SC

Grade Inflation At SC Government-Run Schools

South Carolina’s government-run education system consistently ranks among the nation’s worst – with abysmal SAT scores and terrible graduation rates (which keep getting lower each year despite billions of dollars in new funding). How bad have things gotten? Consider this: Low income students in Florida – a state which has…

South Carolina’s government-run education system consistently ranks among the nation’s worst – with abysmal SAT scores and terrible graduation rates (which keep getting lower each year despite billions of dollars in new funding).

How bad have things gotten? Consider this: Low income students in Florida – a state which has embraced a broad array of parental choices – are currently outpacing all South Carolina students. That’s right. Florida’s poor kids are doing better than all of the Palmetto State’s kids.

Anyway, from one of our state’s so-called “best and brightest” districts comes yet another example of why this is happening – grade inflation.

According to The (Hilton Head, S.C.) Island Packet, select schools in the Beaufort County School District have been using “grade floors” in an effort to artificially enhance academic achievement.

“The grading practice, which some say gives struggling students a chance to recover, essentially gives them a higher ‘F’ on a report card,” the paper reported. ” If, for example, a student earns a 45 percent during a quarter, it would show up as a 60 percent. The higher grade prevents the student from falling too far behind and allows another chance to pass before semester grades are issued.”

Wow … and the government-run schools are the ones bitching and moaning about a “lack of accountability” in the private sector?

Amazing …

We already knew our government was moving the goalposts at the state level on standardized assessments, but it looks as though local districts are also engaging in similar social promotion efforts.

Remember that when government officials and educrat unions decry the so-called “lack of accountability” in the education marketplace …

***

Related posts

SC

North Charleston Councilman Accuses Cop Of Falsifying Police Report

Will Folks
SC

‘Carolina Crossroads’ Update: SCDOT Set To Unveil New Plan To The Public

Will Folks
SC

Federal Lawsuit Alleges Racial Discrimination in Horry County School

Callie Lyons

110 comments

CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 9:34 am

Apparently Howie was not satisfied with the last post of Sic Willie in regard to taxpayers paying for private schools. So Sic Willie is cranking out another one.

Reply
Curious July 3, 2013 at 12:34 pm

Perhaps you should propose actual solutions like Smirks has done instead of trotting out your tired “mortgage check from Howie” refrain. That does nothing to solve a very real problem. Proposing real solutions like Smirks has done – and that I agree with – actually helps.

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:45 pm

“…and that I agree with…” Is likely the reason we disagree so much. The thought that someone besides you could have an opinion really burns you doesn’t it.

@CNSYD
This is absolutely not, and in now way should be construed as, my support for you on this or any other subjects. Go have some more McCheetoNickers and….

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 2:15 pm

Obvious imposter.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 9:34 am

And private schools won’t inflate grades to make sure they keep receiving government funds? They won’t find reasons to wrongly expel students just because they don’t get high enough grades?

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 9:40 am

You are shameless, Smirks. What private school receives gubmint funding?

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 10:17 am

Under any system where the government partially reimburses or helps fund parents who enroll their children in private education, many private schools will do whatever is necessary to ensure that they remain voucher-eligible in order to guarantee they don’t lose students (i.e. money). There would be an incentive to keep grades up or kick students out to maintain their eligibility. At that point, the private industry has a direct incentive by government to display the results they want to see (high grades), not to actually give the education the government wants.

Private schools expelling students merely for bad grades further degrades the notion of “school choice” improving education, since a private school can at any time throw a kid out if they aren’t picking up fast enough. With no obligation to teach disadvantaged kids, there is no school choice for parents, the real choice belongs to the private schools themselves.

I don’t have a problem with private schools, I have a problem with taxpayer dollars being stripped from public schools and ultimately being funneled to private schools who could quite clearly either lie about a student’s capabilities or throw them out in order to keep the gravy train flowing.

Private schools don’t need government interference. Government only needs to concern itself with public schooling and trying to improve the quality of education in those schools. Private schools should remain entirely separate.

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 10:31 am

Did not read the post, blah blah, blah. This article does not advocate public money for private schools. This article merely makes a comparison between schools in different states. Address the article Smirks.

You are reasonably well respected here, though I personally disagree with you frequently. Stick to the subject.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 11:04 am

Will attacked people who believe there would be a lack of accountability in the private sector. Lack of accountability in government does not negate a possible lack of accountability in the private sector, and if anything, school choice would exacerbate such fears. I believe I am on topic in that regards.

For the topic at hand, grade floors is in use in more than just Beaufort county, I know for a fact that during my time in Richland School District 1 that a grade floor of 50% was being experimented with, at least in high schools. The stated reason was similar, the thought process being that you get two nine-week grades in a semester-long class, and receiving a grade of 50 in one half of the semester would still allow you to be able to pass if you were able to get a 90 or better in the other half. 50 in the first half, you just have to bust ass in the second half. 90 in the first half, you can’t fail, period.

