Time for a national commitment to school choice
(I have used “PUBLIC” in all caps to emphasize that America’s education problem is primarily with the government-run primary and secondary school systems. Higher education is a different issue – one that will require a later commentary.)
The American PUBLIC school system is broken – and there is only one way to fix it. We must allow parents to pick the best schools and stop progressive politicians and school unions from keeping kids trapped in PUBLIC schools that are unsafe and fail to provide adequate academic education – or acceptable social values.
Hopefully, we are in the first stages of a parents’ revolt against institutionalized government education that is completely failing to teach millions of children – mostly in segregated minority schools – or teach a culture that is alien and offensive to most Americans – mostly in communities dominated by progressive politicians and union-dominated school boards.
PUBLIC school children are too often not performing at grade levels. They are falling far behind their counterparts in other nations – especially in such competitive and adversarial nations. In various ratings, United States schools may rank from best in the world (usually a subjective analysis) to the bottom of the top 20 nations. This is due to what is being evaluated – all schools, including colleges, or just primary schools.
Ratings get even worse if you only compare elementary and secondary PUBLIC schools – excluding private and parochial schools. America’s ranking then drops below 30th. In short, the American PUBLIC school systems are failing to produce quality education. American PUBLIC school students do not do well in math and science testing.
Student performance ratings only test “students.” They do not account for the high American dropout rate. We are obviously failing to educate young people who are not in school
Despite these grim findings, American PUBLIC schools cost more per student than virtually any other school system in the world – regardless of whether the money comes from government or parents. And this does not count the billions of dollars that are voluntarily donated by foundations, corporations, parents or teachers.
There is another problem. Schools require buildings – especially at the primary and secondary levels. Online education does not work for younger children. There is an important difference between the operation of bricks and mortar by government and by the private sector –with too much control by various unions.
The main problems are cost and corruption – and inadequate oversight. Many schools in minority districts suffer from lack of maintenance. PUBLIC schools are allowed to suffer safety deficiencies that the government would close if they were privately operated.
Maintenance money is too often diverted into the union treasury to cover excessive labor contracts. The letting of contracts is too often dependent on political contacts rather than cost or quality of service.
For the left, the building is more important that the children. It is not about using taxpayer money to provide quality education, but rather warehousing kids in schools where they serve as the currency for the unions and the political establishment. For the left, it is better to keep kids in a failing system as long as they are confined to a building and are nexus of the money flowing from the government to the school unions and ultimately to the politicians to control the schools.
The American PUBLIC school system costs too much and produces inferior education. And there is a simple solution to those problems. School choice. Economic models show that a national school choice system would lower costs and improve quality of education. It would be especially effective in addressing the shamefully inadequate education being provided to minority students in our major segregated cities. It is a no brainer.
Government’s role should be the enabling of the best education in the world focusing on the child and a curriculum that arises out of common sense and the will of parents – not controlled by bureaucratic overlords in Washington or politically tainted unions.
Choice. That is what is needed. That is the foundation of the American spirit – the ability to select the best option for one’s self or one’s loved ones. Choice.
Confining a child to a PUBLIC school that fails to provide proper education is a form of imprisonment. It is morally wrong – and it is destroying the future potential of millions of children – especially Blacks and Hispanics trapped in segregated PUBLIC schools. Parents have no choice in the matter – especially those without the financial resources to buy their way out of failing PUBLIC schools.
PUBLIC schools should not be about that government owned building or appeasing the unions –or filling political campaign coffers — but focused only on one issue – providing each child with an education that can advance them to college and career level jobs.
So, there ‘tis.
This is a nicely written piece of unsupported trash supported by Larry’s typical Republican desire to deregulate, defund, destroy many of our institutions. It has many nice thoughts and ideas but IMO many problems, little support, and does not make a valid conclusionary point.
I got a lot of issues with this one.
It starts with “America’s education problem is primarily with the government-run primary and secondary school systems” where the author does not mention which government. This may make reader’s think this is a federal problem which may have been Larry’s spinful intention. It is NOT a federal government problem, the failure Larry speaks of is a local government problem, and shared with other organizations too. Then some State, and finally, less than a 10% Federal issue.
The party of cut, slash, and take apart has one word as their mantra: “privatize” and Larry is no different. He has lots of typical Republican ideas in this tepid tome, not sourced or supported, so, seemingly based on Larry-lore. He presents all of two numbers, no statistics, no scientific evidence, some unsourced ranking surveys that he spins, and his conclusion that “there is only one way to fix it. We must allow parents to pick the best schools and stop progressive politicians and school unions from keeping kids trapped in PUBLIC schools that are unsafe and fail to provide adequate academic education – or acceptable social values.”
With all due respect, Hell with your one way or the highway. I know there are many ways to improve education in America and, in most cases, all the local governments need to do is listen.
Are parents are capable of pick the best schools and what tools and processes would there be to pinpoint the best schools? Capitalistic marketing? Government ranking? You neighbor Stan? Yelp? Larry himself said the current rating systems are all over the board. Will a 100 times expansion in that market make it better?
And now we have Larry’s root cause: progressive politicians, school unions, delivering unsafe inadequate education and unacceptable social values? No facts, just fear mongering repetitive tropes without supporting evidence. Progressives are bad and control everything, Republicans are powerless. Unions are corrupt and totally control schools; probably progressives. Private schools are magically more safe. And CRT is everywhere, your kids are being brainwashed to accept systemic racism as existing; oh the horror of that social value. What’s next to be taught: Darwin’s evolutionary theory?
Matter of fact, since the worst ranked States for public school systems are mostly RED, are they too just really progressive CRT places of education? Fear mongering is never about facts. This story is not about facts. It’s about feelings, lore, and frustrations.
Why does the author feel that all US parents are better at school selection that experienced, educated, educators? Republicans said the same exact thing about 401ks, “heck with pensions, let parents pick the best investments, freedom of choice, financial manifest destiny and all that crap” and we did it. I had said this in advance, and then it also turned out to be true after the fact: that professional, educated and experienced money managers return a higher yield. An average individual is most often less capable than trained, educated, experienced, professionals. Go figure.
But it sounds good and resonates with the Republican mantra so let’s burn it all down and transfer everything to private schools. Yeah, that’s gonna work. I would say BUSTED, but this is an opinion piece of the ilk without many facts to actually dispute.
We need to stop our kids from being groomed for turning queer
Frank Stetson … because education is one subject I am very passionate about … because your every column is an ad hominin attack no me (or more correctly the straw man Larry Horist of your imagination) … and because it is Saturday, and I have a little time to waste on your latest screed.
Setting aside your obvious obsession with me, I will address you seeming inability to comprehend what I write – and your woeful inadequate knowledge of the subject. Some of what you write simply does not make sense. So … here we go.
