I find it peculiarly curious..

[YoungDemCA]

that the "worst" public schools are usually (or almost always) located in areas with high rates of concentrated poverty, (street) crime, illicit drug use, police presence, unemployment, broken families, and more often than not, a history of economic decay, racial segregation, and white flight (and their consequences). Seems to drive down the average for public schools - and thus, greatly influence perceptions of American public education. Don't ya think?

No required.

[jayschool2013]

1. If only

If only there were people out there . . . call them "scholars" . . . who performed some sort of systematic study . . . call it "research" . . . into these phenomena. We could house them in places where they could study together . . . call them "universities" . . . and those "scholars" would then write about their "research" and release for scrutiny among their peers and their public.

And if only there was public money available to help these "scholars" perform "research" . . . call them "grants" . . .

Well, you get the sarcastic drift.

[unblock]

2. remarkable that public schools, funded largely by property taxes

somehow seem to be worse in poorer areas, where property tax revenue is lower.

and all republicans want to do about it is force those poor kids to recite daily something about liberty and opportunity for all....

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. While they steal your tax dollars.

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. I find it particularly odious...

That anyone would think it was in any way advantageous to deny a quality education to ANY American schoolchildren.

Educating the entire population is an investment in the future of this nation.

Destroying public education is the epitome of foolishness.

[unblock]

5. they (employers, especially) do want an educated (well, trained, anyway) workforce

they just want someone else to pay for it.

they haven't figured out who that someone else is, but in the meanwhile, they'll settle for "not us".