This fails for two reasons. One, kids who are failing below 50% are highly unlikely to be able to pull off the grades necessary to pass the class. Two, the kids who score above 90% in the first half cannot fail, period. There is no reason to even try in the second half, usually the harder material, because even a grade as low as 12 will be bumped up to a 50, you average out a 70, a D but still enough to pass and get credit.

Kids who score below 50 in a 9-week period don’t need that kind of help, they need to be immediately dropped into a lower difficulty or remedial class so that they can get the focus or special attention they need. If a school district is worried about failing a kid, figure out a way to fairly grade their progress once they are dropped down. If necessary, drop the 9-week grades and grade on a 3-week or 4.5-week time period to more quickly catch things like this (9-week averages are fine for year-long courses, not so much for semester courses, when it comes to identifying if someone is failing in the class they are in). The problem is that the school district boards decide what is done and when they make dumb decisions or simply don’t care nothing is there to slap the control from out of their hands.

Grade floors should be made illegal. Failing schools should be taken out of the normal district’s power and specially run for a time until the school starts to improve. Failing districts should be heavily scrutinized and reformed when necessary, preferably by whoever is elected state superintendent, in this instance Mick Zais. Those are a few steps I would take.

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 11:54 am

I detest school boards. Waaay back in the day when we home schooled one of our children we had board members question our every move. These were folks who were barely literate. The only reason they were on the board was they won a popularity contest. Sorry, minor rant there.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:56 am

Facts are not in any way rants. Don’t be ruled by a libitard mentality. :)

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:41 pm

The article is about grade inflation and is titled such. Your purview to attempt to change the subject only lumps you in with the likes of Jan and CNSYD.

Too bad Smirks. You were really coming along nicely and then you pull a T sans caricatures.

CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 7:20 pm

When did Will die and make you moderator? My responses were directly to posts by other posters. Perhaps you need to brush up on your comprehension.

CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 9:34 am

Apparently Howie was not satisfied with the last post of Sic Willie in regard to taxpayers paying for private schools. So Sic Willie is cranking out another one.

Reply
Curious July 3, 2013 at 12:34 pm

Perhaps you should propose actual solutions like Smirks has done instead of trotting out your tired “mortgage check from Howie” refrain. That does nothing to solve a very real problem. Proposing real solutions like Smirks has done – and that I agree with – actually helps.

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:45 pm

“…and that I agree with…” Is likely the reason we disagree so much. The thought that someone besides you could have an opinion really burns you doesn’t it.

@CNSYD
This is absolutely not, and in now way should be construed as, my support for you on this or any other subjects. Go have some more McCheetoNickers and….

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 2:15 pm

Obvious imposter.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 9:34 am

And private schools won’t inflate grades to make sure they keep receiving government funds? They won’t find reasons to wrongly expel students just because they don’t get high enough grades?

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 9:40 am

You are shameless, Smirks. What private school receives gubmint funding?

Further, no where in the article does it even intimate this.

Edit;

As to expelling underperforming students, it’s a private school they can do as they please.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 10:17 am

Under any system where the government partially reimburses or helps fund parents who enroll their children in private education, many private schools will do whatever is necessary to ensure that they remain voucher-eligible in order to guarantee they don’t lose students (i.e. money). There would be an incentive to keep grades up or kick students out to maintain their eligibility. At that point, the private industry has a direct incentive by government to display the results they want to see (high grades), not to actually give the education the government wants.

Private schools expelling students merely for bad grades further degrades the notion of “school choice” improving education, since a private school can at any time throw a kid out if they aren’t picking up fast enough. With no obligation to teach disadvantaged kids, there is no school choice for parents, the real choice belongs to the private schools themselves.

I don’t have a problem with private schools, I have a problem with taxpayer dollars being stripped from public schools and ultimately being funneled to private schools who could quite clearly either lie about a student’s capabilities or throw them out in order to keep the gravy train flowing.

Private schools don’t need government interference. Government only needs to concern itself with public schooling and trying to improve the quality of education in those schools. Private schools should remain entirely separate.

Reply
Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 10:31 am

Did not read the post, blah blah, blah. This article does not advocate public money for private schools. This article merely makes a comparison between schools in different states. Address the article Smirks.

You are reasonably well respected here, though I personally disagree with you frequently. Stick to the subject.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 11:04 am

Will attacked people who believe there would be a lack of accountability in the private sector. Lack of accountability in government does not negate a possible lack of accountability in the private sector, and if anything, school choice would exacerbate such fears. I believe I am on topic in that regards.