You write:
“This is a nicely written piece of unsupported trash supported by Larry’s typical Republican desire to deregulate, defund, destroy many of our institutions. It has many nice thoughts and ideas but IMO many problems, little support, and does not make a valid conclusionary point.”
Typical opening of a propagandists. A broad-brush accusation. I really had to laugh when you call my writing “unsupported trash” and then finish the sentence with a broad-brush accusation with … no examples. Unsupported trash, if you will.
You write:
“It starts with “America’s education problem is primarily with the government-run primary and secondary school systems” where the author does not mention which government. This may make reader’s think this is a federal problem which may have been Larry’s spinful intention. It is NOT a federal government problem, the failure Larry speaks of is a local government problem, and shared with other organizations too. Then some State, and finally, less than a 10% Federal issue.”
You incorrectly assume that I “make readers think it is a federal problem.” Only ignorant readers would think that. Primary and secondary schools are locally run but local “governments.” Ergo, they are government run. There are issues relating to both state and federal involvement, but they do not run the schools.
You write:
“The party of cut, slash, and take apart has one word as their mantra: “privatize” and Larry is no different. He has lots of typical Republican ideas in this tepid tome, not sourced or supported, so, seemingly based on Larry-lore. He presents all of two numbers, no statistics, no scientific evidence, some unsourced ranking surveys that he spins, and his conclusion that “there is only one way to fix it. We must allow parents to pick the best schools and stop progressive politicians and school unions from keeping kids trapped in PUBLIC schools that are unsafe and fail to provide adequate academic education – or acceptable social values.”
It is obvious that you know nothing about the operation and the statistical outcome of public schools in general – and specifically in Democrat-run inner cities. You engage in snide comments but not a single fact to refute my contention.
You Write:
“With all due respect, Hell with your one way or the highway. I know there are many ways to improve education in America and, in most cases, all the local governments need to do is listen.”
Here is where is wee you train of thought going off the rails. Mine is not the “one way or the highway.” That is the mandatory public school system. That is the problem. I propose many alternatives. That is an example of where I see you having a comprehension problem.
You write:
“Are parents are capable of pick the best schools and what tools and processes would there be to pinpoint the best schools? Capitalistic marketing? Government ranking? You neighbor Stan? Yelp? Larry himself said the current rating systems are all over the board. Will a 100 times expansion in that market make it better?”
In working with school systems across the country, I have found parents to have the best ability to determine what is good for their children’s education. They can judge the variable in their community better than bureaucrats. As a progressive, I understand you prefer elitist Big Brother bureaucrats to save the people from their ignorance and evil. That is just the difference between a liberal and a conservative.
You write:
“And now we have Larry’s root cause: progressive politicians, school unions, delivering unsafe inadequate education and unacceptable social values? No facts, just fear mongering repetitive tropes without supporting evidence. Progressives are bad and control everything, Republicans are powerless. Unions are corrupt and totally control schools; probably progressives. Private schools are magically more safe. And CRT is everywhere, your kids are being brainwashed to accept systemic racism as existing; oh the horror of that social value. What’s next to be taught: Darwin’s evolutionary theory?”
LOL … There you go again. I write opinion articles based on a library full of facts. They are there for any inquiring mind to see. But you challenge my statements with insults and allegations … and not a single fact to support you claim. Projection? Hypocrisy? Ignorance?
You write:
“Matter of fact, since the worst ranked States for public school systems are mostly RED, are they too just really progressive CRT places of education? Fear mongering is never about facts. This story is not about facts. It’s about feelings, lore, and frustrations.”
This betrays your undying political motivation. You created a counter point, of sorts, to something I never claimed. I never defended poor education anywhere. I believe school choice would be good for ALL poorly performing school. I do not make a red state/blue state distinction. Again, I question your ability to comprehend what you read.
You write:
“Why does the author feel that all US parents are better at school selection that experienced, educated, educators? Republicans said the same exact thing about 401ks, “heck with pensions, let parents pick the best investments, freedom of choice, financial manifest destiny and all that crap” and we did it. I had said this in advance, and then it also turned out to be true after the fact: that professional, educated and experienced money managers return a higher yield. An average individual is most often less capable than trained, educated, experienced, professionals. Go figure.”
I assume you are using the financial stuff as some sort of example. It is irrelevant. That is why I often see your writings as an unhinged screed. You just vent on unrelated matters. I have seen in in many of your responses on this sight. You just have your political propaganda points to inject into any topic. I thought you demonstrated your disdain for parents’ ability to make the best choices for their children. They answer is the same. Do you think government bureaucrats are the best decision-makers for your children on any subject? I bet not. But then again maybe you re considering those other parents less informed and less concerned than you. Of course, that is elitism … the progressive way.
You write:
“But it sounds good and resonates with the Republican mantra so let’s burn it all down and transfer everything to private schools. Yeah, that’s gonna work.”
I do not want to abolish public schools but set up a system by which they would compete with non-public schools by improving their performance. In case you have not noticed, that is exactly how we do it with colleges and universities. Parents and students get a choice. Why are you so afraid of letting parents and kids have options? Why are you so protective of a system that is failing so many of our children – and especially the tragedy of education in our segregated cities.
You write:
“I would say BUSTED, but this is an opinion piece of the ilk without many facts to actually dispute.”
I know you like to be participant and referee. While I do not engage in that kind of bs. I shall respond IK kind in this case. You have not provided a single factual refutation to my opinions and claims. I rely on my readers to be at least modestly informed. I fear that your obsession to cross sword with me has addled you brain. You are BUSTED, BROKEN and DEMOLISHED.
Time to do something productive. Checking out of the Stetson rabbit hole.
Larry says: “Typical opening of a propagandists. A broad-brush accusation. I really had to laugh when you call my writing “unsupported trash” and then finish the sentence with a broad-brush accusation with … no examples. Unsupported trash, if you will.”
Hmmm. I listed the only two numbers you provided in your entire treatise. The rest is unsupported, at least by anyone but you, at least in your article. At least you never mention any sources except yourself. If that’s a broad brush, what can I say —- it’s the way you wrote it.
If you need my sources:
school ranking by state: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/public-school-rankings-by-state
school control: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/ed/17/08/when-it-comes-education-federal-government-charge-um-what
401k returns based on type of management: https://www.401kmaneuver.com/how-professional-401k-management-may-help-account-performance/
slash and burn Republican style: https://medium.com/@francisjrtaylor/trump-the-budget-and-the-politics-of-slash-and-burn-7955e53c556c
parents do not have resources to make proper school choice: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/10/can-parents-really-pick-the-best-schools-for-their-kids/543201/
OK, your turn for support………
“Setting aside your obvious obsession with me” says the narcissistic grinning ghoul of an autocratic ass wipe who feels every commentor is an obsessed stalker psychoanalyzing his pea brain.
