Numerous times I’ve heard people state America spends more on prisons than schools. Pretty damning
Category / Highschool
Graph: Insane College Tuition Inflation
Photo via Carpe Diem Blog
Teens Getting Driver’s License Declining
I was running some errands this morning and caught Glenn Beck on the radio. He was discussing some societal trends that related to economics and brought up the fact that 19 year old people are declining in getting their drivers license. Here is what he said:
Nineteen year old people getting driver licenses has declined to 65%. Down from 93% just ten years ago.
This is a big drop so I decided to look up this decline and found the Washington Post wrote about it in 2013. Here’s what they found:
Back in 1983, about 87 percent of 19-year-olds had drivers’ licenses. But in 2010, only 69.5 percent did.
They also cited reasons in a survey of why they didn’t obtain the license and here is the breakdown:
—37 percent said they were either too busy or didn’t have the time to get a license.
—32 percent said that owning and maintaining a vehicle was just too expensive.
—31 percent said they could hitch a ride with someone else if needed.
—22 percent said they’d rather walk or bike.
—17 percent said they’d rather use public transportation.
—9 percent said they were worried about driving’s effects on the environment.
—8 percent said they could work or communicate online.
—7 percent cited disability or medical problems as their main reason.
More Proof Student Loan Debt Will Crash in the Future
Robert Wenzel over at EconomicPolicyJournal.com posted two impressive charts which defy the reality of economics and shows the coming student loan debt bubble will be a hard crash when it happens. Biggest reason student debt is skyrocketing is because most student loans are financed by the federal government. Unfortunately the only ideas being floated is more government intervention.
First chart is the mega growth of student loans compared to other loans in the economy
Another chart he posted shows that only 29% of people paying off student debts and the principle is going down.
Visual of the Federal Government School Lunch Mandate Part 2
Back in November I posted a write up called “Visual of the Federal Government School Lunch Mandate”. I received A LOT of negative comments from people saying I didn’t know how the school lunch process works. One person even claimed I was a liar and I challenged that person to eat what the school lunch program suggested. Person hasn’t talked to me since. Problem with some people today is they don’t grasp how fast social media can tell the truth. A picture can be sent out and in the matter of minutes the entire U.S. can view it.
Now another picture has been sent out of what a lunch looks like under the federal government mandate. It’s not pretty. You can read the whole article here at EagNews.org. I’ll give you a brief snippet:
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. – That’s not really a fish filet with a whole wheat bun resting on top.
Nah, your eyes are playing tricks on you.
That’s what administrators at Virginia’s Portsmouth Public Schools want parents to believe after a mother took a photo of her child’s paltry school lunch and posted it on social media.
The mom says James Hurst Elementary served the lunch Tuesday.
After the photo began circulating around the community, Food Service Coordinator Jim Gehlhoff admitted the lunch “concerns us,” but added that it might not actually be as bad as it looks.
portsmouth-lunch“Poor lighting and food presentation make this lunch unappealing,” he said in a statement released to the media.
Number of Indiana Children Receiving School Vouchers
Here is the most recent data by the state of Indiana showing children receiving school vouchers-
This school year, 29,148 students received vouchers, or 2.6 percent of the total state student population, according to the Choice Scholarship program’s annual report released in February. IDOE paid those private and Christian schools nearly $116 million in the 2014-15 school year.
Indiana Teacher Union Membership Up
Indiana teacher unions have gained some members since their big drop off in 2011. EAGnews.org first reported numbers in 2012:
According to internal sources at the Indiana State Teachers Association, membership has dropped by more than 20 percent – from 50,032 in 2010-11 to 39,922 in 2011-12.
The ISTA (Indiana State Teachers Association) now boasts membership at 45,000 which means membership has gone up.
Some districts are still losing union membership. Tippecanoe School District, gave a glimpse in how much the drop off is. Reporting via jconline.com:
The Lafayette Education Association saw a 17 percent drop in the past four school years; membership decreased from 400 members, or 67 percent of Lafayette School Corp. teachers, in September 2011 to 332 members, or 56 percent of teachers, in September 2014.
The Tippecanoe Education Association saw a 26 percent drop during that same time period — dropping from 420 members, or 67 percent of Tippecanoe School Corp. teachers, to 310 members, or 46 percent.
Nationally union membership has dropped double digits the last 30 years.
In 2014, about 49 percent of teachers — or about 2.5 million — were union members. That’s down from 53 percent just a decade ago, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1984, teachers union coverage was at 64 percent.
Colleges Dealing with Unprepared Students
Wall Street Journal is showing a growing trend of high school students entering college still needing remedial help.
In the last 12 years, students needing at least one remedial course has risen 160%.
Education: Money Doesn’t Solve All Problems
Chalkbeat Indiana did an in depth write up pertaining to school funding in Indiana. I’m posting some graphs the author laid out in showing grade scores and performance between IPS and Carmel school systems. IPS is being shown as one of the poorest (families avg $20k/yr) while Carmel is one of the wealthiest (families avg $60k/yr). What makes this fascniating is the school systems are right down the road from each other.
The graphs are self explanatory. The second one shows funding to each school with IPS getting almost $3,000 more per student then Carmel students. The author links that since Carmel residents make more money and have more access to “private tutors” their scores are higher. While that maybe one factor, what this write up does not take into account is the role of having intact families. Two thirds of IPS children live in single parent homes. Carmel has only about 10% single parent homes. An amazing stat that needs to be brought into perspective.
How Much Food Does it Take to Feed 2 College Football Teams
Outback Steakhouse sponsors the college football bowl game “Outback Bowl”. The Aubrun Tigers take on the Wisconsin Badgers and will be played on January 1, 2015. The two teams meet for dinner sponsored by Outback Steakhouse and here is how much food was there via the Bleacher Report:
Outback Bowl dinner for Auburn & Wisconsin: 750 pounds of steak, 900 lbs. of ribs, 750 lbs. of chicken, 1,600 shrimp, 1,200 lbs. cheese cake.
Hoosier Econ 