SENATE BILL: National University and General Education Reform bill (Law'd)

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Basically, the idea of this bill is to assist regions in bringing in economic activity to areas that are in need of them and help transition our nation's education system into one that is more public, affordable, and useful to the students they serve.  This bill, albeit not a drastic change to the structure of our education system, will steadily put our nation's youth on the path toward success in a universal college system.

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I think it's necessary that we have at least some competition in education, but at Napoelon said, schools tend to work best without a profit motive.  Finland is a perfect example of that, and they have one of the best education systems in the world.  Cooperation is what leads to academic success, and the current bill helps embrace that virtue.

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Well, part of Finland's success can be attributed to the way teaching is done.  Unlike in America, teachers there don't focus on exhaustive cramming and root memorization.  They assign less homework and allow students to use creativity to solve problems, and they assign no standardized tests except for the National Matriculation Exam, which everyone takes at the end of a voluntary upper-secondary school- basically the same thing as high school.  Teachers are trained to create their own tests and all students receive report cards at the end of each semester which are based on individualized grading.

They also strongly emphasize on holding teachers accountable, as all Finnish teachers are required to have a Master's degree in education and if a teacher is doing his or her job poorly, the principle is expected to notice it and deal with them.

It's funny how almost all the talk in America about education centers around competition, when in fact one of the most successful education models known to the world don't have competition as a driving force.  Programs like 'Race to the Top' and NCLB wouldn't dare be considered acceptable models in Finland.  And I should mention, parents do still have a choice in where their students go to school, but they're not very unique from each other.

To be fair, some in Finland have suggested that their model is not one that should be imitated in the US (though I will admit, I am ignorant as to why this is often claimed), but I still think Finland's a good country to look to when we think about how to change education in this country.  The bill we're currently debating doesn't change the way testing, grading, or teaching are done, but I believe that it's a great way to propel necessary change.

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I support Ben's amendment, FTR.

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I'd like Shua to tell us if the money currently in the bill is sufficient.

Not really, no.  The $35 million is enough to construct a medium-size academic building.  Community colleges can cost about 5 times that much. 
I'm not sure what is meant by "accommodating the local community," but $15 million for faculty is enough for a small university of a few thousand students (though funding for non-faculty staff will need to be provided somewhere as well).

Would it be possible to reduce these costs, somehow?

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I would consider Ben's amendment friendly.  It is important that we allocate the proper funding to the regions for large projects like this.

Can we add in a conscienctious objector clause to the tax section to exempt religious institutions who reject student loans for philosophical reasons?

Do you know anyone who manages a parochial college that objects to student loans for philosophical reasons?

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Shua, would you please elaborate on your claim regarding schools that oppose student loans for philosophical reasons?  I'm unclear as to why they would and particularly what type of schools actually do.

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Sbane, what are your thoughts on including an exemption?

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Sbane, what are your thoughts on including an exemption?

I don't think we can create an exemption for just philosophical reasons because every for-profit school will claim the same. The easiest way to remedy the situation is to apply the tax only to for-profit schools but that would likely be unconstitutional.

Wouldn't schools have had to express a philosophical opposition to student loans beforehand, though?  If a school objects after the bill is passed, then their claim would likely be thrown out.

To be honest, though, I'm not sure why these schools object to student loans on a philosophical basis.  Using that logic, it seems we can allow anyone to pick and choose the laws they don't agree with because they're allegedly philosophically opposed to them.

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I skimmed through the Constitution and couldn't find anything that prohibits taxing individual/for-profit schools, so I will support the idea.

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I disagree with the amendment; I don't see how it aims to improve what we have now in the current text.

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Nay.

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Yes, I request a final vote.

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Aye.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye.