There has been some great discussion here on vouchers. Just thought I'd post some interesting facts that I read today in an editorial in the Chronicle. A two-year study was just recently concluded that studied three cities (New York, Washington, DC, and Dayton, Ohio). It was conducted by a team from Harvard, Univ of Wisconsin, and the Brookings Institution. The improved test performance of African-American students who were able to take advantage of vouchers suggests a stunning reversal of their fortunes. If the trend line continues, the report says, "the black-white gap could be eliminated in subsequent years of education for black students who use a voucher to switch from public to private school." It was said the effects of vouchers compared favorably to reducing class sizes among African-American students. The effects were twice as large. Just wanted to pass this along... ------------------
Those are very encouraging. I have only two problems with vouchers: 1. Most of the kids that I have known (both my father and mother have worked in poorer parts of HISD) would not be able to use vouchers because their parents still wouldn't have enough money to afford the schools. It might be fine for middle and upper middle income families, but not for the poor families who need it the most. 2. Handing out vouchers in many ways is like saying our education system is so bad that your children would be better off going to private school. It doesn't solve the problems. It only works as a band aid. If you want to solve the real problems, fix the existing schools. I have no problems with vouchers if they are part of a larger solution and only a small part, but to use them as a fix ignores the real problems. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
One thing I noticed about the Michigan ballot measure--- the Catholic Church was the largest supporter of vouchers. Hmmmm... Another thing that we talked about a long time ago, but I'm not too sure it was given credence. Republicans are constantly talking about how education should be a local issue. If then, Michigan is following Wisconsin's footsteps in the voucher system... why are vouchers a national issue? It looks as if the precedent has been set for states to do as they please. If and when constitutional challenges arise, the supreme court will let its voice be heard. ------------------
Vouchers aren't intended to fund kids to go to an exclusive private school like the one Al Gore sent his kids to. I suspect that a $3,000 voucher could get your kid into a private school of some type, e.g. a Catholic or Lutheran school. I think people do realize the public schools are a mess. Pouring more money into them for infrastructure won't cure the problem; there are structural and cultural issues that have to be solved. DC spends $10,000 a year per student and there's been no improvement. But the Teacher Unions (the leadership not necessarily their members) will not allow that to happen, because too many burecrats would lose their cushy jobs. Why are we so afraid of vouchers if what we want for our kids is a decent education? If the public schools can't, or won't provide that, then tough luck. Interesting that Gore is so in favor of public schools, why didn't he send his kids to them? Or why didn't Al, Sr. send Al, Jr. to a public school instead of St. Albans. Ditto for the Clintons and whats-her-name. Ditto for just about every politician, left or right. ------------------ "Who Wants To Be A Rocket?" - and probably a millionaire as well. The off-season will be interesting!
Bobby, Dubyah supports vouchers. Does Texas have vouchers? If not, what would prohibit Texas schools from using vouchers? Republicans want to do things on a local scale, well have at it. Milwaulkee schools use vouchers w/o federal intervention. Michigan (and some other state) are voting on vouchers this November. MadMax, Do you have any good links/info on the Milwaulkee experiment? It's been going on for over eight years (CSPAN showed Clinton & daddy Bush talking about the schools back in '92) so it seems as if there would be good feedback by now. ------------------
Bobby: $3000 would cover about 60% of the tuition at most parochial schools assuming vouchers would be able to be used for schools that feature religion as a basis of study. I should know. I went to Lutheran schools from K through 12. Their idea of biology was to teach us how to properly debate the concept of evolution. It was downright bizarre at times. But, setting the religious concerns aside, I don't know many poor people who could come up with the additional costs to go to parochial schools. When I went, it was $1500 per semester and I know it is up nearly $1000 from that now. Where exactly do you expect people to get that money from when they have trouble feeding and clothing their kids in the first place? Let's assume that $3000 covers tuition. In most parochial schools, because they struggle with tuition nearly every year, they charge students for books. In addition, many of them require uniforms for students. The cost of the uniform is not included in tuition. Then, because these schools are spread out around town and the vast majority do not have bus service, what do the kids do if their parents cannot take them to school? What if the parents don't own a car and ride Metro to work? In many ways, vouchers represent the same throwing money that occours in public schools. I agree that much of the money given to school system gets trapped at the top and is not passed on to the students and teachers. If that is the case, then why not change that instead of fooling around with vouchers that simply cannot solve the problem of poor students getting a bad education? It sounds like a good idea, but it is filled with holes. A much more reasonable idea would be to overhaul the system that is in place. A voucher is a band aid, not a solution. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com [This message has been edited by Jeff (edited September 03, 2000).]
