How to Reduce Child Welfare & Improve Education

I often times contemplate the problems with society.

When I do so I also try to imagine myself as a benevolent dictator and determine what I would do differently. I feel if you can't propose a change you have little right to complain.

This is something I do for myself but I thought I would post this idea for feedback. Here is my proposal for job ready education, child welfare and adult unemployment.

1. Birth to 2nd birthday

Mother receives 1 year paid leave

Daycare provided through school system for children age 1 as needed.

2. Age 2 - 5 Preschool

Interpersonal skills, primary education in math and english introduced through music and the arts.

3. Ages 6 - 14 Primary School (no homework)

7 class schedule with rotating teachers like high school. Middle school eliminated. Less changes to environment while going through puberty and cut overall cost.

1. Reading continue CBT AR program

2. Math start CBT program similar to AR program

By putting math and reading on CBT tablets these programs become self-pased. Placement in teacher led classes only for students who are falling behind. The genius stays with his/her social groups but isn't held back.

3. English/Writing

Placement based on aptitude with no regard to age, hands on teaching. We can't hold back genius and one class per day with awkward social interaction will be fine.

4. Applied Sciences - Hands on Chemistry, Biology and Physics

5. History Heros - The positive role models of history

6. Arts quarterly classes
---drawing/painting
---building/sculpting
---poetry/singing
---stage performance

7. Physical Education - Age appropriate

Ages 15 - 17 High School reduced to 3 year program. (Limited homework for AP students)

Eliminate most forced classes from required curriculum. Have students take job placement/aptitude test so they can structure their education towards desired careers where they posses a high likelihood of success.

1. Math, English, Reading

Placement based on Aptitude testing. 1st year required, additional requirements based on minimum standard testing. Elective based after 1st year.

2. Science

1st year Human Anatomy. Advanced sciences elective based

3. Applied Law

Introduce Applied Law as a mandatory 1st year class. If a student can pass Law aptitude they earn the right to vote before 18th birthday. Student must pass before graduation.

4. History/Geography

Conceptual based history. If you don't learn from past you will repeat it. Less focus on names and dates, more focused on how history shaped our world.

1 year world history, 1 year US history. Advanced history elective based

5. Physical Education

Separate Athletics from General PE All quarterly sports classes open regardless of aptitude. Required 3 years

6. Arts

Elective based with minimum requirements for well rounded education

Age 18-19 Associates Degree

2 years advanced education with focus on career path and electives. Earn placement for advanced education.

Age 20-21 Advanced Education

Placement based on aptitude, except military. Primary focus of Advanced Education is career training, no elective requirements.

---Military
---Athletics (acceptance based)
---Arts (acceptance based)
---BS
---Trade School

22 and up

Advanced Education will move to OJT. Example Medical Field

Everyone starts as nurse. Employers are responsible for training doctors and specialists based on needs and ability. Same concept for all specialist education.

OJT training is more productive and ensures highest quality candidates are placed in highest demand roles. No more paying your way to the top.

This is my recommendation for a fully funded basic education system that will train our children to be job ready and job placed by age 22.

Private and home schooling remain as parental options.

Aditional Notes on Education

Military and Athletes will be granted 2 additional years for BS or Trade Schools. Military for obvious reasons. Athletes because they essentially pay for the additional education through revenue generated by collegiate sports.

After 22 adults may return to college and change careers at any point in life, but there will be a cost associated with obtaining a second skill and taking general classes for personal development.

All schools will be year round January - December
(We are no longer an agrarian socity)

Child Welfare

1. Low income Infant care for diapers, food and formula will be based on vouchers similar to WIC.

2. Clothing

All schools will keep a supply of donated clothes (not uniforms). All children are eligible for the used clothing program, ages birth to 22. If a school runs out of clothing for your child a voucher system will be used.

3. Food

All students will receive 2 meals a day.

Low income children are free to take a dinner home. Weekend meals programs will be provided to children of low income families.

4. From Welfare to Unemployment

Non working able bodied adults will no longer receive welfare. If there is no employment available able adults will who wish to work will enter into a job placement database and will either be placed when a job is available or they may choose to find a job before placement. Until job placement they will receive unemployment benefits.

No additional money will be allocated for children as the majority of the basic monitary needs have been met as part of the education program. Additional monitary needs will be paid by the parents through work, disability or unemployment income.

Would you vote yes for these proposed changes to education and welfare. If not how what would you do differently?

a reply to: Isurrender73

I got as far as this

1. Birth to 2nd birthday

Mother receives 1 year paid leave

Daycare provided through school system for children age 1 as needed.

2. Age 2 - 5 Preschool

Interpersonal skills, primary education in math and english introduced through music and the arts

What about letting them be CHILDREN!
I'm sick of all you numpties who want to take away their freedom! Let them be kids!

And this!

for job ready education

Screw your JOB READY Education!

a reply to: VoidHawk

Ok

I personally think that children, especially in 2 parent income, single parent and low income families don't development interpersonal skills, and many find it hard to make friends and become isolated from society later in life.

