The $578 million school in Los Angeles.....

[EL PRESIDENTE]

WTF. A school costs Five hundred fucking seventy eight MILLION dollars to build?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100822/ap_on_re_us/us_taj_mahal_schools

No wonder we're laying off teachers left and right....we're spending it on the damn school!

Wonder how much of this was skimmed to line the pockets of the corrupt politicians and unions in this town.

The RFK complex follows on the heels of two other LA schools among the nation's costliest — the $377 million Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, which opened in 2008, and the $232 million Visual and Performing Arts High School that debuted in 2009.

The pricey schools have come during a sensitive period for the nation's second-largest school system: Nearly 3,000 teachers have been laid off over the past two years, the academic year and programs have been slashed. The district also faces a $640 million shortfall and some schools persistently rank among the nation's lowest performing.

of course, privatizing education is teh devil.

 

[julius]

WTF. A school costs Five hundred fucking seventy eight MILLION dollars to build?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100822/ap_on_re_us/us_taj_mahal_schools

No wonder we're laying off teachers left and right....we're spending it on the damn school!

Wonder how much of this was skimmed to line the pockets of the corrupt politicians and unions in this town.





of course, privatizing education is teh devil.

I don't think privatizing will be the answer, unless the question is "how do we keep a lot of kids from getting an education"

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

yes, because it works so wonderfully with today's glorified babysitters known as public education.

 

[julius]

yes, because it works so wonderfully with today's glorified babysitters known as public education.

Whats that got to do with what I said?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

really?

you think the public education system works?

 

[Eastoff]

really?

you think the public education system works?

Just curious, where did you go to school, private or public?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Just curious, where did you go to school, private or public?

Private.

 

[julius]

really?

you think the public education system works?

Are you talking to someone else that I have on ignore and I've forgotten? Because you're asking me about something I didn't say.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Are you talking to someone else that I have on ignore and I've forgotten? Because you're asking me about something I didn't say.

do I really need to spell this out?

1. I mockingly said that privatizing high schools was the devil.
2. You replied that privatizing is not the answer because people won't get an education. That implies you support public education and are against privatization.
3. I said public education is terrible, implying your stance to keep the status quo is incorrect.
4. you become confused.

 

[julius]

do I really need to spell this out?

1. I mockingly said that privatizing high schools was the devil.
2. You replied that privatizing is not the answer because people won't get an education. That implies you support public education and are against privatization.
3. I said public education is terrible, implying your stance to keep the status quo is incorrect.
4. you become confused.

I said privatizing it isn't the answer because some people will be denied an education. Unless it's open to everyone. Or they don't have an agenda in what they prefer to be taught.

I just fear that some privatized school would teach creationism in school instead of teaching evolution instead.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I said privatizing it isn't the answer because some people will be denied an education. Unless it's open to everyone. Or they don't have an agenda in what they prefer to be taught.

I just fear that some privatized school would teach creationism in school instead of teaching evolution instead.

School vouchers can help greatly.

Maybe there will be schools to teach creationism instead of evolution. I went to a catholic high school and they were surprisingly more open to teaching a full view of both creationism and evolution than screaming hippies would lend you to believe (Jesuit was actually surprisingly quite liberal).

 

[julius]

School vouchers can help greatly.

Maybe there will be schools to teach creationism instead of evolution. I went to a catholic high school and they were surprisingly more open to teaching a full view of both creationism and evolution than screaming hippies would lend you to believe (Jesuit was actually surprisingly quite liberal).

The thing is, they shouldn't be teaching creationism in schools. That's not the place for it.

And instead of going private, why not have the government spend some of the $$ they did on a pointless war, on education? Imagine if we put forth the $$ towards education, instead the military (not saying we shouldn't have one, but why not privatize that instead?)

 

[Denny Crane]

$578M / 4200 students = $137K per. Doesn't seem all that expensive when you amortize it over 32 years (then it's no more than $17K per).

It's hard to say public education fails in comparison to ritzy private schools that cost the same or more, along with $10K (or more) donations per student per semester (by the parents).

We don't know if THIS school is going to succeed or fail, but for sure it should have every opportunity to succeed given the cost. Gotta try something new, and this is pretty much something new.

What's really questionable is considering this some sort of emergency stimulus spending. It creates 168 teacher jobs at 25 students/teacher. For grins, call it 500 jobs at $578M cost is ridiculous.

It's also questionable the propaganda aspect - spending all sorts of money on "the features include fine art murals and a marble memorial depicting the complex's namesake"

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

The thing is, they shouldn't be teaching creationism in schools. That's not the place for it.

