A discussion here with someone who serves on the board of a small private school got me thinking about something I don't believe we talk about enough: What does it actually cost to educate a child, and what are taxpayers getting for that investment?

I put together these two infographics using Texas Education Agency data, the state's voucher program rules, federal special education requirements and the 2025 Texas Teacher Poll.

The first graphic looks at where the money goes.

Texas reports $16,219 in statewide public-school funding per student for FY2024, including state, local and federal sources. The standard private-school voucher for 2026–27 is $10,474.

But those amounts aren't directly comparable. They're from different years, calculated differently and support different obligations.

Public schools provide transportation, special education, bilingual instruction, student support services, facilities and staffing for an entire educational system. Private-school tuition doesn't necessarily include all those services or costs.

Here's something I found particularly interesting: When a student doesn't use the entire voucher award, the unused balance can roll over into the next year. The money isn't automatically paid to the private school.

The second graphic raises questions about students with disabilities and homeschooling.

Texas provides up to $30,000 for certain private-school students with qualifying IEPs, with the amount based on what their public school district would receive under the state's funding formulas. Most students don't receive that maximum.

Meanwhile, the homeschool/other award is $2,000 annually.

Those amounts reflect different educational arrangements, but they also raise questions about access. What happens when a family can't afford private-school tuition beyond the voucher, can't find a suitable school or can't realistically homeschool?

And are students receiving the services they need in the public schools already responsible for educating them?

I also wanted teachers represented in this discussion.

The 2025 Texas Teacher Poll found that 96% had spent their own money on classroom supplies, 70% said they lacked adequate support for students with behavioral challenges, and 66% had seriously considered leaving their positions.

Texas has since enacted additional public-school funding and teacher compensation measures, which should be part of evaluating what changes.

I'm interested in understanding what works, not just arguing about which system costs more.

If you're a teacher, administrator, parent, school board member or someone who works with education funding, I'd really appreciate your perspective.

What do you think the public misunderstands most about per-student spending? And if you could change one thing about how Texas allocates education dollars, what would it be?

Sources are in my first comment.Texas Voucher Dollars

See the graphic:

https://imgur.com/a/ZhBEJNH

I put the state's first-year data into one graphic. The short version:

• 118,441 students were awarded vouchers as of Aug. 10. 70% were already in private school or homeschool, and 30% came from public school.

• More than 20,700 families gave their vouchers back. More than two-thirds of the returned vouchers belonged to public-school kids. One likely reason is that about $10,474 doesn't come close to tuition. Private schools can also turn students away.

• 54% of counties have no brick-and-mortar participating school, so rural families mostly can't use it.

• Voucher students are 41% white and 28% Hispanic. Texas public schools are 24% white and 53% Hispanic.

• The state is asking to double it to about $2 billion, plus nearly $1 billion more for the waitlist.

My questions:

If the goal was to help kids leave struggling public schools, why are most recipients families who were already paying private tuition?

Public schools accept every child, including kids with disabilities, kids learning English and kids in towns with one school. Why not invest there?

Texas funds schools by attendance. When students leave, fixed costs like buildings, buses and staff stay. How do districts make that up?

How does this help a single parent working two jobs, a rural family or a low-income family that can't cover the tuition gap?

The history matters too. Some of the first Southern voucher programs were used to resist Brown v. Board. Virginia offered tuition grants during "Massive Resistance," and Prince Edward County closed its public schools from 1959 to 1964 while white students attended private "segregation academies." Not every voucher supporter shares that intent; Milton Friedman argued for vouchers on free-market grounds in 1955. But who these programs end up serving has always been worth watching.

Sources are in the first comment.

When administrators form exclusive social circles (complete with post-work drinks and private group chats to talk about 'work'), They become blind to how exhausted we actually are because they are too busy validating each other.

Admin often use the phrase 'Do it for the kids'as a management tool. By framing staff and Teachers boundary setting (like wanting a quiet lunch alone) as a failure to support the children, admin can guilt staff into overworking without offering additional compensation or support.

While it is true that Admin shouldn't be snuggly with the people they evaluate, good leaders still show warmth, eat in the faculty lounge, and protect their staff's time. When admin totally isolate themselves from staff but party with other Admin, it crosses from professional distance into an almost snobbery.

Staff, at least in my enivronment, are quickly experiencing burnout. Administration expect us to give 100% of our emotional energy to students, while they talk about leaving early to meet up for alcohol and talk about 'meetings'. It turns the school from a community into a hierarchy where the frontline workers are exploited under the BS of 'passion.'

