basic scientific research. After reading about it, I took a quick look at some recent education headlines from around the to see what Bill Gates was talking about.
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Meanwhile, the grand Bush Administration education policy is wrapped up entirely in the No Child Left Behind Act, which doesn't seem to be working very well. The most common criticism of NCLB is that by punishing schools which fail to meet performance standards, teachers are focusing more on the tests rather than comprehensive learning, and schools are emphasizing reading and math to the exclusion of other subjects.
Another effect of NCLB is that many states are inflating their high school graduation rates to hide what is in reality a dismal dropout rate.
According to NCLB, by the year 2014 child proficiency in reading, writing and mathematics must reach 100%. (I haven't read the bill myself, and frankly, I don't believe there can be a law with such an absurd
requirement, but knowing what horrible legislation has emerged from Congress and the White House the past seven years, maybe this is true. In any case, as an abstract goal, sure, striving for 100% proficiency would
be nice.) In
The State of Utah has already rejected NCLB, and according to MSNBC.com, about 14 other states are moving in that direction.
As one Republican State Senator in Minnesota said, "We've had five years of the No Child Left Behind regime, and I think it's safe to call it a failure now. We're giving it an F and trying to take back our schools."
OK, Bill Gates is right. We are in trouble. Education is arguably the most important factor in improving the welfare of a nations' citizens (in particular, I would like to see a vast improvement in education so that in the future, we may fewer ignorant political leaders than we do today - good luck to that!). I don't necessarily believe that increased federal funding by itself will lead to improved education in the US, but I know that we'd be much better off had we spent $600 billion on education for the past five years rather than on a pointless war in Iraq.
Congress is usually pretty good at listening to what rich people say, and Bill Gates is rich - and not just rich, but for many years, the richest person in the world. So we can only hope that Congress, and the next President, place even more weight on his urgent suggestions and implement smart, effective policies to modernize and improve education in the United States.
Get More Education from The Young Turks.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. You are correct about one thing - throwing more money at education does not always produce good results. The old saying "it starts at home" is still true. I believe that a child even in a bad school will do well if he/she has a loving and supportive parent or parents at home who take an interest in their education and kick their butt and make them study. I can see why more parents are turning to home schooling.
As to the silly "intelligent design" and trying to push it through, local school boards (or politicians) who try it may do well to remember what happened a few years ago in a school district in Pennsylvania who tried the same thing - all the board members who supported it were swept out of office by the voters.
David S. at 1:59PM on Mar 24th 2008
2. Education is indeed the answer, but neither Republicans nor Democrats know how to educate. Fluency in addition facts in second-grade is the key to subsequent math/science success, and children who can print the alphabet faster than 40 letters-per-minute NEVER have subsequent reading or academic problems. I am the only person to have ever proven this scientically,but no one will listen. For a free email copy of study description, ask Bob at rovarose.aol.com
Bob at 2:01PM on Mar 24th 2008
3. Just remember... while Bill Gates touts education as the solution to what builds our nation, he never finished college. I wonder what his occupation would be if he had?
Adrian Harris at 2:01PM on Mar 24th 2008
4. Bill Gates is 100% correct in pushing for stronger programs in the USA for Math, Science Ed., and Basic Scientific Reasearch. USA Today reports that in the USA there is a growing shortage of qualified teachers in Math and Science, the 2 subjects US students are very weak in when compared to the rest of the world.
Cenk is not correct in putting the blame on the Bush Ed Program for this is a problem that was happening before Bush took office.
The USA report I referred to was from July 2001 and was reporting on the shortage that was then and growing worse, even before Bush came into office.
Students at the college level are just to lazy to master the much harder, time demanding subjects in the Math and Science areas. Students going into college are also ill prepared to deal with the stated subject matter, finding that courses in social sciences are far less demanding.
robert okane at 2:06PM on Mar 24th 2008
5. Motivation is the problem with education.
Its not cool to be smart, smart kids are picked on. When something is given away for free, people have no concept of its actual value. Kids in high school don’t appreciate the education they are offered. When someone has to pay for their school, they will take it seriously. Some folks on the far far left think all education should be free—passing or failing does not matter then, because I’m not paying for it. We are not motivating children to value their own education. This is why the USA is losing jobs to India, Japan and China.
There are many solutions:
Make people pay for a part of it. If they cant, then promise them scholarships if they get good grade (for example 50% scholarship if they get B’s, 90% if they get A’s etc)
Send the hard-working children to the best schools. This allows them to succeed without being dragged down by lazy peers, and it allows teachers to help target underperforming students better.