Creationism plays a big part in many moral/philosophical type settings. I don't see how you can ignore something like it.

 

[julius]

Creationism plays a big part in many moral/philosophical type settings. I don't see how you can ignore something like it.

My whole entire schooling, from K through college, we never talked about creationism.

I can totally see why we'd want to ignore hokum.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

My whole entire schooling, from K through college, we never talked about creationism.

I can totally see why we'd want to ignore hokum.

meh. most people won't remember anything from HS anyway.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Private.

I thought you wuz from da streetz?

 

[Sug]

really?

you think the public education system works?

It actually works well based on the job they are asked to do.

 

[julius]

It actually works well based on the job they are asked to do.

Could you say that it works well too, based on the lack of the support given?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Don't get why they are dumping so much money into one high school. Couldn't they just build 5 $100 million high schools set around the county to relieve overcrowding?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

This website claims cost to build an LA area HS to be about $20 million:

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/rsmeans/models/high-school/california/los-angeles/

 

[jlprk]

From that link:

Cost Per Sq Ft: $153.89

From the article:

James Sohn, the district's chief facilities executive, said the megaschools were built when global raw material shortages caused costs to skyrocket to an average of $600 per square foot in 2006 and 2007 — triple the price from 2002. Costs have since eased to $350 per square foot.

 

[Colonel Ronan]

do I really need to spell this out?

1. I mockingly said that privatizing high schools was the devil.
2. You replied that privatizing is not the answer because people won't get an education. That implies you support public education and are against privatization.
3. I said public education is terrible, implying your stance to keep the status quo is incorrect.
4. you become confused.

5. ???
6. Profit!!!

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It actually works well based on the job they are asked to do.

I tend to agree with this. Considering how many kids are dysfunctional, taking designer drugs for kids (Riddlin...)... and how much pressure they are under, the public school system seems to work OK. And with choices like private schools, home school, virtual schools, charter schools... it should bolster the regular public school even more. Granted the general education system needs an overhaul, but it's not too bad given the kids they have to work withthese days.

 

[blazerboy30]

The thing is, they shouldn't be teaching creationism in schools. That's not the place for it.

This is silly. A private school can teach whatever they want to teach. It is up to the parents and students to figure out if they like the curriculum or not. That is part of why it is private.

 

[maxiep]

This building is a fucking outrage. Public schools need to get back to basics. They're trying to run when they can't even walk. Kids don't care about the buildings in which they're educated. Who here remembers being inspired by the architecture of their high school? I went to a HS where the architecture was supposed to enhance the educational experience, and all I remember are the classrooms. The Commons meant jackshit to me.

Create a cookie-cutter building structure and use the money savings to hire extra teachers to lower student/teacher ratios. Focus on mathematics, reading, writing, history and science. Everything else is an "extra". Music and foreign languages are great, but pattern recognition can be replicated through the study of math. Art is neato, but use reading and writing to develop your lateral thinking skills.

 

[Denny Crane]

This building is a fucking outrage. Public schools need to get back to basics. They're trying to run when they can't even walk. Kids don't care about the buildings in which they're educated. Who here remembers being inspired by the architecture of their high school? I went to a HS where the architecture was supposed to enhance the educational experience, and all I remember are the classrooms. The Commons meant jackshit to me.

Create a cookie-cutter building structure and use the money savings to hire extra teachers to lower student/teacher ratios. Focus on mathematics, reading, writing, history and science. Everything else is an "extra". Music and foreign languages are great, but pattern recognition can be replicated through the study of math. Art is neato, but use reading and writing to develop your lateral thinking skills.

I remember the architecture of my school. It was designed by one of the top architects of the time, and it was something of a landmark (still is). Unfortunately, the guy also designed factories and didn't put a single window in the school that opened. I would absolutely say that having a great campus, and keeping it great, helps kids want to be there and learn.

Surely you know about Lane Tech in Chicago? It's a huge school, with awesome architecture. Many of the schools in Chicago are pretty amazing, though it's sad to see how the politicians diverted funds from certain neighborhoods to the point the schools resembled derelict buildings.

 

[julius]

This is silly. A private school can teach whatever they want to teach. It is up to the parents and students to figure out if they like the curriculum or not. That is part of why it is private.

That's another reason why I'm not in favor of private schools, because they can teach hokum.

I'm not even sure I'd be ok with them having it as an offered class, unless they offered other crazy shit...like "Time Travel 101" or "Alien UFOology"