I don't like test prep however please dont blame Asian on that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

This is misleading. I'll give you that the majority of hispanic and black students do not prep, no arguments there. But the majority of white students tutor, with special focus on prep when the time comes. Semantics. So from DCUM I gather tutoring is ok, but pooling resources to essentially tutor is not. Ok.

[Anonymous]

Way back when I was a kid, these tests were supposed to measure what you know. So if you study hard, do your homework, and understand what you are learning in school, you don’t have to “prep” for the test.

Now, it seems the tests don’t measure what you know; they measure if you know how to take the test.

As a parent, I will totally make sure my kids know their math facts, read widely and have a large vocabulary, etc., but I draw the line at coaching a 10-year-old on test-taking strategies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

Not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, not at all. Why the hell are we all paying taxes for a subpar public education? Why are we now forced to pay for supplemental education if we want our kids to stay in the game? I think people are annoyed that this has become the standard. Academics and athletics are apples and oranges. The athletics are a joke and a huge waste of time. Furthermore, my taxes are not going towards sports teams and coaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

Not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, not at all. Why the hell are we all paying taxes for a subpar public education? Why are we now forced to pay for supplemental education if we want our kids to stay in the game? I think people are annoyed that this has become the standard. Academics and athletics are apples and oranges. The athletics are a joke and a huge waste of time. Furthermore, my taxes are not going towards sports teams and coaching.

You having to pay for subpar public education has zero to do with test prep and magnet programs. Even if public education was wonderful, you will still have some kids prepping. Why? Because they want to get ahead (or their parents do). You think public education in Asian countries like S. Korea are subpar and that's why so many of their students go to after school tutoring classes? No. It's because competition is fierce, and the parents want their kids to have an advantage. That is no different than sports.

And I know not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, but you don't acknowledge that not all Asian students prep/go to tutoring (mine don't). You are ok with people stereotyping Asian students but not white/black/hispanic. That is also the point of this thread which you clearly missed. Once again, it's fine for people to stereotype Asians, but not others.

And if you think public education sucks, then even more reason for you to send your kids to prep classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Way back when I was a kid, these tests were supposed to measure what you know. So if you study hard, do your homework, and understand what you are learning in school, you don’t have to “prep” for the test.

Now, it seems the tests don’t measure what you know; they measure if you know how to take the test.

As a parent, I will totally make sure my kids know their math facts, read widely and have a large vocabulary, etc., but I draw the line at coaching a 10-year-old on test-taking strategies.

Exactly, I am old, my family has lived here for centuries. I have yet to meet anyone white/hispanic/black who has paid for any type of prep class for ES or MS children. I have seen kids who are clearly struggling with learning disabilities receive special education services and early intervention therapies, but that’s it. This belief that white people bribe and have connections is wrong on most levels. You are mistaken, most white people aren’t so privileged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

Why even go to school at all then? Is it simply to show off what we learned after school at our test prep courses? I am not saying it’s all Asians doing this, but I don’t know one W/H/B person prepping. Just exclusively homeschool and leave the regular school for the dummies.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

Not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, not at all. Why the hell are we all paying taxes for a subpar public education? Why are we now forced to pay for supplemental education if we want our kids to stay in the game? I think people are annoyed that this has become the standard. Academics and athletics are apples and oranges. The athletics are a joke and a huge waste of time. Furthermore, my taxes are not going towards sports teams and coaching.

You having to pay for subpar public education has zero to do with test prep and magnet programs. Even if public education was wonderful, you will still have some kids prepping. Why? Because they want to get ahead (or their parents do). You think public education in Asian countries like S. Korea are subpar and that's why so many of their students go to after school tutoring classes? No. It's because competition is fierce, and the parents want their kids to have an advantage. That is no different than sports.

And I know not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, but you don't acknowledge that not all Asian students prep/go to tutoring (mine don't). You are ok with people stereotyping Asian students but not white/black/hispanic. That is also the point of this thread which you clearly missed. Once again, it's fine for people to stereotype Asians, but not others.

And if you think public education sucks, then even more reason for you to send your kids to prep classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these elementary level test prep classes that everyone is talking about? Do you mean Kumon?

Yes, Kumon.

Huh? I thought Kumon was for strengthening basic math skills, not for prepping on how to take the CogAt or other standardized test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these elementary level test prep classes that everyone is talking about? Do you mean Kumon?

Yes, Kumon.

Huh? I thought Kumon was for strengthening basic math skills, not for prepping on how to take the CogAt or other standardized test.