Get parents involved. Educrats care about their jobs not their students. We need more charter schools, more private schools. The best way is an integrated public/private system were parents and teachers are involved and the funding comes from both public and private sources.
Focus on the core of learning: reading and math. The courses kids take today are so watered-down. Children are not prepared for college and now universities have to teach them the basics again.
Change 12th grade. This should be a college transition year not a lazy slack year. For my Sr year I went to community college, I attended a technical academy where I took AP courses and I also did a couple classes on my own at home. It was the busiest year and a perfect college transition.
These are some of the many solutions that can be made, arguing about NCLB or creationism or liberal prof’s only motivates politicians and activists.
Dan at 3:31PM on Mar 24th 2008
6. Education is fine if there's a job at the end of the process. Why spend all of your money and 4 to 5 years on an engineering degree when there's a good chance that your job will be outsourced? If Bill really wants to make a statement, then he should make a commitment to guaranteeing jobs to home grown students while they're in school.
Dave at 4:35PM on Mar 24th 2008
7. Its funny how all of the let the market rule business types want the government to step in and do something about the supposed shortage of engineering, math and science graduates. If there were really a shortage wages would rise and the market would adjust. Real wages adjusted for inflation have not risen in over 20 years and benefits have fallen in engineering at least in this part of the country. I advise young people I know to stay out of these fields because they are dead ends. Go into sales, academics, punditry or government where you can spout off without having to know anything and still not have to be accountable. Science and math related fields you have to invest heavily in education, work hard, risk actually being wrong and still be disrespected by the big talkers who get put on a pedestal by the business management types who run the companies.
Carl at 5:02PM on Mar 24th 2008
8. FORGETABOUIT --- The morons in this country are living on it's residuals. Over half the people in this country do not have the skills to function in the global economy. We are a service and high tech economy now and our idiotic schools are still mired in Industrial Age curriculums. Teach your kids to speak Mandrin they will need that skill in the future to get a good job.
Larry at 5:25PM on Mar 24th 2008
9. The problem with education is that the NEA and Teacher's Unions are dedicated to protecting their own, no matter how inept the "teacher" may be.
That is why those who are home schooled fare better in all standardized tests including the ACT. Home School curriculae do not pander to making the student "feel good about themselves" but rather focus on the student LEARNING skills which will benefit them in the REAL world. And since the lessons are usually monitored by a PARENT who gives a chit about the outcome, students are motivated.
Public "education" is aimed at the lowest common denominator, hence our challenge to find high school "graduates" who can READ!
URKiddinMee at 6:24PM on Mar 24th 2008
10. If all that need be done is pour huge sums of money into education, the students in inner city Washington, DC schools should all be geniuses, since it takes $12,000 to $15,000 per student to "educate" these kids, many of whom can't read their own diplomas when they graduate. And it's not just urban schools that are dysfunctional.
Once again, Cenk takes the bumper sticker, knee-jerk, doctrinaire liberal position and tries to blame conservatives for the "dumbing down" of education when it's lefties that have had a stranglehold on public schools for many years. Conservatives have been fleeing failing public schools in droves, instead opting for private schools or home-schools.
Public schools have been teaching exclusively evolution for decades and have been on the skids for decades. So don't blame creationists for the unmitigated disaster that's befallen most of this nation's public schools. We didn't cause it.
Dave at 7:04PM on Mar 24th 2008
11. A major problem in public schools is that most teachers in any given school system are on the same pay scale with the level of education being a primary reason for additional pay. There is much more employment competition for people with degrees in math or science than in social studies, history, language arts, etc. Schools will have to pay more to attract good mathematicians and scientists into teaching. They also need to forego the education courses requirement for these specialties. There is no question that social sciences and the arts are important but the job market demands for these majors will not establish their salaries at the same levels as math. and science majors.
Ron Tew at 8:34AM on Mar 25th 2008
12. It is pointless to throw taxpayer money at education as long as education remains underappreciated and undervalued in our society. What kind of message are we sending when we underpay teachers and overpay illiterate athletes.Let's direct money to people who have an interest in education, namely those who are willing to pay for it and do so. For those who can't pay we should evaluate the family situation and determine the level of interest in education. If there is no interest, why bother. Our public schools have become day care centers and it is time to stop it.
IRONBLUEEYES at 8:54PM on Mar 27th 2008