It's funny because now that the Australian federal election is almost on, the teachers' union (along with all the other unions) are demanding their "fair wages" with their bleeding heart TV advertising campaigns. The other week there was a show on A Current Affair (an awesome, trashy, tabloid-style current affairs show on a national TV station) that "exposed" the many public primary school teachers who can't even spell.
My only complaint is the linear best-fit. I think fun conversations could be had if a nonlinear best-fit were applied, especially if there were a substantial maximum to the best-fit, such that we could finally have evidence that willful non-economists (those who choose to disbelieve economic theory and reality) could understand that more spending != more results.
I think the reason there's some correlation is because places with better education will tend to be more productive, and hence will throw more resources at education. Thus, the connection.
That said, it isn't the extra resources that make the education superior, it's the education that makes the extra resources available.
Try explaining that to the average public school teacher, though. Greedy, stupid bastards as often as not.
6 comments:
It's funny because now that the Australian federal election is almost on, the teachers' union (along with all the other unions) are demanding their "fair wages" with their bleeding heart TV advertising campaigns. The other week there was a show on A Current Affair (an awesome, trashy, tabloid-style current affairs show on a national TV station) that "exposed" the many public primary school teachers who can't even spell.
My only complaint is the linear best-fit. I think fun conversations could be had if a nonlinear best-fit were applied, especially if there were a substantial maximum to the best-fit, such that we could finally have evidence that willful non-economists (those who choose to disbelieve economic theory and reality) could understand that more spending != more results.
http://www.imo-official.org/results.aspx
Result page of International Mathematical Olympiad.
Pattern here seems correlated to your chart.
Forget one half. The Slovak Republic spends 1/5th or 20% of what we do and still get better scores!
I think the reason there's some correlation is because places with better education will tend to be more productive, and hence will throw more resources at education. Thus, the connection.
That said, it isn't the extra resources that make the education superior, it's the education that makes the extra resources available.
Try explaining that to the average public school teacher, though. Greedy, stupid bastards as often as not.
All, Slovakian women.
Educated and for 20% the going rate in America.
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