Privatizing the Public School System

Graduating the Uneducated

The Horrible Discipline

I was scared. I had just done something that finally crossed the line for my fifth grade teacher. It wasn't just me, but one of my classmates did as well. I do not even remember what the infraction was or what the fellow student's name is. I only remember that he looked enough like Abraham Lincoln, that he played the part in our school play and as a result "Abe" was his nickname.

Mr. Dunham was going to do the paddling. Mr. Dunham had a reputation so intimidating that other teachers would sometimes interrupt his class to ask him to step out into the hall with his paddle. Mr. Dunham was not somebody that most students received a paddling from more than twice. Abe was out here for the second time. It was my first. The first visit to hold my ankles was easy compared to Abe's second. The first visit only got the perpetrator of an infraction one swat. In case that was not enough, and the perpetrator did not take the paddling seriously enough to prevent his committing another infraction within a reasonable amount of time afterward, he received three on the second visit. That usually fixed the perpetrator for the rest of the year. After watching Abe get his three before I received my one I decided then and there that I would not be doing this again.

The Lack of Discipline

Fast forward to today and we see an entirely different scenario. Today there is little to no discipline in the "public school" system. Government run schools are now primarily "baby sitters" for working parents. Schools are paid by the state for each warm body that they have in attendance, so there is no desire on the part of the school to expel thugs, drug dealers and gang bangers.

There is not much argument today that our public schools are not doing a very good job of graduating educated young adults. It has become such a problem that some police departments, like the City of Tacoma in Washington, have started requiring an associates degree in any subject for all new recruits, just to assure that they have a proper grasp on their literary skills.

The biggest reason pushed by the socialist left and by proponents of the "public school" system is lack of funds. This in spite of the fact that public schools spend two to three times that spent per student in private schools.

The problem has grown in such epic proportions that it is considered a crisis. (Please read "Government Schools In Crisis".) Parents are taking their children out of "public schools" for home schooling with exceptional results over publicly schooled children. Home schooled children have actually made the news when winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at a National Spelling Bee. Part of the reason that the home schools children are doing so much better is the "teachers" actually care about the children being taught. Now, don't get me wrong. Some teachers love the children they teach ad refer to them as "my children". They develop close relationship with all of their children and the children who are lucky enough to get e teacher like this usually do very well. There are just not very many of these exceptional teacher, though.

The Conservatives' Fix

Many Conservatives who claim to be opposed to socialism have been proposing school vouchers to resolve the crisis. School vouchers would allow parents to get a check from the government to pay for educating their children in a school of their choice. Even well known conservative organizations like The Heritage Foundation have started supporting this socialist approach to solving our education crisis. Though this may sound promising to many parents who have become frustrated with the public school system, it will create the same problems created by the Medicare system not to mention it would still be an entitlement from the government.

What will happen is parents will start getting their checks to pay for tuition and shortly afterwards tuition will start to increase. These increases happen because the payee sees an opportunity to make more profit initially, then it becomes necessary to hire more administrative staff in order to keep up with the additional government paperwork that always results from a government handout. The government never gives any kind of entitlement without its own criteria being met.

There is no argument that "school choice" works much better than the government monopoly in place at present, but the idea of getting a check from ones neighbor through the force of government would have never crossed the minds of a true conservative 50 or 60 years ago. Some conservatives argue that they are just getting the money that they have paid into the system returned to them. If they would just take the time to learn the law regarding required taxes, they would find out that most people are paying far more taxes than they are required.

The Uninformed Opposition

Some of the left wing opponents of the "school vouchers" system argue that many parents would use the vouchers to enroll their children in religious schools and that would "subvert the constitutional principle of separation of church and state". This stance merely publicly advertises their lack of knowledge of the Constitution which states in the 1st Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." It is obvious to those who have the ability to read the English language that there is no mention of a "separation of church and state". This argument simply hurts the movement against school vouchers, because it shows an ignorance that may be perceived to extend to other areas. After all, if the opposition does not know the U.S. Constitution, then a school voucher that would have permitted the parents of those using this argument would have had a better understanding of the Constitution. There are legitimate reasons for opposing this socialistic proposal without using a nonexistent one.

The Free Market Solution

In a truly free market society parents who bear children would actually take the responsibility of seeing to their children's education. Now, many people argue that they cannot afford the additional expense in addition to paying taxes. If one were to study the tax laws, one might find out that any income earned by U.S. Citizens is actually not taxable and therefore all of the tax that is being paid to the I.R.S. could be put towards their children's education. Don't assume that because a government employee told you that we are all required to pay "income" tax that that employee knows the law. Most attorneys do not even know Title 26 of the U.S. code. That is another discussion.

For those parents that fall into the category of "too poor to afford" to pay for their children's education, there are, and would be more, charitable organizations willing to cover those expenses. After all, it is not "charity" if it is forced on us by government. (Also read Affirmative Action: The racist Movement)

Nobody can argue that free market competition brings about better services at lower prices. As a matter of fact, the largest contributor to price increase is covering the cost of government regulation and taxation. If all Americans were not paying the amounts we are in taxes to cover the cost of socialism, we could afford better housing, more reliable transportation, and better education for our children. Imagine having five schools in a five mile radius of your home competing for your business. Look around and see how other businesses compete for your business and it does not take long to see how a free market education system would serve all our educational needs better.

When considering these points, one has to also consider the real reason the government run school system was established. Horace Mann, the man heralded for having founded the school system, was a member of the elite in the 1830's. The elite of the time despised the fact the the common man was so involved in politics and paid so much attention to what government was doing. The fix was to start "public" government run schools, even though there was no public outcry at the time for such schools. The Constitution does not give our federal government the authority to be involved in education. It only occurs because our state officials accept bribes from the federal government. The government has been succeeding in raising "good little citizens" and keeping us ignorant. After all, how many of us bought into the income tax farce.

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