I know we’ve had a lot of articles here about the sad state of American schools. Why another one? Because Camden should be The Poster Child proving that more money — the battle cry for Teachers Unions everywhere — simply is not the answer. Anytime some dingleberry says — “We need mo money fo dis skool” — simply give a one word response — “Camden!”
You see, Camden spends more than $25,000 per pupil …. making it one of the highest spending districts in the nation. And what does all that money buy? Abysmal test scores, extremely high in-school violence, dilapidated buildings, a 40% drop-out rate …. in short, one the very worst public school systems in the entire country.
The first video describes the problem.
The second video shows the amazing success of Charter Schools …. even in the hell-hole called Camden.
A couple of old sayings come to mind. You can’t polish a turd. You can’t turn shit into ice cream.
The only thing that will ensure a childs success is two involved parents.
“You can’t polish a turd.” ————- overthecliff
“I figured out at a very young age that I would strive to be a wife and a mother, and not a baby momma. I would have a career, not a job. And I would own a house next to actionable neighbors and not rent a row home next to an abandoned building.”
————– Destiny Bingham, Valedictorian, @1:07 mark
Let’s give credit, where credit is due. That young lady is on the right path.
This is how it works: the worse schools are – they get more money. When they slightly improve – they want more money.
For $25k you can send the kid to college.
Destiny Bingham, Valedictorian, @1:07 mark…
I had a guy that worked for me, his mom is a white trash alcoholic, his sister is a white trash whore, no father, but a live in boyfriend with three sons that was the blackest black man I ever met until I met some Haitians in Staniel Cay.
This guy could have continued the circle of dependance on the state and blame, but he also decided at a young age to break out. He stood on his own, bought a house, raised a family, but before he moved out and on his own he paid back debt his mom, boyfriend and sons ran up.
He didn’t have to pay the gas, phone and electric bills, but he knew it was wrong.
He also chose the right path, but more funding is never the answer.
The culture of the area is to blame.
It’s amazing what you can learn if you read books.
From the news today in my town:
I fucking give up, we are lost, there is no more hope for public schools or taxpayers.
MUSKEGON, MI — Reducing distracting behaviors in classrooms is the focus of a $442,000 federal grant, which could grow to more than $2 million over five years, that has been awarded to the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District.
The Project BEST grant was awarded to the MAISD by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant, which is renewable for up to five years, will provide support and technical assistance to help Muskegon County schools reduce behavior problems and improve student achievement.
“Our goal is to train teachers and school leaders, put supports in place, and then step back and provide coaching as they move forward,” said MAISD Instructional Consultant Pam Varga.
The MAISD was one of three school districts in the state to be awarded the competitive grant commonly referred to as a “school climate transformation grant.” There were 71 grants awarded nationwide.
Project BEST stands for “behavior and environment scale-up and technical assistance.” The grant requires schools to implement multiple levels of behavioral and social/emotional support for students that evidence has proven effective.
The MAISD has used the grant to hire three employees to work with local districts to reduce distractive behavior and improve learning environments.
card802
Wow. I did not realize you’re from Muskegon.
My kids went to Muskegon Christian School, just off Apple Ave, for a few years.
I had one IT account in Muskegon — Brunswick Bowling — there were just barely hanging on in the 90’s, … I’d be surprised if they were still in business.
One year we saw the Blue Angels at the Muskegon Air Show … which was quite a surprise considering how small the town is. They had another stunt where a firetruck raced an old biplane. Really.
Anyway … small world.
Wow!
Muskegon Christian School is now by the airport, they took over the Gen Tel office when they vacated out of town.
Brunswick doesn’t make anything here anymore, R&D is all that is left, the ball and pin plant have been torn down. Gone to Mexico.
CWC is hanging on, Canon seems strong, Alcoa is booming as is Shape Corp and ADAC.
But, the paper mill, Sealed Power, Musk Piston Ring, Lift Tech, all gone, along with all the smaller service companies.