Am I overreacting in this?.

Also the job market is bad so even if I could what would be the point if you can’t land a job?

Hello everyone, im currently in Antarctica for work and have an extreme amount of free time. I would love to pick up some classes but Fall semester has already started for most colleges in the States and I more than likely wouldnt be able to do something like use a camera if asked by a professor due to wifi restrictions. Needless to say i'm wondering about certifications or online classes anyone would recommend me taking, my intended career field is city planning through a geography degree and my home state is GA. I have a preference for classes over certs and I would not mind paying as long as it doesn't break the bank.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I like math, I'm not bad at math, but I don't think I would stand college math and further math, and the employment rate doesn't feel quite good for undergrads, but on the other hand I hate physics or chemistry or like empirical science in general. I do love programming and everything but it's too competitive, and the whole field is extremely competitive by it's nature. Early decision is gonna be due in a week and I still don't know what I want to major in pls help

Hello! Hope this ok to post here.

I’m a sophomore getting my Bachelors in K-12 Art education. I knew I wanted to teach art, but as I moved through my first and now second year of college and started involving myself in housing, I realized how much I enjoyed working with students, and how passionate I am about the education system / students wellbeing.

I came to ask what careers some of you may be in in the education system that isn’t directly teaching? I’ve been considering other paths but I’m not sure exactly what would be for me— policy? Student life? Advising? Guidance counselor? Reslife?

I’m currently a desk attendant on my campus for the residence halls and am also on our Residence Life Leadership Team / Association of Residence Hall Students, and through that I got to work with a lot of the housing staff and got close with a lot of the RAs. I applied to be an RA and had my interview today, have recs from other RAs, and not to toot my horn but since I already had experience in our housing department and knew the interviewer it went very well! So fingers crossed with that…

I’ve been considering a masters in student affairs, but I’m not sure. I know a lot of people in my colleges housing department didn’t even care about the field while they were in undergrad and majored in completely irrelevant things. I think I’d enjoy working more hands on with students, but at the same time, I’ve never given the more administrative / policy type things a chance cause I don’t have much experience in that as of now. The idea of it seems enjoyable too, but again, I don’t know.

TLDR: What career are you in, what do you do, and how did you enter the field? What did you study in under/postgrad, and what experience helped you? Most importantly— do you enjoy it?

🤔

My Turkish education books uses literal ai slop images, this needs to stop. I dont want ai sloppy images, search up masal ve destanlarımız 5th grade book, it uses AI SLOP IMAGES, WHOS GOT ANY IDEA?! IM MAD

My teachers, specifically my History, Spanish and English teachers have repeatedly used AI and made me and my peers use it too. My Spanish and History teachers are the worst about it. My Spanish teacher makes the class use something called (edit:) SchoolAI. Its especially annoying as she grades and monitors our responses. My History teacher has made the class use Gemini to research certain things, and he always uses Gemini Notebook to make videos, podcasts, and flashcards. I don't think a single person in the class uses any of these. My English teacher sometimes makes us use AI for projects, which is graded.

I’m an IB student, and something happened in class today that got me thinking.

I heard someone mention that our school’s Wi-Fi had blocked access to AI tools. Around the same time, another student said they struggled to read articles because their attention span was too short.

Those two comments made me think about something bigger than either situation individually.

Schools are increasingly trying to control how students use AI, often because of concerns about cheating, independent thinking, and students relying on technology to do their work for them. Those concerns are understandable.

But at the same time, what does it mean if students are struggling to engage with the material they’re supposed to learn from in the first place?

Reading a long article requires patience. You have to follow an argument, understand context, question claims, and connect ideas. If you replace that process with an AI-generated summary every time, you might get the information faster without necessarily developing the ability to understand it independently.

On the other hand, simply blocking AI doesn’t magically teach anyone to read more carefully or think critically.

So are schools addressing the actual problem, or just restricting one of its possible symptoms?

I’m not arguing that AI should be allowed everywhere, nor am I claiming that AI is causing shorter attention spans. Two comments in one classroom obviously aren’t enough evidence to establish that.

I’m genuinely interested in what other people think:

-Are schools approaching AI restrictions the wrong way?

-Do you think short-form digital content is changing how students engage with longer texts?

-Should schools teach students how to use AI responsibly rather than primarily trying to prevent access?

-Could AI actually help students develop better reading and critical-thinking skills if it’s used properly?

