[bennettvm]

I read a lot about how terrible things are in these forums - doom/gloom. But, what problems do you see and what are your ideas to fix them?

Now, lets leave out the Obama bashing. yes, I know he is the devil, antichrist or whatever.

Example - education - I think that our school system needs to be revamped with a focus on heavy math/science. These are key to having a strong educated work force in the future.

Let's hear your ideas.

 

[AsteroidX]

Schooling: More options for homeschooling and Internet teaching for K-12. Theres a push in it already.

 

[bennettvm]

Schooling: More options for homeschooling and Internet teaching for K-12. Theres a push in it already.

Agree.

 

[AsteroidX]

Yes,but OB wants to have forced indoctrination starting in pre-school (oops-no OB bashing)

Yeah I dont like that idea.

 

[bennettvm]

Wow, this is funny. No real tangible ideas to fix things? Just people that want to bitch and complain about Obama. LOL

 

[Wallimiyama]

Well Bennett...The indoctrination centers (K-12) in America are having a hard time keeping up with the rest of the world. Every subject is now catering to the lowest common denominator and revisionist history is rampant.
You want better education? Voucher programs that let parents decide where the money is spent would be a good start. And stop "mainstreaming" children that have no place in the classroom. And finally, do away with the corrupt teachers' unions that do not place the wellfare of our children anywhere in their top 10 priorities. Maybe that way, we could fire the garbage that is in front of our children everyday, and reward the teachers that actually teach.

 

[Old Man]

Can't think of any fixes,especially if we can't include your pal OB

Here is the deal on education to me. We spent more money than any other country, with a lot less results than countries like China and Japan. Don't get me wrong we have a lot of good people in our school system but we need to get back to the basic. Our kids are not evening getting the basics anymore. I work in manufacting and the young adults today can't even read a tape measure. China and Japan demand it out of their children. We make excuses for ours. The federal school system is so disfunctional, but all we hear from our goverment is to keep putting more money into it. Toyota just built a manufacturing plant in Mississippi. They are spent Millions through the colleges here to train a works forces. You would think with all the money we throw away for education they would be a work force out there. So my deal is give the local communties back the schools and get big goverment out.

 

[AsteroidX]

Schooling: More options for homeschooling and Internet teaching for K-12. Theres a push in it already.

That is a tangible idea.

 

[ekim]

Problems that can be fixed, make congress a part time job with no benefits and term limits, make the supreme court accountable to the people, get the federal government out of private business, out of healthcare, stop government foreign aid, stop federal government from using the military as police force and nation building, enforce the laws already on the books, flat tax with no deductions, if your receiving federal assistance you can't vote, close the borders, make ALL laws apply equally to all citizens, eliminate federal education dept, follow the Constitution as written. That will fix most problems.

 

[wesley762]

The answer I think with Schooling is not the school itself but it starts at home. Be involved know what's going on with your child’s schooling. Be aware of what they are teaching and most of all be encouraging and correct it when needed. Teachers can only do so much and can only go so far. We can fuss about it all you want but the more involved you are in your child’s education the better off you are going to be. If you have issues with what they are teaching address the school with your concerns. If that does not solve it find another place to have your child attend. I wish I could afford to send mine to a private school but it's just not in the budget. Every night though we sit down and discuss what she learned that day. Plain and simple don't expect someone else to teach your child your values without being involved in it.

 

[ozo]

Problems that can be fixed, make congress a part time job with no benefits and term limits, make the supreme court accountable to the people, get the federal government out of private business, out of healthcare, stop government foreign aid, stop federal government from using the military as police force and nation building, enforce the laws already on the books, flat tax with no deductions, if your receiving federal assistance you can't vote, close the borders, make ALL laws apply equally to all citizens, eliminate federal education dept, follow the Constitution as written. That will fix most problems.

Yeah, that is a sane and healthy start.....

 

[8675309]

Wow, this is funny. No real tangible ideas to fix things? Just people that want to bitch and complain about Obama. LOL

funny isn't it. People need to stop chasing the almighty dollar and spend time with THEIR CHILDREN! Teach them the things their great grandparents taught their grandparents and so on down the line. Somehow, that was lost when "distractions" started to come into play, anything to keep the kids busy while not being outside and learning or growing up. It is all about the dollar and the "latest" thing. All the work force is involved with promoting the latest thing, which is not a product. It is emptyware. it is a giant commercial for some POS that will be replaced with another POS in 6 months. And over time, Nothing is learned, nothing is around, pretty much a majority of the products sold in the US are just future land fill crap.

Stop creating laws that do nothing except cost people money. It must stop. Teach people to be responsible for themselves. for their familes. Be responsible to other Humans. The world is spiraling down the hole and the answer is not to buy more junk. It must be taugh to the generations we are responsible for that humans are what matter. Not hip hop, not sneakers, the latest iphone, multi screen tv's in every headrest in your SUV or van. it dont matter if you are doing 35 in a 30. No one is going to die from that. Red light cameras. Nothing more then a ATM that citizens fill up for the gov to create more laws, to bring in more money.

It is a run away train of greed. THAT is why nothing is getting better. Creating another panel or committee to figure out what to do is the biggest waste of time and money they could thing of.

The sad part is, it will never change. As long as the people who make the money are making the laws and running the US, it will never change.

