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I am suspicious of any comment about American education that contains the words "blindingly obvious" and "all you need to do". The problems that exist in Ameri

I am suspicious of any comment about American education that contains the words "blindingly obvious" and "all you need to do". The problems that exist in American education are incredibly complex. We've tried a lot of big new things based on a simple, reductive approach (examples: testing and accountability for schools and for teachers, small schools, charter schools, Teach for America). I don't think any of these big new ideas have transformed a low-performing urban public school system into a system where educated white professionals would send their kids.

vxNsr 12y ago
Surprisingly, he's mostly on point with the article he basically summed up the article -Schools don't need better teachers-instead the teachers need better Support.
james1071 12y ago
Well,each to their own. The US has proved spectacularly inept in a number of areas (healthcare, obesity, guns and education) and the causes are indeed blindingly obvious to anyone who is not an American.
- lttlrck 12y ago
  For contrast which countries have successfully tackled obesity? Or gun control from a similar starting point?
- omegaham 12y ago
  Seeing as how many European countries are approaching American levels of obesity[1], what is everyone else doing to combat it? [1]https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2228rank.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...
- adventured 12y ago
  It's worth noting that 3/4 of the problems you list didn't exist 30 years ago. The US had a highly functional, cost effective healthcare system until the early 1990s, when costs began to soar. In fact it still has the best hospitals and doctors in the world to this day, along with the best technology and best drugs. The US also has by far the most innovative healthcare tech and pharma industries. The US did not have an obesity problem until the last 20 or 30 years. The US still has by far the best universities on earth. There isn't even a close second. Make a list of the top 20 universities and the US will take 17 of those slots. It had a tremendous public education system, again, until about 20 years ago. And even now, half the country still does have an excellent public education system. If the US is so inept at education, how come US universities stand so far above the rest of the world, and have for decades? Quick, name five universities of equal quality to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton - anywhere on earth, eg: Sweden, Switzerland, Norway.
  - james1071 12y ago
    Proving the point that Americans are totally blind to what everyone else can see. 1 Obesity-apparently not a problem because it didn't exist 30- years ago. That, I find hard to believe if I remember my first trip to the US in the late 1980s and the free food restaurants in Las Vegas. 2 Healthcare -an obvious disaster, due to lack of access and the lifestyle of a large part of the population. Oh, it will also bankrupt the country without major reforms. 3 The universities-rankings are based on research, which in turn are based on buying in talent.Don't kid yourself that they reflect the quality of undergraduates that are turned out or the population as a whole. 4 As for guns-no need to bother with that one.
    - adventured 12y ago
      I never said obesity isn't a problem, so right off the bat you're misleading on what I said. In fact the US did not have an obesity problem in the 1980s. Between 1980 and 2000, the obesity rate doubled among adults in the US, per the CDC. What I originally said is accurate and easy to prove. The obvious point, is that America has only become "inept" in the last 20 to 25 years on obesity. It's a very recent problem. It can be reversed and solved as quickly as it become a problem. I'd argue that peak obesity has already occurred, the causes have almost all been clearly identified, and over the next 20 years Americans will get less obese measured by every five years that go by. 2) Total healthcare costs stopped increasing several years ago. In fact it's more likely that healthcare costs as a % of GDP and income will decline for the next 20 years. It's not going to bankrupt the country without major reforms. Not even remotely close. The US has among the highest disposable income levels in the world, healthcare expenses are a very manageable problem even at these elevated cost levels. Americans do not have a healthcare access problem. In fact Americans are the most over-doctored, over-tested, over-treated people on earth, and it's a huge contributing factor for why Americans spend so much on healthcare. Americans consume more healthcare services than any other people. Nearly 90% of Americans have health coverage now, and the majority of those in the 10% that do not, choose not to. The poor in America have had complete coverage for a very long time, via state medicaid, among a dozen other programs. Saying something is so, does not prove it. If you're going to make outlandish claims (the US will be bankrupted by healthcare costs), you should back them up. 3) The universities in the US outrank their peers in other countries across the board on a direct comparison basis (top vs top, middle vs middle). It's embarrassing how far ahead the US has been for the last 40 years. It's universally accepted that the US has by far the best universities. There's no debate to be had here, at all.

