Nick Oliva - Education

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K through 12 education should not be separated by gender. Grades are not everything. How good is it for society that boys and girls be separated in school? It's a really dumb thing and I'm very grateful that silly statistical misuses like this did not affect my upbringing and I'm hopeful will not affect the upbringing of my own children.

Public schools should require students to wear uniforms. It evens things out and reduces the likelihood of cliques forming or of kids feeling left out because they can't keep up with the latest fashion. They should also require uniform pants to be worn at the waist... it's one thing to flip your collar up, and quite another to make everyone look at your underwear.

Race should be a factor in the university admission process. It needs to be a factor because it will be anyway... making it official just provides a way to measure and identify when bigotry is at play.

Sex education should begin during middle school (6th-8th grade). Teaching kids to stay away from priests and other child-molesters is not "sex ed", it's basic safety. The kids don't need to know why the priests are touching them.... Kids that don't learn it from their parents need to learn sex-ed in school. Sixth grade

College entry exams should play a major role in admissions decisions. Entry exams are very different than exit exams. Making students cram for finals is detrimental to learning. But ensuring that people meet minimum requirements on entry is absolutely necessary.

High school students should not be required to pass an exit exam in order to earn a diploma. Please... no more exams. How can kids want to "learn" when learning doesn't help them as much as test-prep does? There's no fun in learning how best to answer exam questions. Students should show that they can apply what they've learned throughout their s

School districts should not give parents a choice of schools. There's already a choice - if you want to put your kids in another public school, you move into that district; if you want to put them in a private school, you pay for it. Simple.

The government should not issue vouchers for private school tuition. Not without strings... that would make it unacceptable to the private schools. Public schools are a public good and so deserve it (read up on Economics here and you'll see that everyone benefits when the local kids have an education). I don't see how soc

Schools should not punish students for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Not so long as the reference to the all-imaginary-being that was legislated into the pledge by evangelicals remains. Keep your damned religions out of public schools!

American schools should not offer bilingual classes for native Spanish-speakers. ...no more than they should offer pseudo-religious transition classes for those just learning about science. I speak English (my second language) much gooder [sic] than people that came to the US around the same age, but went to cities and schools where t

the U.S. military should not be allowed to recruit in public high schools. If you aren't old enough to drink and vote, you aren't old enough to die for your country. You should have to be 25 or older and single to be "recruited" for the military. And you should be very highly paid. It should be so expensive to put money in the p

Abstinence-only sex education should not be taught in schools. If you aren't teaching safe sex, you can't be said to be providing "sex education". Abstinence-only works really well only for people that nobody will have sex with.

I rate America's education system "Satisfactory." Children whose parents aren't reckless have the opportunity of getting an excellent education in America, but are likely to get a satisfactory one. It's like capitalism... everyone can't become wealthy... and every student can't be "above average" - excep

It is not acceptable for courses on the Bible to be taught in public schools. Part of me wants to say it's acceptable as literature, but it would quickly get out of hand... nix it!

A school should not have the right to require that a student take Ritalin or similar drugs. All medication decisions should be entirely at the option of the parents or guardians. All a school should do is say that if particular behavior doesn't change the student will not be permitted to continue.

Teachers should not receive performance-based merit pay. I don't think that it's reasonable or desirable to set performance measures for pay - there should be measures that represent minimums of performance for they pay they're getting. Everything above that should just be the kind of stuff people do when they

Public schools should be funded through income tax.

Private school is the most effective method of education.

The federal government should increase higher education subsidies for low-income students.

Standardized tests are not an effective tool for measuring student learning.

Prayer should not be permitted in public schools.

Universal preschool should be free in America.

The public school systems in America would be improved if they were federalized.

Private schools should not receive public funding.

States should be forced to fund the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act.

Sex education should begin during middle school (6th-8th grade). Teaching kids to stay away from priests and other child-molesters is not "sex ed", it's basic safety. The kids don't need to know why the priests are touching them.... Kids that don't learn it from their parents need to learn sex-ed in school. Sixth grade

College entry exams should play a major role in admissions decisions. Entry exams are very different than exit exams. Making students cram for finals is detrimental to learning. But ensuring that people meet minimum requirements on entry is absolutely necessary.

UNKNOWN: Do parents have an obligation to pay for their children's college?

UNKNOWN: Has the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act been effective?

UNKNOWN: Should the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act be reauthorized?

UNKNOWN: Is there political bias in academia?

UNKNOWN: Should schools practice social promotion?

UNKNOWN: Are arts programs an essential part of education?

UNKNOWN: How should reading be taught?

UNKNOWN: Should all-day kindergarten be mandatory?

UNKNOWN: Should there be a foreign language requirement in public schools?

UNKNOWN: Should education have a higher priority in the federal budget than military spending?

UNKNOWN: Should the government offer cash incentives for better student performance?

UNKNOWN: Should public schools make contraceptives available to students?

UNKNOWN: Is the classroom an appropriate venue for teachers to express their political opinions?