L3 is running on fumes, the Consumers Coal Plant on Musk Lake is slated for demo next year. Muskegon was a strong manufacturing town, but our leaders want us to be like Grand Haven, tourist dollars are where it’s at apparently.
Muskegon Air show was good for a couple of years, but you can’t keep bringing back the same acts year after year and expect the crowds to show.
Typical story, they would pay the “directors” thousands a year to bring the same shit back. I personally like the Thunderbirds better, the Angels are cool but, Here they come!………..10 min later after they regroup……Here they come!……….10 min later……
I used to volunteer and serve beer at the show, I probably served you beer!
I figured out long ago that this “the schools don’t have enough money” was a big scam.
One day one of the kids comes home with a paper addressed to the parents asking for donations of such things as paper, pens, pencils, and also sports equipment such as baseballs, basketballs, soccer balls and that type thing.
My first reaction was ok I can afford to buy a ream of paper or some pencils or maybe even a basketball, I’ve always believed education was important and should be supported.
Then right about that time there was an investigative report about a new office complex built by the top administration of the school board. (I don’t know the proper label) Anyway what the report highlighted was the fact that these heads of the school system had essentially built themselves offices that would be best described as “palatial”, Walnut paneled offices, marble everywhere, a fortune in art on the walls by famous named artists, and on and on, you get the point.
Now from that it doesn’t take a genius to figure out there wasn’t a lack of money for schools but an issue of how and where the money was being spent. And the fact that priorities of the people in charge of managing the existing school budget were towards themselves including providing a luxurious environment for the top school administrators at the expense of actual education of the children, and that increasing funding for schools wasn’t going to change those priorities.
It’s a self-perpetuating scam. Money gets skimmed off the top for the benefit of the management at the expense of the kids, and then they point to the needs of the kids and claim the need for more money. And the more they can point to failure the more they claim they’re not getting enough money.
And So It Goes.
let’s do some simple math.
$25,000 per student, let’s say 25 kids in a class, that’s $625,000 per class. Let’s say the teacher gets $100,000 including pension and $25,000 per year is the cost of the class room with its utilities that leaves a whole $500,000 per class for what? Oh yea there’s the principle, the janitor and the nurse and a few others that need to be paid out of the $500,000. OK but let’s not forget that there are other class rooms in that school, let’s say 30 classes. Alright that means 30 X $500,000 or $15,000,000.00 to pay for the principle, the janitor, and the nurse and a few others. Let’s say 2 principles at $200,000 each, 4 janitors at $75,000 each 3 nurses at $100,000 each. Ok what do we have, that’s another $1M. Subtract the $1M from the $15M that leaves $14M.
$14M we still haven’t spent what the Hell? OH I KNOW! School lunch that’s it.
Ok so we have 25 kids per class 30 classes that’s 750 kids; let’s say 20 lunches per month for nine months that’s 180 lunches per kid times 750 kids that’s 135,000 lunches. So let’s say $5 per lunch that’s another $675,000 plus let’s say 5 lunch servers at $50,000 each that’s another $250,000.
$675,000 + $250,000 = $925,000 for lunches, let’s call it an even $1M just to keep it simple.
$14M less $1M for lunches that still leaves $13M not yet spent.
Schools are underfunded? Really? What am I missing?
ASIG
You forgot the murals painted on the buildings of black people doing great things.
ASIG – I have posted those calcs many times here on TBP. You are absolutely correct. For $25k, you can provide a world-class education. For half that you can provide an outstanding education.
Those fucks could show banksters how to steal. They are true masters at it.
Just handed in my “no” vote on two bond measures to finance soft prisons………..I mean schools. I always vote no but the breeders with room temp IQ’s outnumber me!
They educated The Lost Boys in refugee camps in Zimbabwe to a level that qualified them for college in the US for the price of some paper, pencils and books. These kids didn’t even have parents after “the religion of peace” entered their lives. The classrooms were bare bones huts.