SCHOOLS: Dollars don't equal quality

It is funny how every person involved in the education of our kids thinks higher pay and new buildings equate to better educated students. The facts do not back this up. If you do just a little bit of research you will find it has no bearing at all.

One example is the school district in Anchorage, Alaska. They have some of the highest paid teachers and administrators in the whole nation and spend more per student but yet they have one of the highest dropout rates in the country. Let's fix the real problem. You ask what is the real problem? I don't have the answer but obviously the teaching methods and what we're teaching is not working.

For starters let's get back to the basics; it seemed to have worked for our parents and grandparents. My Dad was educated in a one-room schoolhouse out on the prairie of North Dakota with no electricity and a wood stove. The teacher was my aunt and she taught all grades. She did an excellent job as every student led a productive life and became successful business owners, farmers, mechanics and airline pilots.

My aunt taught the basics in sub-standard conditions and probably with sub-standard materials for very little pay. So the moral of the story is don't let the politicians, school board and teachers union snow you into thinking we need to spend more for education; instead, let them know they need to step up to the plate and come up with better teaching methods and plans and to do it in the buildings and with the funds that we currently have.

BRAD ANDERSON

Hayden