Tennessee makes Community College free.

No, I'm saying that, unfortunately, rights have to be recognized by the government for them to have any weight. I believe in a lot of rights, but without the government backing them, it's meaningless.

The fact that it's so flat and that the movie "Heathers" seems to be a documentary for starters...

The Right's umbrage towards Common Core exposes the lie about their concern for letting States take care of their own education.

Among other things.

I went over this with @Ancalagon, it's very much a federal program.

No it's not. It has nothing to do with the Fed gov. It's 100% a state program.

Okay @Man Afraid of his Shoes, and @tafkats what's your proposal that doesn't involve massive tax increases?

Do you even know how taxation works in TN?

Our proposal for what?

Seriously, are you even trying to string together a coherent argument where point A follows point B, or are you just flailing around with whatever knee-jerk phrases you can lay your hands on?

What tax increases?

http://www.heritage.org/education/r...nd-tests-empty-promises-and-increased-federal

Presumably it would take tax increases to pay for national education.

Okay, how is Common Core a federal program. I see in that article where it says it's a federal program, but I'm missing the explanation as to how it is. What federal law are we talking about?

What national education?

we should have fetus-sized boot straps so they can pull themselves up/out with them!

People, like Bernie Sanders, who push for "free"education, often want a national program.

Okay, but we're not talking about a national program. We're talking about Tennessee's program.

common core is communism.

Why is @Federal Farmer prattling on about being in favour of servitude to the government in exchange for services? The military even!

This guy is literally the worst libertarian I've ever met.

I completely agree. But, when business start demanding a degree for entry level positions, education becomes a commodity.

Do you even know what "common core" is?

I love educational standards, Jenee. Unlike Federal Farmer, I don't approve of diploma mills.

I am sorry to be the one to tell you but there are differences in college quality and the value of their degrees. A degree from MIT, Cornell, Yale, or other highly rated school is not the same as one from TN. yes certain states have a better reputation than others when it comes to state run education. TN in particular has been trying to integrate Christianity in as science. That is not good for your reputation. They may have schools that are superior in things like football, but you do not think education when you think of TN. actually, due to their evangelical love many would think they are anti knowledge.

Also, an associates is not much better than a high school diploma. Community colleges give you a degree that just means you got the paper. It is better than nothing, but it is also not as good as better school and state degrees. If TN wants to increase their educational value they need to get competitive and get rid of religion in science class and as fact. Also increasing their budget instead of cutting it to pay for other things would improve their abilities to compete. That is their choice, and they chose to value other things over education quality.

"Better than nothing" is certainly better than what most people who are poor can get, which is nothing. It can make the difference between earning $21,000 a year with a high school diploma, and $45,000 a year if one acquires an Associates Degree. For a single person, or a small family, that's life changing income.

I don't know...Vanderbilt has a good reputation. And I say that as a UT alumn.

Beat me to it. Vanderbilt is right up there with Cornell, Yale, and Mayo for medical schools.

Some people are just willfully ignorant.

Tennessee is not all hillbillies and Nebraska isn't all farmland. Even though shoes plays the banjo and I do occasionally smell the slaughterhouses when I head to the south end.

I thought Chicago was "hog butcher to the world"?

Also, MTSU is a highly ranked public school. Enrollment wise It's bigger than UT now.

@Tererun doesn't care about facts if they don't fit his narrative.

When I was there, MTSU was fairly hit and miss when it came to departments. Some were great, others, like the English department, were an absolute joke.