Now that’s an ad hominem attack.
But you will find little in my piece.
If I say “Larry is a dick,” that’s a personal attack.
If I say Larry’s story is dickish,, that is not personal.
You will find only the later in my piece, the former would be in your mind.
Since you have complained often in the past, I tried to be careful. Perhaps your “passion” is clouding your perceptions.
I am sorry you could not protect your kids. But don’t feel bad, they were probably just in the closet and have been gay all along. I hope you can still love them
Larry, I disagree with you on this one. As a ten your K6-12 Mathematics teacher, there are many reasons SOME public schools do not do well and you call them failing. As Frank said, it is mostly a local and state issue and your article is very unclear regarding what funding level you are blaming. 1) According to Education Week, public school funding comes from a variety of sources at the local, state and federal level. Approximately 48 percent of a school’s budget comes from state resources, including income taxes, sales tax, and fees. Another 44 percent is contributed locally, primarily through the property taxes of homeowners in the area. The last eight percent of the public education budget comes from federal sources, with an emphasis on grants for specific programs and services for students that need them. 2) Bill and Melissa Gates foundation proved that funding is not the big reason, check with them. 3) School system policy and the way they spend their money is a big driver. 4) Teacher unions have been around since I went to public school 55 years ago, back when the system was pretty darn good. Unions are an issue but they must negotiate with the system. Back when I went to grade school, a teacher salary and a lawyer salary were fairly comparable, not so now. Many good people are not going into teaching because of all of the B.S you must swallow with little or no recourse, especially in RED states where teacher unions are not very popular like NC. There are many reasons I got out of teaching, none were because I did not like teaching or student issues. It was all of the management crap and the way they lump more and more non-teaching duties and assignments on you for no extra pay. 5) Many parents are working two and three jobs, kids are raising themselves, and there is little parenting going on in the home. And you have a system that requires 25 steps before you can send a chronic discipline child to a special school, but by then, the semester is over and they get a new count. Oh and by the way, coaches and principals often do not enforce behavioral and academic standards to bench kids that are failing and have discipline issues. And then basketball spans two semesters, so guess what? If your star student is doing poorly in academics and is a behavioral problem, the student does not care because they know around Christmas they will get another 25 count and basketball will be over by about step 15. I just stated a few issues why some public schools fail, there are more. Please interview people and get educated on public schools that are failing before you blame funding, unions, and progressives – and this is just my “independent voter” opinion.
Tom … as a member of the public school community, I appreciate you loyalty to the system. I do not know when and when you taught, When I went to school some 60 years ago, there were no public school unionism– and teachers were always at lower pay scale for several reasons — not the least of which was the fewer number of hours on the job. It was also a trade off for job security and benefits.
I fully understand you displeasure with the union contract provision that protect bad teachers or place restrictions on the disciplining of students. I do not buy the accusations against parents. I can point to private and parochial inner city school turning out very well educated students.
You have noted some of the problems. But the bottom line is that the non-public schools produce better educated students. I firmly believe that school choice would actually improve the public school because they would have to compete.
Larry says:
“Choice. That is what is needed. That is the foundation of the American spirit – the ability to select the best option for one’s self or one’s loved ones. Choice. ”
Unless you’re a pregnant woman, then CHOICE is not part of the American (or at least Republican/Conservative) spirit.
But do you know who else gets no CHOICE? Anyone who can’t afford to go to a non-public school. If Republican/Conservatives continue to divert funding from public schools, then it will be the default (and only) choice for the non-rich.
If the rich or the religious right want to send their kids to a private school (where, at least, the religious schools can indoctrinate the children into the parents’ way of thinking while giving them an inferior education), the public shouldn’t pay for it. No stipends, no infrastructure, no discounts on books or even pencils. Make them pay for what they want.
Larry likes to blame unions for raising the costs of schools. And yet, the alternatives propsed are mostly for-profit charter schools. Those schools may or may not be built with union labor, but adding a profit motive to the school certainly increases the cost and incentivises the schools to cut corners. And who do they want to subsidize those profits? The PUBLIC, of course.
The public schools have major problems because so-called Conservatives are cutting funding every chance they get, so that private and charter schools will look better. Not because charter and religious schools ARE better. On a per-student per-hour basis, the 13-year old neighbor kid makes more money babysitting than a high-school teacher. THAT is why there is a rise in teachers unions, and private schools are not immune to that either. And yet, public school teachers are doing their best (and not a bad job either) to turn out good students ready for college.
Right now, so-called “conservatives” are burning books, prosecuting teachers, and attacking libraries and schools, and even calling in threats to Merriam Webster dictionary just because they don’t want schools to mention anything about gay people or let students see anything written from a black perspective. You can’t educate students and still keep their minds closed. Public schools need to teach to all members of the public, from all points of view, not just those of rich white racists. The conservative/Republican/racist agenda is more about preventing equality and respect for minorities than education.
A real “conservative” would want to pay to make public schools the best in the world, and pay for college as well. It’s in the best interests of the country to have a well-educated workforce., and an educated workforce pays for itself many times over. If we want to continue to compete on the world stage, we need to be building up our public schools so that everyone has a chance. And if equality is anywhere on the public agenda, then we should be building up public schools, services, and infrastructure, with public funds, so that anyone can use them. But apparently, equality is not a priority for so-called “Conservatives” (or Republicans).
Schools are controlled at a local level. So most of what you are saying about funding is gratuitous crap. Teachers get into the profession to teach children and make a difference. Unions seem to be in the opposite business. Contrary to your BS statement, most teachers are making decent wages. But the bad teachers are never fired. That is why we need competition.
And why is it that you want political points of view and sexually explicit material taught to children?
And BTW, Democrats in my county just removed “The Diary of Anne Frank” from our school library.
The bottom 20 average teacher salaries are ALL in Republican-controlled states. The top twenty are ALL in Democratic-controlled states except for including Alaska and a couple of swing states. The state of Florida is 4th from the bottom, with an average of $51, 230. If they’re teaching 6 classes a day, with 30 students per class, and let’s call it 180 days a year, that works out to $1.90 per student per hour. And that’s not counting prep for classes, supervising kids during lunch, grading homework and tests, summer seminars, or anything like that. And they often dip into their own pockets just to make sure kids have enough supplies. Ask little Suzie next door if she’d babysit a 6-year old for $1.58 an hour, and you’ll find that she won’t consider it for less than $10 per kid per hour. Even ignoring how much they’re getting paid to babysit students, they’re getting the equivalent of about $25 an hour (if you don’t count all the extra time they have to put in). Bus drivers are getting paid more than that.
