American teacher (re:Cartoon the Simpsons)

[thedaffodils]

Scenario: American cartoon the Simpsons

A female teacher was handing out papers. She said, " Remember, class, the worse you do on this standardized test, the more funding the school gets, so don't knock yourselves out. You have three hours to finished!"

Question:

I think I understand every word in above context. But I don't understand why the teacher hoped the schoolchildren did bad on the their test so the school could get more money. Could you please put me in the picture? Thanks!

[oregeezer]

The teacher is expressing the CARTOONIST's sarcasm about the school funding. The most money goes to the schools that do the worst. Good schools get less money.

[thedaffodils]

Originally Posted by oregeezer

The teacher is expressing the CARTOONIST's sarcasm about the school funding. The most money goes to the schools that do the worst. Good schools get less money.

Hi Oregeezer.

Why do good schools get less money? Thanks!

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by thedaffodils

Hi Oregeezer.

Why does good schools get less money? Thanks!

It's part of the Dumbing Down of America process.
Good schools (schools which produce adequate students) obviously don't need more money, since they're doing their job adequately. Less good schools are given more money to upgrade their facilities so that their students can do
adequately too.
It seems like a recipe for national mediocrity, but some intelligent people have obviously survived the system.

[thedaffodils]

Hello Raymott,

Thank you for your elucidation. I got it.

[SUDHKAMP]

Originally Posted by Raymott

It's part of the Dumbing Down of America process.
Good schools (schools which produce adequate students) obviously don't need more money, since they're doing their job adequately. Less good schools are given more money to upgrade their facilities so that their students can do
adequately too.
It seems like a recipe for national mediocrity, but some intelligent people have obviously survived the system.

Dear Ray, is that the reason why Americans are getting more and more dependent on immigrant's talent?

[Ouisch]

There is a very long, complicated "back story" to this situation. At one time, public schools were funded by taxes collected from the local school district. So, for example, if you lived in the geographic area where the Fitzgerald Public School district administered the elementary and high school level of education, the local "school taxes" you paid annually went to fund the district. However, as years went by, it became apparent that some neighborhoods had more money than others. So folks living in the geographic area that funded Birmingham Public Schools had a much larger annual income (and thus paid more school taxes) than those living in the Detroit Public Schools district. So schools located in more affluent areas had the benefit of the newest textbooks and the latest technology, as well as being able to hire the best teachers (because they could offer higher salaries). Meanwhile, the schools in economically depressed areas struggled to get necessary classroom supplies and had a difficult time hiring qualified teachers, since they couldn't match the salaries being offered by the more affluent suburbs.

Eventually the state and federal government stepped in and initiated a "no child left behind" credo. Suddenly taxes that had been paid to the local school district were partially diverted into a state-wide fund to help bring inner-city schools up-to-date. Since the funding was based on a "need" basis, those schools with the lowest test scores were deemed to be those who needed state/federal assistance the most, and money was funneled to those schools.

Sadly, this process has not worked liked the bureaucrats expected...there are too many examples of inner-city school administrators using the funds to increase their salaries and pad their expense accounts without passing on the funds to the students....but that's a whole other story.

[thedaffodils]

Hi Ouisch,

Thank you very much to take time to offer the backdrop to us.

[RonBee]

Simply put, the key to producing better education is better teachers, not more money. Paying mediocre teachers more doesn't make them better teachers. There is simply no correlation between money and educational success. For example, Catholic school teachers are paid less than public school teachers, but students in Catholic schools generally outperform public school students on standardized tests.

[thedaffodils]

Originally Posted by RonBee

Simply put, the key to producing better education is better teachers, not more money. Paying mediocre teachers more doesn't make them better teachers. There is simply no correlation between money and educational success. For example, Catholic school teachers are paid less than public school teachers, but students in Catholic schools generally outperform public school students on standardized tests.

Hi RonBee,

Thank you for your input.

If there were two schools in your location, one school would pay 3 times of the other. Which school would you go?

I think your example involves into the religious beliefs of the teachers. However, Catholic schools are exceptional since the US is not a Catholic-dominant country.

I will be more convinced if you can enumerate some cases of public schools to corroborate your opinion about no correlation between good teachers and their payment.

Thanks!