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We don’t provide free access to test prep. We don’t provide equal access to parents and friends who are enthusiastic and pushed to do well on these tests. We do

We don’t provide free access to test prep. We don’t provide equal access to parents and friends who are enthusiastic and pushed to do well on these tests. We don’t provide equal access to a culture that values academics over, say, sports and entertainment.

sokoloff 4y ago
What would the end state of the latter part of look like? Taking kids away from their families at birth and raising them in state not-quite-orphanages? Even the concept that academics should be valued over other topics should be a matter of family choice. If you want to prioritize music, art, sports, food, entertainment, fitness, religion, or something else over academics, should society over-ride that?
- lapcat 4y ago
  > What would the end state of the latter part of look like? Taking kids away from their families at birth and raising them in state not-quite-orphanages? In other words, Plato's Republic.
- jjj123 4y ago
  Free after school programs, free lunches, Medicare for All, public housing. These are all things that would level the playing field for poor kids and allow them to make the same decisions that wealthy kids get to make. It’s not about choosing for them, it’s about lifting the boot on these kids necks enough so they can choose for themselves.
  - MichaelCollins 4y ago
    > Free after school programs, free lunches, Medicare for All, public housing. Poor kids in America already get all of these, even free healthcare. The families of middle class kids have to pay for all of that, but not the families of poor kids. Quadruple all these programs and you'll still have a situation where some kids want to do well but simply don't have the brains for it, and some kids who could do well but have shitty parents.
    - sokoloff 4y ago
      Early childhood (0-3) nutrition could probably productively use more expenditures. Setting that aside, I think your last point is a very large part of the problem (which also includes the nutrition point).
- hotpotamus 4y ago
  I believe the model you're talking about is a Kibbutz, though I don't think they were state run.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    If it's not state-run (or otherwise mandated), I think you'll still see significantly unequal access to friends (and family members) of different attitudes and aptitudes.
    - hotpotamus 4y ago
      The really interesting thing about Kibbutzes is that they're radically communal - to the point where children are not supposed to belong to any individual, but to the community. I'm sure it's impossible to factor out the human element of relationships, but it is interesting to me as an example of the spectrum that human societies will build.
tssva 4y ago
Free SAT preparation is available through a partnership between the College Board and the Khan academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/SAT https://www.khanacademy.org/SAT
timmg 4y ago
> We don’t provide equal access to parents and friends who are enthusiastic and pushed to do well on these tests. We don’t provide equal access to a culture that values academics over, say, sports and entertainment. Who is “we” in this case? Are we talking about government solutions here, or something else?
throwaway8582 4y ago
> We don’t provide free access to test prep. There's tons of sample tests, vocabulary flashcards, and advice on test taking strategy available completely free online. There's no secret information or techniques taught in these expensive SAT prep classes that you can't find on Youtube, Google or Khan Academy. I didn't spend a single cent on SAT prep (and not much time either) and still managed to get a 1500.

sokoloff 4y ago

What would the end state of the latter part of look like? Taking kids away from their families at birth and raising them in state not-quite-orphanages? Even the concept that academics should be valued over other topics should be a matter of family choice. If you want to prioritize music, art, sports, food, entertainment, fitness, religion, or something else over academics, should society over-ride that?

lapcat 4y ago
> What would the end state of the latter part of look like? Taking kids away from their families at birth and raising them in state not-quite-orphanages? In other words, Plato's Republic.
jjj123 4y ago
Free after school programs, free lunches, Medicare for All, public housing. These are all things that would level the playing field for poor kids and allow them to make the same decisions that wealthy kids get to make. It’s not about choosing for them, it’s about lifting the boot on these kids necks enough so they can choose for themselves.
- MichaelCollins 4y ago
  > Free after school programs, free lunches, Medicare for All, public housing. Poor kids in America already get all of these, even free healthcare. The families of middle class kids have to pay for all of that, but not the families of poor kids. Quadruple all these programs and you'll still have a situation where some kids want to do well but simply don't have the brains for it, and some kids who could do well but have shitty parents.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    Early childhood (0-3) nutrition could probably productively use more expenditures. Setting that aside, I think your last point is a very large part of the problem (which also includes the nutrition point).
hotpotamus 4y ago
I believe the model you're talking about is a Kibbutz, though I don't think they were state run.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  If it's not state-run (or otherwise mandated), I think you'll still see significantly unequal access to friends (and family members) of different attitudes and aptitudes.
  - hotpotamus 4y ago
    The really interesting thing about Kibbutzes is that they're radically communal - to the point where children are not supposed to belong to any individual, but to the community. I'm sure it's impossible to factor out the human element of relationships, but it is interesting to me as an example of the spectrum that human societies will build.

tssva 4y ago

Free SAT preparation is available through a partnership between the College Board and the Khan academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/SAT https://www.khanacademy.org/SAT

timmg 4y ago

> We don’t provide equal access to parents and friends who are enthusiastic and pushed to do well on these tests. We don’t provide equal access to a culture that values academics over, say, sports and entertainment. Who is “we” in this case? Are we talking about government solutions here, or something else?

throwaway8582 4y ago

> We don’t provide free access to test prep. There's tons of sample tests, vocabulary flashcards, and advice on test taking strategy available completely free online. There's no secret information or techniques taught in these expensive SAT prep classes that you can't find on Youtube, Google or Khan Academy. I didn't spend a single cent on SAT prep (and not much time either) and still managed to get a 1500.