Lowering Education Costs

The cost of public school is too high and the outcomes are mixed. Too much money goes buying land, building new schools, supporting a county school bureaucracy and maintaining unsustainable pension plans.

Students in K-8 can be grouped by performance, but low performers don’t learn basic skills. This is the biggest problem public schools have. Students need to develop enough self-discipline to take responsibility for their education.

Parents need to enforce learning and make sure homework is done correctly. Teachers and parents need to focus like a laser on basic skills for these students. Things that compete with this focus should be eliminated.  Liberal political propaganda trumps learning basic skills like reading, writing and math. Too many students reach age 18 without developing these basic skills.

The purpose of education is to allow students to discover their own talents and motivated abilities with an eye toward their careers. This requires exposure to lots of activities where these skills can be discovered. Successful people have consistently confessed that they love their jobs. Students need to learn what they love to do and what they’re good at.

Public schools take all students, including students who have limited ability and limited motivation to learn. They may have talent and may need to leverage that talent to find an occupation that uses it. 

Private K-12 schools can “select” students and often do not admit students who are low performers or problems learning. Private high schools have entrance exams and take top performers. Lower performers should not be expected to take college prep courses

The use of the internet for education has allowed On-line schooling and Homeschooling to be implemented.

Homeschooling is vastly superior to any other system, but it requires a parent to do this. Most households require both parents to work, so only the fortunate will be able to homeschool.

On-line schooling can work for high-schoolers who are self-learners and like homeschooling, it takes half the time it takes to attend the regular 8am to 3pm school schedule, plus travel, 5 days a week.

I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s. I was homeschooled until I was age 7 and entered 3^rd grade at Holy Child Catholic School in Queens NY. We moved back to St. Louis and I went to Immaculate Conception Catholic Parish School. We had Loreto Nuns on site teaching grades 1-8.  There were 320 students, 40 students in each grade in a well maintained 100 year old building and tuition was free. The school operated on income from church contributions and parishioner donations.

I won a scholarship to Christian Brothers College Military HS. We had Christian Brothers on-site in a well maintained 100 year old building with 1000 students and 40 students per home-room. Tuition was $500 per year. I started a Rock band after 8^th grade and made $45 per week playing 3 nights a week and also worked Summer jobs.

I went on the St. Louis University and attended classes in well maintained 100 year old buildings. We had Jesuits teaching on site and tuition was $1000 per year. I joined a Blues band and made $120 per week playing 6 nights a week at a night club and also worked Summer jobs.

My education was superior and affordable. I was able to pay all of my own expenses. I was blessed and learned how to work. My work was actually play.

Our 6 children grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and were able to attend Catholic Schools until 1983 when we moved to Atlanta. They worked in restaurants, retail and lifeguarding. They weren’t able to pay all of their high school and college expenses, but they did graduate without student loans to pay off.

Our 15 grandchildren began to arrive in the 1980s. Many are working, but they are facing unsustainable college costs and a weak US economy. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader