a good step in the right direction but the quickest solution would be to institute open enrollment. Students would flock to high performing schools, weak performing schools would scramble to improve and those that couldn't (wouldn't?) would soon close. This can of course never be done unless the parents (consumers) demand it and stand up to the unions by voting intelligently.
Aug '10
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
@okiesailor has a point. We don't need to solve the problem directly, just empower a marketplace where the solutions can be presented on equal grounds.Open enrollment: Parents and students compete for admission to the better performing schools.Vouchers (and not just for the poor as we are implementing in Louisiana) enable education providers to target markets where they can best compete (and incidentally, make healthier profits)Online and homeschooling enrollments are on the rise - a symptom that the buyer portion of the market is desperately seeking an outlet from the traditional school systems. The Mrs and I are currently in a search for a homeschool curriculum we will implement when our son hits second grade - I think I will start a member thread to see which ones are out there and why folks like them.
Apr '12
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Who wants your child taught by a union member? One issue for US schools, please correct me if I am wrong, is that each school gets property tax income to pay for it? So does that mean poor areas get less budget per student?
Mar '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Any time a governmental body funds anything it becomes corrupted. The solution is so simple, remove all governmental funding of healthcare and education and use the saving to reduce taxes. However, just because the solution is strategically a simple fix does not mean it is anywhere close to being politically feasible.
Jun '10
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Southern Pessimist
Mel Foil
Southern Pessimist
Are you etoiledunord's long lost twin brother?
Yeah, long lost siamese twins. · 7 hours ago
Well, once again, I feel clueless. I am used to that, but I have said that when I grow up and become both clever and wise I am going to change my name to eltouiledesud. What am I do do with Mel Foil? · 10 hours ago
Etoile du nord (the MN State Motto) was a little much for someone as lazy as me to live up to. I'm more of an invasive lake weed (milfoil.)
Jun '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
The education establishment uses our kids as human shields. Until we stop negotiating with hostage takers things will continue to get worse.
Apr '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Essentially, yes poorer areas do get less. As someone who teaches in a poor, rural area in NY, most of our funding comes from state aid so when there are cut backs, areas with low property tax revenue are hit especially hard. The disparity between districts is unreal in some cases. When you have downstate schools who are offering over 22 AP courses (which are becoming as important or more so than SAT scores) and upstate valedictorians who are denied entry to SUNY schools because they don't have enough AP because there schools cannot afford to offer them, you have an emerging two-tiered school system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/opinion/the-danger-in-school-spending-cuts.html
I don't agree with all of this, but it gives you an idea of what is going on here in NY.
Apr '11
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
Until we return to tracking students the European countries will fly by us. Throwing everyone together creates mediocre students at best.
I currently teach at a relatively high performing school in NYC. The school does well because it has great students. I used to teach at a poorly performing school, and at best it was average and at worst it was hell. This school borders from good to great. If the culture is corrupted, teaching becomes a job that deserves hazard pay.
Dec '10
Re: Time to Realize Education Is as Big a Problem as Healthcare
This is a great point, and illustrates both what's wrong with the current system, and what's wrong with the whole idea of Obamacare. Leftists openly WANT this kind of uniformity (they call it "fairness"). It's more important in their minds that everyone receive the same than we strive to produce the best (which inevitably produces varying quality).