Originally Posted by Dude
Originally Posted by StevenASylwester
Fact is: I think most teachers would be relieved if my proposed amendment were ratified into law.

It is an easy concept to grasp: Every American citizen is entitled to 13 years of free public education beginning on their 5th birthday and ending on their 19th birthday. Ready.Set.Go! If you can earn three university master degrees before your 19th birthday, We The People will pay all of your tuition for you.

There's no idea so good that people won't ruin it.

A) Low-SES families will pile on the pressure for their kids to complete at least a bachelor's by then, because there aren't any other good options for them. This gets the low-SES kids into the Tiger Cub game, only without the necessary support structure.

B) Higher-SES families will pile on even more pressure for their kids, regardless of their ability levels, because the new status symbol would be "how many years of school did YOU complete before you were 19?"


It's probably true-- but--

has anyone else noticed that as Testing-Frenzy (tm) has taken hold in K through 12, college is rapidly becoming the new high school?

I mean, for many people, the federal government is already funding some 13-14 years of education anyway.

Why NOT cram more genuine worth into that time frame?

Would it also not-- just possibly-- reverse some of the endless watering down of content into fluff?


I wonder.

It's an interesting pair of juxtaposed ideas, anyway.

Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.