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Concerned citizen seeking opinions on Senator John McCain education reform platform, federal education funds put into hands of local principles, less governmental control of funding
The public school system needs drastic reform- but to do so would involve way too much effort. We've turned schools away from education into babysitters. We need to get back to a core curriculum of English, Math, Basic Sciences and History. That's it. Teach those until high school, then let kids specialize in what they're interested in. Let parents pay for extra curriculars like art, music, dance, languages, SPORTS.
We don't need more government interference with education. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" caused more problems.
More money thrown at the problem won't help. It is how the money is being spent NOW.
These politicians think they can just sign bills and satisfy everyone with bandaids and talk big about REFORM and CHANGE. Talk is cheap. Blah blah blah.
Until the child is old enough for this type of program I would suggest high quality daycare with financial assistance provided to the parent(s) as needed.
Nancy
Does this mean you think all kids should be in day care, whether the parents are working or not? It's hard to give "high quality day care" to tiny infants. Sweden doesn't even do it; the moms get to stay home and take care of the kids for a year.
These proposals are NOT John McCain's. They're the standard neocon party line. Privatize, privatize, privatize...
All that ranslates to is to take taxpayers' money to pad the bank accounts of big GOP contributors. The effect on education would be similar to what we're witnessing on Wall St. Which is another neocon benchmark. Deregulate, deregulate, deregulate...
Haven't we all witnesed enough damage to our country from this failed philosophy? Why would anyone put an ounce of creedence in this approach?
The public schools are in definite need of reform and there's a LOT of dead wood in most school districts that could use some trimming. But simplistic answers like vouchers are going to do nothing but make a bad situation worse. We didn't get into this condition overnight. And there are no overnight solutions, as much as everyone would like to think that there are. Real, effective reform is a long term process, not a campaign slogan.
Could that be because professional educators might have a better grasp of education than "the poor?"
They're doing such a fine job at it now, right?
The opinion of those professional educators is rather self-serving: Their opinion supports a system that keeps them employed in a government-sanctioned monopoly. They have no incentive to IMPROVE anything. Vouchers will move money away from the public schools, especially poorly-performing, unless those schools can do better. It is CLEARLY in the best interests of the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR to oppose vouchers.
Maybe those 'poor' people would like a chance at a few more choices. That's something they can do if a doctor recommends a particular surgery (it's called a second opinion) - but not when it comes to education.
The opinion of those professional educators is rather self-serving: Their opinion supports a system that keeps them employed in a government-sanctioned monopoly. They have no incentive to IMPROVE anything. Vouchers will move money away from the public schools, especially poorly-performing, unless those schools can do better. It is CLEARLY in the best interests of the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR to oppose vouchers.
What's often overlooked in discussions on American education is that nearly all of the problems are political in nature. Face it, our education system is a mess because of all the political input and bickering. Most of it results in stifling regulations aimed at pleasing some constituency at the expense of real instruction. Much of it creates bureaucracies with layers of administrators who never aid in anyone's education, but draw big salaries and continually attempt to micromanage classrooms.
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Maybe those 'poor' people would like a chance at a few more choices. That's something they can do if a doctor recommends a particular surgery (it's called a second opinion) - but not when it comes to education.
Maybe vouchers are nothing more than another political smokescreen that sounds like an easy fix, but really offers nothing at all to address the root problems.
The opinion of those professional educators is rather self-serving: Their opinion supports a system that keeps them employed in a government-sanctioned monopoly. They have no incentive to IMPROVE anything. Vouchers will move money away from the public schools, especially poorly-performing, unless those schools can do better. It is CLEARLY in the best interests of the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR to oppose vouchers.
Maybe those 'poor' people would like a chance at a few more choices. That's something they can do if a doctor recommends a particular surgery (it's called a second opinion) - but not when it comes to education.
Maybe professional educators would like to see real issues addressed in our schools. The band-aids and stop-gap measures that have accumulated over the past couple of decades have done nothing but delay a proper fix while allowing the underlying conditions to fester.
Vouchers are nothing but another band-aid that would help a few and harm many. It's cheap, bogus posturing rather than a viable solution.
Our schools didn't deteriorate overnight. Restoring them won't happen overnight, either. It won't be quick and it won't be cheap. Neglect is always more expensive than maintenance in the long run.
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Reform? WHAT reform?
