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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Little Joe who wrote (133377)	3/24/2001 11:25:10 PM
From: Kevin Rose	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769667

Good points. My views: 1)Don't know how having private schools affects guns in schools. Private schools in poorer sections would face the same tough environment. I suspect that some parents view private schools as an alternative that removes their kids from the 'undesirable elements'; namely, the poorer kids who are more exposed to guns, violence, and drugs. This only creates a more sharply 'tiered' educational system. Btw: many schools here are getting rid of lockers, mostly so that kids can't hid drugs in them. The kids have to haul all their books around with them. Many are reporting back injuries! My kids use rolling backpacks to get around that problem. 2) Again, the risk of excluding 'harder to educate' students is to create a class system. But I understand the counter argument; why should other students suffer? Equal opportunity at education means that there will be some suffering as the cost; we can't get around that. 3) I have a good-hearted debate with friends who went to private schools (I went to public) about the quality of our educations. I have to say, I'm winning ;) But, there are a lot of variables in the equation; aptitude, ciriculum, quality of individual teachers, interests of the student. I've been fortunate in the public schools I went to, and the ones that my kids are in. But I recognize that I may be luckier than most, and that we need to improve. 4) Agree. Classes are also too overcrowded. In CA, class size is limited by law to 20 kids, but only through 3rd grade. My daughters 4th grade class is 33 kids. That reason alone is sufficient for many people around here to transfer their kids after 3rd grade. COMPLETELY agree that this should be a non-partisan issue. As an engineering manager, I have interviewed thousands of applicants and hired hundreds. I must say that I have seen MANY more qualified foreign-born engineers than coming out of our schools. We are in danger of collapsing because are children will not be able to even maintain the status quo, much less move us forward. It is probably our most important long range problem in America... 2)