Despite your Republican rhetoric, unions exist to protect workers from being exploited. If you think every union is like the Dockworkers of 50 years ago, you’re sadly mistaken. Teachers HATE going out on strike, but in many cases, they can barely make a living. If it weren’t for unions, we wouldn’t have 40 hour work weeks. There wouldn’t be labor rules about overtime, or any way to challenge hiring practices, or even making sure you get paid on time. The same states that are paying teachers the most (and have the highest standards of living in the US by any measure you’d care to look up), are not only almost all Democratic states, but they are also the same states with the highest union representation.
If Palm Beach County (Democrats or Republicans) banned The Diary of Anne Frank, it hasn’t made the news. The only mention I can find in that county is “Palm Beach County Students presenting TDoAF”. Cite a reference if you didn’t just make it up. Of course, Texas has banned TDoAF as pornographic, because in one passage, she says something like “I was so sheltered, I didn’t know the difference between labia and clitoris… after all, they’re covered with hair and I couldn’t see them”. Wow! So shocking! Can’t let students know the names of body parts, especially “down there”… After several years of tolerating President “grab ’em by the pussy” Trump, Evangelical Christians have swung back to the opposite extreme.
Is something written from the perspective of a minority considered “political”? Is every mention of body parts “pornographic”? Do you consider gay writers talking about having sex with a person of the same gender (not describing the act, but just mentioning that it happened) pornographic? Are you one of those people (like Ben above) who thinks that reading something will turn his kids gay? Do you think that being transexual is “all in their head”? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re more closeminded (or ignorant) than 90% of the rest of the world.
I don’t think you give kids in school enough credit for knowing what’s going on. I know most of them can out-cuss me any time, and I doubt they learned that from a library book. And they can go online and find all the porn they want. If they’re curious, or worried, or scared, what’s the harm in letting them READ about something in a book? Is it so terrible for kids to read about the hardships of growing up black? Or learning about how much abuse a gay kid takes? With all the Nazi and racist hate groups that Trump encouraged to act out publicly, isn’t it worth something to teach kids to have empathy and respect for other people? Is learning about other points of view so bad?
Joseph S Bruder … thanks for making my case. The highest funded school systems often have low outcomes for students. And one of the weaknesses of the general ratings is that they usually consider funding as a key element ln ranking. So, new york looks great, but has massive educational deficiencies in New York City. Same problem in other stats. Get off your hide-away in New Hampshire and spend some time in the inner cities. The quality of education in the major cities is horrific, Those ratings are brought up by better schools outside the cities. As bad as test scores are in the segregated cities, they could be a lot worse because the extraordinary number of kids who drop out of school are not counted. Based on your injection of your hate mongering and exaggerated provocative rhetoric, I am starting to think of you as a paranoid fringe nutcase — depending on the concocted reality of your own mind.
Joseph S Bruder. Like most folks on the left, you think that public school are insufficiently funded. No matter how much is poured into the school, the problems remain the same… and then there are calls for even more funding. If there is any correlation to funding and student performance, the less costly schools — private and parochial — tend to perform better. The major city systems tend to be the most expensive and have among the worst outcomes for students.
I see you are into whataboutism. This commentary has nothing to do with abortion. It is irrelevant. Arbitrarily terminating a human life at any stage should not be the choice of another person. But obviously you do not consider the life in the womb to be a developing human being. So much for following science and facts.
The idea that no taxpayer money should flow to private or parochial schools is a lost argument. They get tax breaks, special funding, etc. Whether you like it or not. Do you favor terminated the Pell Grants that provide funding for disadvantage students? That is a very successful choice program. The student can direct the money to any university or college — public, private or parochial.
The rest of your screed is nothing but left-wing talking points — wallowing in cliches, stereotypes and mendacious narratives. You do not seem to think critically … you only parrot. You obviously have strong feeling, but not the intellectual content or objectivity to make for worthy dialogue.
Larry, first of all, why do you think you have to disclose personal information about me every time you reply?
You just said in your column that CHOICE was the foundation of the American spirit. I was just pointing out your hypocracy compared to other columns.
You write above “the highest funded school systems often have low outcomes for students”. Even though you hedge by saying “often”, where is your evidence of that? Average means “average”… Some schools in high-average states don’t have the same funding as others – hence the term “average”. There are still good schools and bad schools in every state. But by any ranking you want to choose, better funding means better schools.
You also state that “private and parochial [schools] tend to perform better” (hedging again with “tend”). Where’s your evidence of that? Private and parochial schools charge lots of money for kids to go there. They are much better funded than their public school neighbors. They also limit the types of students that can attend there, so it skews their outcomes.
You try to compare private schools to inner city schools that get much less funding because they’re in poor areas with lots of students and not much tax base. And they have to take every kid, regardless of past performance or ability to pay for even basics like meals.
Why do you think I’d be in favor of ending Pell grants for disadvantaged students? Of course not! However, if allowing every kid to go to college was a priority for the government, there would be no need for them.
Joseph S Bruder …. first of all, I did not reveal any personal information about you. Just noted that your alias screen names are all you. And as far as your excuse that other have taken you screen name, I have yet to see a single example of that. The “Bruder” name always comes in with the same email .. as do the various letters you choose. Why the deception? Why so many changes — often in the same thread? I believe in transparency.
Larry, check some of your old columns about 6 months ago, and you’ll see posts by a joseph s bruder who writes incoherently, agrees with you, and spouts the typical right-wing nonsense.. followed by my own post that says “that’s not me”. I publicly posted that the site should do something, and privately communicated with the editor and got a “so what” back.
Just a few weeks ago, Joe Gilbertson included part of my email address in his reply to my post. It’s not the email address that I use privately, it’s purely for online letter writing, but it’s fairly unique and could probably be traced back to me. As I’m writing this, it clearly says “Your email address will not be published”, and yet it was. I complained to Gilbertson privately, and asked to have it taken down, and got a “I don’t care, get over it”. There seems to be a distinct lack of integrity at this website.
I know you’re still living in the 1960’s, but doxxing is a serious problem in the here and now. It’s a form of intimidation. Trump uses it pretty effectively – all he has to do is say “the FBI is out to get me” and suddenly crazy people are attacking FBI agents. Publish someone’s cell phone number and they get death threats. Publish their home address and they get trash (or worse) on their lawn or graffiti on their house. It’s a form of stochastic terrorism. There’s plausible deniability, but there is almost always somebody in the general public who is crazy enough to take the bait. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most of the leftish writers (who disagree with you) write somewhat reasoned, readable, and coherent letters. On the other hand, your rightish supporters like “new” Ben, (and just browsing a couple of your recent columns) Perry, Ken, Kawika56, Hank, Tinker… they’re just fucking nuts. They don”t support your arguments, just hurl insults at anyone they don’t like. Even Gilbertson writes broad pronouncements without presenting a lick of evidence to back up his statements (although at least usually somewhat coherently).
