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The author seemed to think that more money would fix the problem as well. But the faith in money to fix things is pretty blind-- the only thing that fixes prob
by andyv 16y ago
The author seemed to think that more money would fix the problem as well. But the faith in money to fix things is pretty blind-- the only thing that fixes problems are people who care, and anyone who tries here will end up in a fight with the people who don't care. Pay them enough money and they'll start caring? Yea, right.
- maxxxxx 16y ago"Pay them enough money and they'll start caring? Yea, right". We should tell the same to CEOs and bankers.
- andyv 16y agoBut if CEOs and banker fail to please their customers, the company will do badly, and their boards will fire them. Government schools have no such constraints. They can waste money with impunity.
- intended 16y agoWell this guy looks like he does care. (keeps dry fruits to help the kids out) Money would definitely help fix the broken roof, bad heating, broken printers and help keep stocks of paper at the least. Possibly better pipes too. It seems that you are saying that more cash will not help with the problems he has described. Could you clarify why having more cash will not help?
- RiderOfGiraffes 16y agoMore cash won't stop the kids from stealing, accusing the teachers of inappropriate behavior, or vandalism. More cash won't make the kids stop bringing knives into school, won't make them want to learn, won't make them behave in class, and won't make them stop beating each other up. ADDED IN EDIT: Those problems run deeper than the school simply not having enough money.
- maxklein 16y agoPerhaps the kids should be swapped out for more obedient kids?
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- RiderOfGiraffes 16y agoRight. I've cooled off somewhat, so I'm going to delete my other comments because I feel that they are intemperate and, in some cases inappropriate. I apologise for them. To answer your question ... That's not what I said, and I feel it's a misrepresentation of my position. I was answering the question in this comment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2211298 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2211298 where the author said: Could you clarify why having more cash will not help? My point was that the socio-economic conditions of some kids being dis-engaged, disinterested and actively disruptive would not be helped by throwing more cash at the school, or at the teachers. Whether you blame the teachers, the kids, their parents, the social circumstances, the gangs, television, or whatever, the situation is that in some classes there is behavior that prevents any kind of learning. That behavior won't be fixed by mending copiers, or providing laptops. That's my answer to the question that was asked. In addition, however, I will say that yes, in some cases I do blame the kids, but in some cases I don't. I don't know that I would be any different given the circumstances that surround them. The challenge is to find a way to give them the skills, tools, abilities and opportunities to go where they can make something of themselves. My wish for every child is that they have the opportunity to be the best they can. Sounds corny, and it's certainly Quixotic, but I put money and time into it. And now I am going away for a while.
- scott_s 16y agoHis concluding sentence implies that he thinks more money is part of the answer, but not the whole answer.