cordscords
12-31-2012, 02:07 PM
http://wordsofliberty.net/?p=160
When I say that headline to most people they don’t react to it very well. They comprehend it as “you want to end education?” No. I merely want a better education system in place than the monstrosity we currently have. Our current system is unconstitutional, immoral, bad economics, and just flat out inefficient. Allow me to explain:
Unconstitutional- The 10th amendment of the constitution reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” So let’s find the text in the constitution that authorizes the federal government to be involved in education. Is it in the bill of rights? Article 1, Section 8? It’s not there. Nowhere in the constitution will you find references to education, schools, teachers, students, homework, math class, etc. Yet we have a department of education, no child left behind, numerous federal subsidies, etc.
Immoral- How does the government get their funds to meddle in education? Through taxation, borrowing, and printing money. Fancy ways of saying THEFT. There is no underlying social contract that we all agree to. That’s hogwash! Using coercion as means to accomplish anything is the essence of immorality.
In addition, government involvement in education also shoves a one size fits all approach down our throats. Who’s to say that one style of schooling trumps another? “Standardized tests can’t measure initiative, creativity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes. What they can measure and count are isolated skills, specific facts and function, content knowledge, the least interesting and least significant aspects of learning.”- Bill Ayers
Plus public schools are an oligopoly. In the United States, 88% of students attend public schools, compared with 9% who attend parochial schools, 1% who attend private independent schools, and 2% who are home-schooled. The government having a stranglehold on our schools is a disservice to those who buck the public system.
Economically- The feds and the states have education programs that are deep in the red. These already are or are close to becoming unfunded liabilities. It’s unsustainable.
When the government gets in bed with education it also raises prices, making it a drag on the consumer. These are the consequences of subsidies. They end up leaving college students saddled in thousands of debt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GTa_swC-OE
As strange as it this might sound, private schools actually cost less than public schools! If you calculate the total expenditures per pupil for public school systems in America’s five largest metropolitan areas and Washington, D.C. Washington spent the most—an average of $28,000 per public school student, which was more than the maximum tuition charged to attend such prestigious private schools as Lowell School ($25,120), Sheridan School ($24,700), and Georgetown Visitation School ($20,600). Imagine ending this oligopoly, and all of the competition it would create.
Efficiency- In the United States we have a 76% high school graduation rate, checking in at #21 in the world. That’s below Slovakia for Pete’s sake! The college dropout rate is roughly 50%. Our test scores are pathetic, and we spend far more than other developed countries combined.
http://mat.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/us-schools-vs-international3.jpg
Finally private schools produce better results than public schools. In 2011 the NAEP took a look at the achievement levels in math, reading, writing, geography, civics, and science. They found that a greater percentage of students in private schools graded out higher at basic, proficient, and advanced levels in every single subject than public school students.
So when I say to people I want to abolish public education, I’m not saying I want to end education. I’m simply advocating for an educational system that is constitutional, that is moral, that makes economic sense, and works.
When I say that headline to most people they don’t react to it very well. They comprehend it as “you want to end education?” No. I merely want a better education system in place than the monstrosity we currently have. Our current system is unconstitutional, immoral, bad economics, and just flat out inefficient. Allow me to explain:
Unconstitutional- The 10th amendment of the constitution reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” So let’s find the text in the constitution that authorizes the federal government to be involved in education. Is it in the bill of rights? Article 1, Section 8? It’s not there. Nowhere in the constitution will you find references to education, schools, teachers, students, homework, math class, etc. Yet we have a department of education, no child left behind, numerous federal subsidies, etc.
Immoral- How does the government get their funds to meddle in education? Through taxation, borrowing, and printing money. Fancy ways of saying THEFT. There is no underlying social contract that we all agree to. That’s hogwash! Using coercion as means to accomplish anything is the essence of immorality.
In addition, government involvement in education also shoves a one size fits all approach down our throats. Who’s to say that one style of schooling trumps another? “Standardized tests can’t measure initiative, creativity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes. What they can measure and count are isolated skills, specific facts and function, content knowledge, the least interesting and least significant aspects of learning.”- Bill Ayers
Plus public schools are an oligopoly. In the United States, 88% of students attend public schools, compared with 9% who attend parochial schools, 1% who attend private independent schools, and 2% who are home-schooled. The government having a stranglehold on our schools is a disservice to those who buck the public system.
Economically- The feds and the states have education programs that are deep in the red. These already are or are close to becoming unfunded liabilities. It’s unsustainable.
When the government gets in bed with education it also raises prices, making it a drag on the consumer. These are the consequences of subsidies. They end up leaving college students saddled in thousands of debt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GTa_swC-OE
As strange as it this might sound, private schools actually cost less than public schools! If you calculate the total expenditures per pupil for public school systems in America’s five largest metropolitan areas and Washington, D.C. Washington spent the most—an average of $28,000 per public school student, which was more than the maximum tuition charged to attend such prestigious private schools as Lowell School ($25,120), Sheridan School ($24,700), and Georgetown Visitation School ($20,600). Imagine ending this oligopoly, and all of the competition it would create.
Efficiency- In the United States we have a 76% high school graduation rate, checking in at #21 in the world. That’s below Slovakia for Pete’s sake! The college dropout rate is roughly 50%. Our test scores are pathetic, and we spend far more than other developed countries combined.
http://mat.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/us-schools-vs-international3.jpg
Finally private schools produce better results than public schools. In 2011 the NAEP took a look at the achievement levels in math, reading, writing, geography, civics, and science. They found that a greater percentage of students in private schools graded out higher at basic, proficient, and advanced levels in every single subject than public school students.
So when I say to people I want to abolish public education, I’m not saying I want to end education. I’m simply advocating for an educational system that is constitutional, that is moral, that makes economic sense, and works.