If someone replying to one of your articles started his post with “Hey, Larry Horist, of [address, town, state, telephone number], I disagree with you. By the way, how’s that daughter and grandson of yours?” – I think you would be a little alarmed, even though that’s probably semi-public information that could be found with a 5-minute search on the internet. With 20 minutes they could probably find your cell phone number and private email address, and in another hour they could find the church you go to, a half-dozen of your friend’s names, your bank account number, and the last 4 digits of your SS#. You would suddenly have a little more respect for the FBI that PB columnists (including Gilbertson) have been vilifying, and that writer would probably get a visit from the local police. It’s not a threat or a crime, per se, but it rises to (or above) the level of behavior that could be considered dangerous.
You are revealing information that is only available to employees or writers at this website, and that the website clearly states will not be revealed. You should stop – it’s dangerous for your readers, and it could get the website sued. I have reasons for signing with alternate signatures, and you should respect that. If you want to debate something relevant to your stated opinion, fine – but don’t start by belittling or intimidating your readers.
You would think these fine fellows would be happy at getting vigorous discussions on their topics. Larry has close to 40 responses on this one and he whines line a baby needing a change. Go figure. Guess they just can’t take the heat —- they certainly can’t offer support to their arguments beyond: “you’re stupid, look it up.” Larry whines often about providing supporting data; apparently Republicans don’t need no supporting data, you just gotta believe.
As far as outing….. Yeah, when I first penned a tome or two, I got some emails from PBP and others, of course, to my “commentor email” account. I replied “stop” and it seems to have stopped but it was quite creepy.
Basically, Joe does not provide the security needed on his site but more importantly, he does not take any real responsibility for content allowing massive disinformation efforts, ad hominem attacks, hate speak, pretty open warfare allowed.
He’s pretty cheap on site features too — no search engine, kills response capabilities almost at the speed of light. It’s a pretty poor design, monitoring, and control system.
But he does offer a plethora of ads from purveyors noted as “risky” by monitors. Too bad too because I really wanted to know how not to use gas in my car, or toilet paper on my butt. And how to avoid taking life-saving medicines by eating this fruit. Who could ever sue over that — they’d be dead :>( And I can lose 12lbs a day if I eat this dirt. But where are the dick pills?
Joseph S Bruder … Rather than check, I will take your word for it. Sorry for missing them.
We agree on the subject of doxing — and that also goes for giving out the home addresses of Supreme Court justices. I oppose any harassing of public officials, police officers or FBI agents. I wrote against Maxine Waters call to harass Republican leaders in public.
i do get threats of all kinds. Of course, you will not see them published. The only time I see the practice of not publishing treats is when politicians go on the record — as did Adam Kinzinger. He knows that virtually all his colleagues get them. That is just a victimization or sympathy ploy.
Larry, I’m from NJ and we are the number 1 or 2 Public School System in America, depending on the year/survey. You can take your public school privatization and shove it. You can probably add in MA, CT, VT, NH, MN, WI, DE, MD and maybe VA since why would a top ten ranked public-school state want to privatize?
The bottom ten states may feel the need for a change: OR, SC, WV, MS, OK, AL, AK, AR, LA, and NM are already terrible school systems, most of which are RED STATES (I put this in caps to identify the real education issue.)
Maybe the experiment in education via State’s rights and 50 different experiments with different results actually works and all we need to do is have the RED stupid states copy the BLUE smart states to improve our average rankings overnight without the need for a education revolution affecting 50M children, the teachers, the staff, the suppliers, even the real estate. Why revolution?
Because what Larry suggests is nothing short of total educational anarchy.
What will we do with all those school buses and will parents love driving their own kids in Larry’s world?
To think parents will make better decisions than educated, experienced, educators is a very bad thought. Unfortunately it’s promoted by Republicans under the false prophet: “freedom of choice.” False because it sounds great, who does not want freedom and who doesn’t think they can make the best choice. However, think about the tools, information, and expertise these parents will have.
They will be deluged by private school marketing hype and many will choose something like Trump Academy because the University has such great reviews —- I read them :>) The ranking system is all across the boards, as Larry himself points out. Parents will have a combination of biased paid-for, marketing data sources and a broken rating and rankling system. No, when Larry forces a market to expand this rapidly, there will be wildcatters, hustlers, and the like selling you The Pillow Guy’s School and the like. Good luck with that.
Yes, even if the parents have the skills, they won’t have the information to make the call. It will be like the fog of war. Marketing war.
In today’s environment, it’s pretty hard to get perfect information on the quality and value of private or public schools. Most parents choose based on references, school history, etc. Now imagine a market that grows by a factor of 10, overnight, filled with quality schools, hucksters, wildcatters, all sorts of things that a new 50 million customer market might bring. It’s not a pretty sight. It means that parents will be forced to use imperfect, sometimes almost fraudulent marketing pitches, school rating information to make their “free” choice. And what does Larry propose for the corner case students?
Who is doing the special ed? Think private schools will pick that up? They don’t even have buses, much less short ones. Think they will do it for the same cost as public? Who pays, and how? Is Larry suggesting each will pay according to their needs, their means? That sure means that the lower income special ed parents are going to suffer unless the government steps in.
And my county had “special” school for jd’ types to keep them out of the mainstream if they keep adding on rules infractions. Yeah, a whole school, small but separate. What happens to those kids and who pays for that?
And even if the parents could have PERFECT INFORMATION, then what happens? The best schools get the most students. They will charge more. Ultimately we will have great schools for great dollars and then the rest: don’t cost as much, don’t deliver as much, but you can afford it. So, some will get a brand name education, others will be blessed with a generic education, and some will be on SNAP education. Larry does not propose a spending/funding plan, will it be based on taxes where people pay according to means but receive according to needs? Or everyone for themselves, no taxes? Or what?
No, Larry proposes an idea that sounds great: be in control of your child’s education and be free to choose the best. Who can argue with that concept. But the reality is a swiss cheese burger filled with so many holes that it won’t even stick to the school room wall.
Frank, you say “To think parents will make better decisions than educated, experienced, educators is a very bad thought.”
That is so utterly wrong. It shows me that you have no clue what America is about, that Orwell’s 1984 is just fine with you. You think parents are dumb shits who don’t know how to raise their own children. By the very definition of “parent,” they do.
Parents have the right and the obligation to make decisions for their children. Teachers have NO right and NO obligation to make those choices, especially if they are against the will of the parents.