For the topic at hand, grade floors is in use in more than just Beaufort county, I know for a fact that during my time in Richland School District 1 that a grade floor of 50% was being experimented with, at least in high schools. The stated reason was similar, the thought process being that you get two nine-week grades in a semester-long class, and receiving a grade of 50 in one half of the semester would still allow you to be able to pass if you were able to get a 90 or better in the other half. 50 in the first half, you just have to bust ass in the second half. 90 in the first half, you can’t fail, period.

This fails for two reasons. One, kids who are failing below 50% are highly unlikely to be able to pull off the grades necessary to pass the class. Two, the kids who score above 90% in the first half cannot fail, period. There is no reason to even try in the second half, usually the harder material, because even a grade as low as 12 will be bumped up to a 50, you average out a 70, a D but still enough to pass and get credit.

Kids who score below 50 in a 9-week period don’t need that kind of help, they need to be immediately dropped into a lower difficulty or remedial class so that they can get the focus or special attention they need. If a school district is worried about failing a kid, figure out a way to fairly grade their progress once they are dropped down. If necessary, drop the 9-week grades and grade on a 3-week or 4.5-week time period to more quickly catch things like this (9-week averages are fine for year-long courses, not so much for semester courses, when it comes to identifying if someone is failing in the class they are in). The problem is that the school district boards decide what is done and when they make dumb decisions or simply don’t care nothing is there to slap the control from out of their hands.

Grade floors should be made illegal. Failing schools should be taken out of the normal district’s power and specially run for a time until the school starts to improve. Failing districts should be heavily scrutinized and reformed when necessary, preferably by whoever is elected state superintendent, in this instance Mick Zais. Those are a few steps I would take.

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 11:54 am

I detest school boards. Waaay back in the day when we home schooled one of our children we had board members question our every move. These were folks who were barely literate. The only reason they were on the board was they won a popularity contest. Sorry, minor rant there.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:56 am

Facts are not in any way rants. Don’t be ruled by a libitard mentality. :)

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:41 pm

The article is about grade inflation and is titled such. Your purview to attempt to change the subject only lumps you in with the likes of Jan and CNSYD.

Too bad Smirks. You were really coming along nicely and then you pull a T sans caricatures.

CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 7:20 pm

When did Will die and make you moderator? My responses were directly to posts by other posters. Perhaps you need to brush up on your comprehension.

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 9:49 am

So, I’ve ranted about this before. There’s a lot of vitriol on both sides of this issue. Status quo don’t want you messing with their money or their kingdoms, parental choice wants the money so they can get their kids out of the black schools. Sorry, not being racist, but that is how it seems to me.

I think Smirks is right. If you start giving public funds to private schools, won’t the problem just follow the money? Won’t the private schools do anything to keep it? How are private schools going to keep the undesirables out if public funds help everyone to attend? Wouldn’t they just raise tuition to keep them out? If so, we would be in the same boat as now, only those who could afford it could attend. It’s just squeezing the balloon.

Isn’t there any school district in the US that has a success story that can be emulated? Granted, it would only work in the Holy City or upstate, maybe in Rock Hill area but that’s iffy. The rest of the state is just dumb and poor. Cola’s gone, everywhere else is full of hip hop thugs. For anything to work there would require a culture change. Not easy.

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 9:55 am

D.W. Daniel in Pickens County is listed as one of the best high schools in the country.

Reply
Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 9:57 am

So, what is the formula for success there? Can it be copied? If it can, whay aren’t other districts already doing it? What are the demographics? Does that play a role?

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 10:30 am

IMO demographics play a large role in the success or failure of any school. The “extra” thing Daniel, located close to Clemson, SC, has going for it is that it is the school to which Clemson faculty send their children. Thus a respect for learning has already been instilled in the children prior to their arrival.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 10:31 am

You are correct in bringing up the corruption that gov’t money bring would bring into the privately run & funded education institutions.

The best hope would be some type of rebate on taxes paid by those currently educating their kids outside the gov’t run and funded institutions.

Will that ever happen? No…the “educators” lobby is too powerful.

Even then, getting some of your tax money back would still probably be subject to some form of manipulation on those electing to do so “in the name of the children”.

Better to just suffer the theft and double paying for your kids education to keep gov’t as far out of your child’s life as possible if you’ve opted out of the machine.

It’s probably just a matter of time before gov’t gets their meat hooks into those outside the current gov’t education system to further degrees.

The idea that American society would ever embrace the notion of personal responsibility in the education of your children fully is totally laughable. As George Carlin noted the system is broken and will never be fixed.

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 10:33 am

So if I have no children in either public or private schools why should I pay taxes to support either or both?

