[Vision2020] Interesting Report by S&P on Michigan's Govt Schools

[Debbie Gray]

So you think that every parent who receives a chunk of money in order to
educate their child would then immediately turn that chunk over to a
school (private or public)? I see major problems with this, such as:
1. finding the cheapest school so they can keep the change
2. 'homeschooling' their children so they can keep the change
3. not even pretending to homeschool their children, just keeping the
money.

Yes, it would be lovely if this were a world in which every parent were
acting to make the best decisions for their children. However, in reality
this does not always happen. Explain this to the children caught in meth
labs all over this state... I am sure their parents were acting in their
best interest. Explain this to the children who are beaten and tortured by
their parents. Explain this to the children who are LUCKY to escape their
homes for a few hours a day and go to a public school and see a little
normalcy in their lives.

The majority of parents would hopefully make the best decision for their
children, but what of the others? Soon we will have a sort of class-based
chasm in education when parents who are more concerned with the $$ they
can keep than the education of their children. And just because it's a law
that their children need to be in school, BWAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, that ought to
cover it. Seems like we'd end up with a widening gap in education, the
haves (who have parents who really care) and the have nots (those who have
parents who could care less). And please don't counterargue that those
families are in the minority, a very small number, hardly enough to
concern yourself with. They're not.

Debbie Gray


On Wed, 5 Feb 2003, Dale Courtney wrote:

> Tom Hansen writes:
> > If parents were given a refund equal to schooling their
> > children, do you seriously believe that this money would be
> > reinvested in their childrens' education?
>
> Uh, yes. The laws on the books *require* to have their children in school
> (in Idaho) from 7-15 years old ("attained the age of 7 years, but not the
> age of 16 years." Idaho Code § 33-202).
>
> > In the case of
> > middle and low income families, that money is more likely to
> > be spent on food and clothing.
>
> Why do you think that by putting money back into the parent's hands for
> deciding what education is best for their children is bad?
>
> Never for the life of me will I understand people thinking that the State
> can make better decisions for their children than parents can.
>
> Dale Courtney
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
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Debbie

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  Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
  We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
  have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
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