Unfortunately the some of the teachers agree with you. Those teachers should be fired. Those are the kinds of statements where you will find parents armed to the teeth in rebellion. Fortunately, the movement is not armed, we are merely avoiding the bullshit you are talking about by forming other schools.
“You think parents are dumb shits who don’t know how to raise their own children. By the very definition of “parent,” they do.”
That’s just so stupid, it’s funny :>) I have a similar thought: by the very definition of “ass-hat,” Joe do…… (although I do like your proper use of the comma),
You don’t know how to raise kids just because you can have one. If I have two am I a better parent? Again, this is the type of argument Joe makes for privatization in general. Freedom of choice, manifest destiny, individual rights —- it all sounds good, but is it? The pension-to-401K privatization push took our retirement savings away from pensions managed by professional money managers allowing the individual to choose investments for freedom of choice, manifest destiny, and individual rights. The end result was it is proven now that the individual fares less on average than the professional.
Why would it be different for education?
Especially given a lack of perfect information. Hell, they won’t even get good information. It just does not exist.
Frank Stetson… with that kind of stupidity, I cannot believe you are a parent. Or are you one of those who needs government to tell you how to educate you kids? Or are you only talking about “other people.”
You really think this is stupid: “You don’t know how to raise kids just because you can have one. If I have two am I a better parent? Again, this is the type of argument Joe makes for privatization in general.”
Pretty damned close to an ad hominem, but…..
Somehow I don’t see how it CAN’T be true that some two people, somewhere don’t know the best how to raise their kids, much less choose the best school out of the plethora of choices in Larry’s choice model.
Where’s the stupid in thinking not all parents are adept at choosing the best school? Are you really saying parents have some sort of innate talent for education rating and ranking?
You’re just playing on the fucking heart strings — “oh, the parents know the best for their kids” Tell that to John Wayne Gacy……
As far as my kids —- I got The New School, Purdue, Bard, and Hampshire —– good, not the easiest to get into, and oh yeah —– fuckin a liberal……. (I didn’t choose, mine BS is a lowly State School since I was a 70’s slacker to be honest.)
That’s communism 101. Like “It takes a Village”
that doesn’t seem to make any sense Stephen, not a clue what you mean.
So, if parents have no choice, who is running the schools.
Larry knows it is states and communities, public and private organizations, that establish schools, develop curricula, and determine enrollment/graduation requirements. But his article states it’s “the government” running the schools. I had noted: “where the author does not mention which government. This may make reader’s think this is a federal problem which may have been Larry’s spinful intention. It is NOT a federal government problem, the failure Larry speaks of is a local government problem, and shared with other , mostly local, organizations too. Then some State, and finally, less than a 10% Federal issue.” (at least on a funding level, the Fed still has the bully pulpit too.)
Larry responded: “You incorrectly assume that I “make readers think it is a federal problem.” Only ignorant readers would think that. Primary and secondary schools are locally run but local “governments.” Ergo, they are government run. There are issues relating to both state and federal involvement, but they do not run the schools.”
I don’t know why Larry has to always be right while calling his readers names too. I don’t know why his lack of clarity indicates reader ignorance. I don’t know why he can’t see his own bias, spin, and weasel wording, but I will show him. First Larry, your editing of my statement which said “MAY make readers think it is a federal problem” I did not say make, I said may make (and I still say it because it’s correct and not an assumption).
Second, he seems to equate all governments equally whether local, state and federal. In my township, Bob has been mayor for 30 years; he may be government, but he is really just my neighbor, as is all local government around here. Even in NJ. But hey, “government” can mean any government, right. Except Larry forgot the qualifiers he added within his article like:
“Hopefully, we are in the first stages of a parents’ revolt against institutionalized government education” to which I say “Bob, institutionalized?” I don’t see local government as big brother institutional equivalency. He really leaves it to the reader’s imagination and if the reader gets it wrong, Larry says they are ignorant
“There is an important difference between the operation of bricks and mortar by government and by the private sector –with too much control by various unions.” NJ is a Union state but my local government does not hire Union for school buildings. Less than 50% of NJ school projects do. Sure seems Larry is alluding to State or Federal, not Local and, again, if you choose wisely you get it, if not, you are ignorant.
“PUBLIC schools are allowed to suffer safety deficiencies that the government would close if they were privately operated.” Again, my Local Government may enforce said regulations, but it does not create them; that’s State or Federal.
“The letting of contracts is too often dependent on political contacts rather than cost or quality of service.” Doubtful at the local level especially since it’s zero-based budgeting. Sure sounds like State or Federal.
“For the left, it is better to keep kids in a failing system as long as they are confined to a building and are nexus of the money flowing from the government to the school unions and ultimately to the politicians to control the schools.” Ditto on this one as Larry makes Mayor Bob sound like the Godfather of Federal.
“Government’s role should be the enabling of the best education in the world focusing on the child and a curriculum that arises out of common sense and the will of parents – not controlled by bureaucratic overlords in Washington or politically tainted unions.” Now here it really looks like government means Washington. My local government does not operate out of Washington. Washington is the seat of the Federal Government. I think if one had to guess what Larry really meant, this is the smoking gun. I wouldn’t harp on it, except he called me ignorant. Who’s looing ignorant now?
I will let the reader be the judge but it sure seems like Larry left off mentioning the “local” focus while alluding to a lot a government shit that sure seems to be outside of the local government sandbox. Again, it appears to be fear mongering pushing on your big brother hot-buttons to elicit your support for his proposal for school choice. The specter of the FED hides throughout his spin. And without specifying that it’s local government —– IT IS SPIN. And to double down on that when asked for clarification, that’s just Trumpian, of the personal sort, not the policy sort.
Actually, parents don’t have the right to make all the decisions. As far as I know, every state has decided “kids must go to school until age 16”. By setting up a plan and filing it with the state, in some places some parents are allowed to home school their children. Any deviation from what the state deems adequate will result in the children being sent to an existing, qualified school, or in extreme cases, being taken away from the parents.
Besides that, Frank is right about parents not getting good information about schools. Go to a school board meeting in a district with several thousand children, and you might see the board and a half-dozen parents. Those few parents listen to the funding struggle and how the school board chooses to address that. If everyone did that, there might no be such a fight against spending money on schools. But the vast majority of parents don’t care enough to even make the effort. School is just babysitting their kids while they work.
The only way to make school fair and equitable and available for all is to have good public schools. For profit schools should not be subsidized by the state because it takes funding away from the public schools who have the mission to educate EVERY child regardless of needs, race, religion, or money.
Parents have the right to home school and they have the right to change schools. And they have the right to elect school board members. It is not perfect, and more choices would be a better situation than forcing “wokeness” and sexual perversions on their kids.
