Too high compared to what? The nation is seriously in debt because we don't raise enough income to cover our expenses. It costs money to be a Superpower with the biggest and most stable economy and democracy in the world. It is wasted on many things, but most of the budget is comprised of things we want, like highways, universities, national parks, the military, and yes, the federal departments, all of which do things that we want done. You can't get something for nothing.
There is plenty of poor public education in the state of Texas, for sure. The district where I am is not one of the poorly-performing districts, and that is why I live and work where I do. My district is now actually considered urban, rather than suburban, as the city has 300,000 residents (large, by almost any standards) and serves between 60 - 70 thousand students. By urban standards, especially, my district is terrific, but our changing population is a challenge, nonetheless. I was educated in public schools in Louisiana, which were not great. Fortunately, my daughters are receiving a much better, more well-rounded education than I did. In particular, the quality of the music, art, theater, speech, and other elective programs in my district is absolutely stellar. There is a commitment to extracurriculars (NOT just sports) that is impressive here. My 13-year-old registered for high school a couple of months ago, and her course catalog for high school rivaled LSU's in number of courses offered (a bit of a hyperbole, but not much; since she will graduate with over 3000 people, there are a gazillion courses offered.) It was mind-boggling. At my tiny high school in Livingston Parish, I took EVERY class offered during my 4 years, with the exception of home ec and ag. And I was bored out of my mind most of the time.
In the same boat. It's overwhelming. My daughter will have 2 honors classes on the IB track, and one AP class that will count toward college credit if she passes the test at the end of the year....as a freshman! Lots of the top colleges want incoming students to have up to 8 AP classes with test scores of 4 or 5. Some high schools don't even offer 8 AP classes. I had a decent education and yet now, it seems to pale in comparison to what my daughter and son will have.
Yet over the past 3 decades, the work force has not really grown and Tax revenue has increased. the problem is that spending is increasing faster. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/12/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2014 And before anyone says it, this isn't a "Bush" problem.
My daughter's high school offers more than 30 AP classes. Realistically, we're looking at AP English III and IV, AP US History, and maybe one or two more in the social studies department. She's taking 3 honors courses next year (math, English, world geography), regular earth science, Spanish I, health/speech, and drill team prep. Some parents are forcing their kids to take health/speech during summer school to have "more room" in their schedules for 9th grade. More room for what, though? Unmanageable stress? Also, many kids in my district have already taken algebra I in 8th grade and Spanish I in 7th and 8th. I know my daughter, though, and she's biting off as much as she can chew for next year as it is--without adding in the 10-12 hours of dance she'll put in outside of school (fortunately, 4 hours of that will be on Saturdays.)
I hear ya, Hayden is in the 2nd grade and they do this thing called Math Facts, its a grid of 100 addition and 100 subtraction problems and they have to finish it in 10 minutes. Once they do that they go for 8 minutes, then 6. I made him some flash cards and started working with him then I did the math to figure out how long he had to do the problems and I was like, holy shit, I couldn't do this in 10 minutes, there isn't much time for counting on your fingers. He is already going for the 6 minute goal. All the asians are on 4 min.
The Asians kill the curve for everyone up here. I learned long ago not to even try to compete. However, for the unit we''re currently on in 8th grade honors, the students are opening up quite a bit. I've had a number of them for 7th and 8th grade, so I know them well. Several of the Asian students have opened up about the incredible pressure their parents place on them, right down to telling them what careers they will have. Sure, they get incredible results out of their kids. But at what price? One of my students asked a question of me in writing? What if I could actually choose a career that I want? I wrote about a page back to her telling her that ultimately, it's her life and she should choose to do something that will make her (mostly) happy.
This is absolutely true. H has a Lil Asian friend down the street, Toby, lol I laugh every time I think of a Korean named Toby. Anyway, yeah, momma san is a world class bitch. 80lbs soaking wet and scares the hell out of me. Smart kids though.
