Tell it to the people here who insist that "spending = success" I think it's a stupid idea, but it's a stupid idea that refuses to die no matter how much money we've lit on fire over the past 60 years

A rezistenței@gregglade.bsky.social · 24m ago

"spending = success" is a straw man's reasoning. If you don't know that, that's a you problem.

No. I'm going to take some time to fight as well with people who think they should be able to direct my activities on social media

J.P. Gottlieb@jpgottlieb.bsky.social · 22m ago

Are you going to fight with every rando on this site over this?

I’ll say it again. The largest influence/indicator of student achievement is parental involvement.

I guess I should say this out loud. What works? Sometimes, the sad answer is: nothing. All you can do is spend enough and do what you can to mitigate the damage, but 60 years of experiments should tell us that sometimes, life is unfair and you can't fix everything.

Phil Wolff@evanwolf.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 28m ago

@radiofreetom.bsky.social so, what works?

New York has some seriously uneven public school outcomes. New York City spends *even more than the state average*, and yet NYC outcomes lag the state, the region, and the national average. By the "spending = success" reasoning, NYC should be at the top of the heap for outcomes. It isn't.

Lee Drake@leedrake.bsky.social · 32m ago

But NY does?

so I've heard

@pw-boxster.bsky.social · 33m ago

Regan was a shitty governor in the 60s and an even shittier president in the 80s. And we’re still suffering through the trickle down lie

If this were true, New York and DC would have the best educational outcomes in the country

A. Xtedt@xtedt.bsky.social · 42m ago

That is conservative wishcasting. More money to schools actually does statistically improve outcomes.

And the assault he led on government programs was so unpopular that he barely squeaked back into office in 1984

@hollyknj.bsky.social · 47m ago

Or, they elected him because of 13% interest rates, gas lines, and the hostages in Iran.

I was on the road today doing stuff and it was pretty funny to hear Wink Martindale sitting in for Casey. Peak mid-70s.

mtnmantn68.bsky.social@mtnmantn68.bsky.social · 1h ago

@radiofreetom.bsky.social you don't share your #CaseyKasem adventures listening to #AT40 anymore! (that I see on my #newsfeed)

You're confusing cause and effect. The voters in 1980 had already made that decision. They didn't elect Reagan to give the social programs of the 70s a fair shake, they elected him to dismantle them.

Luke Bretscher@luciusvoltaic.bsky.social · 1h ago

I'm not sure the Reagan administration was a good judge of how social programs were going to work out in the long run...

I have to dial back the sarcasm, because people aren't getting it. Yes, better housing, nutritious food, nicer streets, low crime - all of these will help grades! But many of you are basically unreconstructed 70s liberals who *just don't get it* that you can't make that magically happen. /1

Occasionally, I interact with my family and watch television and do things beside answer annoying people who demand full treatises on government at the snap of their fingers.

Don Hilliard@electromotive645.bsky.social · 1h ago

Hm, no answer.

Sure, and affordable housing and universal healthcare, all of these can help solve poor grades in public schools

@posidonius.bsky.social · 3h ago

How about effective public transportation and child care resources. You can’t live on 30$/hour if you are paying 15$/hr for childcare. Pony? Very glib, professor.

This is how the 1970s went wrong

greatgoogly-moogly.bsky.social@greatgoogly-moogly.bsky.social · 5h ago

Doing what is KNOWN to be needed to achieve a goal is not mission creep- it IS the mission. It seems disingenuous to complain about a problem when you refuse to take the known steps to solve it. When you repeatedly try everything that you know won’t work, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t.

(whispers) Title IX But sure, some departments he'll destroy. Others he'll hijack. The point is that education - like many other areas of American life - are the responsibility of states, not the feds. Centralizing power is a temptation to mischief.

Richard Looker@richardlooker.bsky.social · 8h ago

That does not really address my point, sir. You and other conservatives keep warning what Trump would do with, say Dept. Of Ed. My point is that we need not imagine. What is actually happening is that he destroys this department and not that he uses it to impose some ideology that libs would hate.

Art from the street fair! A local artist who makes collages out of vintage comic books

Beautiful day and big turnout at the Newport Street fair

Today in 1967, the Outer Space Treaty entered into force. Now boasting 112 states parties (it started with just 62), the treaty guarantees the peaceful exploration of space for all, bans militarization of the Moon, and outlaws nuclear and other WMDs in orbit, on celestial bodies, and in outer space.

And this is how you get mission creep: Now it's not just fixing the school, you have to provide enough money, food, and housing to get better educational outcomes. Maybe even enough so that parents only work one job. Maybe a car would help, too. And a pony

@3dogrunner.bsky.social · 13h ago

Money can relieve the pressures that effect ability to parent at home. Providing adequate food and housing assistance can be the difference between a parent having two jobs to survive vs. one job that allows time to parent.

This person does not understand my Juche thought

Oh, they ABSOLUTELY would. Look at Cambridge, MA which prohibited Algebra 2 from being taught in middle schools in the name of “equity” until they were forced to grudgingly reverse when parents rightfully went apeshit.

Yes, the first step would be to become a small homogeneous Scandinavian country.

Coffee Indiana@coffeeindiana.bsky.social · 23h ago

Finland has quality rural education and a lower achievement gap between low income and high income students. So clearly there are steps that can be taken to reduce the disparity.

Also, I want school days shorter so that children can be sent into the fields to harvest potatoes

Correct, this is one of those statistics that a lot of people simply don’t believe until you show them the actual numbers. Money cannot change neighborhoods or parents.

Matt@matthoboken.bsky.social · 23h ago

As a general matter, per-pupil expenditure is higher in low-income areas than in high-income ones. (This isn't true everywhere, but it's the broad pattern.) Higher spending can't make up for the gap in the home environment. Trying is right. But education can't engineer equal outcomes.

I have no problem with the federal government setting standards for nuclear reactors, but every federal regulation should be justified rather than assumed

Dark Laughter@darklaughtertdb.bsky.social · 23h ago

Maybe so, but I don't know if I'd leave Mississippi to their own devices when it comes to setting policy for operating a nuclear reactor.

I think “states must adhere to standards written in DC for all sorts of things” is generally a problem, not a positive thing.

Richard Looker@richardlooker.bsky.social · yesterday

And, states must adhere to standards written in DC for all sorts of things. I would call those federal backstops or minimum standards. Why do you accept those federal backstops but seem to be so uncomfortable with a backstop for education quality? Why the distinction?

Life is not fair. Kids in suburban Boston are going to get a better education than kids in the inner city. Federal bureaucrats cannot change that.

Richard Looker@richardlooker.bsky.social · yesterday

So, I will put you down as a "no" for advocating the conservative talking point of "equality of opportunity"? I guess some people deserve a decent education depending on where they happen to live and others don't, right? Depends on whether locals provide it. Seems fair.

One reason people are suspicious of centralized federal power is because people like this think that states and localities cannot possibly find experts, and that only the central government can find and employ them. Expertise is not the sole property of federal bureaucrats.

Richard Looker@richardlooker.bsky.social · 24h ago

Oh man I cannot resist this one. What if it is the case that those federal bureaucrats are THE PEOPLE WITH THE EDUCATION EXPERTISE that could help promote better education outcomes? It seems to be you have written a word on two about the wisdom of listening to such people.

Dear Lord save us from the lukewarm pastors who have replaced the Bible with Project 2025 because they seek access to political power.