That is true, parents are not being informed well enough, and not enough of them are involved. But when political propaganda makes its way into the schools without the knowledge of the parents, it is time for more choices not fewer.
No, nothing is fair about limiting parents to public schools. And when you say “good” public schools, you are counting on the government to be efficient and effective. How would you know if they are “good” if you have nothing to compare them to. And if people always choose schools other than public schools why would you continue funding them?
Had a conversation with someone in the school system if Broward County. Charter schools are working very well here. But your comment is noted, in this county charter schools are better for the average student, but public schools are better for the gifted and special needs students. Perhaps even more options are needed.
Parents are not limited to public schools. They can pay to choose something else. But it’s not fair to everyone who has no choice to take the money from PUBLIC education.
In your scenario, if it’s accurate, charter schools are taking more than their share of public funding, because they’re not paying for gifted or special needs students. They’re getting a premium to teach “average” students, while the public schools have to struggle to support the more expensive students. It’s cherry picking the cheapest students.
Well, Joe, that’s your opinion and I can respect that. Thanks, and appreciate the mention of violence, you Republicans seem to really embrace that concept.
As I had said earlier: “Why does the author feel that all US parents are better at school selection that experienced, educated, educators? Republicans said the same exact thing about 401ks, “heck with pensions, let parents pick the best investments, freedom of choice, financial manifest destiny and all that crap” and we did it. I had said this in advance, and then it also turned out to be true after the fact: that professional, educated and experienced money managers return a higher yield. An average individual is most often less capable than trained, educated, experienced, professionals. Go figure.”
So, no Joe, I don’t think the average parent is as good at judging educational services as the experts. Nor do I think the industry will magically provide the parents with better tools than we have today to help make those choices.
Larry calls for a market expansion of 900% over more —- that’s an Alaska gold rush —- there will be hucksters, wildcatters, and used care salesmen entering the market. Larry admits the current rankings are all over the board. Parents would be deluged from new school owners via marketing materials. It will be an information nightmare that no parent will be able to judge accurately.
And like I said, you Republicans said the same thing about freedom of financial choices by the individual over professional pension managers. We could do better, the pro’s had failed (during a recession they got caught by), etc. You were wrong then, the professional money managers are better; it is proven, look it up. I believe the same thing will happen here, and that’s even before you get to the potential inequalities of choice due to the funding mechanism, whatever that is.
Larry relies on Larry’s critical education theory expertise, incredible insightfulness, and his belief that there is only one answer – his. It is a well written piece relying on stereotypes and supported by scant little. I can tell he is passionate on the topic but perhaps too close to be able to adequately describe it to others.
He only has two numbers, statistics, comparisons, analogies, etc. in the whole piece. At least he skipped the anecdotes about his acquaintances this time.
He wants to close public education all down and basically start over. He protests to that fact are feckless. He says it’s about choice, it’s not about closing down the public schools, it’s about the poor inner-city folks, but how can anyone reconcile all those changes without admitting that school choice is really about privatizing public education. Ask yourself:
– If you offer choice to our poorest citizens for public education, how will they afford it and what real choice will they have based on the money they can afford
– IF you make choice transparently equitable to all, and the poor totally able to afford it, then why would public schools stay open? Larry is the first to admit they are not competitive; how would one expect them to get better as people are leaving?
– If your offer choice, via tax dollars formerly destined to support public schools, how do you keep the schools running without those funds?
No, he doesn’t mention how people will pay for this, and if it is school tax dollar, how the hell we keep the schools running without them. He spends his time telling you how this helps the lower income folk, but does not explain how they will get a level financial playing field to help themselves to a better education than public schools. It’s all pie in the sky, blue sky thinking without the pragmatic truth of what Larry has hidden behind that curtain.
But to get you there, he fear mongers about:
– “failing to teach millions of children – mostly in segregated minority schools” tying in his cities-are-segregated-by-Democrats-and-basically-failing on all counts
– “teach a culture that is alien and offensive to most Americans” probably alluding to CRT or just progressive teachers in general which is widely feared but seldom actually seen
He tells you your schools are ranked low against the world and the rankings are across the board high, low, and in between so trust Larry’s opinion. If you call him on that he will tell you you’re stupid and look it up yourself. He has no facts, no sources, just his ideas and opinion, so trust in Larry, he’s passionate after all and has worked education nationwide.
One of his “numbers” is that we rank 20th but he lists no source nor denominator and notes this may include schools outside of k-12. Larry, 20th against a field of 350 countries in top 10% for example. His second number states we drop to 30th if we pull privates and colleges — my same point applies.
Then he hops back on the Republican trope bus and laments about cost, the failure of hiring Union. (ever wonder how Republicans equate good paying jobs, Unions, and what they want in life?). Somehow Larry misses the fact that private schools may have Unions too, but he figures your fear is already in full bloom.
“Many schools in minority districts suffer from lack of maintenance.”
(and many don’t, so what?)
“PUBLIC schools are allowed to suffer safety deficiencies that the government would close if they were privately operated.”
(prove it)
“Maintenance money is too often diverted into the union treasury.”
(and Trump donations go into his pocket, so what, prove it)
“The letting of contracts is too often dependent on political contacts”
(isn’t that the DeSantis procurement process? How else did he contract those charter flights from Matt Gatez’s old company, his partner now working for DeSantis…..again, prove it)
And, of course, if you don’t believe that pile of horse shit, look it up stupid.
One bugaboo is what is the funding mechanism for this and how is that equitable to all and how does that preserve public education? Larry did not have any wisdom on that one. It too must be behind the curtain in the land of Oz.
Frank Stetson … again you open with a straw man mischaracterization of me — making the rest of you obsessive screeds not worth reading.
That’s right, everyone picks on poor larry’s psyche so larry no can read…..
“It is a well written piece relying on stereotypes and supported by scant little. I can tell he is passionate on the topic but perhaps too close to be able to adequately describe it to others.
He only has two numbers, statistics, comparisons, analogies, etc. in the whole piece. At least he skipped the anecdotes about his acquaintances this time.”
I brought all my sources to the table: Larry brought hot air. He can not support what he says except this crap and the famous: everyone knows it, look it up stupid.
That’s fine. Just don’t use public school tax dollars to fund. And then, you can go where you want.
Why when I was a lad, I went to the best public high school in the state. But I commuted 30 mules on my own dime to do so. Let them do that if they want to change schools.
Too bad Republicans are so selective WHERE parent can exercise to be pro-choice.
Larry and I sniped at each other over providing backup sources, links, and the like. I provided mine. Larry left the building. He has not provided any supporting sources, examples, links, even his familiar, favorite anecdotes.
