US manufacturers want to hire but can find enough people with basic reading and 9th grade math. Who wants to cut public school funding?
Funding isn’t the issue so much as fixing the system. Teachers unions have a stronghold in many states, allowing unmotivated and poorly performing teachers to stay in place without reproach. Contrary to popular opinion, the average teacher’s salary in the US is better than $50,000, though of course some make more and some make less. There are schools and states wherein administration is paid outrageously large salaries. Curriculum is out of date and if you live in a state like Florida, kids aren’t taught what they need to know; instead, they spend the entire year being prepared for a standardized state test. Parents play just as strong a role, if not more so, than the schools. A child who is read to is much more likely to grow up reading. In this age, kids are busy talking, texting, gaming and searching the Internet. If they sat with their parents and not only did homework but were taught to understand it, they’d perform much better at school.
