>>OFF TOPIC (I guess)<<
Christine,
You wrote: " Catholic teachers make less money(you simply need a degree to teach there, whereas public school teachers need an extra year),"
True, and my feeling is that this is one of the negative factors in education, which I spoke about earlier:
Message 3198291
I think one of the problems with the public education system is that the "education establishment" got control (by political pressure) of the right to teach, so that no matter how well one is qualified in a subject, that person cannot teach in a public school without an "Education" degree. The parochial and private schools, mercifully, are not bound by these "union card" tactics.
I do agree with you that it is not a simple subject, and I don't mean to suggest that there is a simple answer to the problem. The current lack of quality public education also has much to do with profound societal changes, pervasive television and hence lack of reading (which requires more active and abstract processes), and a general decrease in quality of teachers. Some of the latter could be made up by marked increase in salaries, of course, but we are now at the point where a second generation is without proper education (by my definition, admittedly), so the teachers themselves have not been taught, and we must start all over again. No amount of money spent on computers, audiovisual aids and such bells and whistles will teach basic skills necessary to prepare a child for a lifetime of learning.
Jack |
