As a US citizen what do you feel you are entitled to?

[ronaldemail1]

I am a new resident in this country, expecting to become a citizen
in a few years.

I think that every citizen should demand that the country never
spends more money than what it is produced. If you have a constant
deficit is the path to become a third world country. By allowing
the current excess of spending in the last 30 or 40 years, the
country is on its way to self destruction. Making exceptions all
the time for entitlements for oneself, our families or people that
appear to deserve something will eventually destroy us.

[dcan]

As I said before NJ has around 600 school districts. I do not have Netflicks but I did some research on that film and it seems to point out the NJEA and teacher tenure as big problems, I do not argue those points. The film also appears to talk alot about how much is spent per pupil in NJ, but I don't see a breakdown of cost per student in Abbott Districts (supposedly poor inner city ) districts and the other 570 or so districts. If you look at a ranking of NJ districts you will find there are few to none of the Abbott districts in the top 50%.

Those would be the districts where the film depicted students graduating unable to read, and with students and parents breaking down in tears distraught that they didn't get picked in the lottery to move to the charter schools?

I am not saying there is no waste in education or that there is not a reason for change. I am just trying to say as in any stereo type you are judging the whole on the publisized wrongdoings of a few.

Many school districts in NJ and elsewhere in the US are doing great things with dedicated teachers and not enough money. I hate to see the general education bashing and "I didn't have that when I was in school" complainers keep the working districts from getting what they need to continue the good work.

I work in 2 small districts that have very limited budgets, very low administrator to teacher ratios and many long term dedicated teachers. They are both in the top 50% of NJ schools. I just wish they had more of the resources that have been cut over the years because people believe we spend too much on education.

And kudos to you. However, you exist in a system designed to rape the taxpayer for money at the expense of the children you yourself want to help. The teacher's union extorts money with little or no accountability, and even teachers are afraid to stand up to the union and the administrations. Those that have have been terminated with extreme prejudice.

You work in a mob racket. You aren't to blame, and neither are the thousands of other great teachers doing great work under horrible conditions. But you do need to realize how much corruption there is in the education system.

In today's system children are not to be taught, they are a commodity used to extract more dollars. Many of the teachers are great, but the system is evil.

Watch The Cartel. Seriously, it is heart-wrenching. Here's the trailer.

[Lindagerr]

I had watched the trailer before and I do see a lot of things I can relate to. Those things are rampant in the inner city schools. Corruption, Top heavy organizations, corrupt unions, corrupt administrators (We are Jersey that is just the norm here).

I am not a member of the teachers union because I only sub. We are expected to maintain classroom discipline, procedures and follow lesson plans. Teachers get upset if we can't do all that, but they pay us onlt $7.50 - $12 per hour. While a begiing teacher makes ~$50K first year.

I just think we need a little less government intervention with excessive unfunded mandates, and I would love to see the union thrown out, at lease in NJ the NJEA has become to much of a political machine. If I say much more they may find me and blackball me so I can never be a "real" teacher.

I also think tenure is great (for the teachers who have it) I wish teachers would understand that in the rest of the real world when your boss does't like you or you start to get complacent you are gone and that is just the way it is.

Most of the best teachers I know either do not have tenure, do not care about tenure, or stay out of the debate and just put everything into a job they love teaching children. I just hate to see them rolled in with the bad when teachers and the education system are bad mouthed.

[ryoder]

7.50 to 12.00 per hour seems pretty low.
I was paid $8.00 per hour to fix computers at doctors and lawyers offices though and I worked 40 hours per week so I guess its not so bad.
If we get rid of the unions the salaries will reflect market rates so the awesome sub who gets 10 bucks an hour will get a bump and the terrible tenured teacher being paid 60K will get a lower salary.

[dcan]

If we get rid of the unions the salaries will reflect market rates so the terrible tenured teacher being paid 60K will be fired and his/her salary given to the awesome sub who gets 10 bucks an hour

Fixed that for ya'.

[dcan]

I just think we need a little less government intervention with excessive unfunded mandates, and I would love to see the union thrown out, at lease in NJ the NJEA has become to much of a political machine. If I say much more they may find me and blackball me so I can never be a "real" teacher.

^^ THIS is everything that is bad with education today.

In Alabama the AEA owned the state government for decades. Half the legislature here had well-paying "second jobs" as "consultants" at various community colleges and smaller colleges around the state. Never showed up for work, and coincidentally they supported the AEA all the way down the line. The head of AEA is called The Godfather for a reason. Now there's a new party in charge for the first time in nearly 150 years, and the FBI is investigating casino bribery charges against a whole group of current and former reps and senators and the AEA head is suddenly scarce.

But AEA is saint-like compared to your state. Isn't that where one of the AEA bosses e-mailed people to pray for Gov Christie's death, and when Gov Christie called his boss to complain the guy told the Gov that he agreed with him? NJEA sounds like the Gambinos...

[ryoder]

I think the actual market rate for teachers is nothing like the current salaries.
It is closer to the rate of a tutor minus 20% or so. I worked at a computer store making $8.50 an hour and did "tutoring" for "$35 per hour when I was 20 years old. The per hour rate was much higher since I gave actual in person attention to the customer and drove to their house. The 8.50 per hour was due to the fact that I could guarantee my hourly rate regardless of performance and get a full week's pay.

After a while I was making up to $10 per hour but that was with 5 years of experience fixing computers, building them, installing networks and with multiple certifications under my belt. Sobering to think of isn't it?

[OE800_85]

I'm not a US Citizen but I like this topic. I just think it'd be great if people had SECURITY, not just free stuff. The whole idea is to provide to people who are unfortunate, devastated (read: katrina victims, children dealing with starvation, etc, etc) and desperately need assistance. However this makes people lazy, and chronically dependent.
If only people were mature, manned up, worked hard, but had the comfort of knowing that if something went wrong, they were protected, the world would be a great place.

The education topic opens a whole other can of beans since privatization has its own host of issues, who knows what to do there.

[dcan]

If only people were mature, manned up, worked hard, but had the comfort of knowing that if something went wrong, they were protected, the world would be a great place.

These contradict each other. People become mature, man up, and work hard in response to confronting the reality that life is not easy and they are not protected. You have to learn to take care of your own to get ahead. If you ensure the latter you prevent the former.

[OE800_85]

I don't think they are. Do you think acrobats only do well when the safety net's gone?

I think this is not the right way to go about it. If people just live in fear of being impoverished, they'll eat each other just to get ahead, they'll do anything for that success and have no trust/respect for their fellow man.

I've been in China for 3 years now, it's really changed my opinion on capitalism because my god, this is one of the most capitalist nations in the world, and people have no respect for each other, and no trust at all.

Yet again, in a UN Poll, Denmark was determined to have the world's happiest citizens. Why do you ask? Security: knowing your nation will protect you should something go wrong, and Trust: trust of their own government and their own fellow citizens. Wouldn't it be great to live this way? On the other hand, maybe it's not possible for big nations like China and the US.