"The Afghan public school system has expanded immensely in recent years, buoyed by extensive international aid — the US Agency for International Development has given $934 million to education programs over the past 12 years, according to the government agency....
It's not that I want Afghans illiterate and underdeveloped, but I wish we hadn't polluted and destroyed their country over a crock of lies. Don't get wrong, we owe them apologies and compensation, but it would have been better to not have done this at all and saved the Afghans the destruction and the American taxpayer money (which I'm sure a mere pittance got the Afghans. AID = CIA).
In any event, Americans sort of needed the billion here.
US schools are in such disrepair that it would cost more than $270 billion just to get elementary and secondary buildings back to their original conditions and twice that to get them up to date.... Stories abound about schools with roofs that leak, plumbing that backs up, windows that do little to stop wind, or rooms are frigid....
I know how the government can get money to repair the schools:
The government would gain about $184 billion over 10 years from the program"
That's from the student loan program the they are working so hard to put together for your kids.
"Despite growth, challenges in Afghan schools" by Rod Nordland | New York Times, July 21, 2013
SALANG, Afghanistan — There is not an ounce of fat on the wiry frame of Abdul Wahid, and no wonder.
After he finishes his morning work shift, he walks 10 miles down mountain trails in northern Afghanistan to the first road, where he catches a bus for the last couple of miles to the teacher training institute in Salang. He walks back up the mountain another 10 miles to get home, arriving well after dark, just in time to rest up for his day job.
Hopefully, one day he will be able to say to his grandson, "I used walked ten miles through the snow and rain to get to school."
In his determination to formally qualify as a teacher, Wahid, 33, exemplifies many of the gains for Afghan education in recent years. “It’s worth it, because this is my future,” he said.
But he also personifies how far the efforts here have yet to go. Wahid’s day job is being the principal of the high school in his village, Unamak. Though he only has a high school diploma, he is the best educated teacher that his 800 students have.
It is widely accepted that demand among Afghans for better schooling — and the actual opportunity to attend, particularly for girls — is at its highest point in decades. For Western officials seeking to show a positive legacy from years of war and heavy investment in Afghanistan, education improvements have been great news.
Honestly, I'm sick of war propaganda.
But an abysmal dropout rate, widespread closings of schools in some areas of conflict, and a very low level of education for those who do manage to find a seat in a class.
Translation: forget all that happy horse shit you were just fed, readers.
Overcrowding is so bad that nearly all schools operate on split shifts, so students get a half-day, and many of them are on three shifts a day, meaning that those students get only three hours of instruction daily. And UNICEF estimated in 2012 that half of school-age children did not attend at all.
But don't let any of this spoil the narrative!
While there has been positive and rapid growth in the public school system, there have also been daunting challenges, particularly an inability to find or train qualified teachers, print enough textbooks, or build enough safe schools, according to statistics compiled by UNICEF....
The Afghan public school system has expanded immensely in recent years, buoyed by extensive international aid — the US Agency for International Development has given $934 million to education programs over the past 12 years, according to the government agency....
Enrolled student girls are widely quoted by Afghan and Western officials as a marker of success, but the claims are seen as unsupportable by many here....
Hey, why let that get in the way of believing lies?
Graduation rates are even lower for girls, most of whom drop out between sixth and ninth grades, after puberty makes them marriageable. Female teachers are acutely scarce, and families worry about the safety of sending their daughters to school given continuing threats from the Taliban and elders’ resistance.
Yeah, okay.
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Related:
Hameeda Sarfraz, in the dark burqa, teaches Islamic religious lessons to children in her village, about 50 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan (Tomas Munita for The New York Times).
"She taught at one of the handful of girls’ schools the Taliban permitted"
You kids learn anything yet?
You better sit down at your desks for this one:
"Tab to fix US schools would be $542 billion; Last facility review was in ’95" by Philip Elliott | Associated Press, March 13, 2013
WASHINGTON — US schools are in such disrepair that it would cost more than $270 billion just to get elementary and secondary buildings back to their original conditions and twice that to get them up to date, a report released Tuesday estimated....
