Waiting For Superman

[8v10un30sun]

I watched the documentary because it's been buzzing on PH and with new GOP news when one of the GOP guys said something that could be interpretted as really stupid.  If the documentary is a truly transparent picture then gosh, we did really sell out our kids on so many levels.  Not only are we selling out our kids at the educational level but we are also selling out them at the job market level.  Tomorrow will be the hardest years for our children in a new world that is quickly equalizing and we are not preparing for them well, and we are giving our knowledge out freely.  Doesn't seem like a solution is near because this is all politics with everyone saying they are the good guy and nobody owning up to why the system is all jacked up.

DOUBLE THE $ ON EDUCATION and flat line results.  That's a powerful statement on the inefficiency of the system!  Someone should be shot and fire and you can't do shit about it.  Pathetic...leg al legal legal...Shred the regulation.

NY spends $100 million on bad teachers.  WTF can kind blackhole spending is that crap?

I just want to say that this is only 1/3 of the problem.  The cost of college since my years there have increased over 600%.  What about that?  On top of that, colleges are not producing the right kind of colleges.  The documentary talks about how silicon valley has a ton of jobs, but the documentary doesn't say these jobs are HIGHLY skilled.  Less than .0001% of the college graduate have the skills...it takes several years to obtain that kind of skills and knowledge...mo st silicon valley job are asking for a MS in EE/CS/Mathematics/PHysics etc... for the technical roles...which are the roles they are outsourcing via HB1 Visa.  THe world has changed.  The HB1 Visa folks after 5-7 years go back to their homeland to start their own business to compete for the same contracts.

[moonangel]

"DOUBLE THE $ ON EDUCATION"

I'm not so much a debater but I'd like to give a tiny input on this.  I don't agree with double the money on education in the sense that the money will be used to higher more regular out-of-college teachers.  But, I do like the idea of doubling the money for math, science, IT, and medical education and its teachers.  I think the focus should be put on math and science in grade schools through high school.  Pay those teachers more and monitor their teaching closer.  

I also believe that art goes along with science and there should be some kind of funding for music, choir/voice lessons, acting, etc.  Currently at my daughter's school we have art activities but as parents, we have to pay for these out of pocket (for instants, my daughter is in violin and has to pay for the violin rental plus monthly payments for the classes).  I think field trips are also important.  My daughter will be going to this place called Young Ameritown where they get to participate in rolls such as a scientist, doctor, banker, etc. (even lower end jobs).  I believe they earn fake money for their rolls.  We had to pay for her trip too.

btw, I haven't seen the documentary but I'll have to.  Sounds interesting.

[tetrapod]

It's a sad state of affair.  Bill Gates had to beg congress to allow for more foreign skilled workers to fill the jobs in the US because US citizens lack the skills.  When you go to a high tech company or biotech companies, you see that more than 70% of engineers and scientists are from other countries.

A child's education is influence by so many factors.  Good teachers, good parents, good friends, good environments, and good role models.  The movie focus mostly on teachers.  The problem is that school can't fire teachers who are tenured.  I agree this needed to be changed.   Now how to attract great and bright teachers to the ghetto school?

Parents, friends, role models, and environment probably plays a bigger role in a student's success than a good teacher.  A child that is allowed to play video games or watch TV 4 hours a day will not do well in school.  A child with friends who are bad is likely going to end up bad.  An environment that is not safe will make the child think of survival more than school. 

[NkaujNom]

Great ideas, great minds.

People, at least in their right mind, will avoid danger. Teachers are people too. If a community is dangerous, it is less likely to find a person who will risk their own lives to teach students; students who may not even care to have dreams or goals for that matter.

That $100 million dollars thing is crazy. For example, you can pay some people hundreds of dollars to live in Detroit and they'll still refuse.

Should we focus on the community first, then education, and then start from there?

[8v10un30sun]

This problem is caused by everybody.  That is what I believe.  We've empowered people to screw us up over and over and then we cry about being powerless.  We are sheeps because we are lazy.  We refuse to labor for our worth so we get cheated.  Sustainability is a problem because we've thrown all of our hard savings into investment company who then go and squeeze every ounce of blood they can from companies who make stuff and then they send all the jobs oversea and then we lose job and eventually this cycle will have to reach a critical mass and the system will fall apart.  Then we have these same investment company who owns the politicians because of the $$$ we've invested in the investment company.  These company are only as powerful as what we give them and we give them 5-15% of our power, then we wonder about why nobody gives a shit about us...  Modern investment banking company is not like the old one who you can trust with your $$...it's about them and only them and not about you...they feel you have no option so you must investment in A, B, or C...  The pillow and under the mattress is not a bad idea even if inflation eats it up...or buy land or buy something tangible versus an inflated corporation like AMAZON, FACEBOOK and etc...

We the citizens of the US can start buy taking back our power which is our wealth.  These business would fall under their pressure for lack of cash IMMEDIATELY.  Yet we are afraid to do this!!

8v10un30sun,

I think the problem is that many of those corporations don't really care about future generations. They only care about themselves, their lifetime. Just read the profile of their CEOs and staff.

Their loyalty is to monetary power alone, no specific currency nor nation.

