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Topic: What is the return on educational dollars spent in Flint MI?

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terrybankert
F L I N T O I D

What's the Return on Education?

New York Times

December 11, 2005

Economic View

By ANNA BERNASEK

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/business/yourmoney/11view.html

[FLINT CITIZEN- By: Terry Bankert 12/11/05]

[This article is written in a conversational style incorporating the article cited. Parts of the article may be deleted shown by ... but additions are only found in brackets -trb]

SOCRATES once said that the more he learned, the more he became convinced of his own ignorance. It's a familiar feeling for anyone who tries to make sense of the American education system.

[In Flint MI USA our leaders appear to be ignorant of how to make sense of our system.-trb]

This academic year, the better part of $1 trillion will be spent on education in the United States. That's an awful lot of spending, approaching 10 percent of the overall economy. But what exactly is the return on all of that money?

[In Flint the majority of our 9th graders do not graduate. They cannot hide that they cannot read by the 8th grade. At home dad is gone and mom is high ,big brother is in jail and sister is out on a booty call.-trb]

While the costs are fairly simple to calculate, the benefits of education are harder to sum up.

[It is easy to sum up in Flint. Educate our youth or our city will die.-trb]

Much of what a nation wants from its schools has nothing to do with money. Consider the social and cultural benefits, for instance: making friends, learning social rules and norms and understanding civic roles.

[Learning that "Though shall not kill thy neighbor" is a start-trb]

But some of the most sought-after benefits from education are economic. Specialized knowledge and technical skills, for example, lead to higher incomes, greater productivity and generation of valuable ideas.

[With a better school system could we have kept General Motors?-trb]

Those benefits are vital to a nation's growth. In recent years, Americans have become keenly aware of the impact of education as freshly educated workers from China and India compete for good jobs once held in the United States.

[When other parts of the country become keenly aware we have a mortal wound!-trb]

Today, many parents have a gut feeling that education is the way to ensure prosperity for their children, yet there is surprisingly little certainty about how much education contributes to the nation's overall wealth.

[To get this feeling you have to have parents that care.-trb]

It is largely a problem of measurement. Economists have tried for decades to quantify the impact of education. They still don't have all the answers, but their work can shed some light on what Americans are getting for their investment. That information could serve as a backdrop for debates on how much government should spend on education and what should be left to individuals.

[We are all ears.-trb]

Start with what economists are confident about: the payoff to individuals. By measuring the relationship between the number of years of schooling and income earned in the job market, economists think that they have a good idea of what it's worth.

Alan B. Krueger, an economics professor at Princeton, says the evidence suggests that, up to a point, an additional year of schooling is likely to raise an individual's earnings about 10 percent.

For someone earning the national median household income of $42,000, an extra year of training could provide an additional $4,200 a year. Over the span of a career, that could easily add up to $30,000 or $40,000 of present value. If the year's education costs less than that, there is a net gain.

The payoff, of course, varies by individual. Another year of education will not have the same benefit for everyone. And school resources matter as well. According to studies by Professor Krueger and others, class size, teacher quality and school size can make a difference in the outcome. They have found that the effect of better schools is most pronounced for disadvantaged students.

There is less certainty about the big picture. That is partly because educational benefits accrue to the economy gradually, often showing up years after schooling is complete. Another problem is the difficulty of quantifying indirect benefits. One unknown, for example, is the degree to which formal education fosters new commercial ideas and technological breakthroughs.

While there is little doubt that there are benefits, those measurement challenges have led to big shifts in the conclusions of economic studies over time. In the early 1990's, economists calculated big economic rewards from additional investment in education. A decade later, the conclusions were different: studies suggested that while one individual might gain advantage over another through greater education, there might be no overall economic benefit.

Today, economists suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Jonathan Temple, an economist at the University of Bristol in England, says the research trend is moving back toward the earlier findings. The latest attempts to quantify the impact of education on total economic growth have tended to conclude that it is at least as significant as that measured for individuals.

Because indirect benefits can't be counted accurately, Professor Temple suspects an even bigger impact. Insofar as education enhances worker productivity, there is a clear benefit to the economy.

Two Harvard economists, Lawrence F. Katz and Claudia Goldin, studied the effect of increases in educational attainment in the United States labor force from 1915 to 1999. They estimated that those gains directly resulted in at least 23 percent of the overall growth in productivity, or around 10 percent of growth in gross domestic product.

The most important factor was the move to universal high school education from 1910 to 1940. It expanded the education of the work force far more rapidly than at any other time in the nation's history, creating economic benefits that extended well into the remainder of the century, according to Professors Katz and Goldin. That moved the United States ahead of other countries in education and laid the foundation for the expansion of higher education.

