$5000 tax credit for homeschoolers and private schoolers (elect, kids, working)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But they do meet some minimal standards, or the school is threatened with being shut down, or you attend another school.
Lets look at this as a whole.
Lets say 20% of parents remove their children from public schools with a voucher. They choose private education or they choose home schooling.
Then the demand for teachers will drop, so we can finally fire the under performing teachers. Then the best teachers are remaining in public schools or private schools. I'm sure the number of parents opting out would increase.
Perhaps we can allow public schools to be like ER's, where teachers work internships much like doctors do, then move on to private practice or private education facilities.
All while meeting a set standard.
Over time we can increase the standard. Those teachers who aren't making the grade, would be forced to find a different profession.
Not to mention parents that are better educated at home because they are homeschooling their children.
I see this as a win win. But we have to have some sort of recourse against parents gaming the system, and we can't simply allow them to sit in a home with a bad education. Private schools often cost more money than public schools.
I think we'd need less public schools, less teachers in public schools, which would allow us to choose between better teachers, and cut off the dead weight.
In your dreams will all this happen a la "Econ 101". Education doesn't work by the same economic principles as selling TVs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
I think it's also important to allow the parents to completely opt out, this testing would only be done for those receiving funds. Any homeschooler that wanted to continue without public funds would be free to do it.
I don't know about your state, but in mine, homeschoolers must take standardized tests.
Your child must take a nationally standardized achievement test when he/she reaches grades three, five, seven, nine, and eleven to evaluate academic progress, or a qualified person must evaluate your child's academic progress at your expense. Contact an organization at Home School Resources, or check with your local school district to see if your child can be included during the nationally standardized testing of public school students. The district is not obliged to include your child and may charge you for any costs incurred.
And no I don't trust that parents will vote with their feet. & no I don't trust that Joe Blow down the street is the best judge of quality in education or even cares as long as his kid is sitting somewhere 6 hours a day & he doesn't have to do anything for it.
Certainly they could make better decisions than what many of these districts are making, clearly what we are doing now is failing in many places. It's time to change course and quit throwing good money after bad.
Quote:
Vouchers are a means to get public funds to private entities through a 3rd party, so the private entities are not subject to the regulations and standards direct government funding entails.
You don't limit the vouchers to just private schools. Turn the public schools into non profits, the voucher can be used there too. The idea is to make the schools accountable. You're going to force them to perform, if they don't they will lose funding. If for example you have a public school in your area that is well run and performing well this could increase the funding they get as more students apply.
(1) Here are my cites for the reference to large families (feel free to post statistics contradicting them if you can find any):
"Hispanic and Latino Americans accounted for almost half (1.4 million) of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006.[17] Immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants are expected to provide most of the U.S. population gains in the decades ahead." U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050 - Pew Hispanic Center
"A report by the U.S. Census Bureau projects a decrease in the ratio of Whites between 2010 and 2050, from 79.5% to 74.0%." (Table 4. Projections of the Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2010 to 2050" (Excel). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-10-2).
"At the same time, Non-Hispanic Whites are projected to no longer make up the majority of the population by 2042, but will remain the largest race. In 2050 they will compose 46.3% of the population. Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960." (U.S. Hispanic population to triple by 2050, USATODAY.com)
"The report foresees the Hispanic or Latino population rising from 16% today to 30% by 2050, the African American percentage barely rising from 12.9% to 13.0%, and Asian Americans upping their 4.6% share to 7.8%. The U.S. has 310 million people as of October 2010, and is projected to reach 400 million by 2039 and 439 million in 2050. ("Projected Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2050". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2009-12-08; White Americans no longer a majority by 2042; U.S. to Grow Grayer, More Diverse; Pew Research Center: Immigration to Play Lead Role In Future U.S. Growth)
It is further projected that 82% of the increase in population from 2005 to 2050 will be due to immigration. (Whites to become minority in U.S. by 2050, Reuters)
Of the nation's children in 2050, 62% are expected to be of a minority ethnicity, up from 44% today. (An Older and More Diverse Nation by Midcentury, U.S. Census Press Releases, 14 August 2008 (archived from the original on 2008-08-2)
(2) I didn't say we shouldn't have high school graduation. I said if the people choosing to have the children bore a greater proportion of the cost of schooling them, the nation might start to equalize from the oversupply of labor that has stagnated wages for the past 40 years. If you choose to have 5 kids, you should contribute to the minimum of $100,000 you are costing the school system every year--instead of having towns force every retired person without a pension out of their homes as property taxes hit $15,000 and more every year.