[Xyooj96]

what has been the stats on individuals who bite the hands that feed them? 

i do think every thing about an individual starts from the family, especially the parents. then the home, local community, town/city, region, state, country, world. there's a saying about "thinking globally, acting locally"

what makes people tick in their lives, i think that is the secret to success

This problem is caused by everybody.  That is what I believe.  We've empowered people to screw us up over and over and then we cry about being powerless.  We are sheeps because we are lazy.  We refuse to labor for our worth so we get cheated.  Sustainability is a problem because we've thrown all of our hard savings into investment company who then go and squeeze every ounce of blood they can from companies who make stuff and then they send all the jobs oversea and then we lose job and eventually this cycle will have to reach a critical mass and the system will fall apart.  Then we have these same investment company who owns the politicians because of the $$$ we've invested in the investment company.  These company are only as powerful as what we give them and we give them 5-15% of our power, then we wonder about why nobody gives a shit about us...  Modern investment banking company is not like the old one who you can trust with your $$...it's about them and only them and not about you...they feel you have no option so you must investment in A, B, or C...  The pillow and under the mattress is not a bad idea even if inflation eats it up...or buy land or buy something tangible versus an inflated corporation like AMAZON, FACEBOOK and etc...

We the citizens of the US can start buy taking back our power which is our wealth.  These business would fall under their pressure for lack of cash IMMEDIATELY.  Yet we are afraid to do this!!

[Believe_N_Me]

Never in the history of education has so much money been put into the public school system and yet the results have been on a downward spiral. Clearly, money is not the issue.

[Believe_N_Me]

Actually, that just means that money will not fix the problem.

Money could actually be the issue, money going into the wrong hands. Money drawing the attention of only people who wanna make a living, and not people who actually have a passion in teaching. You ever meet teachers or professors that are there just for the money? They hate their students, they are just there to get paid? So yea, money is definitely an issue.

This is exactly the kind of mentality that I want people to start having. Whenever there is news about budget cuts, uninformed parents are so quick to side with teachers without ever questioning how effective such teachers are. Teachers are great when it comes to laying a big guilt trip. Frankly, I'm pretty bored hearing about it. I've seen good school districts vs. bad school districts and it isn't always about how much money is rolling in but how to spend it.

 

[YAX]

I watched the documentary because it's been buzzing on PH and with new GOP news when one of the GOP guys said something that could be interpretted as really stupid.  If the documentary is a truly transparent picture then gosh, we did really sell out our kids on so many levels.  Not only are we selling out our kids at the educational level but we are also selling out them at the job market level.  Tomorrow will be the hardest years for our children in a new world that is quickly equalizing and we are not preparing for them well, and we are giving our knowledge out freely.  Doesn't seem like a solution is near because this is all politics with everyone saying they are the good guy and nobody owning up to why the system is all jacked up.

DOUBLE THE $ ON EDUCATION and flat line results.  That's a powerful statement on the inefficiency of the system!  Someone should be shot and fire and you can't do shit about it.  Pathetic...leg al legal legal...Shred the regulation.

NY spends $100 million on bad teachers.  WTF can kind blackhole spending is that crap?

I just want to say that this is only 1/3 of the problem.  The cost of college since my years there have increased over 600%.  What about that?  On top of that, colleges are not producing the right kind of colleges.  The documentary talks about how silicon valley has a ton of jobs, but the documentary doesn't say these jobs are HIGHLY skilled.  Less than .0001% of the college graduate have the skills...it takes several years to obtain that kind of skills and knowledge...mo st silicon valley job are asking for a MS in EE/CS/Mathematics/PHysics etc... for the technical roles...which are the roles they are outsourcing via HB1 Visa.  THe world has changed.  The HB1 Visa folks after 5-7 years go back to their homeland to start their own business to compete for the same contracts.

I didn't watch the shows.  But I say we can blame it on the unions.  Paying a bad teacher more money doesn't necessarily make him or her a better teacher.  The inability to fire the teacher is where the problem lies.

[8v10un30sun]

Waiting for Superman puts a lot of blame on the Union and ask the questions implicitly, is the union still needed?  The answer to that is an astounding no in the documentary.  Union is just another layer of waste.

I hate it when someone tells me if this is in my job description.  I talked with a FDA person and he told me flat out it was not in his job description and he did not want to violate protocol.  WTF!  Are you so stupid that you can only do what is in your job description or are you fat and lazy?  I'm going to say fat and lazy because he was totally yawning when he was talking to me.

That there are government workers and union workers.  It's no wonder we cannot compete because we have too many dead weights on the team.  This is why waiting for superman said that if you just got rid of 10% of all the bad teachers, the system would immediately move to be competitive with #1 Finland.  That is freaking amazing...Why can't you remove 10% of the bad teachers who really should be kicked out?  Union complex due process that cost more than a court litigation cost!  How BS is that?

We need a Union for fighting Unions who make American suck.

I didn't watch the shows.  But I say we can blame it on the unions.  Paying a bad teacher more money doesn't necessarily make him or her a better teacher.  The inability to fire the teacher is where the problem lies.

[Believe_N_Me]

I know of one school district that is a complete drain on tax dollars. You would not believe how bad teachers/principals/administrators are recycled through the system.

[Gutts]

I didn't watch the shows.  But I say we can blame it on the unions.  Paying a bad teacher more money doesn't necessarily make him or her a better teacher.  The inability to fire the teacher is where the problem lies.

This is exactly what happened in Wisconsin.  And now the WI Public Unions want him recalled for it.

[slude]

"instead of waiting for superman, be the batman."

my 2 cent on parent/teacher-kid education.

[Believe_N_Me]

I remember watching this documentary when it first came out. It was a real eye opener about the way the public school system works, especially when it comes to dealing with hiring and disciplining teachers/school administrators .