Plato once wrote that "if a city is to achieve the height of good government, wives must be in common, children and all their education must be in common." While Plato's notion of communal wives and children never really took off (outside Utah), his call for quality education for the masses has endured. Whitney Houston, who is not exactly Plato, proclaimed, "I believe the children are our future - teach them well and let them lead the way." For many in this country, the public school system has not met Whitney's goal. Mark Twain once commented, "In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made School Boards." Over the past decade, standardized test scores have fallen, the performance of U.S. students has been surpassed by those in peer countries like Germany and Japan, and the cost of private education has sky-rocketed. "How to fix education" is now the hot topic for presidential candidates and soccer-moms alike. Some believe that a large part of the answer lies in the expansion of supplemental and special education programs that cater instruction and standards to those with special needs. Others, however, call for broader and more sweeping reforms of the system.
Among the most contentious and popular of these reform proposals is a "school vouchers" program that would use government funds to subsidize private school education for many of those who want it. Jed Bush, George W.'s brother and the Governor of Florida, recently saw his highly popular voucher program struck down by the courts. However, the legal basis on which it was prohibited, a provision in Florida's constitution, is not necessarily applicable to the rest of the nation. The issue divides largely along party lines: the two major Republican candidates for President support school vouchers, while the program is opposed by the Democratic candidates, Al Gore and Bill Bradley.
A good old-fashioned political debate, the controversy over school vouchers roots itself in everything from the Constitutional freedom of religion to the economic theories of Adam Smith. We here at SoYouWanna.net would like to give you our take on this fiercely contested issue. Read on because - who knows - you may even learn something (sorry).
1. LEARN THE ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF SCHOOL VOUCHERS
"As Americans, we believe that competition yields a better product.
Why not apply the same standard to education, making public
schools accountable to the community?"
The Argument:The Cold War is over and capitalism won. Why not let Adam Smith's "invisible hand" guide our nation toward a more efficient and productive educational system? Public schools in this country are plagued by mismanagement, inefficiency, and corruption. Recently, embarrassing revelations about teacher-assisted cheating have surfaced in New York City. Yet, for most Americans, public education is the only affordable option. If nothing else, the competition from private institutions would reform a public system designed to please teachers' unions and government fat-cats, putting the emphasis back on the students.
The Response:There is nothing un-American about letting the government control education instead of allowing private organizations to do so. Our government owes its citizens a public education system that works; the voucher problem is simply an attempt by some in government to shirk the irresponsibilities, passing this burden on to the private sector. Although competition would force some improvements, it would also lead to things like cost-cutting, manipulative marketing and friction - effects that, though acceptable in the business world, we should not tolerate in education.
"Why not let parents choose what schools' values are most compatible with their own? Right now, this is a privilege of the rich; with vouchers, it would be available to everyone."
The Argument: Right now, rich families alarmed at the erosion of values in our public schools - drug use, promiscuity, violence - can afford alternatives for their children. Why shouldn't the poor be given an equal opportunity? How can we suppress their rights in the wake of incidents like the Columbine High School shooting or the case of Amy Grossman, the high school senior who gave birth at the prom, abandoned her child, and then returned to the dance floor? Private institutions are able to escape the burdens of bureaucratic red tape and the stagnancy of politics. They can offer options that cater to the needs and preferences of specific communities.
The Response: One of the hidden assets of public education is its ability to instill understanding for wide-ranging positions, freeing students from intolerant and rigid traditions; everybody loses if we allow our children to be educated in insulated and homogeneous environments. Although some blame public education for the ills of our society, they should not be so quick to cripple a system with the potential to heal our country. Despite its present failings, our system is working to the advantage of minorities and the poor: test scores for minorities in this country are climbing steadily, and the rate of college enrollment has increased more quickly for the poor.
"Public schools are terrible. The government has proven itself unable to oversee education. If there are other institutions willing to take over, why not let them try?"
The Argument: Governments are good at things like taking money, making war, and enforcing rules; but do we really think Big Brother is caring, devoted, and intellectual enough to educate our young people? Can a community-oriented Catholic school really do a worse job than Columbine? At least if the government cannot carry out its responsibilities, it should have the humility and common sense to let those more committed and capable take a shot.
The Response: Delegating the responsibilities of education to private organizations, which often have their own religious or social agendas, is not only dangerous, it is also unconstitutional. In a country that separates church and state, it would be improper for tax dollars to be used to fund a religious education. The courts have ruled to this effect in striking down school voucher programs in Florida and Cleveland. The government might not be doing an ideal job of overseeing education right now, but it is the only appropriate institution to do so under the Constitution. Therefore, the government must improve public education, not abandon it.