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 10:43 am

I totally agree, you shouldn’t…as I’ve noted before and here:

“The idea that American society would ever embrace the notion of personal responsibility in the education of your children fully is totally laughable.”

Our society is no longer for personal responsibility in many areas, including this one. I’m just commenting on the reality.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 11:15 am

So what happens to children whose parents cannot afford schooling them?

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:30 am

They become peasants. You know, the way it worked in England in the 1700s.

? July 3, 2013 at 11:36 am

I submit to you that if education is important enough to their value system that they(the kids and/or parents) will find a way to accomplish their goals.

If you think Shaniqua attending gov’t school for 13 years to “graduate” from high school with barely adequate reading skills isn’t already creating a “peasant” class as Jan put it…you are mistaken.

In fact, I’d say they become even worse than peasants, because at least peasants had to work for a living.

Shaniqua can just pop out a couple of kids and start getting larger checks from gov’t to support herself and her bo without even getting a job.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:45 am

I believe nothing has brought more people out of poverty and servitude than public education. I believe that society has benefited heavily from educating the children of the poor. Today there are doctors, nurses, scientists and financiers that in an earlier age would have been relegated to working the fields their father worked or taking over their fathers job in the mill when he died. They would never have been given the opportunity to be educated.
But thank you ? for making so clearly stating the Conservative view of the world and making the case the restoration of a class system.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:47 am

Excuse me, for so clearly stating the Conservative view of the world and making the case for the restoration of a class system.

? July 3, 2013 at 1:22 pm

“Conservative view of the world and making the case for the restoration of a class system.”

The “class system” is already in place.

Also, my views do not reflect “conservatism”. If you’d like pretend they do for whatever reason, so be it.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:20 pm

That’s an interesting point, Jan. You see, the logic behind that is seriously flawed. Maybe 100 years ago you would have seen huge disparities, but not anymore.

There have been several reports made by the BLS that show skilled manual labor (entry level plumbers, carpenters, auto mechanics, etc. and not helpers) are on par with salaries of entry level teachers and mid level managers.

Salary.com is a little easier to use and you will see both nationally and regionally there just isn’t the disparity there. So…

JAN FAILS AGAIN

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 1:41 pm

Jan, I agree with you. Think where we’d be if we did not have public education. It is our responsibility to do our best to lift the dis-advantaged out of the doldrums. It is also our responsibility to be sure the brightest among us have unrestricted opportunity to excel. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We may disagree about the method, but we should do our best to improve.

Regarding class, those will always be with us. There are a lot of factors that are in play there that are beyond discussion on a blog.

Everyone does not have the same aptitude in life, but we should at least do our best to help everyone reach their potential. Not all will be doctors and lawyers. Plumbers, truck drivers, electricians, machine operators are all needed to keep our society going. I take issue with the bleeding hearts that perpetuate the underclass of baby mommas and bottom feeders, you know, those who sell the working class out for votes so they can live the rich life.

I fear that the elite of the liberals are winning. We will, in time, be relegated to live desperate lives in villages full of idiots.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:12 pm

“We will, in time, be relegated to live desperate lives in villages full of idiots.”

Idiocracy is already upon us. The progressive dream of equality, managed by a “benevolent” gov’t yields such.

As long as everyone is “equal” then progressives are happy, even if it is everyone equal in misery.(a la Obamacare)

“I fear that the elite of the liberals are winning.”

That battle was lost a long time ago, shortly after the progressives seized the term “liberal” from its actual meaning under classical liberalism.

All the Republicans represent is such “progress” under less dramatic terms, but still similar terms none the less.

The corruption of the terms even makes the whole topic pretty much undebatable among the general population that doesn’t have an encompassing view of history over the last 237 years.

Bring on the Honey Boo Boo, the six packs, BBQ, patriotic music and some flag waving. No one in the general population wants to discuss much more than that on whole anyway.

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 2:44 pm

Sigh… I think I’ll have another beer.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:59 pm

:)

I’ll be having one too when I get home.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:30 pm

“Think where we’d be if we did not have public education.”

I’m thinking of all the wondrous possibilities myself. Given that neither of us has a crystal ball…it’s hard to know.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:59 am

HERE HERE!! BRAVO. ENCORE!! ENCORE!!

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:57 am

1. Go to the library.

2. Give them a hammer and/or wrench and take them out to the garage.

3. Teach them to fish, hunt and farm.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 12:04 pm

But if we are going to set up a class system, why would we base who works where on who can afford education? Why don’t we test people and educate the brightest. That way maybe we could send people with your level of intelligence to work at the trash piles.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:12 pm

I didn’t say anything about setting up a class system. I answered Smirks question.
Q:’What do we do?’
A:’The best you can!’