Preschool for age 2 to 5 is 50 percent interpersonal and 50 percent coordination skills devolved through the arts.

High school is failing at graduating minds that are ready to work in today's world. You don't think adults with no work skills is a problem?

excellent....I entered college with no idea what was out in the world as far as careers
when asked about my major in school.....I said my mom told me pre-dentistry......HA HA
I had no friggin clue and no one to tell me.........the councelor could only help with which courses to take.....for a degree

originally posted by: Isurrender73
a reply to: VoidHawk

High school is failing at graduating minds that are ready to work in today's world. You don't think adults with no work skills is a problem?

Just a few years ago school was not about teaching work skills, it was about getting a decent balanced education.
In those days many jobs required real skills! The kind of skills that were learned on the job!
These days, very few jobs require skills as most of it is now computer driven.
All this bs about WE NEED JOB TRAINING is used to hide the FACT that there's NOT ENOUGH JOBS!

About the only jobs these days that need skills are those in the media, it takes great skill to twist a lie into the truth you know!

Who pays for this? I would think 1 year paid leave for new mothers would bankrupt most small businesses.

originally posted by: Pillywiggin
Who pays for this? I would think 1 year paid leave for new mothers would bankrupt most small businesses.

The paid leave would be the only remaining welfare program. You are correct most businesses can't afford this. If it's paid by employer you would likely see discrimination as well.

Changing Welfare to Unemployment is simply changing the name of the existing program in an attempt to remind people they are supposed to work for a living. No additional tax money needed for this change.

Why do only mothers get 1 year paid time off for a new baby?

Also, I don't see your CBT method of teaching mathematics to be effective. There are many public schools that offer CBT mathematics classes for struggling students. Having worked at a public school that offered this I was able to see first hand (it was 1 of my "teaching" periods each day) how much of a failure it was.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Actually skilled labor, like trade schools still has some demand. That is why I thought it would be best to cover any 2 year programs. BS degree for business related skills and trade schools for technical skills.

Creating jobs would be a whole different subject.

The only thing I have thought about job creation is more people working less hours. Make full time 30 hours with increased pay to compensate for the 10 missing hours. But I don't know how feasible that would be.

The technological age causes many problems that we need to find solutions for.

originally posted by: TycoonBarnaby
Why do only mothers get 1 year paid time off for a new baby?

Also, I don't see your CBT method of teaching mathematics to be effective. There are many public schools that offer CBT mathematics classes for struggling students. Having worked at a public school that offered this I was able to see first hand (it was 1 of my "teaching" periods each day) how much of a failure it was.

Almost all nations give mothers paid leave. The bond is extremely important. Our children deserve the best care we can provide IMO.

When Australia passed a parental leave law in 2010, it left the U.S. as the only industrialized nation not to mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns. Most of the rest of the world has paid maternity leave policies, too; Lesotho, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea are the only other countries that do not. Many countries give new fathers paid time off as well or allow parents to share paid leave.
m.huffpost.com...

CBT math would be a total failure for struggling students in my opinion. In the OP I said struggling students should be placed in a hands on course. This I agree with completely.

If CBT math doesn't work for average or advanced students either I would suggest children attend math classes based on aptitude not age.

A genius will be stifled, bored and likely loose interest if forced to go at a slow pace for other students. I'm trying to balance education without holding back the brightest minds.

As a teacher I value your opinion. Even if I was a benevolent dictator I would listen to and train the teachers first before changing anything. Something our leadership failed to do with Common Core.

I agree the bond is important. My point was you stated ONLY MOTHERS get this and not fathers as well.

CBT only works for motivated students. Fix that problem first and then maybe I would consider it as an option.

EDIT: I agree on your common core edit. It is why I left the US to teach elsewhere.

originally posted by: TycoonBarnaby
I agree the bond is important. My point was you stated ONLY MOTHERS get this and not fathers as well.

CBT only works for motivated students. Fix that problem first and then maybe I would consider it as an option.

EDIT: I agree on your common core edit. It is why I left the US to teach elsewhere.

As a father myself I think fathers should receive time too, I'm just not sure how much.

I would even say the father could take the year off while the mother goes back to work to be non discriminatory. I thought about it but didn't really know how to properly address the issue so I left it out of the OP.

You state in the end of your post that non working able bodied adults will no longer receive welfare.

I was unaware they did at all? Unless you're talking about those with mental illness.

I do know that you can't get food stamps without any income unless you're a mother.

Also you say something about a database for jobs that you get put on? What about those like me who can work but choose not to?

originally posted by: corvuscorrax
You state in the end of your post that non working able bodied adults will no longer receive welfare.

I was unaware they did at all? Unless you're talking about those with mental illness.

I do know that you can't get food stamps without any income unless you're a mother.

Also you say something about a database for jobs that you get put on? What about those like me who can work but choose not to?