I’m especially interested in hearing from other students and teachers. Have you noticed similar things in your schools, and how are your teachers responding?

I think there’s a bigger conversation here about what education should look like when information is increasingly easy to generate but genuinely understanding it still takes effort.

PS; one last note i'm genuinely worried if we lack the capacity to comprehend text how can we protect ourselves from misinformation, reading is power, literature ia power, it feels as though this is a massive stab upon my heart how will my generation continue to be human if all we understand is dumbed down passages, even in the most rigorous curricula graduates lack these 4th-5th grade skills.

I really feel that most of the creators are just spamming viral topics, and it is obviously written by AI. Why?
What do u think guys?

Hello, education community! 👋

We're 9th-grade students working on a Global Perspectives school project about crime.

We'd really appreciate it if you could help us with our primary research by answering our three sub-questions below!

Main research question: Why do people commit crimes?

Sub-questions:

1. What factors can contribute to psychological problems that may lead people to commit crimes?

2. What financial difficulties can lead people to commit crimes?

3. Why do some people commit crimes despite knowing the possible consequences?

You don't need to answer the main research question — we'd just appreciate your thoughts on the three sub-questions.

Thank you for your help! 🙏

I'm curious how other educators and tutors feel about this.

I've been working with a middle school math student whose family wanted her to accelerate in math. The goal was for her to eventually complete Algebra I and Geometry before high school.

At the end of last school year, the school initially recommended against her taking an advanced math course over the summer.

Her overall math grade was a C, and her state assessment score was just a few points below the benchmark.

I understood their concerns. I've taught math for years, and I know how important those foundational skills are, especially before Algebra I.

But I was also working with this student regularly. I was seeing her improve, and her family was willing to provide the additional academic support she needed.

So we kept asking questions about what options were available.

Eventually, the school agreed to let her take the advanced course over the summer, with the understanding that she needed an A or B to move into Advanced 7th Grade Math.

Well, she finished the first semester with a 97% and the second with a 94%.

She's now taking Advanced 7th Grade Math in person.

We're currently working toward the next step, which is getting her into Algebra I through FLVS in January. Of course, there are additional requirements involving her classroom grade, state assessment, and teacher recommendation.

I'm not against academic requirements. I actually think they are important.

But here's where I struggle.

If we had simply accepted the original recommendation, this student wouldn't have had the opportunity to demonstrate what she was capable of accomplishing.

And I wonder how many other students are in similar situations but don't have parents or tutors who know what questions to ask.

I also think schools and families would benefit from having clearer conversations about acceleration requirements earlier in the school year, rather than waiting until enrollment deadlines are approaching.

I'm curious:

How much weight should previous grades and standardized test scores carry when deciding whether a student is ready for more advanced coursework?

And for those of you who teach middle school math, how do you balance protecting foundational skills with giving students opportunities to challenge themselves?

I'd really like to hear other perspectives, especially from teachers, tutors, and school counselors.

Question about grading repeated formatting errors:

Say a student makes the exact same notation mistake throughout an entire test (e.g., forgetting to write = 0 during solving steps). The error is real and deserves a deduction. Proper notation is a core learning goal in itself, yet it does not prevent the student from solving the problem correctly or showing solid mastery of the other concepts tested.

If a test covers 10 concepts with 1-mark questions, deducting 0.5 marks on every item cuts the student's overall score in half. This single repeated mistake quickly outweighs the other distinct concepts the test was designed to measure.

Would it make sense to penalize it once globally, deducting for the repeated notation error as its own distinct category weighted equally to a single concept, rather than penalizing it on every individual item?

As someone outside the classroom looking to understand sound assessment design, how do educators normally handle this without inflating the weight of one repeated flaw?

I just turned 18 last month and idk I started talking to this guy and he’s made me really wanna actually have a future I guess and I’ve deadass just been like struggling so bad mentally for awhile, likes 4th grade so I just don’t know what really to do, I’ve been isolated this whole time too I don’t go out and do anything ever I don’t have a job I never really talked to anyone but one person online and now I’m just trying to fix everything abt myself. I don’t even know like really anything at all so I don’t want to go to some ged adult classes I want to like learn on my own or online but I don’t think my mom would ever let me so that’s why I’m doing it alone idk I’m just like scared I guess

When I taught high school mathematics and science in 2023, my best technique for teaching students complex concepts was building visual analogies. If my student was learning how to complete the square, I'd have them use the Feynman Technique to understand the process conceptually, but then I'd have them create a visual analogy in their mind's eye that represented the concept.