Jan July 3, 2013 at 5:25 pm

If we should not fund schools, why should we pay for libraries?
Who should teach them to fish, hunt and farm, if their parents don’t know how?
What are they going to do with a hammer and wrench in the garage?

Frank Pytel July 4, 2013 at 4:21 am

Yes Jan, we know. Only the Gubmint knows what to do.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 10:44 am

Exactly correct. Huge part of why there should be no gubmint edumacation

Reply
Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 11:59 am

Well, I suppose that since education is a quasi-public good, we don’t have much choice, so, pay up.

The curriculum needs to be overhauled. I would suggest separating male/female, uniforms, hammer in basic life skills (you know parents aren’t going to do it). Make sure they understand basic financial concepts from day 1 and don’t let up on it until they graduate. None of this new age, student led, bullshit. Ok, that’s a start, I’ll be quiet now.

Reply
Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 9:49 am

So, I’ve ranted about this before. There’s a lot of vitriol on both sides of this issue. Status quo don’t want you messing with their money or their kingdoms, parental choice wants the money so they can get their kids out of the black schools. Sorry, not being racist, but that is how it seems to me.

I think Smirks is right. If you start giving public funds to private schools, won’t the problem just follow the money? Won’t the private schools do anything to keep it? How are private schools going to keep the undesirables out if public funds help everyone to attend? Wouldn’t they just raise tuition to keep them out? If so, we would be in the same boat as now, only those who could afford it could attend. It’s just squeezing the balloon.

Isn’t there any school district in the US that has a success story that can be emulated? Granted, it would only work in the Holy City or upstate, maybe in Rock Hill area but that’s iffy. The rest of the state is just dumb and poor. Cola’s gone, everywhere else is full of hip hop thugs. For anything to work there would require a culture change. Not easy.

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 9:55 am

D.W. Daniel in Pickens County is listed as one of the best high schools in the country.

Reply
Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 9:57 am

So, what is the formula for success there? Can it be copied? If it can, whay aren’t other districts already doing it? What are the demographics? Does that play a role?

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 10:30 am

IMO demographics play a large role in the success or failure of any school. The “extra” thing Daniel, located close to Clemson, SC, has going for it is that it is the school to which Clemson faculty send their children. Thus a respect for learning has already been instilled in the children prior to their arrival.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 10:31 am

You are correct in bringing up the corruption that gov’t money bring would bring into the privately run & funded education institutions.

The best hope would be some type of rebate on taxes paid by those currently educating their kids outside the gov’t run and funded institutions.

Will that ever happen? No…the “educators” lobby is too powerful.

Even then, getting some of your tax money back would still probably be subject to some form of manipulation on those electing to do so “in the name of the children”.

Better to just suffer the theft and double paying for your kids education to keep gov’t as far out of your child’s life as possible if you’ve opted out of the machine.

It’s probably just a matter of time before gov’t gets their meat hooks into those outside the current gov’t education system to further degrees.

The idea that American society would ever embrace the notion of personal responsibility in the education of your children fully is totally laughable. As George Carlin noted the system is broken and will never be fixed.

Reply
CNSYD July 3, 2013 at 10:33 am

So if I have no children in either public or private schools why should I pay taxes to support either or both?

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 10:43 am

I totally agree, you shouldn’t…as I’ve noted before and here:

“The idea that American society would ever embrace the notion of personal responsibility in the education of your children fully is totally laughable.”

Our society is no longer for personal responsibility in many areas, including this one. I’m just commenting on the reality.

Reply
Smirks July 3, 2013 at 11:15 am

So what happens to children whose parents cannot afford schooling them?

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:30 am

They become peasants. You know, the way it worked in England in the 1700s.

? July 3, 2013 at 11:36 am

I submit to you that if education is important enough to their value system that they(the kids and/or parents) will find a way to accomplish their goals.

If you think Shaniqua attending gov’t school for 13 years to “graduate” from high school with barely adequate reading skills isn’t already creating a “peasant” class as Jan put it…you are mistaken.

In fact, I’d say they become even worse than peasants, because at least peasants had to work for a living.

Shaniqua can just pop out a couple of kids and start getting larger checks from gov’t to support herself and her bo without even getting a job.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:45 am

I believe nothing has brought more people out of poverty and servitude than public education. I believe that society has benefited heavily from educating the children of the poor. Today there are doctors, nurses, scientists and financiers that in an earlier age would have been relegated to working the fields their father worked or taking over their fathers job in the mill when he died. They would never have been given the opportunity to be educated.
But thank you ? for making so clearly stating the Conservative view of the world and making the case the restoration of a class system.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 11:47 am

Excuse me, for so clearly stating the Conservative view of the world and making the case for the restoration of a class system.