Currently parents receive cash and stamps for their children but only qualify for additional cash if they participate in lame work skills classes with welfare. This is CA not sure if it's the same everywhere.

This was more of a system to take cash aid away from parents to ensure that the children actually get the full benefits of assistance.

A jobs database and job placement would be far better then the stupid stuff welfare makes parents do now for cash assistance.

I wasn't advocating forced labor. If that is the way it read sorry for not being more clear.

In CA all unemployed are eligible for stamps, and a small amount of cash every couple of years even without children. Not sure exactly how often.

Here in Canada, you don't have to go to work until your children are in school.

And I suggest you think deeply on what your children, especially if more than one, and family needs, because any system that is run in scarcity model in an artificial way, as if you're still stone age when your actually space age, and all problems are solved already, from health, cancer, to energy, aquaponics and food, providing there aren't all these gate keepers extorting money from you, is evil and you would not comply.

Children and families first.

I wouldn't sacrifice my children on the alter of your model. Its very male oriented but the universe is Mother.

I consider this system insane and you don't give into ever.

The way to end poverty is to stop the madness of bankers, exploitation, and have land and resources back to belonging to the people.

And the Rothschild's can shove it, literally they need dungeons.

I see the House that has the most zero's in its family fortune as the biggest donkey to pin the tail on.

They feel entitled to what belongs to everyone already.

So, clean energy, land for all, food for all, educations, and poverty disappears for everyone.

But so does elitism.

www.abovetopsecret.com...
No Matter What Your Politics, Why Is Anyone Living In Poverty?

It's already all been solved, minus the action steps of giving back what has been stolen to people.

a reply to: Unity_99

I agree with everything you said about banking, greed and poverty. I think men and women are equal so I am sorry that didn't come across in the OP.

The first reply, although I understand your point the OP was more about eliminating welfare abuse then anything to do with poverty.

I think everyone should have food, water, shelter, electricity and medical care just because they are alive. Even if they refuse to work.

So we share many of the same views on dealing with poverty.

Here is how the past successfully worked apart from the dumb wars we had.

Parents teaches children their skills. If parents own a business they would've fully learned their parents skills at the age of 10-16.
If someone wants to be a black smith, they go to a someone who knows how to do blacksmith and they stay and learn till they are old enough or smart enough to go on their own. They would call the blacksmith a teacher or master and he(I doubt there were she's) would teach them everyday till they successfully proven it without having all these random courses in the way. "If you don't use what you learn, then what is that point of having those courses first place?"

Don't get me wrong, but, those who were poor on language would sign up to a poetry/English teacher(basically someone who teaches the language). If you haven't look at past English writing, then you are missing a lot. It is more poetry or history book than dumb Essays like today. Essays is more modern and currently forced upon many English people including immigrants who came overseas to learn.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

Poetry is the real deal to be familiar with words, not essays because you are looking at words that need to rhyme. I see English teachers(teaching Essays) saying people getting mixed up between affect and effect(etc). What do you think? Essays don't truly teach those rhyming words properly. Even music come from the art of poetry.

Well good for you thinking about
these things. Really OP, nice little
job there.

I would also like to add that we
should do what Germany does:
All mothers under the age of 18
must go to court to prove they
can support themselves and a child
or the child is automatically put up
for a closed adoption at birth.

That would also reduce the welfare rolls, fast
and decrease the number of teens who
do a miserable and poverty stricken job
of raising their children.

Actually, I think all single parents
under the age of 25 should be
required to go to court and prove they
will be fit parents and can support themselves
fully and a child fully or have the child put up
for a closed adoption.
Why 25? Because neuroscience has proven that
the brain is not fully mature until around age 25
and so those under 25 can not be counted on
to be good parents without proving they will be.

Reducing child welfare would actually take a few generations. You have to start with the child. A child should never be punished because of the child's parental situation. All children should have access to a loving and caring foundation, even if that means the form of free enriched day care available to all. Yup I said it.

One of the main benefits is that many parents who want to work, but can't due to lack of daycare, will no longer face this hurdle.

Parents can bring their children there when every they are feeling stressed and need a break too. Of course this will be abused by many, but if the parent is abusing it, wouldn't it be better for the child to be there than at home with a neglectful, or even abusive parent?

Yes, it would be payed for by tax dollars, but it would would also require many employees. How many of you have government jobs, or jobs that that exist because of government subsidies? The main point is that the first 5 years are critical to a child's future success. Invest money now, so that the children grow up to be more productive members of society later.

I can see a lot of people being concerned in indoctrination, just keep in mind that use of this service would be available to those who choose to use it, and in no way obligatory.

Does my idea have a lot of flaws and kinks that would need to be worked out? You bet. People are so caught up in the fact that people are having kids that shouldn't and whatnot but they forget, at the end of the day, a child still exists. Let's focus on providing the children with a better future. No matter what situation a child was born into, they still deserve a chance.