Vouchers- A Chance at a Better Education System.

[lonejedi]

What is a Voucher

A Voucher is basically money given to a parent that is used in education options for their children. Vouchers give parents the option of instead paying monies that exceed over 10,000 dollars in tax money for public schools, an option to send their kids to a private school, a school that has a higher % of children passing, doing well in school, compared to most public schools.

Vouchers vs Public Schools

Costs
Public Schools : Cost per Student, as of 01-02 -$10,000

Private School: Cost Per Student- $3,116

Education

Public Schools Average SAT Scores as of 2003- Math 516 Verbal 504

Private Schools AVERAGE SAT Scores Math -550 Verbal 573


Private schools have been known to be more succesful than public schools, it's a comman fact. And giving the parent a choice on where they choose to send their children, will improve our education system. Competition in our education system is a good thing. This will make Public schools work harder to improve their terrible system as of now, and will also give students who don't have as much money, a chance to earn a decent education. At the same time, it will help tax payers who are paying 10,000 dollars per studenton a MEDICORE education, not have to pay as much.




http://www.capenet.org/Outlook/Out9-03.html#Story5
http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-025.html
http://www.reformk12.com/archives/000174.nclk

 

[blazedaces]

Who is providing these vouchers? Non-profit organizations? The government (this one doesn't make sense, we're paying taxes, that's basically what the government does now anyway)?

Many people have talked about privatizing schools completely (I don't have much info on the subject, just what I've heard and I want to see what you guys know). It is said that, as a business, making all schools private would cause them to drive to make profit (as any business would, and good businesses these days do very well) and thus drive them to improve our standard of education.

If you're not talking about complete privatization, then who decides which students get vouchers? If it's based on scores, then there currently exist Magnet school (I went to one) where students apply like a college and the same process you're basically talking about goes from there. Though I paid the same for school getting into a magnet school (public school technically, not private) caused it to be paid twice as much by my town...

Please explain...

-blazed

 

[lonejedi]

The Tax payers are paying lots of money, as stated before, instead of using that money for public schools, that money should go to the vouchers. Obviously 10,000 per student is rediculous. Private schools are schooling better education with only 3000, while public schools have 3 times as much, and are completely behind. The tax payers should be given a choice, should their money go to public schools, or vouchers.

Now the schools aren't being funded solely by tax payers, and the price from 10,000 will go down, schools will become wiser with the less money they have to spend.

 

[snex]

the problem with lonejedi's proposed system is that if we simply give vouchers for current private schools, the quality will go down until it eventually reaches the same level as public schools.

a fully privatized school system would keep quality high, but it would also increase the wealth gap, as not everybody would be able to go.

for vouchers to be effective, we might have to implement fully privatized schools *and* vouchers.

of course there is also the problem of giving vouchers to go to religious schools, which raises first amendment issues - not to mention the fact that some religious schools teach pure lies about science. there would have to at least be standards on what proper curriculum could be to be eligible to receive vouchers.

 

[lonejedi]

the problem with lonejedi's proposed system is that if we simply give vouchers for current private schools, the quality will go down until it eventually reaches the same level as public schools.

a fully privatized school system would keep quality high, but it would also increase the wealth gap, as not everybody would be able to go.

for vouchers to be effective, we might have to implement fully privatized schools *and* vouchers.

of course there is also the problem of giving vouchers to go to religious schools, which raises first amendment issues - not to mention the fact that some religious schools teach pure lies about science. there would have to at least be standards on what proper curriculum could be to be eligible to receive vouchers.

But the competition would off set the standards. Public schools would realise that they can't slack off anymore, and teachers would either improve or lose their jobs. Class Ratio isn't the main reason private schools succeed, but the private schools have higher expectations. And even if class ratio was a problem, if jobs were more popular in private schools, and parents were starting to mass their kids to private schools, I'm sure teachers would not be hard to find.

And I don't see why this would interfere with a religious school. It's still a private school, and a parent should have a freedom to send their kids anywhere, whether relgion or not. You might think they teach bad science, but religious schools are still doing better than public schools.

 

[Kalypso]

If you're not talking about complete privatization, then who decides which students get vouchers?

In Florida there is a Grading System for schools, students in schools who perform badly can voucher to better schools.

 

[Skywalker]

In Florida there is a Grading System for schools, students in schools who perform badly can voucher to better schools.

My second semester in 8th grade was utterly terrible. In every class I was stuck with a handful of talkative "jocks", and they did nothing except **** around, which the long-term sub wouldn't deal with appropriately. Rumor has it that a few of them (who were flunking 2-3 classes) were allowed in a private school for free, though they had always done minimal work and didn't give a **** about school.

That really pissed me off.

Anyhow, I sort-of like this system. My first instinct is to say "Give the vouchers to students who try hard". But it seems like private schools would have a focused learning environment with fewer distractions for slackers.

 

[snex]

lonejedi doesnt see why it would interfere with the first amendment.. he must be blind then.

the government cannot finance religious education because it uses tax dollars to endorse a religion... DUH!

 

[lonejedi]

lonejedi doesnt see why it would interfere with the first amendment.. he must be blind then.

the government cannot finance religious education because it uses tax dollars to endorse a religion... DUH!

The Supreme Court just made a ruling 5-4, to tax payers money going to help benefit Church charities.

I'm not blind I realise what the Amendment is saying. But I think you take it too far. If that were the case, then I guess a President cannot give his money as a "tithe" to a church because his payroll is funded by tax payers. The same for any Government job.

Trust me, if the tax payers were making less tax payments for school, I'm sure they would not mind if it might be going to a religious school than to a regular private or public school. Would you be stubborn if the difference was $10,000 to $3,000.

Whatever happened to a freedom to a good education, I'm not seeing that, if you bar a certain group of people because it's "endorsing a religion" You can say all you want about the first amendment, but facts say, these "religious schools" who are teaching "bad science" Are doing much better than these public schools.

 

[snex]

you really dont put much thought into these replies..

church charities are CHARITIES. the money that goes to them goes to good will, not to push a religious agenda. tax money goes to any charity because charities do not push a religious agenda.

the president using HIS OWN PERSONAL money to tithe is an even worse example. i mean cmon, give me a challenge here.

religious schools specifically push a religious agenda on their students.