? July 3, 2013 at 1:22 pm

“Conservative view of the world and making the case for the restoration of a class system.”

The “class system” is already in place.

Also, my views do not reflect “conservatism”. If you’d like pretend they do for whatever reason, so be it.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:20 pm

That’s an interesting point, Jan. You see, the logic behind that is seriously flawed. Maybe 100 years ago you would have seen huge disparities, but not anymore.

There have been several reports made by the BLS that show skilled manual labor (entry level plumbers, carpenters, auto mechanics, etc. and not helpers) are on par with salaries of entry level teachers and mid level managers.

Salary.com is a little easier to use and you will see both nationally and regionally there just isn’t the disparity there. So…

JAN FAILS AGAIN

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 1:41 pm

Jan, I agree with you. Think where we’d be if we did not have public education. It is our responsibility to do our best to lift the dis-advantaged out of the doldrums. It is also our responsibility to be sure the brightest among us have unrestricted opportunity to excel. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We may disagree about the method, but we should do our best to improve.

Regarding class, those will always be with us. There are a lot of factors that are in play there that are beyond discussion on a blog.

Everyone does not have the same aptitude in life, but we should at least do our best to help everyone reach their potential. Not all will be doctors and lawyers. Plumbers, truck drivers, electricians, machine operators are all needed to keep our society going. I take issue with the bleeding hearts that perpetuate the underclass of baby mommas and bottom feeders, you know, those who sell the working class out for votes so they can live the rich life.

I fear that the elite of the liberals are winning. We will, in time, be relegated to live desperate lives in villages full of idiots.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:12 pm

“We will, in time, be relegated to live desperate lives in villages full of idiots.”

Idiocracy is already upon us. The progressive dream of equality, managed by a “benevolent” gov’t yields such.

As long as everyone is “equal” then progressives are happy, even if it is everyone equal in misery.(a la Obamacare)

“I fear that the elite of the liberals are winning.”

That battle was lost a long time ago, shortly after the progressives seized the term “liberal” from its actual meaning under classical liberalism.

All the Republicans represent is such “progress” under less dramatic terms, but still similar terms none the less.

The corruption of the terms even makes the whole topic pretty much undebatable among the general population that doesn’t have an encompassing view of history over the last 237 years.

Bring on the Honey Boo Boo, the six packs, BBQ, patriotic music and some flag waving. No one in the general population wants to discuss much more than that on whole anyway.

Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 2:44 pm

Sigh… I think I’ll have another beer.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:59 pm

:)

I’ll be having one too when I get home.

? July 3, 2013 at 2:30 pm

“Think where we’d be if we did not have public education.”

I’m thinking of all the wondrous possibilities myself. Given that neither of us has a crystal ball…it’s hard to know.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:59 am

HERE HERE!! BRAVO. ENCORE!! ENCORE!!

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 11:57 am

1. Go to the library.

2. Give them a hammer and/or wrench and take them out to the garage.

3. Teach them to fish, hunt and farm.

Jan July 3, 2013 at 12:04 pm

But if we are going to set up a class system, why would we base who works where on who can afford education? Why don’t we test people and educate the brightest. That way maybe we could send people with your level of intelligence to work at the trash piles.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 12:12 pm

I didn’t say anything about setting up a class system. I answered Smirks question.
Q:’What do we do?’
A:’The best you can!’

Jan July 3, 2013 at 5:25 pm

If we should not fund schools, why should we pay for libraries?
Who should teach them to fish, hunt and farm, if their parents don’t know how?
What are they going to do with a hammer and wrench in the garage?

Frank Pytel July 4, 2013 at 4:21 am

Yes Jan, we know. Only the Gubmint knows what to do.

Frank Pytel July 3, 2013 at 10:44 am

Exactly correct. Huge part of why there should be no gubmint edumacation

Reply
Same ol' Same ol' July 3, 2013 at 11:59 am

Well, I suppose that since education is a quasi-public good, we don’t have much choice, so, pay up.

The curriculum needs to be overhauled. I would suggest separating male/female, uniforms, hammer in basic life skills (you know parents aren’t going to do it). Make sure they understand basic financial concepts from day 1 and don’t let up on it until they graduate. None of this new age, student led, bullshit. Ok, that’s a start, I’ll be quiet now.

Reply
Elfego July 3, 2013 at 11:29 am

That has gone on for a long time!

Reply
Elfego July 3, 2013 at 11:29 am

That has gone on for a long time!

Reply
Amused Observer July 3, 2013 at 12:50 pm

Given the lack of accountability and transparency in the current voucher proposal, how will anyone know if the private school students are actually doing better or if it’s just hype? Please don’t act like grade inflation doesn’t take place in private schools. Ask a public elementary school principal how often they have to work with a kid coming out of private school with good grades who is reading way below grade level. SC boasts the “worst in the nation” private schools.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 2:02 pm

“Given the lack of accountability and transparency in the current voucher proposal, how will anyone know if the private school students are actually doing better or if it’s just hype?”