None of these stats say that Hispanics have more kids than non-Hispanics.
Here are some stats from the CDC; I'll warn you, there's a lot of statisitc digesting to do. It does help if one knows how to interpret statistics to begin with. Bascially what is being said is that there are more Hispanic women in their 20s immigrating to the US, and that the 20s is the prime childbearing age. In states with well-established Hispanic populations, the birth rate is similar to non-Hispanics.
HIspanics do have a slightly higher birth rate than non-hispanics, but it's not huge, e.g. 2.9 births on average for hispanic women and 1.9 for non-hispanic whites.
The irony here the people that are complaining about entitlement spending........................Want an entitlement.
For many, entitlement spending is not a problem as long as it benefits them. I don't know if people are truly selfish, or just blind to reality, and don't realize how something like this could have a devastating effect on the working and poor class students, and in this case they can't even be blamed, they didn't ask for poor parents, the can't simply "choose" parents who can afford private school.
If we are going to stop entitlement spending it needs to be across the board, people can't suddenly change their mind because something will benefit them.
That's what I was just about to say! Where's my refund?
Stupidass idea of the week from the right. As a society, every single one of us has not only an obligation, but an interest in seeing our nation's children educated.
You cannot possible know whats good for me. You are NEVER looking out for my best interests. All you want to do is steal MY money for YOUR causes.
Why should I help raise others children through government? I'm busy trying to make it myself because that very same government has made it costlier for me to reach my goals. How can I help others when the fruits of my labor are stolen and i am forced to work more and longer than I want to because others demand their entitlements. You're not entitled to my money no matter how noble you think YOUR cause is. As if throwing money at it works in the long run.
You want to help with educating children then volunteer at a local school. Quit thinking of ways to take my money for your causes and act on them yourself since this cause means so much to you. Otherwise you're just grandstanding.
educate children - great idea, good luck, hope you succeed
forcefully take others money to accomplish that goal - horrible idea
But they do meet some minimal standards, or the school is threatened with being shut down, or you attend another school.
Right, just hop from school to school for 12 years. There are many charter schools that failed in this state, b/c they were being run by people who thought they knew better than education administrators how to run a school.
Lets look at this as a whole.
Lets say 20% of parents remove their children from public schools with a voucher. They choose private education or they choose home schooling.
Then the demand for teachers will drop, so we can finally fire the under performing teachers. Then the best teachers are remaining in public schools or private schools. I'm sure the number of parents opting out would increase.
So say there is a school with a class of 100 1st graders, with four teachers. Student-teacher ratio 25:1. 20 kids leave, leaving 80 kids left. If even one teacher is let go, the ratio rises to 27:1 for those left. Mind you, these kids deserve an education too. More likely, the school will not let any teachers go, and the kids will be in a class of 20. Good for the kids, but still costing the school the same. As you know, in any business, getting rid of underperforming workers is difficult at best. Even in times of layoffs, even with no unions, it's usually, "last hired, first fired". And "I'm sure" is not exactly a solid fact. There have to be schools for these kids to go to, for one thing.
Perhaps we can allow public schools to be like ER's, where teachers work internships much like doctors do, then move on to private practice or private education facilities.
All while meeting a set standard.
Oh, there you go! This shows you have no idea how an ER works, either. Except in teaching hospitals, which support residency programs, PAYING doctors just out of med school to learn the business, ERs are staffed by paid physicians.
Over time we can increase the standard. Those teachers who aren't making the grade, would be forced to find a different profession.
Good luck with that! Anyone who has ever worked a job knows there are good employees and bad employees, and getting rid of bad ones is extremely difficult. Maybe you've never worked in an office of more than 1?
Not to mention parents that are better educated at home because they are homeschooling their children.
Oh, what a joke! There is not about to be any big upsurge in homeschooling, with more families with all the adults working.
I see this as a win win. But we have to have some sort of recourse against parents gaming the system, and we can't simply allow them to sit in a home with a bad education. Private schools often cost more money than public schools.
Now that's not what everyone here on CD says. They're always saying how much less private schools cost per pupil, disregarding, in many cases, subsidies from the church bodies that sponsor many of them, the fact that they can "cherry-pick" students, etc.
I think we'd need less public schools, less teachers in public schools, which would allow us to choose between better teachers, and cut off the dead weight.
I think you're wrong, on all counts.
********************************************
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
