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Education

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Original poster

Would you be prepared to pay more tax to get better state education for all?

706 replies

happygardening · 26/02/2013 16:53

Any other suggestions welcome to ensure that all where ever they live and whatever their background have access to education of the highest quality.

OP posts:
maisiejoe123 · 27/02/2013 17:37

The distruptive - well I certainly wouldnt allow them to stay in a class with others that are trying to learn.

With class sizes getting bigger it will only become more and more difficult to keep control of a class when a few are spoiling it. Bring the parents in and tell them what will happen if the behaviour continues. If they dont care then a different way of educating them needs to be found. Now that could be something that people will pay more tax for.

If you go to a cinema or out for dinner and there are people kicking off during the film or making a scene at a restaurant it wouldnt be allowed. Imagine that happening every day in some classrooms.

Maybe the schools concentrate on providing skills and a trade if they are so uninterested in education.

Otherwise what is the answer, allow it to happen again and again and again....

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 17:56

Hmm... but seriously... what DID they do with the previous disinterested and disruptive all those years ago in Australia? Most of them seem to have become valuable citizens... and managed to get out of the never-ending circle of despair.

Most have even lost that WC state of mind.

AND ALL THAT WITHOUT THE LAVISH WELFARE STATE... Confused

thesnootyfox · 27/02/2013 17:58

I agree with bulletpoint.

My experience with state education as a parent is very positive. As a pupil my experience of state secondary school was very negative but it wasn't due to lack of funding.

There are some fantastic state schools in very deprived areas of the country, we should try and replicate those models rather than just throw money at it. If some heads can achieve against the odds why can't the others?

Xenia · 27/02/2013 18:06

I would like tax rates halved and the size of the state halved, not higher taxes.

Also the average IQ is 100 so obviously huge numbers of children no matter what yo do with them will never pass many exams so it's not really worth spending a lot of money on the rump of them surely?

grovel · 27/02/2013 18:12

Xenia, were you worried this thread was about to become boring?!

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 18:19

This thread... it does make me laugh.

I do think Xenia has a good point from an evolutionary perspective. The problem is intelligent people are more likely to think before procreating. So average intelligence is only going to go downhill. Hmm

Original poster
happygardening · 27/02/2013 18:20

"so it's not really worth spending a lot of money on the rump of them surely?
Xenia I cant believe you write this I'm speechless, struggling to digest it I know people have asked you to "change the record" but God surely not to this.

OP posts:
Original poster
happygardening · 27/02/2013 18:24

"The problem is intelligent people are more likely to think before procreating. So average intelligence is only going to go downhill."
I would never of started this thread if I realised I was going to read such offensive guff!

OP posts:
socareless · 27/02/2013 18:24

Xenia Grin you always have to stand out don't you?

seeker · 27/02/2013 18:33

Has this become a joke thread? What a shame- it's a very interesting topic.

I do how it has become a joke thread, by the way. Otherwise a few people's true colours appear to be coming out in a rather unpleasant way.

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 18:34

Happygardening... Relax Grin

Never watched "Idiocracy" starring Owen Wilson? Satire about someone waking up after 500 years of liberation. Smartly lowbrow cult film. Described as a bleakly hilarious future...

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 18:35

Hibernation not liberation... Aaargh!

Emphaticmaybe · 27/02/2013 18:40

Tasmania what's a working class state of mind?

LineRunner · 27/02/2013 18:43

'...from an evolutionary perspective...' usually leads into some awful right-wing guff based on a superficial reading of a Daily fail 'science' article.

wordfactory · 27/02/2013 18:45

Sorry OP but I'd really rather not pay more tax. I already pay 50 percent on a large proportion. Add in NI and no personal allowance and if you listen closely you'll hear my pips squeak. That said if the UK could find some revenue from somehwere else, I'd be very happy for it to go on schools for smaller class sizes.

Emma19MilWife · 27/02/2013 18:45

I went to Roedean which was a wonderful school. I loved every moment, and despite the expense (my parents are fairly well off), if state school could be like that, I would send my children. Sadly, they are not, so they will go to Harrow or Roedean too.

Emphaticmaybe · 27/02/2013 18:50

Well you don't need to worry then do you Emma? As long as your children are sorted we can all relax.

Emma19MilWife · 27/02/2013 18:53

My point is that not everyone will benefit from a top level education but if you can afford it, or win a scholarship, surely you have a responsibility?

seeker · 27/02/2013 18:54

Yep, that's always good to know!

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 18:54

@emphaticmaybe

In another thread, it was established that people in the UK never lose their "class", no matter what income they're on. Not a Brit - so found it hard to comprehend, but it's apparently a state of mind, and sounds to me a bit like diluted version of India's caste system.

So a WC person can start to earn 100k tomorrow and still think of him/herself as working class, and never fit into a MC environment. Even one or two generations down the line, it seems to persist. It's a them and us thing.

I wouldn't adhere to that as I would find it very off-putting, and is just a way for people to set a glass ceiling on themselves.

Original poster
happygardening · 27/02/2013 18:59

"My point is that not everyone will benefit from a top level education"
Just out of curiosty what sort of people wont benefit from a "top level education"?

OP posts:
Tasmania · 27/02/2013 19:02

@Emma - don't worry, there are just a few leftist utopian seekers here who probably would find more things to not like if they were in the world they so eagerly crave.

If people just made the best of what they've got, and stopped wasting opportunities away, we wouldn't be having these problems in the first place.

Emma19MilWife · 27/02/2013 19:02

I am sure that's true. The egalitarianism of Britain is non-existent. Class is defined by birth, earnings are irrelevant. Born WC, always WC. It makes me sad that people rail against public schools, but continue to tolerate inadequate investment from the Government in state schools. Why? Education breeds confidence, poise and access to employment. Higher taxes are not necessary, just invest more from the budget (perhaps cut the benefits system) and model state schools on public schools. Job done....

Tasmania · 27/02/2013 19:04

happy

I think she means "can".

But at the same time... if you don't have the ability, a top level education can be hell...

Emma19MilWife · 27/02/2013 19:05

happygardening - for starters, won't has an apostrophe in it.... but to your question, I was not making the point that some would not benefit in terms of the suggestion that it would be a waste of time, rather, I am saying that not everyone can access it, and therefore cannot benefit from it. Tasmania - you hit the nail on the head.....

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