Stories abound about schools with roofs that leak, plumbing that backs up, and windows that do little to stop wind....
Schools’ appearances alone, of course, do not guarantee students’ success but it is certainly more difficult to teach and learn when water is coming in through the ceiling, pipes are growling, or rooms are frigid.
And the meals are shitty.
The report does not assign blame for schools’ disrepair but the problems often start at the local and state levels. In most cases, schools are funded by local property taxes and they are reliant on their neighbors’ wealth and willingness to fund their schools. The National Center for Education Statistics found large disparities between schools in areas of high poverty and those in affluent areas.
The green schools’ report — and price tag — takes those into account but also expands the definition to include energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, sufficient electrical outlets in classrooms, and enough energy to power equipment such as computers.
National surveys of school facilities have been few and far between. The last GAO report came in 1995 and the one before that was in 1965, former President Bill Clinton wrote in a foreword to the report....
Why did I just get the feeling this was a pitch to raise taxes?
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And about that loan application:
"AP sources: Senators reach deal on student loans" by PHILIP ELLIOTT | Associated Press, July 18, 2013
WASHINGTON — Heading off a costly rate increase for college students, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal Wednesday that would offer students better rates this fall but perhaps assign higher rates in coming years.
Kinda like they are applying for a subprime mortgage.
Also see: Caret's Report Card
The deal would offer students lower interest rates through the 2015 academic year but then rates were expected to climb above where they were when students left campus this spring.
That would seem to imply that they will be lower than 3.4 until they climb.
The rates would be linked to the financial markets, but Democrats won a protection that rates would never climb higher than 8.25 percent for undergraduate students. Graduate students would not pay more than 9.5 percent, and parents’ rates would top out at 10.5 percent.
Bad move because rates have nowhere to go but up, and don't those percentages look a bit for college kids?
The deal was described by Republican and Democratic aides who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing negotiations by name.
Who leaked this?!!
A vote on the agreement could come as early as Thursday, although it could be pushed back to the middle of next week.
The bipartisan agreement is expected to complete a string of efforts that have emerged from near constant work to undo a rate hike that took hold for subsidized Stafford loans on July 1.
Kids left campus a long time before that. You need to keep that in mind.
Rates for new subsidized Stafford loans doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, adding roughly $2,600 to students’ education costs.
Wait until you see the new "lower" rates.
Lawmakers from both parties called the hike senseless but differed on how to restore the lower rates. Leaders from both parties, however, recognized the potential to be blamed for the added costs in the 2014 elections if nothing were done.
Oh, once again, this is all about s***-fooley POLITICS! The KIDS being USED for VOTES!
And why are they in this situation? Because the Democrats wrote a bill that expired in the summer of 2012 -- so they could have a campaign pitch to the youth that helped elect Obama the first time.
The House has already passed student loan legislation that also links interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note. The differences between the Senate and House versions are expected to be resolved before students return this fall.
Well, they don't have very long. They will be going on August recess soon, and given the partisanship I wouldn't hold my breath.
Students typically do not take out loans until just before they return to campus, and Congress had until they left for the August recess to restore the lower rates.
Yeah, good thing you and Congress wait to fill out those loan forms, kids.
Undergraduates last year borrowed at 3.4 percent or 6.8 percent, depending on their financial need. Graduate students had access to federal loans at 6.8 percent, and parents borrowed at 7.9 percent.
Under the deal, all undergraduates this fall would borrow at 3.85 percent interest rates.
That looks higher than 3.4
Graduate students would have access to loans at 5.4 percent, and parents would be able to borrow at 6.4 percent.
But if the economy improves, rates would climb in coming years.
Oh, then no need to worry about rising rates.
The compromise reached Wednesday evening would limit how high those rates could go, although all were higher than the current fixed levels.
That's the "deal" for the kids and the "lower" rate?
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"Markey, Warren oppose loan deal" July 19, 2013
WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey are opposing a bipartisan compromise aimed at preventing interest rates from doubling on subsidized federal student loans, saying it unfairly allows the government to reap profits from students.