I really haven’t read the current voucher proposal. But let’s just talk in generalities for a moment in terms of accountability & transparency:

If a parent is happy with the education, isn’t that enough? Wouldn’t that also assume adequate transparency?

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 4:29 pm

No. No. Happy private school parents (getting that government education welfare check in the form of a tax credit or voucher) are not a legitimate criteria in order to determine “accountability and that is not “enough””.

That’s laughable. Wouldn’t you say that since the majority of parents have their children in public school, they are just as “happy”?

Public schools have to provide that “minimally adequate” education, as evaluated by testing. If the private schools want the money that will not be going to the public schools, their students need to be tested in the same ways.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 5:01 pm

“That’s laughable. Wouldn’t you say that since the majority of parents have their children in public school, they are just as “happy”?”

No, actually I wouldn’t. They have no choice. The laws say you have to school your children.

Even further, many of them feel trapped, unable to afford a private school and unable to home school…so by law the gov’t school is their only choice.

I wish it were “laughable”.

Reply
Amused Observer July 3, 2013 at 12:50 pm

Given the lack of accountability and transparency in the current voucher proposal, how will anyone know if the private school students are actually doing better or if it’s just hype? Please don’t act like grade inflation doesn’t take place in private schools. Ask a public elementary school principal how often they have to work with a kid coming out of private school with good grades who is reading way below grade level. SC boasts the “worst in the nation” private schools.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 2:02 pm

“Given the lack of accountability and transparency in the current voucher proposal, how will anyone know if the private school students are actually doing better or if it’s just hype?”

I really haven’t read the current voucher proposal. But let’s just talk in generalities for a moment in terms of accountability & transparency:

If a parent is happy with the education, isn’t that enough? Wouldn’t that also assume adequate transparency?

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 4:29 pm

No. No. Happy private school parents (getting that government education welfare check in the form of a tax credit or voucher) are not a legitimate criteria in order to determine “accountability and that is not “enough””.

That’s laughable. Wouldn’t you say that since the majority of parents have their children in public school, they are just as “happy”?

Public schools have to provide that “minimally adequate” education, as evaluated by testing. If the private schools want the money that will not be going to the public schools, their students need to be tested in the same ways.

Reply
? July 3, 2013 at 5:01 pm

“That’s laughable. Wouldn’t you say that since the majority of parents have their children in public school, they are just as “happy”?”

No, actually I wouldn’t. They have no choice. The laws say you have to school your children.

Even further, many of them feel trapped, unable to afford a private school and unable to home school…so by law the gov’t school is their only choice.

I wish it were “laughable”.

Reply
SC_Guy July 3, 2013 at 1:31 pm

There is already pressure for teachers to do this in Lexington county. They don’t have to use the grade “floor” of 60 but if they do they find it easier to get a day off, get goodies for their classrooms, etc.

A lot of the teachers are fighting it but the newer ones are going along with the program.

Reply
SC_Guy July 3, 2013 at 1:31 pm

There is already pressure for teachers to do this in Lexington county. They don’t have to use the grade “floor” of 60 but if they do they find it easier to get a day off, get goodies for their classrooms, etc.

A lot of the teachers are fighting it but the newer ones are going along with the program.

Reply
Baker July 3, 2013 at 3:03 pm

I actually have mixed feelings on this. I’m not sure, for example, that a students who fails to turn in an assignment should get a 50, or whatever.

However, this ultimately isn’t the conspiracy that Will Folks would like to make it sound. There is nothing magical about the 100-point grading scale. There are various ways to look at how to come up with a proper grading system. In fact, when I started college, I was pleased to learn that a 91 was an “A,” an 81 was a “B,” and so forth. In high school, you had to make an 86 to earn a “B,” a 94 to earn an “A,” etc. Was college dumbed down from my public high school? I don’t think so; it was just a different grading format.

Even as things are in most schools now, it isn’t like the 100-point scale has necessarily ever been a perfect ideal. We all might remember teachers who would drop a lowest score, for example. We all might have had teachers who gave extra credit.

Again, I’m not in favor of giving students grades they don’t deserve. But I do think it’s perfectly reasonable to consider various grading systems that make the most sense.

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 3:56 pm

And, if this site doesn’t think that keeping that tuition coming, particularly in these one little segregation academy in a county private schools, has any effect on the grades in private schools, then the people who put out this post are idiots.
Otherwise, those sixth-graders at the one I know about would know how to tell time on a clock with hands and not need me to tell time for them.