My last lament: Larry wants an education revolution Why revolution? Because what Larry suggests is nothing short of total educational anarchy based on scale alone, and then the funding nightmare. He wants it fast, he says parents are ready. He says he is not destroying public education, but does not explain what happens when everyone does what he himself says everyone is ready to do. Nor does he have a peep on how we get from here to there OR how it is funded. Crickets.
First, there are 50M public school students and 6M private school students; Larry’s gonna need to scale private schools close to ten times, a 900% expansion. Ever see the mess that kind of market growth creates. Think gold rush. Boom businesses. Market chaos. Do you think private schools can wave a magic wand and expand SMOOTHLY overnight? A year? A decade? Who will step in to capitalize on this brand new, and wide open, market?
There are over 100,000 public school buildings and less than 30,000 private buildings, a 300% real estate expansion to house a ten times growth of students. The possibility of Larry successfully scaling in a reasonable time is nil. And the growth issues would be stupendous, not to mention costly. More so the faster you want to go. First, business has to decide to enter the market, it has to get funding, buy buildings, hire talent, etc. Where is that talent coming from? Probably existing educators who are now totally pissed for losing all their benefits. Gonna ram revenge-CRT down little Tommy’s throat for that :>) Could you blame them? Or maybe they hire all new people and you can suffer the trials and tribulations of training.
Then there’s the school funding. Today we tax property and income, those with more pay more. What’s Larry’s funding plan, State-managed vouchers using existing tax system? Sounds bureaucratic with lots of corruption. Maybe just skip the tax and roll your own: sure, hurts those minorities and poor white trash demographics who don’t have the money even if they get all their taxes back. But Larry doesn’t cover this, it’s open. He has the grand and glorious education plan for school choice, but he does not mention the funding. Nothing. How will all those inner city folks get the cash to pay for school choice; you must know, it’s you main target.
Beyond the fact that, probably, a minimum of 20% of the States would tell Larry to take his idea and shove it because they like their public school systems being in the top 20% of American public education, that the ability to scale private schools by a factor of ten or more is impossible on a flash cut, and who knows how many decades that might take, the fact you would probably be hiring the same people to work there, just paying less, and you don’t seem to have a clue how you would fund this — equitably: I think you might be on to something here. It’s just that you didn’t factually, with statistics, science, or numbers even, prove the need nor the possibility of a smooth conversion.
A prudent plan probably would pick a State and try it rather than suggest the entire system should change as Larry has. But who can tell what Larry is thinking about timing or funding. He just says American is READY now. That’s what State’s rights are all about after all Larry. IF America is ready, there’s any of 50 states that could start right now. It’s controlled locally, just do it.
But that’s my point — we have 50 states, thousands of local communities, many of which have better ranked schools. Why not learn from our current experiments, transfer the winning learnings to the lower ranked schools and continue with the current institutions and infrastructure evolving forward instead of a revolutionary change that’s very difficult to scale without massive issues. Sadly, not one State in the Union has chosen Larry’s path, no one has picked up his cause. Basically, RED states have the worst public-school systems, they can start. Maybe Mississippi can solve the funding problem using Republican Brett Favre and former Republican Gov. Phil Bryant’s method. Ought to give one pause to consider.
Frank Stetson …. every time I offer my opinion, you seem to need a senior lever course in public policy or a book-level volume of information. Frankly, you are too ignorant of reality and I have neither the time or interest in going toe-to-toe with you. You obviously know nothing about school choice since it saves taxpayer money. It diverts only a percentage of what the state pays per pupil to the public school. Instead of paying $12,000 per pupil, they may pay only $9,000 for the pupil transferring to a private or parochial school. If you want a source, read Milton Friedman’s writings on school choice. Instead you want to play my link trumps your link. you would be better served if you would engage in self-education instead of self propagandization. The good news is that — if the stats are correct — most readers to not follow the chat and especially is it is long and tedious. Hell, I do not even read most of your stuff. But then, I am not obsessed with you personally.
Sorry, I have to agree with Frank on this one… Where is your evidence that it saves taxpayer money? Back it up with some numbers instead of just saying it’s so. If the “average” student costs $4000 to educate, and special needs students cost $20,000, but the average is $8000, you’ve just taken out the students that subsidize the rest of the school’s services, and it ends of costing the students’s parents more anyway (private schools get subsidized AND charge a tuition). Cherry picking the easiest students to educate just siphons money out of the public system and puts it into the pockets of owners of the private schools. If privatization works, why not let them take the special needs students or take over the lowest performing inner-city school in the state, and leave the rest of the public schools alone. If they’ll do that (which I doubt) and it works (again, doubtful), then maybe you’ve got a case for privatization.
Part of your problem is believing an economist who thought that free market with no government interference is the best and only solution for everything. That NEVER works in real life, and won’t work here. Besides the fact that Friedman has been dead for almost 20 years, and most of the debate on privatizing schools has come after that point.
Really? You agree with Frank? What a surprise…
Plus, your economics and your assumptions are completely wrong.
says Joe “unkie milton” himself; the guy who thinks when the fed raises the rate that suddenly our existing debt bill rises………. and then doubles down on that impossibility….. he even computed the interest-increase number (that can not exist)
Now that’s an ad hominem attack Larry. Ain’t you got nothing better than name calling old man?
I don’t need no stinking economist on this one: Private schools can be cheaper than public, so in essence, sure, we can pay less to get private schools.
That still does not get you from here to there, does not solve the problem of the poor not have enough cash to meet equivalent education levels as the middle.
“1. Privatized school choice will inevitably reduce funding for your local neighborhood public schools.”
” 2. Direct and disguised vouchers to private schools and other public school alternatives start small and then expand, increasing the burden on taxpayers”
“3. Additional administrative costs coupled with a lack of transparency waste taxpayer dollars and open the door to excessive legal and fraudulent personal gain.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/05/03/three-big-problems-with-school-choice-that-supporters-dont-like-to-talk-about/
And not sure about those results either:
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/95/07/studies-show-school-choice-widens-inequality-popular-among-parents-little-evidence
And put those both together —- those golden vouchers and student success and you get: “A Brookings Institution analysis of four studies in different states with voucher programs found that “on average, students that use vouchers to attend private schools do less well on tests than similar students that do not attend private schools.”
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/what-parents-need-to-know-about-school-vouchers
But that does not matter: I asked what funding mechanism your proposal included. Not the plethora of plans being offered in today’s education arena. I want to know how you support public schools with declining students with private schools funded by “larry’s magic beans,” since you will be funding school choice for rich people (who will want their money), poor people (who don’t pay taxes), and everything in between for two school systems, public and private.
Again, you fail to be able to source anything.