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Two things... First you aren't "Calling it like it is". You're passing judgement on the community based on what you perceive to be inaction. What I'm saying

by SamAtt 16y ago

Two things... First you aren't "Calling it like it is". You're passing judgement on the community based on what you perceive to be inaction. What I'm saying is we can't really act until someone who knows the other side comes to us and asks for help. Second this isn't about entrepreneurship. The reality of the situation is that schools are poor and the kids who need help the most are generally the poorest. So if you really care about reforming education you really can't go into it as a for-profit venture. Because you have to make whatever you accomplish available as far and wide as possible to get any traction.

emilepetrone 16y ago
"Comes to us and asks for help. Second this isn't about entrepreneurship." !?!?! That insider mentality is the logic that kept teachers in NYC rubber rooms. People from the outside must break in! (And without someone coming and kissing your ring first!) The reason you have to have a for-profit venture is sustainability. Lack of funding creates 2 situations - necessity on grants or necessity on free labor. Both extremely difficult to make sustainable. So what are for-profit ventures that have had huge impacts on education? Blackboard( I don't like to admit that but its true). Chegg too. Both companies said, "Here's a problem. Here's a solution." The market responds, and everyone wins. Businesses can/do make the education system better.
- kiba 16y ago
  Trying to compete with the existing school system is idiotic because it is paid for by taxpayers. Everything in the education supply chain needs to be interchangeable or else it is hard to optimize anything. Imagine trying to start up a hacker school for kids. You have to provide educations for areas outside of your "teach people how to hack robots and computers" expertise like history, language art, etc. Why not let delegate the job to a School of Grammars or a walt-mart style basic mathematic school? Oh right, you can't! You have to go through the legislative process to get it approved. Then you have to battle the local teacher union with all the pink-collar teachers who don't understand the value of hacking and thinks that all kids should become "creative" people not mechanical engineers. Imagine politicians dumbing down the hacking education plan just so they can have easy and inexpensive way to test students. Sure you can get crappier school in a free market system, but it also mean you can get really good schools and educational systems.
  - russell 16y ago
    In CA you can do just that. They are called Charter Schools. If you can convince parents and the local school board that your magnet school provides an exceptional learning experience forr all potential students, not just an elite, then the state will fund you with the standard per student-day grant.
    - kiba 16y ago
      Now, that's interesting. What sort of incentive does the local school board have in selecting such an excellent school over keeping kids in their own institution? Parents, probably does have more of an interest in making their kids goes to charter school. But it still is up to the political process. I mean, parents who vote with their money still have a disadvantage to political voters who can make the state provide schools with somebody else's money. It is an imperfect process but nonetheless better than nothing.
  - neutronicus 16y ago
    "Trying to compete with the existing school system is idiotic because it is paid for by taxpayers." The catholic church's offerings manage just fine, as do Montessori schools. Just two examples off the top of my head.

by SamAtt 16y ago

emilepetrone 16y ago

"Comes to us and asks for help. Second this isn't about entrepreneurship." !?!?! That insider mentality is the logic that kept teachers in NYC rubber rooms. People from the outside must break in! (And without someone coming and kissing your ring first!) The reason you have to have a for-profit venture is sustainability. Lack of funding creates 2 situations - necessity on grants or necessity on free labor. Both extremely difficult to make sustainable. So what are for-profit ventures that have had huge impacts on education? Blackboard( I don't like to admit that but its true). Chegg too. Both companies said, "Here's a problem. Here's a solution." The market responds, and everyone wins. Businesses can/do make the education system better.

kiba 16y ago
Trying to compete with the existing school system is idiotic because it is paid for by taxpayers. Everything in the education supply chain needs to be interchangeable or else it is hard to optimize anything. Imagine trying to start up a hacker school for kids. You have to provide educations for areas outside of your "teach people how to hack robots and computers" expertise like history, language art, etc. Why not let delegate the job to a School of Grammars or a walt-mart style basic mathematic school? Oh right, you can't! You have to go through the legislative process to get it approved. Then you have to battle the local teacher union with all the pink-collar teachers who don't understand the value of hacking and thinks that all kids should become "creative" people not mechanical engineers. Imagine politicians dumbing down the hacking education plan just so they can have easy and inexpensive way to test students. Sure you can get crappier school in a free market system, but it also mean you can get really good schools and educational systems.
- russell 16y ago
  In CA you can do just that. They are called Charter Schools. If you can convince parents and the local school board that your magnet school provides an exceptional learning experience forr all potential students, not just an elite, then the state will fund you with the standard per student-day grant.
  - kiba 16y ago
    Now, that's interesting. What sort of incentive does the local school board have in selecting such an excellent school over keeping kids in their own institution? Parents, probably does have more of an interest in making their kids goes to charter school. But it still is up to the political process. I mean, parents who vote with their money still have a disadvantage to political voters who can make the state provide schools with somebody else's money. It is an imperfect process but nonetheless better than nothing.
- neutronicus 16y ago
  "Trying to compete with the existing school system is idiotic because it is paid for by taxpayers." The catholic church's offerings manage just fine, as do Montessori schools. Just two examples off the top of my head.