Cynthia wrote:
>
> "Michael S. Lorrey" wrote:
>
> > > Of course not. There is nowhere you can buy a good education. The
> > demand can
> > > only make itself known when someone brings 'good' education to the
> > market place.
> >
> > I had an idea for formalizing the old bit about how debts to parents
> > cannot be paid back, they must be paid forward. Say your parents pay for
> > your education. They formalize this as a loan to you, with interest
> > equal to the rate of inflation of the cost of education. You can't pay
> > it back to them, but every cent you pay in your children's education is
> > deducted from that debt. Thus the individual is given a real incentive
> > (to their credit record) to pay for the ducation of their children.
> > Comments?
>
> This would address the problem of people not being willing to pay enough for our
> children's education. But that is not a real problem. As it is, it is a really
> bad investment to educate our children. Our children would be financially better
> off if we stuck the money into a trust account for them, instead of spending it
> on education.
>
Having known quite a few 'trust fund babies', I have to disagree with you here. Possibly the worst thing you can do to a kid is give them a pile of money as soon as, or soon after, they come of age. If none of these kids is educated as well, well, you are gonna have very little constructive to show for the investment a few years after its been turned over to them.
> Our current system of education is too expensive, it encourages crime and other
> social pathologies, and it is a total failure at making children smarter. As it
> stands the best thing people can do for their children is to make sure they start
> life with a good set of genes.
I personally prefer both home schooling (of course this would mean one parent would be obligated to be the educator, or pay for a governess) or the old community one room school, only with high tech additions. The older kids help educate the younger kids, everyone progresses at their own pace, everyone has a laptop and network connection, with a vast in school library server and access to university library servers around the world.
Starting off with a good set of genes is fine, but raising that child in a conducive environment is also just as important to attain the potential that is in those genes.
Mike Lorrey