So you think it is better to leave the education system as it is? Vouchers aren't perfect, but they are a great way of creating accountability in schools, both public and private. Good schools get better, bad ones disappear. It is a great way of reducing costs. And let's face it, no one is going to be able to scrap the current school system completely. It is politically impossible. So either we come up with a better solution that what we have now, or we keep paying into a money pit which in turn brainwashes the masses.
Homeschool parents and many private school parents are doing the honorable thing by making the sacrifice for their kids. On the other hand, the rest of America puts their kids into a brain-washing institution. Something has to be done.
I certainly believe that anyone who wishes to homeschool their kids should have that ability. Vouchers would never interfere with that. However, by not accepting voucher funds, homeschoolers would likely not benefit directly from reduced costs. But, homeschoolers would be no worse off than they are now.
Currently, the States pay the Federal government certain funds for schooling. As long as the States live up to certain expectations in other areas (highway building/maintenance, etc.), the government rebates schooling funds to the States. As you would agree, this is an obsurd way of funding education and is a waste of your money and mine. Something has to be done. Do you have any better suggestions?
I defintiely agree that the educational system needs an overhaul.Your point is excellent. Vouchers would be a good idea,and also some type of incentive program for schools that perform well.Teachers'unions (and I know i'll catch hell for this) should put a program in place that rewards good teachers (ones that really care enough about the kids they teach to go that extra mile with them) and penalizes others.Better yet....NO TEACHERS' UNION.(OOOps, I done it that time!)
But we can get the federal government out of it if we start pushing hard in that direction. It was the Republican Party platform as recently as 1996, and it can just as easily be again, as long as it's made an issue.
I certainly believe that anyone who wishes to homeschool their kids should have that ability. Vouchers would never interfere with that. However, by not accepting voucher funds, homeschoolers would likely not benefit directly from reduced costs. But, homeschoolers would be no worse off than they are now.
It won't affect individual homeschoolers directly, but it will most certainly sap energy from the homeschooling movement. And right now, it needs all the energy and promotion it can get.
With vouchers, you open a door to government control of private and religious schools that will be exceedingly difficult to close. They can end up making the problem substantially worse. Just look at what federal aid has done to the independence of private colleges and universities. Especially considering that "federal aid", for many legal purposes, can be defined as the presence of a single student receiving student aid.