Reply
Baker July 3, 2013 at 3:03 pm

I actually have mixed feelings on this. I’m not sure, for example, that a students who fails to turn in an assignment should get a 50, or whatever.

However, this ultimately isn’t the conspiracy that Will Folks would like to make it sound. There is nothing magical about the 100-point grading scale. There are various ways to look at how to come up with a proper grading system. In fact, when I started college, I was pleased to learn that a 91 was an “A,” an 81 was a “B,” and so forth. In high school, you had to make an 86 to earn a “B,” a 94 to earn an “A,” etc. Was college dumbed down from my public high school? I don’t think so; it was just a different grading format.

Even as things are in most schools now, it isn’t like the 100-point scale has necessarily ever been a perfect ideal. We all might remember teachers who would drop a lowest score, for example. We all might have had teachers who gave extra credit.

Again, I’m not in favor of giving students grades they don’t deserve. But I do think it’s perfectly reasonable to consider various grading systems that make the most sense.

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 3:56 pm

And, if this site doesn’t think that keeping that tuition coming, particularly in these one little segregation academy in a county private schools, has any effect on the grades in private schools, then the people who put out this post are idiots.
Otherwise, those sixth-graders at the one I know about would know how to tell time on a clock with hands and not need me to tell time for them.

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Sic Willy didn’t seem to have a problem with the government-run SC Treasurer cutting him a check when he was Mark Sanford’s mouthpiece.

BTW, fuck Howard Rich, the Koch brothers and Cato.

Reply
William July 3, 2013 at 5:13 pm

I can think of nothing less a core government function than a press secretary for the Governor. If the Governor cannot speak for himself or herself he or she should not be Governor. Basically these are political positions designed to keep the Governor from saying something he or she should not. As such, if the Governor wants such a person, it should come out of his or her personal pocket.

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Sic Willy didn’t seem to have a problem with the government-run SC Treasurer cutting him a check when he was Mark Sanford’s mouthpiece.

BTW, fuck Howard Rich, the Koch brothers and Cato.

Reply
William July 3, 2013 at 5:13 pm

I can think of nothing less a core government function than a press secretary for the Governor. If the Governor cannot speak for himself or herself he or she should not be Governor. Basically these are political positions designed to keep the Governor from saying something he or she should not. As such, if the Governor wants such a person, it should come out of his or her personal pocket.

Reply
Little eagle July 3, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Goes on in a lot of schools in SC

Reply
Little eagle July 3, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Goes on in a lot of schools in SC

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 4:37 pm

Monticello.org

Thomas Jefferson:

1786 August 13. (to George Wythe) “I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness…Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish & improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils [tyranny, oppression, etc.] and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.”

Reply
Honkey Whitebread July 3, 2013 at 5:27 pm

I like to think of Jefferson as a progressive myself.

For instance, he wasn’t above fornicating with his slaves and eventually freed his adult mulatto offspring after his conscience got the best of him.

That’s very progressive.

His lavish lifestyle and burdensome debt is another indicator of his progressive chops.

All in all I think there’s quite a bit to learn from Jefferson.

Reply
nitrat July 3, 2013 at 4:37 pm

Monticello.org

Thomas Jefferson:

1786 August 13. (to George Wythe) “I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness…Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish & improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils [tyranny, oppression, etc.] and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.”

Reply
Honkey Whitebread July 3, 2013 at 5:27 pm

I like to think of Jefferson as a progressive myself.

For instance, he wasn’t above fornicating with his slaves and eventually freed his adult mulatto offspring after his conscience got the best of him.

That’s very progressive.

His lavish lifestyle and burdensome debt is another indicator of his progressive chops.

All in all I think there’s quite a bit to learn from Jefferson.

Reply
Elea Phat In The Room July 3, 2013 at 5:53 pm

There will come a day where the few will no longer support the ignorance of the masses. They will kill, destroy, burn and eat each other in the street. Sweet self destruction………smiles……keep lowering the standards!!!

Reply
Elea Phat In The Room July 3, 2013 at 5:53 pm

There will come a day where the few will no longer support the ignorance of the masses. They will kill, destroy, burn and eat each other in the street. Sweet self destruction………smiles……keep lowering the standards!!!

Reply
SCforedreform July 3, 2013 at 7:26 pm

It’s not just about Private Schools people. It’s about parental trigger and school choice– as well as Charter schools–which includes heavy accountability, recovery districts, and elevating the teaching profession.

Reply
SCforedreform July 3, 2013 at 7:26 pm

It’s not just about Private Schools people. It’s about parental trigger and school choice– as well as Charter schools–which includes heavy accountability, recovery districts, and elevating the teaching profession.

Reply

Leave a Comment