Less (by making it easier to fire incompetent teachers).
Unknown.
Less (textbook companies are almost as bad as the teachers' cartel -- I learn more from old books, anyway).
Unknown (what do you mean by staff?)
Less (I have never walked into a school's administrative building and thought that these people seemed too busy and that what they did was important).
Unknown (some trips are great, some are a waste. Maybe trips geared towards different sets of interests would be better -- e.g. don't send dumb jocks to a play if they're just going to make things miserable for the drama kids).
Less (gifted programs tend to suck. Ideal gifted program: let them hang out in the library after hours, and maybe pester interested teachers).
Less (counseling is counterproductive. We were a safer, saner country when we didn't diagnose temporary moods as medical problems).
I don't understand how you spend money on science fairs. The ones I have been to involved students doing projects and displaying them at school. Who pays how much for what?
More (for kids who aren't interested in athletics, music programs are a good way to participate in a team. They also teach some math, which is nice).
Less (I've seen no evidence that preschool helps anyone).
Less (high school is too expensive because too many people feel obligated to attend. A 14-year-old American who paid a little attention in school has enough knowledge to function at an acceptable level, so someone who could work for four years instead of staying in school should do so. Unless high school is worth more than the $20K/year they could get doing blue-collar work and learning a trade).
Less (too many people go to college. Again, time value of money).
Less (useful stuff is subsidized by the private sector. PhDs in the semiotics of of Star Trek / Harry Potter crossover slash are paid for by truculent taxpayers like me).
Less. Above.
Less. I don't think we should impose an anti-drug culture. Let kids learn at home whether or not it's okay to spend their time getting high, and of course to learn which drugs have which effects.
Ok, do you have any research to back up those assumptions? It's easy to have an opinion about such things but on what basis are you making such assumptions. Across the US there is a huge range in how much we spend on each of these. Anyway, the Staff is everyone involved that is not teaching and not an administrator such as janitors, lunch ladies, school buss drivers etc. There is a wide range in cost for each of these across the US and at different points in the educational system. If you averaged each of these based on cost of living per area you would find many schools spend well under the existing average do you want to cut them to zero or bring them up to average and cut out the big spenders.
PS: I don't understand how you spend money on science fairs. Every activity from printing a single scrap of paper costs money. I have known schools which stopped doing science fairs because the cost to much (under 1000$) and I know schools that spend a that much or more per student to give them access to the tools they need to do high level experimentation. (AKA access to an electron microscope etc.)
No. I have done research, but I cannot point you to a specific source that rigorously defends the assertion that kids play sports even if you don't make them do it in P.E.
Fortunately, the burden of proof is on whoever wants to spend billions of dollars on a system that is less and less effective as it gets more and more expensive. Right?
* Every activity from printing a single scrap of paper costs money.*
Right. I would not expect the cost of paper to increase from a teacher saying "There will be a science fair this Friday."
schools that spend a that much or more per student to give them access to the tools they need to do high level experimentation. (AKA access to an electron microscope etc.)
That isn't a cost specific to a science fair. Perhaps it would be a learning experience for kids to do a science fair within a budget. It's certainly a learning experience for them to see adults cave in when asked to underwrite arbitrary profligacy.
Edit: I'm also unfamiliar with this use of "AKA". "... to give them access to the tools they need to do high level experimentation (also known as access to an electron microscope..." doesn't make sense to me.
Less (by making it easier to fire incompetent teachers).
Unknown.
Less (textbook companies are almost as bad as the teachers' cartel -- I learn more from old books, anyway).
Unknown (what do you mean by staff?)
Less (I have never walked into a school's administrative building and thought that these people seemed too busy and that what they did was important).
Unknown (some trips are great, some are a waste. Maybe trips geared towards different sets of interests would be better -- e.g. don't send dumb jocks to a play if they're just going to make things miserable for the drama kids).
Less (gifted programs tend to suck. Ideal gifted program: let them hang out in the library after hours, and maybe pester interested teachers).
Less (counseling is counterproductive. We were a safer, saner country when we didn't diagnose temporary moods as medical problems).
I don't understand how you spend money on science fairs. The ones I have been to involved students doing projects and displaying them at school. Who pays how much for what?
More (for kids who aren't interested in athletics, music programs are a good way to participate in a team. They also teach some math, which is nice).
Less (I've seen no evidence that preschool helps anyone).
Less (high school is too expensive because too many people feel obligated to attend. A 14-year-old American who paid a little attention in school has enough knowledge to function at an acceptable level, so someone who could work for four years instead of staying in school should do so. Unless high school is worth more than the $20K/year they could get doing blue-collar work and learning a trade).
Less (too many people go to college. Again, time value of money).
Less (useful stuff is subsidized by the private sector. PhDs in the semiotics of of Star Trek / Harry Potter crossover slash are paid for by truculent taxpayers like me).
Less. Above.
Less. I don't think we should impose an anti-drug culture. Let kids learn at home whether or not it's okay to spend their time getting high, and of course to learn which drugs have which effects.
Less. There are more efficient solutions.