Al Gore: We can change the conversation

Well I believe the reason they cut money from the school system is it is just easier than cutting from other places. Although just because it is easier doesn't make it the right decision...

I agree with you on this Mr. Gore that there should be more funds pumped into the public education system to raise our education standards and lead this country down the path to the future, rather than the dumbing down that results from these cuts.

I also think that there should be more emphasis placed on how important an education is. I come from a pretty rough city in which I can count the number of kids who have graduated on one hand...I just wonder, why do they think school is so unimportant and such a waste of time?

I think education should have an emphasis on global knowledge. Prepare kids for the world workforce.

Stop teaching to tests. Stop pidgeonholing students. Stop forcing them to take subjects they have no desire to take just to fill some curriculum demand that will have little to no effect on their lives in the future. Let them be free at high school level to design their own plans in high school to better suit their interests regarding the careers they want. Teach more vocational skills. Teach more about the global situation we face and prepare them for that. Stop criminalizing our children because they don't get everything and are not perfectly trained for the corporate world like carbon cutouts. Take funds away from war and put them towards school supplies and gearing curriculum to making education fun again so that children will not be so bored and unmotivated that they want to quit by the time they get to high school.

School is no longer fun, and education should and can be both fun and informational. It is a corporate clone world now of uniforms, criminalizing all behavior no matter how trivial, and a stress filled world of violence and insecurity in our schools where teachers have to reach nothing but quotas in order for their schools to get funding and where they spend more time doing paperwork than teaching. Return the enjoyment to education, and the achievement level will go up because children will want to learn instead of being forced to.

Not only pump more money into education, but change the focus of education. half the shit I learned in school was useless information, and I crammed it into my brain for one night, in order to pass a test the next morning. and by 2 pm that day, it was forgotten.

Things I wish they'd taught me when I was younger:

foreign languages
practical geography
practical biology
empathy and social skills
fundamentals of economy
international relations
current events

Even in COLLEGE! When 9-11 happened, the administration of my school encouraged students to turn their attention away from the disaster and refocus on their studies. 9-11!!!! If there was ONE thing we should have been doing, it was to focus ALL of our attention on getting to the bottom of this new international relationship, instead of letting dumbass college kids run around saying "why do they hate us, why do they hate us?" without academically exploring any of the real life issues that now affect us.

How about CurrentKIDS.com / CurrentKIDS TV !
It could be filled with educational info created by teachers, artists, parents, kids. Interactive scholastics.

Not only should we invest in bringing back the arts, languages, and music, but we should also be investing in new technology for public schools. Students trained on archaic operating systems, slow computers, and outdated software aren't prepared for the technology-centered economic world we now live in.

celestialceling, great idea! Current TV is already a kind of Sesame Street for older 'kids' - but it would be great to make a new branch that rivals the real Sesame Street. It would be like Reading Rainbow, or 3-2-1 Contact, or a science fair, or a book report, but the presentations would all be in video pods.

the future of TV, if there is one, seems to be one that is both more educational and more interactive.

HERE, HERE! College should be more affordable, it's disgusting that it isn't. Also, I agree with JanForGore, too much of the school day is wasted with 'required' course work and teaching for 'required' tests. It's no wonder so many children don't like school. Vocational skills are important, too, as is teaching children how to take care of their country and world and what they can expect upon adulthood. They need to know where places are on a map, I think, though. Little Timmy, upon graduating High School, should be able to show you to where Turkey, Israel and Thailand are, as well as Russia, the U.S. and the UK.
Other than uniforms (which I've been for since my freshman year), I agree with EVERYTHING Jan said.
So, thank you Jan!

As a research scientist the idea that cutting money for education does anything positive is ridiculous. We (the state of California and the nation) should focus on what truly raises the standards, expectations, and overall quality of a society. Most every problem in this world can be solved either directly or indirectly through education.

Al Gore is exactly right. Here in California we used to have the best education system in the world, but now other states are coming in trying to poach the teachers we are having to lay off due to the budget crisis.

My younger sister is about to graduate with a certificate in elementary education, but I have been warning her away. There just aren't any jobs for new graduates. California is really losing out, especially when we are about to see tens of thousands of baby boomers retire. This is exactly the wrong time to drive away qualified teachers from the state and the profession.

The repeated increases in tuition costs are driving students away from our colleges, and saddling others with huge loans.

We need to be investing more, not less in our future and our students. California needs to build back our education system to its former luster in order to grow our economy and develop new technologies to reduce global warming.

Thank you to all of the Democratic legislators for taking the time to record responses to Al Gore and for all of the work they are doing to improve our primary and secondary education systems.

Thanks, Al. My sentiments exactly. In March, I wrote the following letter to the Governor.

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Education is too important

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I am simply outraged that you would cut education funding by one penny, much less $5 billion.

The single greatest reason for the slipping of America's status in the world is our under-funded educational system. So, it is with genuine alarm that I receive the news of these drastic budget cuts. I am not blind to the need to balance California's budget, but taking money from our children to do so is, without question, the most counterproductive thing you could possibly do. If ever there were a more short-sighted solution to a problem, I frankly can't imagine it.

The future of our country depends on an educated, skilled workforce. How can Americans continue to compete for jobs in an increasingly service oriented economy when we simply aren't graduating enough engineers, scientists, and other skilled professionals? How can we continue to innovate and invent, solve complex problems, and add to our intellectual capital if we don't allow our children the opportunity to master the basics?

Everything our country has come to represent starts with basic education, and that requires well funded schools and well paid teachers. There is no other way. There is no way to pay teachers, buy textbooks and computers, stock laboratories, or maintain modern and safe school facilities without adequate funding, and there's no way kids can learn what they need to compete in this world without every one of these things.

So, I compel you, Governor, for the sake of our children and our future, please reconsider your position--please return the money to our schools and teachers now.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

DM

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Parent Volunteer in Maine needs a little help getting unique fund raising tool for school groups to the next level. I have taken them as far as i can as a volunteer.:
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2004-06-07-education-auction_x.htm
These are not substitutes for government funding but can help support school groups that are already seeking funding through a link to their existing donation page.. This unique project can help channel funds to education and the environment, instead of enriching sites like eBay. The sites are partially down now but ready to re start within a day if you are interested.

There are two similar sites:
One for Education through school groups called:
www.classsroomclassifieds.com (sorry down at the moment)

and one for environmental and other charities called http://www.classifiedcircles.org (also partially down due to financing) .

These are free to use for all. We link directly to the existing charity or school group's donation page.

Sellers donate 1-100% of the sale directly to their group. I have letters of Interest from Florida Education Foundation Consortium and many others.

Thank you for your critical work;

Respectfully,
Carolyn Gillis

http://www.theforecaster.net/story.php?storyid=11237

http://www.classifiedcircles.org/newslinks.htm

We need to increase our investment in financial and economic literacy for all our K-12 students and their parents so they have a chance to use their earnings wisely and to choose skills that empower them to create a future for themselves and their families.

We need to open the schools to parents so they can relearn and refresh their skills and create a literate community in the home and in the classroom.

As a school board trustee, we need to put the decisions for what is taught back into the hands of people who want to educate children to be curious, critical and competent. We need to stop wasting funds on testing and put more money into schools not war and prisons.