Is saying "throwing money at education doesn't fix anything" but...

[King]

Diskus.

[Gustaf]

Not necessarily. Unless you think a person opposed to spending more on one area has to oppose increasing spending on all other areas.

It is perfectly possible that the problems in education cannot be solved by more money but that the problems in defence can.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

No, but it's a reasonable indicator of moral bankruptcy.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I wonder how many parents with children in school would hold these positions?  Not many, I'd guess.

Reforming schools in ways that institute positive change doesn't have to cost much... but many schools in this country are underfunded... especially in poorer, rural areas.  When class sizes are 35-40 students in a room while the next room sits empty.. it's an indication that throwing money would actually fix something. 

I really do believe though that the military could be just as effective with a significantly reduced budget.  Our spending priorities within the defense budget are warped anyway.  We need way more money for troops' families, updating military healthcare infrastructure, and most importantly:  lots more money for mental health... and that money could come from expensive, ineffective weapons programs.

[CatoMinor]

yes, we spend way to much on defense to maintain a global empire. and more money =/= higher test scores. here is a good example

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Link

[tpfkaw]

Being against waste but not cutting defense spending is hypocritical.

[memphis]

I can't speak about schools outside my area, but the ones here are extremely well funded and test scores are awful. It's especially frustrating because there's often no accountability for how the money's spent. Here's a truckload of money. Have a nice day. Stories like this: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jun/23/east-principal-replaced-for-lack-of-control/ make people not want to give schools anymore money. Like it or not, most education takes place in the home. There's only so much school can do. As to the thread's premise, I have no doubt the military is full of the same waste and mismanagement.

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

You could make the argument that education is not the Federal Government's responsibility but that defense is, therefore it would be proper for the Federal Government to spend more money on education.

My take on it? Money should be spent wisely on both. You don't need to throw money at schools for kids to do better at schools, and there's a lot of waste in the defense department that could be cut.

[Free Palestine]

I'd have to agree with Han, that while education isn't the realm of the federal government, defense is.  That doesn't make a bloated defense budget a good idea or anything, though.

I think that the state governments should put a lot more into education.  I think it's sort of bad, that about half of all high school students (in California, anyways) drop out, and the ones who graduate are borderline retarded anyways.  Federal intervention won't fix it.

[Free Palestine]

I'd have to agree with Han, that while education isn't the realm of the federal government, defense is.  That doesn't make a bloated defense budget a good idea or anything, though.

I think that the state governments should put a lot more into education.  I think it's sort of bad, that about half of all high school students (in California, anyways) drop out, and the ones who graduate are borderline retarded anyways.  Federal intervention won't fix it.

State governments already spend millions of dollars on education.  Every governor proclaims himself the "education governor" while after graduation the kids get jobs cleaning up dog sh**t.  It's time for change.

The best way to improve test scores is to pay stupid people to not have children.  Some on this forum may think that this will reduce the population of certain groups, but if you came to that conclusion so quickly, then you might be a racist piece of sh**t who seriously needs to readjust your moral compass.

I think there's a problem with the fundamental structure of public schooling.  School should be for education, not sports and cliques and garbage like that.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

As someone who graduated somewhere in the bottom 20 of my class, I can say with certainty that it had nothing to do with my class being too big, or my book being too old.

I simply did not care.

[Gustaf]

If funding was the key factor Slovakia wouldn't have better test scores than Sweden...

That's not to say the position described here is correct or anything, but it isn't hypocritical.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

I think there's a problem with the fundamental structure of public schooling.  School should be for education, not sports and cliques and garbage like that.

But even if you cut out sports and extracurriculars, it creates a less tolerable atmosphere anyways.  And besides, schools in Japan have extracurriculars and you don't see their grades falling anytime soon.  While the structure of public school is in question, there's more to this problem than as you say "garbage".  No, this problem is underlying in what Dallas has pointed out so very well:

As someone who graduated somewhere in the bottom 20 of my class, I can say with certainty that it had nothing to do with my class being too big, or my book being too old.

I simply did not care.

This is exactly the problem.  The Youth of today just don't give a flying **** about their education.  Which is what parents and teachers need to instill into their students, at the earliest possible age for the idea to take root.  Today's Youth need to give a **** about where their lives are going to go.

[Mercenary]

It isn't hypocritical.
One can support spending in one area and not in another. They could think it works in one area and not another. Also "throwing money at it" indeed will not fix anything unless you target how you spend it correctly.

Wise spending is necessary.

I think more should be spent on education and less on defense, however I think education spending should be done exclusively at the state/local level.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

No.

[California8429]

No, but that doesn't make it wrong.

Really neither needs a ton of money dumped on them as much as they need reform and improved effiency. With schools the top priority should be making sure more than 50 cents of every dollar makes it to the school.

[Goldwater]

You could make the argument that education is not the Federal Government's responsibility but that defense is, therefore it would be proper for the Federal Government to spend more money on education.

My take on it? Money should be spent wisely on both. You don't need to throw money at schools for kids to do better at schools, and there's a lot of waste in the defense department that could be cut.

I agree with this.

[John Dibble]

No, not necessarily. Simply throwing money at the problem really doesn't fix it. It can be part of the solution, but in and of itself it won't fix the problems inherent in the system. If you think that, but also think that the military is spending the money it has properly or otherwise is getting the money it should be getting then it's not hypocritical.