"Degree of Motivation"

 The following letter to the editor comes from Richard Gideon, publisher/editor of American Vexillum^tm magazine - ISSN 1544-5984

Ms. Gillen: 

     A recent article published in Reason magazine sheds some interesting light on the issue of public spending for education.  The US spends more money per student than any other country in the world except Switzerland.  What we get for this money is mediocre science and math test scores, on a national basis.  The student-teacher ratio has fallen and teacher pay has increased dramatically, but compared to countries in the Far East, Scandinavia, and other places in the world, American kids are left in the dust.
     As a former post-secondary teacher (for 23 years), I had to deal with the products of the public schools.  Without exception, it was the "degree of motivation" that was a better indicator of an individual's success than the district from which he or she came (with the exception that kids from private schools, or home-schooled kids, were nearly always in the top of their classes); and this included kids from the "better" districts, such as Mt. Lebanon or Upper St. Clair. 
     In the end, quality education is a mix of teacher skill and viable raw material, not an impressive brick and mortar structure. 
     The Reason article may be viewed on-line here: http://reason.com/archives/2011/02/22/losing-the-brains-race.

Best Wishes,
Richard R. Gideon