 

[wesley762]

It's not only a values problem,which should be taught at home, but one of mandated harmful subjects (or lack of critical ones) and methods

That's why I said be involved in what you child is learning. If you don't like it do something about it because the government sure is not. The more involved you are the better things are going to be.

 

[GTGallop]

INFRASTRUCTURE!

We have decaying roads, bridges, dams, levees and public buildings all over this country.
We have hundreds of thousands out of work and hundreds of thousands that have quit looking and "retired" or went back to school to better themselves.
And lastly - we have hundreds of thousands of people on welfare that we PAY NOT TO WORK.

If I was president, Eight O'Clock, Day One - If your check says "From the United States of America" then you will get your ass up and earn that check, JACK! We have a great opportunity for public works projects. Employ people, restore pride in our country and restore honor in earning a wage.

 

[ekim]

That's why I said be involved in what you child is learning. If you don't like it do something about it because the government sure is not. The more involved you are the better things are going to be.

I agree 100%, the only problem is the school systems and the government don't really want parents to do that, it takes away from the school and government control. Teachers, like LEO's are no longer smart enough or care enough to see what's going on, the paycheck is all that seems to matter any more so they just go along with the program!

 

[Smitty901]

Elections and the first one that gets up and say I am going to take from and give to you is thrown out the door.

 

[Smitty901]

We could get rid of DHS. Another case of them ignoring rights. 3 year old child in a wheel chair.
TSA Detains 3-year-old in Wheelchair | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

 

[rickkyw1720pf]

In 1938, the practice of homeschooling was outlawed in Germany by Adolf Hitler and the infamous Third Reich. It was a rough period in German history, as thousands of young people were being pried from their parents' direction and authority and drafted into the Hitler Youth program, where they were supposed to be trained as Aryan supermen (and women).

So it is no wonder that the Justice Dept last week came out with this statement.
The U.S. Attorney General has said this about homeschooling. There is no fundamental liberty to homeschool. So long as a government bans homeschooling broadly and equally, there is no violation of your rights. This is a view which gives some acknowledgement to the principle of equal protection but which entirely jettisons the concept of fundamental liberties."
Homeschooling Not a Fundamental Right, Justice Dept. Argues

I don't think our problems can be fixed just like your computer that some times get so infected with viruses the only solution is a complete reset.

 

[Ripon]

You asked.

Taxes. We simply have an archaic system that must be made fair and overhauled. We must collect what it takes to keep our budget balanced and if everyone was paying maybe the wants would decline a little. I favor a sales tax, income tax and wealth tax. This would be a combo of three taxes so the rates can be low, we can prob manage on 20% of GDP.

Energy. We talk about independence but don't grasp it. We have a surplus in social security. Invest it in a few nuclear power plants so it can generate a return later when social security needs it.

Health Care. Govts only job should be to help the people when markets create problems. There is limited supply so demand creates a serious cost burden. Take 1% a year of our Fed health care budget and create universities that will flood the market with health care pros until costs finally decline.

Crime. Provide an incentive for people to arm themselves and care for their building / or blocks in time of crisis. A civilian police force from the home costs very little and ask Switzerland .. It's effective.

 

[IngaLisa]

In high school, start with parenting classes, so kids have an idea what they are doing when they have kids, eventually, I hope. Teach young parents how important it is to read to their kids. My grand daughter is 18 months old and knows her colors and her animals and the sounds they make. She can also use an Ipad. She even picks her own apps. My 3 year old grandson uses a Kindle, and has a huge vocabulary. We are working on reading skills. Early education is vital. We need more preschool education and/or educationally based daycare. Kids need to enter kindergarten as readers.

Education does need to be more math and science based, but kids have to know how to read and spell. I think that kids need more drills in math. Kids don't do math facts any more. That said, they really need more technology education. We also introduce physics too late in their schooling. I don't think kids are learning geography early enough or well enough. They need more history and civics. I think kids have too much fru-fru stuff and don't spend enough hours in class.

As far as homeschooling, I tried it, and I realize I am not a teacher. I have taught adults, even taught a pharmacology class for nurses, but, teaching children is tough. I think kids benefit socially from being in a school.

I live in a town that values education. We have 2 school systems, one religious private school, K thru 12 and a similarly sized public school. We do not share any facilities, other than kids who attend the private school and live in our district get bus service. They also can take part in any public school program, such as the rec program. In the last 5 years we have built a brand new green LEED certified public middle school with incredible technology tools for the teachers and kids. We just passed a referendum to build a new elementary school, also to be green and LEED certified. We have broken ground on that project. We also remodeled our high school. We have a half day summer school program. 4K program, and our city runs a great recreational program that runs the gamut from flag football, to soccer to gymnastics, to swimming lessons. I know I live in a community that values its children. Our teachers get a living wage, with benefits that are fair, so we have had no problems attracting decent staff, despite severe statewide cuts in education. We have some significant challenges to overcome with statewide cuts, but, our community voted to increase taxes to build a new elementary school, we will continue to invest in our school. My town has just under 6000 people in it but also covers a large rural area in the district.

I would love to see somewhat more stringent core studies in math, science, geography, history, civics. I think kids need more than one biology, and chemistry class. I think the social stuff needs to be toned down. There is too much emphasis on extracurriculars. Physics should be required and so should 4 years of math in high school. Looking back, I would have pushed my kids way harder, and I have to admit I have accomplished kids. Three have masters degrees, one in engineering, one in health policy, and one in energy policy.