> Lets go further. Lets say that if you want to have bus transportation, you need to pay for it. I guarantee you it would no longer be such an issue. When people are paying for it by default, rather than opt-in, they have expectations to receive that service. In reality, buses are meant to exist for people unable to get to school. <br> <br>That's .. sort of true. But it's not the sole reason for buses. <br> <br>>Not people too lazy to drop their kids off. <br> <br>This is why I think you don't have kids; what do you do when you have to work at 8, and school starts at 9? when you work until 5, and school is out at 3:30? <br> <br>>A simple way to do it would be to base it on income or on house value. If you don't own a house or you pay less than X amount of dollars for a house or you make under a certain income, where its likely that you cannot afford the fee, then you can get it for free. If that's how people want to do it. However I know I took the bus most of the time because I was lazy, my school even in the suburbs was only a fifteen minute walk away. <br> <br>OK. taxes pay for the buses. people are paying the taxes. they are already paying for the bus. You just want them to pay more. <br> <br>> <br>> Furthermore, why are we still printing text books? We live in the age of the internet. Why can't schools force the publishing industry to shift to electronic books? Going forward, computers are a lot cheaper for everyone than yearly supplies and all the required locker space. <br> <br>I sort of am with you on this, except for the huge, glaring fault in your logic. Computers are cheaper if you figure a pretty healthy, several year lifespan. Maybe. (see how that implies that maybe they aren't?!) <br> <br>Except that for the average person, they also need someone to maintain that computer. <br> <br>Versus.. a couple notebooks and some pencils? <br> <br>And again, this is assuming that a kid can take care of a laptop, to and from school for some years? <br> <br>>You don't need rows of thousands of lockers when the students just sit at their desk and log in. This is how the real world works, why are schools so dumb about it? This would save bundles of money. <br> <br>I mean.. really, over the lifetime of a building, the <b>lockers</b> are not a particularly significant cost. And if you cut them out, you've got to give them somewhere to put coats and boots and shit. <br> <br>Are you proposing the teacher with a cart system where kids stay in a room? There's downsides to that. <br> <br>> Lets talk about equipment. Gym equipment, weights, basketballs, specialty science equipment, etc. These are not basic rights everyone should be entitled to. <br> <br>Again, look.. sports are a pretty significant part of our culture, and kids need to learn about basic fitness. Gym equipment is an initial expense which is not really a huge line item in a building of that size. <br> <br>> Home schoolers don't have thousands of dollars worth of science equipment. Its not a necessity. It needs to be evaluated whether or not it is worth the investment. Gym equipment is a no brainer, get rid of it all, it has absolutely nothing to do with education. <br> <br>Our nation is turning obese man, we apparently <B>do</b> need to teach our children about this stuff. <br> <br>I'm sure your thought on this is, throw them to the diabetes wolves, if they can't figure it out. <br> <br>"Science Equipment".. well, we both know how you feel about science. Some of us think it's important. <br> <br>> Lets talk about all the security equipment. Cameras, security guards, etc. You said you felt threatened by your students. Well one of the problems goes back to the entitlement theory. People feel entitled to school and schools feel obligated to put up with bullshit. We should do away with that nonsense. If you attack another kid (I don't mean squirt ketchup or something, I mean actually physically assault other kids) you're out. End of story, problem solved. <br>> <br> <br>That story doesn't end. Because now that kid is on the street, selling drugs, joining gangs, and kicking in my door to rob my shit while I'm gone. <br> <br>And by 16, he's having children who are going to grow up to do the same thing, and you spiral down into the depths of the ghetto. <br> <br>People don't go away just because you can't see them. <br> <br> <br>> Part of the problem with the sprawling size of so many schools is that they're very expensive to secure. I can secure a vertically oriented building with limited points of entry and exit far easier than I can secure a vast sprawling campus. The solution there is obvious - smaller, vertically oriented schools. Its cheaper overall, by a large margin. <br>> <br> <br>Again, speaking as <b>an architect</b>, "vertically oriented buildings" have accessibility issues you're not addressing, not to mention the fact that they can cost significantly more to construct. <br> <br>Moreover, it's not a fucking prison. These are children. I hope you aren't seriously suggesting that the environment in which you are taught has no affect on how you learn. <br> <br> <br>> Lets talk about cafeterias. Why do we need some huge cafeterias that seat a thousand kids with a full staff and etc? Bring your own lunch, eat it in your classroom. Problem solved. This isn't a necessity, its a waste of money. <br> <br>Wow. <br> <br>Again, I'm pretty sure you've never been to an actual school board meeting, or tried to convince real parents that you are not completely insane. <br> <br> <br>> See, the problem is that people don't look at it like its their money. You probably don't even look at it like your salary is getting spent on things that ultimately do not help people learn better. Its "community money" so therefore its no one's money. And as a result, no one cares how much things cost. Suddenly everything is entitled and everything is a right. People need to really reprioritize their spending. Part of the other problem is that since it belongs to everyone, it belongs to no one. No one owns it, no one has the type of authority they should have. You can't kick kids out because their parents are paying for it. That's a problem, but not much of one in my opinion. People already pay for schools when they have no children, so I don't see why there's this basic presumption that everyone is entitled to an education no matter how much of a bastard they are. <br>> <br>> At least part of the problem is that schools are just too big. They're intimidating environments that cattle people together creating their own miniature societies. There's no reason for that. Kids spend an exorbitant amount of time with people who are as stupid as they are. School children should be more involved with the community and less time spent clustered together. I'd be in favor of a school-work program where one class was simply to have a part time minimum wage job. I think it'd do a lot of people some good. You could swap something like music for that. <br> <br>Timmy, you don't need to learn music or art, that's a waste of your time. Go work at McDonalds. <br> <br> <br>> <br>> I could go on all day really, but I think you get the point.