School Vouchers: The Wrong Choice
Susie is a young girl who lives in Florida. Since kindergarten, she has attended a nearby private school. Her parents willingly pay her tuition, even though doing so forces them to cut other corners. They do not mind these sacrifices, since they know that their daughter is getting the best education they can give her.
Jesse lives downtown, in the inner city. She attends the local public school and struggles through her classes. Her mother would like to send her to a private school, where there is less violence and a calmer atmosphere, but cannot afford it.
Then, Jesse’s mother learns that a voucher system has put into place for the entire state of Florida. Jesse’s inner city, spray-painted elementary school received a failing status, so she can receive a voucher to attend the school of her choice. With the money she receives from the voucher, Jesse’s mother is able to send her daughter to the same private school that Susie attends.
Is it fair that Susie’s parents pinch pennies while Jesse’s mother send her on the bus for free? While meaning well, does the voucher system inadvertently discriminate against children like Susie whose parents must work extra hours to put their children through private school? Is the voucher system really the answer to the problems with American education today, or a way to transfer them somewhere else? American public schools have always had their flaws. In the nineteenth century, colleges complained of under-prepared freshmen; students who could not write an essay or even spell. A main controversy was bilingual education for newly naturalized immigrants. As America entered the early 1900s, the debate turned to the use of entertainment in the classroom. Teachers felt that they must put on a show in order to keep the attention of their pupils. The abandonment of phonics in the 1920s and 30s was believed to be the reason why the job market consisted of those with inadequate educational preparation. Social promotion and the replacement of the “three R’s” with emotional stability and attitude courses were the causes of concern in the 1940s. The 1950s brought an awareness of low standards. It was found that American children were lagging behind the average standards of the rest of the world. Safety in schools also became an issue; incoming teachers were warned of the “ph...
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...(Roberts, Glenn 23).
Instead of taking this money away form the nation’s failing schools, it should be pumped into them and put to work. Education tax dollars should be put to work solving the problems in American schools. The voucher system is an escape out the back door. It simply transfers all of the issues out of the public schools, placing them in the hands of the private community.
Bibliography:
Works Cited
Kaczor, Bill. “Judge Throws Out Florida Voucher Law.” Tallahassee Democrat, 15 March 2000.
Roberts, Nanette M. and Glenn, Charles L. “School Vouchers: Two Views.” Sojourners (January - February 1998): 22-25.
Rothstein, Richard. The Way We Were?: The Myths and Realities of America’s Student Achievement. [Online] Available http://www.tcf.org/publications/education/way.we.were/Foreword.html, May 1, 2000.
Tyack, David. “Choice Options: School Choice, Yes - But What Kind?” The American Prospect Online, January - February 1999, 42. [Online] Available http://www.propect.org/archives/42/42tyack.html, May 1, 2000.
Whitmire, Richard. “Milwaukee Voucher study Says Public Schools Not Harmed.” Gannett News Service, 3 February 2000.
Jesse is ashamed that Little Jesse is nothing like him when he was a young boy, convincing himself that they cannot connect due to their difference in interests. Jesse tries to figure out how to celebrate Little Jesse’s achievements in his new school, so he asks his co-worker Mary Lou what she thinks would be a good activity. She is in disbelief
She realized that choice and accountability were not the answer, but that curriculum and instruction were more viable solutions to America’s educational dilemma. Ravitch suggests that to abandon public schools is to abandon the institution that supports our concepts of democracy and citizenship and to the promise of American life (Ravitch, 2011, p. 12-14). The idea of school choice is rooted in Milton Friedman’s essay concerning the government’s role in education. Friedman asserted that society should support and contribute to the maximum freedom of the individual or the family. He maintained that the government should provide vouchers to help support parents financially on their children’s education, which parents could use at the school of their choosing; so long as the school met set standards. Therefore, this creation of choice would stimulate competition, which Friedman believed would increase the development and improvement of nonpublic schools, as well as, create a variety of school options (Ravitch, 2011, p. 115). As a result of the choice movement, the public received three versions of school choice: voucher schools, private schools, and charter schools. Each of these schools receives public funding, but do not operate as traditional public schools, and are not managed by a government agency (Ravitch, 2011, p. 121). Charter schools became the most popular choice of this new
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The idea that vouchers give parents a choice of schools for their children is simply incorrect. The only people who have any real choice in the matter are the private...
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