vxNsr 12y ago

Surprisingly, he's mostly on point with the article he basically summed up the article -Schools don't need better teachers-instead the teachers need better Support.

james1071 12y ago

Well,each to their own. The US has proved spectacularly inept in a number of areas (healthcare, obesity, guns and education) and the causes are indeed blindingly obvious to anyone who is not an American.

lttlrck 12y ago
For contrast which countries have successfully tackled obesity? Or gun control from a similar starting point?
omegaham 12y ago
Seeing as how many European countries are approaching American levels of obesity[1], what is everyone else doing to combat it? [1]https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2228rank.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...
adventured 12y ago
It's worth noting that 3/4 of the problems you list didn't exist 30 years ago. The US had a highly functional, cost effective healthcare system until the early 1990s, when costs began to soar. In fact it still has the best hospitals and doctors in the world to this day, along with the best technology and best drugs. The US also has by far the most innovative healthcare tech and pharma industries. The US did not have an obesity problem until the last 20 or 30 years. The US still has by far the best universities on earth. There isn't even a close second. Make a list of the top 20 universities and the US will take 17 of those slots. It had a tremendous public education system, again, until about 20 years ago. And even now, half the country still does have an excellent public education system. If the US is so inept at education, how come US universities stand so far above the rest of the world, and have for decades? Quick, name five universities of equal quality to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton - anywhere on earth, eg: Sweden, Switzerland, Norway.
- james1071 12y ago
  Proving the point that Americans are totally blind to what everyone else can see. 1 Obesity-apparently not a problem because it didn't exist 30- years ago. That, I find hard to believe if I remember my first trip to the US in the late 1980s and the free food restaurants in Las Vegas. 2 Healthcare -an obvious disaster, due to lack of access and the lifestyle of a large part of the population. Oh, it will also bankrupt the country without major reforms. 3 The universities-rankings are based on research, which in turn are based on buying in talent.Don't kid yourself that they reflect the quality of undergraduates that are turned out or the population as a whole. 4 As for guns-no need to bother with that one.
  - adventured 12y ago
    I never said obesity isn't a problem, so right off the bat you're misleading on what I said. In fact the US did not have an obesity problem in the 1980s. Between 1980 and 2000, the obesity rate doubled among adults in the US, per the CDC. What I originally said is accurate and easy to prove. The obvious point, is that America has only become "inept" in the last 20 to 25 years on obesity. It's a very recent problem. It can be reversed and solved as quickly as it become a problem. I'd argue that peak obesity has already occurred, the causes have almost all been clearly identified, and over the next 20 years Americans will get less obese measured by every five years that go by. 2) Total healthcare costs stopped increasing several years ago. In fact it's more likely that healthcare costs as a % of GDP and income will decline for the next 20 years. It's not going to bankrupt the country without major reforms. Not even remotely close. The US has among the highest disposable income levels in the world, healthcare expenses are a very manageable problem even at these elevated cost levels. Americans do not have a healthcare access problem. In fact Americans are the most over-doctored, over-tested, over-treated people on earth, and it's a huge contributing factor for why Americans spend so much on healthcare. Americans consume more healthcare services than any other people. Nearly 90% of Americans have health coverage now, and the majority of those in the 10% that do not, choose not to. The poor in America have had complete coverage for a very long time, via state medicaid, among a dozen other programs. Saying something is so, does not prove it. If you're going to make outlandish claims (the US will be bankrupted by healthcare costs), you should back them up. 3) The universities in the US outrank their peers in other countries across the board on a direct comparison basis (top vs top, middle vs middle). It's embarrassing how far ahead the US has been for the last 40 years. It's universally accepted that the US has by far the best universities. There's no debate to be had here, at all.