PUBLIC EDUCATION

[Number9]

We need to improve our Public Education system.  The level of educated citizens in America is a big part of how we advanced past the rest of the world during the Industrial Revolution.  The world we face today is not less educated, but instead in many countries their education system have risen above ours.  This is something we should all agree on.

 

Education once was a resource of the rich.  The common man did not have the resources to acquire education.  The advancement of technology called for worker capable of doing the jobs needed.  Today, technology has advanced even further.  If we as a people chose to be less educated, I think that a bad choice.  I believe that is something we all agree on.  Our problem is fighting each other, lack of interest in seeing all people advance and still just not understanding where the world is today.

 

There should be no debate about the population being well educated.  The debate should be how can we become even more educated to compete in the new world.  Technology is in constant motion up, forward.  If we aren't able to keep up, we lose.  Example.  AI can now create speeches using the voice and actual likeness of people to spread untruths.  It will never be a time when people are well served by being lied to through technology.  The only advantage I see is the rich can easier manipulate the poor to get even richer.  Understand, the rich are not championing the idea that they should become less educated.  Why not?

 

I believe it is in the interest of all Americans to become better educated, not less.  We should improve our education system.   

[Number9]

Here is AI saying what I said.

 

The strength of America's public education system has historically been a cornerstone of our nation's progress, particularly evident in our leadership during the Industrial Revolution. However, the global landscape of education has shifted dramatically. Many countries now boast educational systems that rival or surpass our own, a reality we must collectively acknowledge.

 

Historically, education was a privilege largely reserved for the wealthy. The rise of industrialization, however, necessitated a more skilled workforce, making broader access to education crucial. Today, with technology advancing at an unprecedented pace, the need for a highly educated populace is even more critical. To choose a path of lesser education would be a detrimental decision for our society. This is a point on which we should all agree. Our current challenges stem from internal division, a lack of collective interest in widespread advancement, and an insufficient understanding of our position in the modern world.

 

There should be no debate about the fundamental necessity of a well-educated populace. Instead, our focus should be on how we can elevate our educational standards to compete effectively in the evolving global arena. Technology is in relentless forward motion, and if we fail to keep pace, we risk falling behind. Consider, for example, the power of AI to generate deepfakes—speeches using the voice and likeness of individuals to disseminate misinformation. A society well-served by lies disseminated through technology is an impossibility. The only discernible advantage in such a scenario is the increased ease with which the wealthy can manipulate the less informed for their own gain. It is crucial to note that the affluent are not advocating for their own diminished education; why, then, should anyone else?

 

It is unequivocally in the best interest of all Americans to pursue greater, not lesser, education. Therefore, we must commit to significantly improving our education system.

[Number9]

Being intelligent is not detrimental to the citizens of America.  It doesn't matter what parties politics we favor, we need to think about our descendants.  Do you want then to face the type advancements in today's world less educated than you?  Improve the system.  YES!  Destroy it.  NO!

[Starkiller]

Most authoritarians historically want the general populace to be uneducated. Often they go so far as to imprison or murder the intellectual class. 

[Starkiller]

..

Edited July 31, 2025 by Starkiller

[Mythos27]

28 minutes ago, Titandan said:

Best way to keep the populace uneducated and brainwashed is to control them with centralized educational system.  Competition and, more specifically, privatized education is the remedy for that.  Why not sponsor private schools with tax paid vouchers and give the general populace a choice in a competitive system where the schools need to fight for our business?  For the sake of the poor and middle class, I hope this comes to fruition soon. 

Ugh, just no. I don't know when the last time you were in a school full time but this idea that they're just leftist indoctrination factories is such bullshit. I've worked in public schools of a very liberal state for almost 20 years and I can tell you first hand that it's a complete crock. We're struggling to get these kids to get off their phone and crack the fucking book open. The basic curriculum is kicking their ass so what makes people think they're ready to digest the finer points of Marxist ideology?

 

What all good teachers strive to do is teach them how to think critically, not what to think and it's pretty clear that blue states have the best teachers/education systems. The right just needs a way to rationalize the fact that when people get more than the bare minimum education they overwhelmingly the up leaning left because they don't like the implication. It's very obvious. 

[MadMax]

6 minutes ago, Mythos27 said:

Ugh, just no. I don't know when the last time you were in a school full time but this idea that they're just leftist indoctrination factories is such bullshit. I've worked in public schools of a very liberal state for almost 20 years and I can tell you first hand that it's a complete crock. We're struggling to get these kids to get off their phone and crack the fucking book open. The basic curriculum is kicking their ass so what makes people think they're ready to digest the finer points of Marxist ideology?