It’s the elementary school equivalent to a prep course. Just another way to get ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but you shouldn't have to choose between being a great student and having plenty of other interests that you pursue at TWELVE YEARS OLD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Way back when I was a kid, these tests were supposed to measure what you know. So if you study hard, do your homework, and understand what you are learning in school, you don’t have to “prep” for the test.

Now, it seems the tests don’t measure what you know; they measure if you know how to take the test.

As a parent, I will totally make sure my kids know their math facts, read widely and have a large vocabulary, etc., but I draw the line at coaching a 10-year-old on test-taking strategies.

+1

Exactly! And that is precisely why it is considered cheating, even though the groups that over prep don't want to call it that. Instead, they want to call the white students "lazy" for not prepping - and even try to draw an analogy with sports. BS. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but you shouldn't have to choose between being a great student and having plenty of other interests that you pursue at TWELVE YEARS OLD.

+1

I know Asian kids who have tutoring for every single subject, three hours each per day. How much is too much - ie: UNHEALTHY.

"When in Rome....."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way back when I was a kid, these tests were supposed to measure what you know. So if you study hard, do your homework, and understand what you are learning in school, you don’t have to “prep” for the test.

Now, it seems the tests don’t measure what you know; they measure if you know how to take the test.

As a parent, I will totally make sure my kids know their math facts, read widely and have a large vocabulary, etc., but I draw the line at coaching a 10-year-old on test-taking strategies.

+1

Exactly! And that is precisely why it is considered cheating, even though the groups that over prep don't want to call it that. Instead, they want to call the white students "lazy" for not prepping - and even try to draw an analogy with sports. BS. Give me a break.

Welcome to 2020.. You know what else is different from back in your day, pretty much everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are these elementary level test prep classes that everyone is talking about? Do you mean Kumon?

Yes, Kumon.

Huh? I thought Kumon was for strengthening basic math skills, not for prepping on how to take the CogAt or other standardized test.

It’s the elementary school equivalent to a prep course. Just another way to get ahead.

+1

Can we stop with taking the poor kids' childhoods AWAY from them?? I get it, you are chasing the almighty dollar, but at what expense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly who cares? I had a friend tell me that doing puzzles and reading to my kids for 30 min a day was leaving poor families at a disadvantage. You can't win. Somehow "equality" seems to be bringing down the high achievers versus just making the pie larger for everyone. I see that with so much right now in society too.

As long as there's no cheating or abuse of the children (I knew a girl when I was in school whose parents would beat her and she studied all night and couldn't stay awake during school), prepping is great.

Pro-TJ reform here - what your friend told you is garbage. Those of us who are in favor of TJ reform don't have any issue with parents doing right by their kids. We have an issue with a system that incentivizes spending thousands of dollars and hours on exam prep. There are those who would conflate the two - those people are nuts.

Whites spend even more money on prepping because they pay for private tutors for test preps, classes etc. private tutors cost much more than in class tuitions so we should outlaw those first.

White person here. I've never known a white family in my entire life who paid for tutoring for their kids. This would be very uncommon in the white culture. I've known white families who sent their kids to Catholic schools for a better education.

I believe white people don't send kids for prepping at an early age but they do use prep services in HS for SAT or something else.
They do send their kids for sports prep and practices. Should we have a quota over there too? No one should prepare for anything and just show up for the exam or a sport event. Otherwise its cheating and not fair to other communities.

Yes, this is what the majority of the white/hispanic/black people do. They just show up and take the exam and play the sport without prepping. Prep courses are a fairly new trend.

But maybe they should. They seem to practice sports a lot. Why not academics? Because they don't value it as much, which is fine. Everyone has different priorities. But if other people highly value education and want to prep more, then what's it to you? Because you can't compete? Well, then practice more.

My DC is smart, magnet program, no prepping classes, but DC is not athletic. DC sucks at sports and knows it. Feels really down about it. So, I told DC that DC needed to practice more if DC wanted to get better, but DC doesn't want to. *shrug* then you won't get better. Academics is no different. Just like sports, some kids need more practice than others.

If other kids are getting better at sports, then you go and practice more to keep up. Why should academics be any different? I don't demand the sports league or school team to stop those other kids from practicing their sports several hours per day so that my kid has a fair shot without having to practice as much as those other kids.

Not all white/hispanic/black kids are obsessed with sports, not at all. Why the hell are we all paying taxes for a subpar public education? Why are we now forced to pay for supplemental education if we want our kids to stay in the game? I think people are annoyed that this has become the standard. Academics and athletics are apples and oranges. The athletics are a joke and a huge waste of time. Furthermore, my taxes are not going towards sports teams and coaching.

Yes they are.