Is your school in S. Thailand doing better than in Boston, MA, USA???

There is a headline in today's Boston Globe about some possible cuts in the school budget in Boston, MA, USA ("Johnson to propose $57.7 million in school budget cuts"). So I took a look at it and read some reader comments about it. Here's an interesting one. Please read it and tell me how it compares to your school over here:


I am currently working at one of the exam schools in Boston (which used to be one of the top high schools in the country until lack of funds has slowly pushed it back). Currently, most teacher have 31 students in a class--let me tell you, teachers cannot give any individual attention to a class of 31 students. Inevitably, many of the students get bypassed. We have no paper to make photocopies. We are using novels that have literally been used twelve times before and are being held together with duct tape (as long as a majority of the pages are there, the books are good to go!). There are no markers for white boards (so when you can't make copies, you also can't write on the board). The bathrooms have no soap,no toilet paper, and no paper towels--but there is no more money in the supplies budget. There are very few computers in the school, and many are broken and outdated. There is little to no in-classroom technology. There is no wireless internet in the building--just a single wired hook-up that only works about half the time. Students who play sports are required to fundraise in addition to doing homework and practicing. Pretty much every department has been ordered to fire at least one teacher for next year, since there are still a few classes with "only" 26 or 27 students, so there's still room to make bigger classes.
I don't know what the school budget goes to, but it's not going to students in the classrooms. Where are these budget cuts going to come from? Should we take away textbooks? Auction off student artwork? Make students who qualify for free lunches pay for their own books? Or, we could just fire more teachers so that every teacher has six classes of 35 students apiece...yes, that's going to help Boston students get a good education.


1. We've got 30 students per class - about the same
2. We've got plenty of paper
3. We don't give novels or books to students but we have them on hand,which we can copy for them because we have paper!
4. We've got extra markers available (at least right now)
5. We've also got no soap, no t.p., no paper towels in the bathroom. Of course, unless you're in a 5 star hotel, that's usually the case over here
6. We've got pretty good computers and the Internet is usually working well
7. We do have in-class technology, including some expensive projectors, that you can use if you want to
8. We're not going to fire anybody; in fact we're hiring an extra teacher next year

Are you comparing USA with Thailand??? HAHAHA Let me begin!!!
Joking...
It is sad but true that in developed countries where nobody pays for schools they do struggle... Go to a Uni back in the states and it will be all different, why? Because they pay to go there... Another problem in the states is that the teachers do earn high salaries (not high enough if you ask them) and what the school does not usually earn anything, think about that, no income, have expenses... 
Thailand, go to the poor schools Teabagger, and the story will be very different, the schools in Boston will be far better off... You work in a school where the students pay tuition fee, even the normal students, not much but they do pay something. They also get money from the government and for special programs like the EP's and SMP's... They do generate a lot of money for schools. The books might be nicer here, the white-boards might have no markers, the toilets might be better here, BUT, i still think that the smartest students will come from the USA, why? They do learn to think there, here they do learn to copy... (besides, theory will only get  you so far in life). 

Snowflake wrote: I still think that the smartest students will come from the USA, why? They do learn to think there, here they do learn to copy... (besides, theory will only get  you so far in life). 

Nah, Europe by a long way!

[quote="Snowflake"]It is sad but true that in developed countries where nobody pays for schools they do struggle... Go to a Uni back in the states and it will be all different, why? Because they pay to go there... Another problem in the states is that the teachers do earn high salaries (not high enough if you ask them) and what the school does not usually earn anything, think about that, no income, have expenses...

I believe that of the amount of taxes that is collected by state, a certain amount is set aside for education. Might include national taxes, too. I went to grade school at the town's school, not at one of the private schools, and got a free education. We were taken care of better back then.

Yes, you're right, at my school the EP students do pay and so do the other non-EP students. And this happens at other schools, too. That's how they make money to provide good books and equipment. True dat!

Well, I guess my school has the money to use. That Boston school has money problems and it looks like it will get worse.

Admin wrote:

Snowflake wrote: I still think that the smartest students will come from the USA, why? They do learn to think there, here they do learn to copy... (besides, theory will only get  you so far in life). 

Nah, Europe by a long way!

English lesson for Admin... Question; Which school is better, your school in S. Thailand or the Boston School? Answer; My school in S. Thailand or the Boston School... There are no European schools in the comparison... You should know that... now, expand the comparison and put in European schools, they are far above the rest (In general)... Some schools are still the best but in the USA (MIT/Harward/Yale)... even if (Oxford/Cambridge) are breathing them in the neck... 

No, I'm pretty sure admin was being ironic; he was trying to show us that Europeans can be just as stupid as any one else.

Maybe, but since he always pick on me, then I found a chance to pick on him... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I think we can all agree that I don't care about the spelling and grammar rules on the forum... If I can understand it, it is good enough.. 

I know I was just trying to be an inflammatory p.rick!

Sorry, don't try to be a p.rick... Just be one!