Vouchers

[theLIBERTARIAN]

Do you favor vouchers?

Here is an article submitted from Florida:

Florida Libertarians: Voucher Decision "New Jim Crow"

January 20th 2006



Michael Gilson-De Lemos
St Petersburg, Fl--Some Florida Libertarians and concerned parents involved in education characterized a Florida Supreme Court ruling against vouchers as "institutionalizing ignorance" and "bizarre, unrealistic, and a new form of Jim Crow to keep the poor out of private schools."

So said attendees and e-participants for a workshop for parents concerned about the decision hosted by Libertarians. Michael Gilson-De Lemos, who serves on a local schooling board in Pinellas county and is a frequent speaker to schools and educators on Libertarian alternatives, hosted the forum.

The Florida court ruled against the Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who led a coalition that brought about what observers felt was one of the most successful voucher plans in the US.

Best Syndication Article

[d@mien]

Hi there. Being a public educator, I find this topic always pulling me in . . . unfortuantely sometimes more than others

Besides the fact that I think it is an honorable occupation to be a public servant in the form of a public school teacher, I also think that the system of education in our country gets a bum rap many times in the media and it shows through public opinion as well as a result.

I'm a believer in the 1970's push for social services and resources being provided and infused into our American culture. I remember growing up and trusting my teachers and school sytem to teach me what I needed to know to make it in life, and for the most part, that is how it transpired.

There are checks and balances in a public system that prevent favoritism and prejudices that often can occur in a private free-enterprise system. Of course, I am alluding to the notion of vouchers being provided by the governement for students to choose a private school to attend instead of a public school if they so choose.

This is an interesting topic to me, but I feel it has never really been clearly laid out as a viable method of either 1) saving dollars or 2) providing more equal access to better education for low income students.

Public education was great to me and as a public educator, I strive to provide a great education to my students. I strive to give back the quality that was given to me.

Even in my community college level years, and Cal State years I greatly benefitted by public dollars funding my post-secondary education in my pursuit to improve my standard of knowledge, patience, and hire-ability as a result of a college degree. Public education made that possible. The Community College was my door into the path of higher education, and the Cal State System helped me achieve all my scholarly goals. My public education has made a world of difference to me.

When I hear the arguments for vouchers, 99% of the time it is from a corner that is highly Republican (to the point of extreme) and usually it is from folks who have a bone to pick with public education. I guess, because I always respected and gained from my public school education, I don't share that bone of contention.

If public dollars are funnelled into private schools and they become dependent on these vouchers, will that create better education, or will it cause a new and worse status quo to evolve? Will private schools that are supposedly so much more effective at educating students become the solution to the problems these people say exist in our public schools? Hardly not I say. I think some sort of viable voucher system should be enstated for students that cannot make it in a public setting for one reason or another. In that case, I think the governement should offset the cost of going to a private school that may specialize in their particular situation.

Short of that, I feel the puclic schools have plenty of checks and balances to keep them achieving without fearing the loss of students and government dollars. I think the emphasis should be on getting the best teachers possible into the public schools and working to maintain a high level of performance from those teachers. This can be maintained an infinite variety of productive ways, but imposing a risk of schools losing money over a vouchers choice system is not one of them.

Competition is healthy and it is necessary in any endeavor of excellence. However, when you are dealing with a human product, it's not a question of how many widgets the factory can pop out in an hour. True teaching will always be an internally motivated occupation that should be respected because the teacher subsists primarily on intrinsic rewards rather than monetary. Compared to median national and local incomes, teachers have never been wealthy, depsite what most vocuher proponents assert. The occupation that goes back as far as time itself is one of man helping man to become better. Vouchers only reduce teaching to an arbitrary productivity contest and leave the loftier ideals that truly make a great education left up to the Sunday schools and the family unit alone, both of which are sadly not enjoyed enough by the average disadvantaged public student in need of an education for life.

I say, let's research system of vouchers that provides a viable alternative when a student just can't work within the lines of a standard public school sytem. Of course, let's make sure the system has the widest arms possible to embrace all walks of student. After we have done our best as a system there, we should provide a voucher to those fringe children that we have been unable to serve.

It seemed to me growing up in the 70's and 80's that there was a much more respectful tone for systems of government and for teachers. I feel that has deteriorated somewhat through the 90's and into the new Milennium and it is a shame because I see just as much greatness and then some happening today in public education.

Just some of my thoughts, among many others have, on this very spirited and unfortunately often bomabastic and heated topic. I hope you will consider them along your path of discovery.


Jeep
_________________
ML King, Jr. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

[barstow wiz]

i say bring on the vouchers so i can save my youngest child from the kalipornia public education system!
_________________
"A democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding on what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the results of the decision." - Benjamin Franklin

[Jaded]

I support vouchers, no surprise there. I think that public schools cannot meet the needs of every child, and choice should not be reserved only for the wealthiest individuals.