If we didn’t create the visual analogy, the information would be gone by next class.

I found that without storing their conceptual learning in an imagined picture, the student would be able to explain how to complete the square in lesson 5 and the knowledge would fade by lesson 6.

Visual analogies to represent abstract concepts solves a massive problem: it actually stores the information somewhere in the student's brain. When I taught through visual analogies and had the students build them in their heads, the student would still remember the concept by the unit test.

So if the student still remembered the concept, why does this post have this title?

It's because visual analogies exchange being able to retain some version of what they learned for the price of thinking in the shadow of concepts.

Let's take an example from when I taught a 1 off history course and had to communicate the following concept: in 2008, Chinese authors wrote declinist commentary about the United States' economic crisis, which emphasized the comparative growth between China and the US.

When I taught this to my student, I knew I had to use a analogical picture. I had worked with this student for months at this point, and knew that without some image, even if they understood the concept now, the information would soon fade .

So I gave them this mnemonic: picture a cliff. At the top, you see authors wearing shirts with the Chinese flag, pointing down and throwing pages. Next to them was a big pile of money. At the bottom of the cliff, people wearing the United States flag on their shirts are looking sad. When I gave them that mnemonic image, their face lit up, and they said, "Oh, I get it now."

This is a moment in my teaching that I'm both proud of and deeply upset by.

The pride is that, for a moment, my teaching allowed Hannah to “see” the concept, which is magical. It was something she could work with and manipulate.

On the other side, that image is not the concept I wanted her to learn, and that image is what she stored.

To demonstrate what I mean, here’s what happened two weeks later; many of you who’ve used visual analogies will recognize it.

The subject came up again, and under free recall, I asked what the relationship was in 2008 between China and the U.S. Hannah said, "Oh, I remember."

Then her smile turned into confusion: “Uh, yeah, so I see the Chinese people above the U.S. people, and they have money. Oh, so I think that it was something to do with money. And then I see papers being thrown, and so it seems like the Chinese people thought the U.S. people were worse."

This was a much better answer than if we hadn't created that visual analogy, because that answer would have been entirely blank.

But, as a teacher, i want more for my students than being able to recall things they learn, but only as shadows.

When I teach my students something, I want the medium in which they store the information to be rich and conceptual. I don't want it to have to be a silly cartoon analogy every time.

The usefulness of visual analogies reminds me of that old quote about democracy: democracy is terrible, but it's the best form of government we have.

We want students to be able to remember what they learn, and we want the form they store the information in to be actually helpful for learning. Visual analogies only solve one end of that problem.

In an ideal world, there would be a tool that provided the same sensory and memory abilities as visual mnemonics, but represented the information in its full conceptual form.

A visual analogy lets a student actually look at that image of the cliff and notice things in it, and they feel like they have it. They're holding the concept in their head.

Whatever better solution to this problem exists needs that property too, where the student can hold the concept in some imagined sense. And the trace of that imagined sense must be really strong, like images and not words.

If you're interested in talking more about alternatives to visual mnemonics for teaching students complex conceptual information in a way that sticks, you can check out the subreddit
[r/MentalAtlas](r/MentalAtlas).

Hey everyone! 👋 We're EUobserver, an independent European newsroom.

We recently published an opinion piece looking at youth protests in France, Spain and Albania, and one thing connects these very different situations: young people are increasingly questioning whether education still offers a realistic path towards financial independence.

In France, students have protested over teacher shortages and school conditions. In Spain, even young people who finish their education and find work can struggle to afford housing. And in Albania, concerns about education costs and future opportunities have contributed to student frustration.

Of course, education has value far beyond earning a salary. But it's difficult to ignore the gap between what young people are encouraged to work towards and what awaits them afterwards.

Do you think education still offers the same opportunities for social mobility that it did for previous generations?

And what could schools, universities and policymakers do differently? Let us know what you're thinking in the comments :)

Hi, my boys are 7 and 8 years old. Everywhere I look, AI seems to be changing the way people have worked for the past decade. My husband and I have been in tech for a long time, but even we're seeing the industry undergo a major transformation.

Learning computers, coding, or even ML/AI feels like it might become less relevant in the future, or perhaps there will be very few opportunities left, mostly reserved for the exceptionally talented.

My kids are naturally curious and love building things. They're not necessarily the top performers at school, but they consistently score above the 90th percentile without putting in too much effort, and we're happy with where they are.

