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School Vouchers are the shizz!!!

Summary: School vouchers are generally touted as a method by which the poor can opt to send their children to private schools, without paying taxes for public education. Usually persons in favor of this tend to be Catholic, and wish to educate their children as such. What many people disregard is that most legislation that suggests vouchers strongly favors a break for the very rich from paying into public education, and will not support the middle class and poor in their desires to send children to private schools. Nonetheless, none should be exempt from paying into public education. If these people don't wish to pay twice, because of a failing education system, then they have the obligation and responsibility to fix it. Other avenues are also available to the middle class and poor to gain entry into private schools, such as scholarships. In lieu of the fact that vouchers support the rich and seek to destroy public education, then it should be obvious that vouchers are more of a threat than a call to competition for the betterment of education. Refutation of each point: - If these people don't wish to pay twice, because of a failing education system, then they have the obligation and responsibility to fix it. Other avenues are also available to the middle class and poor to gain entry into private schools, such as scholarships. In lieu of the fact that vouchers support the rich and seek to destroy public education, then it should be obvious that vouchers are more of a threat than a call to competition for the betterment of education. Refutation of each point: - School vouchers favor the rich. In fact, most voucher programs favor exorbitantly rich persons, and try to exempt rich persons from paying taxes that support public education. Vouchers for the poor are hardly a factual matter. Most people in favor of vouchers are also in favor or private indoctrination through religion, instead of traditional earning. What is worse No Child Left Behind, or giving precedence to god over learning? - Competition between schools should not come at the expense of public education. Vouchers mean less money is being funneled into public education, thus making it difficult for public schools to compete with ALREADY limited state and federal funds coming their way. We are talking about the future here. Why would we want to compete with something so precious? Get it right or don't do it at all. It isn't worth having losers in a game that involves the future, and will ultimately be detrimental when we realize who the losers were. Everyone has the right to a good education, and playing games to see who can provide the best education is callous morally wrong. All people deserve a good education regardless of which school they can afford. - Private schools get results, because rich kids get precedence over the poor. Vouchers only further the problem. More money should go to public education, instead of letting the rich write themselves off. We have terrible underfunded education systems, because there is not sufficient funding to support the system. Not because they are any less effective that private schools. If you were to input all private schools funds into the same apparatus, then it would succeed in the same manner. The rich care about their children, not other children, and this should not be tolerated. Vouchers are hardly altruistic in their nature, and promote elitism of the highest caliber. As if to say that private education is inherently superior for no good reason, while public education rots when the rich continue to deny further funding to public education. - If you pay twice, then that is your business. If you don't like public education, then change it by protesting for better funding. Just because you decide to spend your money elsewhere for double the education does not mean that public education should suffer the consequences. - Private schools do not increase diversity. Many private schools are religiously based, and consequently rich white kids all going to the rich white school are not really all that diverse. Remember that most people eligible for vouchers will be the rich, at least according to most voucher legislation in effect. - If parents want vouchers on religious grounds, then they need to realize that a secular education is timeless. Secularism in education is an on going tradition. For good reason, 1 + 1 = 2 does not involves god, nor do many other basic education subjects. If parents disagree with some views, then schools can welcome different opinions while remaining neutral. Parents can educate their children according to their beliefs and standards. A secular education teaches nothing but the facts, and should therefore be no worse off than a religious education. I would even say that more could be learned without god interrupting in the learning experience of children. - No Child Left Behind is failing. It is failing because federally mandated tests fail children of varying backgrounds. Why? Mostly because we do not invest enough in state education. Eliminate NCLB, and learn to accept that no population is the same, thus the needs of different students should be met by instating different programs for them. Funding funding funding! It is without a doubt the biggest problem inherent in the system. Vouchers want to take away our dearly needed funds for measures that will surely be detrimental to our educational systems over time.