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Comment Re: We're in the group (Score 1) 209

by Wheres the kaboom (#65812089) Attached to: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers

> Republicans have abandoned public education, which has driven teachers to the Democrats.

That’s a misleading framing. Teachers themselves have abandoned neutrality. Democrats monopolize education, and the democrat party is now arguably a wing of the teachers unions.

> Even Republican teachers do not trust Republican politicians to invest in public education.

Teachers now make FAR more than the median in every state, plus have benefits that FAR exceed the private sector, and overall investment has only ever gone UP faster than inflation. NYC now spends 40k per student per year. The education system is awash in cash. Yet the schools, PARTICULARLY highly Democrat controlled inner city schools, have been declining in quality for decades - more on why later.

> Only 1 in 10 teachers say they trust Republicans to ensure "adequate funding for schools, adequate pay and benefits for teachers,

Only 1 in 20 identify as republicans, and please define “adequate” funding given my previous points. It’s never enough, eh? Plus, ironically, study after study shows reveals little correlation between funding and student outcome. So note your redirection? Perhaps that’s because funding isn’t the issue, and there is a direct correlation between declining results and Democrat policies:
- mainstreaming (wildly different levels of students in the same class)
- eliminating advanced classes
- restorative justice
- hiring according to identity instead of merit
- deprioritizing standardized testing
- whole word learning instead of phonics
- social promotion instead of making struggling kids retake a grade level
- “equitably” lowering admissions requirements to teacher colleges (now lowered so much they’re at 42nd percentile on the SATs - literally less cognitively capable on average than their future K-12 students)

The results? Very blue California now leans into these policies more than most states and has “coincidentally” steadily declined in the NAEP rankings, but, despite spending half as much per student, “fascist” Florida is near the top, and, particularly among classically underserved demographics, “racist” Mississippi and Louisiana are doing quite well, plus rising.

> If you look at opinion polls, on most issues (abortion, gay marriage, tax policy, etc.) the majority of the U.S. population is liberal.

The abortion, gay marriage, and tax policy areas have significant crossover between conservative and progressive circles. But notice the issues you carefully didn’t mention?

Per Gallup the MAJORITY of Black Americans OPPOSED defunding the police, SUPPORT VoterID, SUPPORT controlled borders, and SUPPORT school choice - along with the majority of the nation. White liberals hold the OPPOSITE position to Black Americans (and to the majority of the population) on each of these issues.

Teachers now make FAR more than the median in every state,

Source? And "the median", what group or groups are included to calculate this median?

State by state figures are available via FRED, BLS, etc, but, for brevity, let’s just concentrate on national:

The census puts the national overall median at 60k for all occupations and the secondary school teacher median at 65k.

https://www2.census.gov/progra...

The BLS puts the overall teacher median at 62k - lower than the census number because it presumably includes preschool and elementary, but still higher than the national median (see the 50% number - not the average number).

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/m...

This same pattern holds when digging down to the state level.

Note that these numbers do NOT include benefits - which are quite generous in comparison to the average private sector job.

I'd hate to go get a bachelor's degree somewhere, go through an Educator Preparation Program (EPP), study for and take whatever state-specific exams are required, apply for a teaching certificate, go find a teaching job where I'll likely be purchasing a lot of teaching supplies out of pocket, and then stare down a future where my income will likely never exceed what a junior software developer made during my freshman year of college.

You might hate it, but I know many teachers that love it. It’s a choice. Keep in mind:

- The salary has always been this way. Teacher salaries have been around the median for many decades, but, included, are generous benefits, and if you stick with it, there are also retirement packages that at least match that that median in retirement. That isn’t at all trivial. Work out how much capital that would require.

- The teacher colleges and schools are now self selecting students that want to make a living by studying “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and IX Kendi instead of Calculus and Churchill. Their diversity statements are a key part of the admissions and hiring process.

- That job is no longer attracting the cohorts that theoretically could typically make it in engineering. The average SAT score of a teacher college admit is now at 42nd percentile - far below that of the average engineering admit. The average college grad in general used to have a 117 IQ, but now it’s at 100 [ https://www.scienceopen.com/ho.... ] - and we know engineers haven’t forced the average down, but soft sciences, liberal arts and teachers are the ones doing so.

Comment Re:Believe (Score 1) 59

Yes, I agree on that goal. But it's not specific to this situation. Sometimes the goal of "making the most money possible" means hiring, not firing. Apparently, Amazon at one time thought hiring was the answer, since they hired all these people they are now firing. Their goal didn't *just now* become "make as much money as possible."

Comment Maybe I'm in the minority (Score 1) 16

by Tony Isaac (#65811377) Attached to: SEC Dismisses Case Against SolarWinds, Top Security Officer

But I think the case was heavy-handed in the first place.

There is no evidence I've read, that suggests Solar Winds was *negligent*. Was their security breached? Yes. Does that automatically make them negligent? No.

If a foreign government goes after your security defenses, using the money and manpower a national government can spend, they *will* break in.

Comment Re:School is so much more than acquiring knowledge (Score 1) 209

by Tony Isaac (#65811363) Attached to: Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers

You seem to think that home schoolers are isolated. They are not, at least not typically. They operate in groups of multiple families who collaborate to provide sports activities and civic engagement. Home schooling does not mean living on a remote family compound and disconnecting from the world.

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