[d@mien]

Thanks for posting your opinion Jaded. Unofrtunately, as you know, we disagree on this issue.

I don't think that Private schools are the answer for all kids who can't get by in public school. Furthermore, if I wanted my child in private school, I'd pay the tuition. Private Schools are just that: PRIVATE. They make their own criteria for success and judge whether they hit it or not.

Would I be correct in saying that some people's issues is not "vouchers" per se, but a dissatisfaction with a school system in general?

I think working to improve the public school system is a better approach than funding private schools with public money.

Public programs can be a success when people work together to make them so. I'm proud to be a public school teacher and I hope in the next decade the public schools in America earn back the respect they once had in the 1970's and early 80's.

All things being equal though, I am open to the idea of vouchers for kids who just can't seem to get along after multiple IEP's and teachers have tried with them. I agree a poor parent should receive assistance to try a private school if the public school system isn't working for them. We never want to become a class society kept back by gates of caste and wealth.

Again, thank you for your opinion, I do respect it (and you )

As for the Wizter . . . I van't really comment on your terse aphorism about "Kalipronia." To each his own becomes in reality I suppose. Your opinion is not unique, but your post doesn't do much to persuade me of your position.
_________________
ML King, Jr. "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

[Fringe]

I support vouchers also. I tend to personalize everything and I know I would want them if they were available.

When we first moved here we were thinking of putting our son in St Mary's. Unfortunately what we do for one we must do for all and with four kids that would be incredibly high tuition. They go to public school. I choose to be as actively involved with their education as I can be. That helps with any feelings I may have about the adequacy of their education. As they get older, safety becomes the issue more than quality of education. My 7th grader is mellow and can be invisible when it comes to anything racial so I'm not worried so much about him, and I have him enrolled in a wonderful school that is surpassing it's promises so far. My second son however is not mellow. He will challenge and be challenged every step of the way. I have to wonder about his safety as he gets older. If we run out of options for him he will be homeschooled, God help me.

[Jaded]

I would not care if the only reason why a parent wants private education is because they like the color of the uniforms. It is irrelevant to me. As long as the parents are PAYING for education, they should have the right to choose the school. Choice equals freedom to me.

[Z]

[barstow wiz]

[theLIBERTARIAN]

[Fnord Fred]

Every buck in public education pays off. A kid with a bachelors degree will make about a million dollars more over his lifetime than a kid who's just a HS graduate. Think of it as investing in the people that'll be paying your social security, assuming the system doesn't crash & burn in five years.

[Jaded]

Let's go with that thought for a moment, Fred.

Vouchers proponents are trying to establish a program that is very similar to the higher education. When a student gets his GI Bill or his Pell grant, no one tells him where he MUST attend. Even though it is tax payer money, the student has the freedom of choice. He can choose to go to a public school and earn his degree. He can choose to go to a private school that is better suited to his needs. He can even choose a private religious school.

Colleges and Universities tailor their curriculum to provide the best education to their students. Medical school. Engineering. Performing arts. Athletics. Law. Business. It is up to the student to determine what is best... not the government, not a union, and not society as a whole (even though it is tax payer funded money.)

The public universities are not decimated by choice. They are actually very successful and very competitive. They had to figure out a way to provide an education that was comparable to the private universities, and they succeeded. If students were forced to go to public universities with their grant money, do you think they would be as good? I do not believe so. If everyone who accepted public funds had to attend a public universisty, I contend that the degree wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on... like many high school diplomas.

What about the students that choose not to go to college? Should they have the right to use their tax payer funded grants to trade school? They do. They will not earn a degree in beauty college or truck driving school but they will earn a special license and have a greater earning potential. We do not tell these students that because they want something different, they have to pay for it themselves.

Do you see the comparison? What works best about higher education is exactly what parents are fighting for in k-12 education. Choice. What is best for you will not be what is best for my son, and what is best for my son won't be what is best for Lib's kids or my son's friends. They are all different, with different interests, different needs and different ways of learning.

If people want to attend Notre Dame because it is a kick ass Catholic University with a beautiful church and an outstanding football program, power to them. If they would rather go to Brigham Young and learn all about Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion, power to them too. It does not devalue the accomplishment you might get from earning a degree at UCR or Cal State San Bernardino. If higher public education "pays off" it is exactly because of choice.

I will add, however, that I know many people who earned neither a degree nor a diploma. It did not interfere in their success because they were willing to work for what they wanted. Having an education does not guarantee success, and not having an education does not automatically imply failure, just reduced opportunities. Lazy is as lazy does. You show me a few down and out high school drop outs and I will show you a few rich, powerful and successful high school drops outs. lol. For that matter, I can show you some down and out college grads. Kinda sad really.

[Guest]

[Fnord Fred]

But of course. I was referring to the averages and the fact that on average, a kid with a bachelors will easily bring in enough money in taxes to pay for any financial aid he received.

All I was trying to say is that, 9 times out of 10, it is 'profitable' to invest in education rather than not.