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i agree. While i'm not surprised by this, i am just sick to my stomach after reading this!!! for those of you who are interested in following this trend on a national level, i highly recommend reading diane ravitch's the death and life of the great american school system.
Dismantling public schools so that middle class families find other alternatives and thus schools loose their tax base support isn't happening just in raleigh. I won't get into the national debate on this since it's a local forum. But to those parents and citizens who are concerned about wcpss i highly recommend ravitch's book.
When only parts of the county voted in a group of board members that had a different plan for the schools the majority in other parts of the county could NOT vote for others. This is a huge problem in my eyes. How the elected members from the 9 different areas are elected. I would think representation and voting of all board members from the county should be the case. That means I would have been able to vote for all the board members when their term comes up for election, no matter what part of the county I live in.
What has happened is a huge travesty in government.
The current system provides less jarring transitions, just like for senate elections. Check out this part of the wcpss site to see when the 9 districts will next hold elections:
WCPSS: Board of Education Member Information (http://www.wcpss.net/Board/boeinfo.html - broken link)
We all have a right to lobby anywhere in the county. Certainly, that type of lobbying happened in the last election and the one before it.
To me the old saying " A known devil is better than an unknown angel" is ringing true with this new board. Instead of just fixing things that needed fixing these people seem to have a whole hidden agenda.
I do have an issue with our board members serving on private school boards, just like I would have with any political type figure having ANY conflict of interest (happens with all sides on every level). I don't however have a problem with private school vouchers or trying to stimulate competition with private/public schools.
Should we not want the best for our children? If public schools can't provide that, then it would sure be nice to give me a break on my taxes, so that I as a parent would be able to make the choice to send my son to private school.
Competition is what this country was founded on and how it runs today (some are trying to change that). Why would people be afraid of competition when it comes to seeing who can provide our children with the best education. It sure would be nice if ALL children could have the best education and ALL children could become legitimate members of society, but I have a responsibility as a parent to worry about MY son first.
Why should I have a pay my full 100% to the public schools, when I don't believe they are doing a good job of educating my child? Give me a slight break, so that I can send them to a private school without breaking my bank.
Some European countries do something similar (I think it was Denmark, but not 100% sure).
Basically each student gets $X from the state. Then the parents decide what schools to send there kids. Good schools get more students and expand. Bad schools lose students and close down. It is a classic Capitalist system. It basically says a parent knows what is best for their kids and should have the power to "spend" their money.
When we moved out here Wake County Schools were ranked top 3 in the nation. Since we have been here it has slipped further and further down the scale. We moved out here so that our children could get a better education, because where we lived before, the school system ranked so poorly. I am seriously rethinking everything about my childrens education here in wake.
I do have an issue with our board members serving on private school boards, just like I would have with any political type figure having ANY conflict of interest (happens with all sides on every level). I don't however have a problem with private school vouchers or trying to stimulate competition with private/public schools.
Should we not want the best for our children? If public schools can't provide that, then it would sure be nice to give me a break on my taxes, so that I as a parent would be able to make the choice to send my son to private school.
Competition is what this country was founded on and how it runs today (some are trying to change that). Why would people be afraid of competition when it comes to seeing who can provide our children with the best education. It sure would be nice if ALL children could have the best education and ALL children could become legitimate members of society, but I have a responsibility as a parent to worry about MY son first.
Why should I have a pay my full 100% to the public schools, when I don't believe they are doing a good job of educating my child? Give me a slight break, so that I can send them to a private school without breaking my bank.
Governments should be concerned with an educated public, which includes your children AND the children who are from homes where parents either aren't or can't be as involved as you. Our economy requires that we have an educated public. In order to ensure the economic success of our communities, state, and nation in the future we need a strong education system in place for ALL children... not just yours and mine.
With that said, if vouchers are offered, middle class families such as yourselves will leave the public education system eventually leaving only the most vulnerable children in the system. IF middle class families don't have children in the system and or IF society does not see public schools as beneficial THEN we as a society stop supporting them collectively. And then we have a true class of have NOTS and it's pretty easy to see class warfare tumble out of control from there.
Personally, I want my tax dollars to educate ALL children... not just my own. Yes, I would LOVE for my children to get the individualized education that private schools claim (and many do provide). But I don't want it to come at the expense of someone else. We're all on this big blue marble together .... it's not just about me and my family. We need EDUCATED citizens .... and not just the ones who happen to be born into the right families.
Some European countries do something similar (I think it was Denmark, but not 100% sure).
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I don't know why US can't have a similar system.
Those countries are more homogeonous- they have more shared values. The countries themselves are smaller. The market forces at work there reward traditions and/or innovations in educational theory. Here, as PDX Mom has stated, such vouchers would simply siphon off better students rom public schools.
In places like India, kids are stested early & often. Based on pure test results they get an "appropriate" education. Getting into a top university is a reflection that a person is the best & the brightest. It doesn't matter what kind of clothes you wear or where you live. However, teh US is the land of second chances... as a society are we prepared to pidgeonhole people as achievers (or ... not achievers) so early? I don't think so.
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With that said, if vouchers are offered, middle class families such as yourselves will leave the public education system eventually leaving only the most vulnerable children in the system. IF middle class families don't have children in the system and or IF society does not see public schools as beneficial THEN we as a society stop supporting them collectively. And then we have a true class of have NOTS and it's pretty easy to see class warfare tumble out of control from there...
An example in NY (where there are not vouchers) come to mind: the Five Towns area of Long Island began to have many private religious schools. That particular area did not have much of a middle class- it was mostly very poor and very rich kids. The well to do people moved their kids to private schools in droves. The poor kids were left in public school swhich was ok at first. But, as time went on, the PTA withered. The school boards were dominated by parents of private school kids. They did not propose much new spending. And residents voted overwhelmingly to keep taxes down, because there was no direct benefit to them- they were not using the public schools.
Pretty sad.
I am all for educational choice but I believe we can have choice within the public school system. We have to keep our eye on the goal which is an educated populace.
Personally, I want my tax dollars to educate ALL children... not just my own. Yes, I would LOVE for my children to get the individualized education that private schools claim (and many do provide). But I don't want it to come at the expense of someone else. We're all on this big blue marble together .... it's not just about me and my family. We need EDUCATED citizens .... and not just the ones who happen to be born into the right families.
Educated citizens? I grew up in Wake county schools. When I graduated high school I could tell you that a black person invented peanut butter but had no clue as to how many people signed the Declaration of Independence. I've learned more from self-teaching than the government brain-washing system could ever (or were allowed) teach me.
I'm all for a tax break for parents wanting to send their child to a private school. I want my child to learn more than just what the government feels is necessary children need to know.
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for those of you who are interested in following this trend on a national level, i highly recommend reading diane ravitch's the death and life of the great american school system.