 

What all good teachers strive to do is teach them how to think critically, not what to think and it's pretty clear that blue states have the best teachers/education systems. The right just needs a way to rationalize the fact that when people get more than the bare minimum education they overwhelmingly the up leaning left because they don't like the implication. It's very obvious. 

Not surprising dan drank the public school cool aide like the good little minion he is.

[Rogue]

59 minutes ago, Titandan said:

Best way to keep the populace uneducated and brainwashed is to control them with centralized educational system.  Competition and, more specifically, privatized education is the remedy for that.  Why not sponsor private schools with tax paid vouchers and give the general populace a choice in a competitive system where the schools need to fight for our business?  For the sake of the poor and middle class, I hope this comes to fruition soon. 

 

Look up the Department of Education and tell me what you think they do that is "centralized educational system".  Look it up on something not Youtube.  

[OILERMAN]

1 hour ago, Titandan said:

Best way to keep the populace uneducated and brainwashed is to.................

 

How'd they get you!

[Number9]

Rural America is already losing hospitals due to medical benefit cuts.  If healthcare is being cut, what type schools will they have with vouchers?

 

[Starkiller]

2 minutes ago, Number9 said:

Rural America is already losing hospitals due to medical benefit cuts.  If healthcare is being cut, what type schools will they have with vouchers?

 

Christian schools…

[CreepingDeath]

2 hours ago, Titandan said:

If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me.

Would you listen?

 

The far-right push for private education is the same for privatized prisons - to make a profit.  If there is a good-to-great free option, that limits how much money can be made by the billionaires.  Go too hard with religious education and you'll get adults who aren't well-versed in questioning authority. 

 

Also, private schools allow for more segregation.  It's crazy how something that is supposed to help a community (church) drives a massive wedge by segregating the poors (usually minorities) from those who can afford to pay yearly tuition for elementary school.   

[nine]

An article that examines states that have already implemented school voucher programs.  
 

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/most-students-getting-new-school-choice-funds-arent-ditching-public-schools/2023/10

 

Vouchers are pitched as giving families more options for better education.   Sounds amazing, right?   
 

But studies have shown that 70-90% of these vouchers pay for students who never attended public schools.  The vast majority are redeemed by high-income families whose children have always attended private schools…or to a lesser extent,  children who were previously home-schooled.   Only a very small percentage of vouchers are used by children who previously attended public schools. 
 

Voucher programs sound great  in theory….but in practice, they’re just de-funding public schools to subsidize students who were already attending private schools.  This  the reality of how voucher programs actually work:   families who can already afford private education now have taxpayers footing the bill….by diverting money from public schools. 
 

Another example of legislation being sold as a program for middle- and low-income families….but the upper class high-income earners end up reaping all the benefits.     Funny how that works.  

[Mythos27]

13 hours ago, Titandan said:

I went to a public school about 30 years ago.  I didn't get fed leftist ideology back then or I was too disinterested or stupid to realize anything they were trying to teach me.  But I do believe my education I received was not the best.  It's still better than what they are teaching in the inner city where I currently reside.  But yeah, overall, I would say the quality was not great. 

Outside of political brainwashing and or national indoctrination, I believe the best way to get diversity of thought and improvement in quality of education overall would be to force teachers and the schools to compete.  

Why is it good to have competition for most other products and services but not in education?  This debate is probably as old as time but that's just my opinion.  I think competition is good for the consumer.  Monopoly is good for the company or the government entity.  

Competition is fine but it's impossible to have competition when the current conditions in teaching are generating nation-wide teacher shortages. I think that private schools have their place but so do public schools. Personally, I think the biggest thing that needs to happen is a massive expansion of trade schools. I think this would improve public school education in so many ways that it would take me hours to explain. The stigma against trade schools/ blue collar labor in general needs to die ASAP. 

[Rogue]

13 hours ago, Titandan said:

Department of Education oversees spending and funding for the education system. Whenever money's involved, I see possibility of corruption and inefficiency in system.  Public school funds mainly come through county taxes or property tax (at least where I live).  But the Department of Education still has a say in how the schools function.  I can talk to my friend who's a principle of a prominent high school in LA but haven't had the chance to yet.  

If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me.  I just prefer privatized education to public and if I have the money in the future, I'll definitely opt for that.  My boy, Obama, agrees with me. 

You didn't look it up.  Just going with the gut, I see.