However, I want to expose them to skills that will prepare them for the world they'll enter when they're 21. I want them to know how to navigate a world that's constantly changing, have a bit of a head start, or at least feel less intimidated by uncertainty.

For example, skills like decision-making, understanding human biases, money and finance, thinking from first principles, street smarts, and so on.

Have any of you taken steps in this direction with your kids?

So far, I've tried building on their natural curiosity and the questions they tend to ask. But there are two challenges. First, it's exhausting to do this consistently. Second, I have limited knowledge in some of these areas, and I sometimes struggle to come up with creative ways to explain concepts in a way they can easily understand.

I'd love to hear what other parents are doing and what's worked for you.

I'm a former high school teacher and my DIY Science project I call "Float-O-Matic" was accepted at Maker Faire Orlando (November 7-8). I could use a break mid day on Sat and Sun so I can eat lunch and hit the bathroom. Anyone want to help as a volunteer for an hour one of those days? I can provide you with a free weekend pass. No special skills needed at my booth. It's just a fun hands-on science / tech learning project that requires very little if any guidance for participants. I just can't leave the booth unattended. So many educators (and future educators) attend this Maker Faire.

I’ve spent years working with teachers on classroom practice. Posting because this shift in my thinking has been useful and I’d like pushback. No links.

The short version: I used to think improving teaching was mainly a content problem. Now I think it’s a consistency problem. Regular practice with support over months beats any single strong session.

Before: better materials, clearer methods, and a well-run session would improve classrooms. So the job was to design a good session, deliver it well, and collect feedback forms saying it was great.

After: most teachers already know plenty of good practice. What’s missing is time to try something, watch it go wrong, and adjust with support, again and again. Ten ordinary sessions on a fixed schedule beat one strong one. Feedback forms filled in right after a session measure how people felt, not what changed in class.

The same pattern shows up with new classroom tools. Before: the job was to show the tools. After: the job is to give teachers enough supervised practice to judge for themselves when a tool helps students and when it misleads them.

What pushed me in this direction wasn’t one moment. It was noticing that the question “did this change anything?” is almost never asked a month later, only at the end of the day. Once you start asking it later, single-day formats are hard to defend.

If you work with teachers, what do you actually look at to know something worked (classroom observation, student work, whether the practice is still in use months later), and what turned out not to be worth tracking?

Hi,

I’m looking for advice on whether I should get my 11-year-old nephew started on programming since he’s not being taught programming at school, and nowadays I see young pupils learning and honing programming skills. His analytical and logical reasoning abilities aren’t very sharp either compared to kids his age.

Therefore, I want him to learn things that are deeply rooted in problem-solving and critical thinking. Is this age suitable for getting started, or should I wait a few years?

Also, if you know of any resources that can be helpful or relevant to programming for kids, please do share.

Thanks.

If you’re a US teacher thinking about making the move to Canada, we’re hosting a free virtual webinar next week to help teachers learn more about exploring opportunities in Canada, and how to navigate the immigration process.

A lawyer will be sharing insights and helping you better understand what to consider.

If you’re interested, comment webinar and i’ll send you the link!

October 29, 7pm.

Hope to see you there.

Do you expect teachers to be able pass everyone along, force them to learn, and be responsible for standardized test scores? You leaders couldn't even last a day in schools now yet you are in charge of all of your mandates and nonsense things that make teachers look bad.

You sit back in your cozy office coming up with mandates and other rules when you haven't ever been in a classroom. You all are so clueless. No wonder why enrollment is falling in public schools. You blame this on teachers as an easy way out, but 99 percent of it is on you all. I have looked up state educational leaders and they try to keep their profile quiet, and they do nothing to help! They only got their position by sucking up to other people in charge and moved up the ladder. Yet they have low IQ and don't care about education. They only care about "test scores" and them keeping their jobs. That's why it's my last year being an educator in public schools. Tired of looser higher ups making so much money and doing nothing to help.

Let me know if this is the wrong place to ask this but I’m looking for advice on how to help students with this issue. I’m a peer educator at a university who supports classes like biology, anatomy, and chemistry, and students frequently come in demonstrating a worrying inability to read basic sentences from their lecture slideshows or study guides. I try to help them with the actual content of their courses, but I feel that I’m failing them if I don’t offer them any advice on improving this essential skill. I would love to be able to guide them through a few practice exercises during our sessions or have some practice that I can suggest they do on their own time. The problem is that I have no experience teaching literacy or reading and I’m scared of making them feel stupid or inadequate by bringing attention to their poor literacy skills. Does anyone have any advice on how I can help these students?