[Vision2020] Interesting Report by S&P on Michigan's Govt Schools

Debbie Gray dgray@uidaho.edu
Wed, 05 Feb 2003 10:48:27 -0800 (PST)


So which is it? Do private schools fill the need of every student because
every parent will, of course, act in the best interest of their child? Or
will there be gaps in education? I did not accuse you of saying parents of
children in govt schools were neglectful, nor do I assume that some
parents of children in private schools are not neglectful. I do wait for
answers to my initial questions (below).

Again, I am interested in the ability some have of boiling everything down
to a simple sound bite, with only 2 options: black vs. white; right vs.
wrong, you vs. me, whatever... Amazing.

Debbie


On Wed, 5 Feb 2003, Douglas wrote:

>
> Visionaries,
>
> I think it was yesterday that the private school advocates were accused of
> saying that parents in government schools were neglectful parents. Now we
> are charged with being oblivious to all the neglect, potential neglect, and
> outright evil.
>
> Which is it? Do we need government schools because parents by and large do
> a great job. Or do we need them because parents neglect their responsibilities?
>
> Cordially,
>
> Douglas Wilson
>
>
> At 09:23 AM 2/5/2003 -0800, you wrote:
> >So you think that every parent who receives a chunk of money in order to
> >educate their child would then immediately turn that chunk over to a
> >school (private or public)? I see major problems with this, such as:
> >1. finding the cheapest school so they can keep the change
> >2. 'homeschooling' their children so they can keep the change
> >3. not even pretending to homeschool their children, just keeping the
> >money.
> >
> >Yes, it would be lovely if this were a world in which every parent were
> >acting to make the best decisions for their children. However, in reality
> >this does not always happen. Explain this to the children caught in meth
> >labs all over this state... I am sure their parents were acting in their
> >best interest. Explain this to the children who are beaten and tortured by
> >their parents. Explain this to the children who are LUCKY to escape their
> >homes for a few hours a day and go to a public school and see a little
> >normalcy in their lives.
> >
> >The majority of parents would hopefully make the best decision for their
> >children, but what of the others? Soon we will have a sort of class-based
> >chasm in education when parents who are more concerned with the $$ they
> >can keep than the education of their children. And just because it's a law
> >that their children need to be in school, BWAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, that ought to
> >cover it. Seems like we'd end up with a widening gap in education, the
> >haves (who have parents who really care) and the have nots (those who have
> >parents who could care less). And please don't counterargue that those
> >families are in the minority, a very small number, hardly enough to
> >concern yourself with. They're not.
> >
> >Debbie Gray
> >
> >
> >On Wed, 5 Feb 2003, Dale Courtney wrote:
> >
> > > Tom Hansen writes:
> > > > If parents were given a refund equal to schooling their
> > > > children, do you seriously believe that this money would be
> > > > reinvested in their childrens' education?
> > >
> > > Uh, yes. The laws on the books *require* to have their children in school
> > > (in Idaho) from 7-15 years old ("attained the age of 7 years, but not the
> > > age of 16 years." Idaho Code § 33-202).
> > >
> > > > In the case of
> > > > middle and low income families, that money is more likely to
> > > > be spent on food and clothing.
> > >
> > > Why do you think that by putting money back into the parent's hands for
> > > deciding what education is best for their children is bad?
> > >
> > > Never for the life of me will I understand people thinking that the State
> > > can make better decisions for their children than parents can.
> > >
> > > Dale Courtney
> > > Moscow, Idaho
> > >
> > >
> > > _____________________________________________________
> > >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
> > >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> > >                http://www.fsr.net
> > >           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> > > ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
> > >
> >
> >Debbie
> >
> >%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%
> >   Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
> >   We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
> >   have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
> >%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%
> >
> >_____________________________________________________
> >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >                http://www.fsr.net
> >           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> >ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
>
>
>

Debbie

%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%
  Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
  We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
  have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
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