“The US loans to big banks at less than 1 percent interest, and here we turn around and demand profits on the back of our kids. That’s wrong. This is not the business the US government should be in,” Warren said in an interview Thursday. “We need to invest in our kids, not make it harder for them to get an education.”
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Warren Winning Friends in Senate
Related: Lots of noise from Warren but little delivery
Didn't win him over.
The government would gain about $184 billion over 10 years from the program, according to the Congressional Budget Office....
That's right, kids. And you thought Obama was your friend.
Warren referred to the deal as a “teaser-rate student loan system,” and championed her own legislation to lend students money at the same discount rates granted to large banks. Warren’s proposal sought to set the rate at 0.75 percent for one year....
How come Reid hasn't brought that up for a vote?
The bipartisan group of senators that struck the deal include Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat; Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican; Angus King, a Maine independent; Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican; Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat; Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat; Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican; and Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.
So nice to see Democrats sell out our kids.
Durbin, the majority whip, spoke Thursday immediately after Warren railed against the bill and addressed her directly.
“Please, walking away from that just doesn’t make sense,” Durbin said, adding that he accepts Warren’s premise that “we can do better.” But, he said, “we don’t have the votes.”
But when it comes to Israel, the war machine, Wall Street, and well-connected corporations, they do.
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Looks like you are being left behind, kids:
"House votes to abandon No Child Left Behind; GOP-backed bill would put end to mandated tests" by Jim Abrams | Associated Press, July 20, 2013
WASHINGTON — House Republicans voted Friday to dismantle the troubled No Child Left Behind law for evaluating America’s students and schools, saying states and local school districts rather than Washington should be setting rules for ensuring that kids are getting good educations.
The legislation would eliminate federally required testing of students. But the measure passed with no Democratic support and drew a veto threat from the Obama administration, which said it would be a ‘‘step backward’’ in efforts to better prepare children for colleges and careers and to bring improvements to low-performing schools.
Democrats in the Senate, where they hold the majority, are working on their own bill....
The House bill, which Republicans named the Student Success Act and Democrats dubbed the Letting Students Down Act, passed 221 to 207, with every Democrat and 12 Republicans voting against it.
That partisanship comes against a background in which nearly everyone agrees that No Child Left Behind, while achieving some successes in improving achievement levels, is too inflexible and needs a major overhaul.
The law was passed by Congress in 2001, a bipartisan effort led by, among others, current House Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. President George W. Bush was a strong supporter and signed it into law in 2002.
It required that all students be able to read and do math at their actual grade level by 2014. But the Obama administration, in a tacit acknowledgment that the goal was unattainable, last year began offering waivers to states that came up with their own federally approved plans to prepare students for college and careers and to measure student and teacher performance. To date, 39 states and the District of Columbia have been granted waivers.
President Obama said he was forced to act because Congress had failed to update the law. Republicans charged that he was using the waivers to bypass Congress.
Acting like a dictator again.
The law had been blamed for creating its own problems in schools, with critics saying that teachers were now ‘‘teaching to the test’’ and that standardized tests were being given too much weight in measuring student performance....
Some Republicans have long contended that Washington should have no role in setting education policy and that the Education Department should be abolished. The House bill would eliminate No Child Left Behind’s adequate yearly progress metric and get rid of other mandates required of poor-performing schools, giving states and school districts the authority to develop their own strategies to improve performance.
Democrats said the bill would lock in lower spending for education and would fail to hold states and schools accountable for assuring that students are learning. They said it could result in a loss of academic opportunities for low-income students, English-language learners, and the disabled.
‘‘This bill is a classic example of how this Republican majority has capitulated to its more extreme elements,’’ said House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer....
The White House said the bill ‘‘would not support our international economic competitiveness, would virtually eliminate accountability for the growth and achievement of historically underserved populations [and] would fail to support meaningful improvement and reforms at the nation’s lowest-performing schools.’’
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Time to leave this post behind.
