The modern phenomenon of nonsense jobs

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

You took economics in grade school?

[Hauldren Collider]

Virginia (or at least Fairfax County, Virginia) has a short curriculum about economics in 8th grade civics class. Dunno about other states.

[regexcellent]

I had a short unit about economics in 4th grade which covered supply and demand in minimal detail.

[Al B. Sure!]

Economics is not even a high school subject in most districts

It amazes me how clueless they are of their privilege.

[KrazyHorse]

Where do you think this privilege comes from?

[KrazyHorse]

I suppose that the 6% more per pupil Fairfax county spends on its school system than Philadelphia could pay for an economics course, but I doubt it's the real source of the discrepancy in outcomes.

Otherwise, one could bring up the fact that Baltimore city spends 25% more than either, and NYC public schools spend 60% more.

[Al B. Sure!]

I suppose that the 6% more per pupil Fairfax county spends on its school system than Philadelphia could pay for an economics course, but I doubt it's the real source of the discrepancy in outcomes.

Otherwise, one could bring up the fact that Baltimore city spends 25% more than either, and NYC public schools spend 60% more.

More money spent on education doesn't equate to better outcomes.

[KrazyHorse]

I agree. I wasn't sure what your claim was...

In particular the almost complete lack of correlation between cost and outcomes in the US (to be clear I think there is a good relationship at much lower levels of expenditure) leads us to some uncomfortable conclusions. Namely some combination of the following:

1) quality of education is far more dependent on (mis)management of available resources (capture of the public purse by teachers unions) than on the quantity of resources
2) educational quality is strongly impacted by peer effects - ****ty schools are ****ty because their students are ****ty
3) outcomes are largely independent of the quality of education (beyond a certain very basic level) - ****ty students are ****ty because they are born stupid or because they have ****ty parents

[AAAAAAAAH!]

Economics is not even a high school subject in most districts

It amazes me how clueless they are of their privilege.

Plenty of public high schools require Economics. This is what you call "privileged"? Do you also think offering foreign languages that aren't Spanish or French is "privilege"?

[Al B. Sure!]

Plenty of public high schools require Economics. This is what you call "privileged"? Do you also think offering foreign languages that aren't Spanish or French is "privilege"?

Only thirteen states require an economics course for high school graduation.

My high school didn't have economics nor any other language besides French and Spanish.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I'm not sure mine had Spanish.

[AAAAAAAAH!]

Only thirteen states require an economics course for high school graduation.

My high school didn't have economics nor any other language besides French and Spanish.

Was this a rural high school with only a coupled hundred people...?

[Al B. Sure!]

I'm not sure mine had Spanish.

Was this a rural high school with only a coupled hundred people...?

Philadelphia School District. I went to a magnet school, the highest rated public school in the state of PA.

[DaShi]

Ugh, there are 3 HCs now.

[Hauldren Collider]

Al, Virginia has good public schools, PA has bad public schools. We've been over this before.

This particular "economics" class was not really a class so much as a tiny unit in a class about government & politics at the *middle school level*. It has nothing to do with "privilege". It was just something that FCPS chooses to teach in its grade-school Civics class lieu of something else.