The Demise of Public Education (Cathryn Crawford)

Washington Dispatch ^ | September 26, 2003 | Cathryn Crawford

[c-b 1]

PING

[Scenic Sounds]

In the long run, only the complete, absolute abolition of socialized education -- with extreme prejudice -- will solve the problems identified in the article.

What would that mean? Closing all public schools? Ending all public financing of schools?

Do you believe in compulsory education laws?

[Scenic Sounds]

Thankfully, it's the only one I'm taking. I'd drop it, but I have to have the hours for my scholarship.

As quick as you are, you could take all the courses in a couple of years. ;-)

[Cathryn Crawford]

As quick as you are, you could take all the courses in a couple of years. ;-)

Hopefully, I'll be done by May 2005. :-)

[only1percent]

How would you feel about a system that allowed schools to accept vouchers only as full payment?

I go back and forth on that.

I think that the government should do as little as possible to restrain competition among schools for the full voucher funds -- but, on the other hand, it would be an unattractive to create two disparate classes of urban voucher beneficiaries: well-off people who add $14,000 of their own to the $8,000 full-pro-rata voucher and go to the elite city private schools with private-college tuition levels, while all of the rest could only go to less-elite schools which charged little or no above the voucher amount.

I think some kind of need-sensitive system whereby a certain fraction of vouchers must be taken as tuition in full, would be best. Too large a fraction and the best schools would simply refuse to take vouchers, which would defeat the point of the system.

[BeerSwillr]

I believe you. It is much easier to swim with the current than against it.

Please try and make an effort to get out into some of the successful school districts before school ends next summer to see how it's done. I can FReepmail you the contacts for the school district my children attend if you wish.

[Scenic Sounds]

Too large a fraction and the best schools would simply refuse to take vouchers, which would defeat the point of the system.

I understand your point. A lot of families really don't need help paying for their children's education. If they want to send their kids to an elite, very expensive school (which they are doing now), they would be unaffected by a system which required schools to accept vouchers as full payment because their schools would not accept them. Wouldn't that free up some resources so that kids who needed them could get larger vouchers?

[honeygrl]

Great article! The one and only thing that bothers me with the school vouchers is that I wonder what the government will do to the private schools if they get one little toe in the door. I can see them trying to regulate what they can and can't teach, trying to take religion out of them as well, and trying to "diversify" them. I could see the vouchers being their one little toe in the door too, unfortunately. Can you imagine the lawsuits when students who claim to be gay have parents who want to use vouchers to get their kid into a Christian school and the school saying "Nope"? And the way our court system is behaving these days, the school may not win a fight like that.

[honeygrl]

Another question: What percentage of parents would actually be *willing* to do it?

[kegler4]

Well, I agree that some school systems do too much in the way of social programs. I assume this happens partly because of the desire to push an agenda but I also think there's little question that it also happens because so many parents in some schools just abdicate that responsibility. I have no hard answers, but do you really think a privatized school system or vouchers will solve the problem of parents who don't care? I don't.

[kegler4]

And sorry for my earlier comment. Sometimes I get too defensive. Our schools aren't perfect but the parents here (me included) work hard to make them as good as we can.

[kegler4]

"Another question: What percentage of parents would actually be *willing* to do it?"

I couldn't at this point. My daughter is taking calculus and college-level biology, neither of which I could even begin to deal with.

[attagirl]

Yes, that "one and only thing" is quite something isn't it. That's why I'm also against the faith-based initiative.

Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly.

[leprechaun9]

It would be very useful if to define EDUCATION!

I have monitored the results of statewide testing (public schools only - the State of New Jersey does not test private schools) for about 15 years. The Education industry is sucking billions of dollars out of the public cash register every year to feed their appetite with no sign of any abatement. The results of their own tests show that educating students is not a principal goal.

I have asked many people, including educators, administrators, and legislators to define education and more than half of them told me that it is the red brick building down the street!

As long as the public swallows the tripe of "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN", the situation will only continue to deteriorate!

[attagirl]

Very important article

http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/qa/22792.html

[hattend]

Well Done...BTTT

[Scenic Sounds]

It sounds like you've done a lot of work in this area. I think a lot of folks are looking for alternatives.

Have you come up with any in your research?

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Public schools where most of the parents are responsible, and where the parents effectively control the schools by way of a locally-elected school board more afraid of parents than of the teachers union, do just fine."

Therein lies the crux of the situation. The School Boards SHOULD be more afraid of the parents than they are of the Teachers Union.

I know my boys teachers run and hide everytime they see me on the street lol.

[attagirl]

Please read the article cited in post 54. I too come from a "high performing school district."

And I see a steady decline of textbooks etc. with all 3 kids (all of which were cited as "gifted and talented".

More and more videos in the classroom, more p.c. garbage (very few classics assigned), more journal writing in most classes, process over product, etc., etc., etc. (But the SAT scores have gone up thanks to renorming and reconstructing the test.)

I even found an educational technology report on our state DOE website stating the goal of "teachers as facilitators." But the dunderheads on the Board of Ed. say "it has nothing to do with us."

We just agreed on a $73 M price tag to rebuild the high school. Why so high? The computers, of course. You can't have up to date OBE without them.

BTW the parents you criticize are products of public schools, no doubt.

The schools and all the people in them are to be "transformed"--another quote from report above.

[Sparta]

The easiest solution is to abolish the government schools and let parents pick which school services they want their child to have.