Today, more Americans attend college than ever before, but the rest of the world is catching up. The once-large educational gap between the United States and other countries is closing - making it increasingly important to understand what education is really worth to a nation.

If economists are right, it is not just part of the cost of maintaining a functioning democracy, but a source of wealth creation for all. That means that investing in the education of every American is in everyone's self-interest.

[ I agree. How do we get a declining American city like Flint MI USA to commit more resources to education?-trb

Still, we're a long way from being able to judge the right level of spending on education - and how to achieve it. With a college degree more important than ever, the cost of higher education is rising steeply, creating growing stress for many American families. With more study, researchers may be able to identify ways of reducing costs while increasing the payoff from education.

Taking our cue from Socrates, the first step may be to recognize what we don't know.

[But can we wait? I think not. Who will do the research in Flint MI.USA? Leaders need to act on the obvious. But where will the resources come from?-trb]



The Flint Citizen is a publication of Attorney Terry R. Bankert (Family Law ) of Flint Michigan USA. http://enewsblog.com/terrybankert/

attorneybankert@yahoo.com

Terry R. Bankert P.C., 1000 Beach St., Flint MI 48503 810.235.1970 fax 234-5080
Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 6:08 am 
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rapunzel
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Terry,
Can you give the date of the last Flint school board meeting you attended?

The first step may be to recognize what we don't know? Socrates

What is occuring in the classrooms and what is done at school board level is a far cry from understanding what our children need.

The teachers know but does anyone ask them?
RAP
Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:58 am 
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terrybankert
F L I N T O I D

quote:
rapunzel schreef:
Terry,
Can you give the date of the last Flint school board meeting you attended?

The first step may be to recognize what we don't know? Socrates

What is occuring in the classrooms and what is done at school board level is a far cry from understanding what our children need.

The teachers know but does anyone ask them?
RAP

RAP ASKED [ I am less inclined to responed to street names. I post usually under my own name] but Rap asked: Can you give the date of the last Flint school board meeting you attended?

Terry : You question presumes that I cannot exercise my right to voice an opinion if I do not attend school board meetings. Wrong. But if it is your litmus test here is my answer. I participated in last years Great Schools initiative. I attended 4-5 community forums, participated and joined the core group, and my name is listed on the final report as a participant. That project took me to 2-4 school board meetings. Within the last 6 months I estimate I attended 4 board meeting and a special hearing the topic I now do not remember. I have attended a meeting a year at least for the last 12 years. In another life I have read board member packets prior to meetings for 4 years.
See: http://enewsblog.com/terrybankert/post/2005-11-08_04:52:35/

In a prior life I have participated on Flint Board of Education community participation committees, I have been a member of the Walker School PTA or what ever it was called, I have a daughter that graduated from Central High school, I graduated from Southwestern High School, attended McKinley and Freeman elementary, I know what the community education program was from the perspective of a kid playing in the gym in the evening hoping the Sargent kids would not kick my butt on the way home. I have a BA, MPA, JD. Do I need any more credentials to exercise my right to free speech?

Rap stated”The first step may be to recognize what we don't know? Socrates
What is occuring in the classrooms and what is done at school board level is a far cry from understanding what our children need.
The teachers know but does anyone ask them?

Terry: The article states that we know little of the American educational system. Our leaders appear to be ignorant of how to make sense of our system. Note I said leaders not teachers. I think your reading of the article was through the blinders of your own bias. The author question the return on educational dollar investment. I stated “In Flint the majority of our 9th graders do not graduate. “ Is this an incorrect statement ?Then I talked about the importance to the City of Flint of our educational system. ”It is easy to sum up in Flint. Educate our youth or our city will die”
I pointed out the need for an educated work force and raised the question “With a better school system could we have kept General Motors?” I questioned the commitment of parents to their children education. The author pointed out the value of education.

I argued that we need to allocate more resources to education.” I agree. How do we get a declining American city like Flint MI USA to commit more resources to education?”

The author stated ‘Still, we're a long way from being able to judge the right level of spending on education - and how to achieve it. With a college degree more important than ever, the cost of higher education is rising steeply, creating growing stress for many American families. With more study, researchers may be able to identify ways of reducing costs while increasing the payoff from education.

Taking our cue from Socrates, the first step may be to recognize what we don't know. “

I then argued that in Flint our need is urgent. “But can we wait? I think not. Who will do the research in Flint MI. USA? Leaders need to act on the obvious. But where will the resources come from?” No where did I attack teacher, but the leaders need to act. Classroom teachers can advocate quality of education issues through their own individual actions, unions and school groups. Teachers can act like leaders, yes they can!

We need action and community/educational leaders to cause change. But I am curious why you question the right of another to raise these issues because you may attend more school board meetings. Who are you?


Terry Bankert
Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:55 am 
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