[Vision2020] How big money affects education in Washington D.C.

[Ted Moffett]

All, et. al.

This excerpt from the National Review is more of the same on educational 
problems not being solved by the money spent on public schools...

If "throwing money" at the problem of sub par public schools is the wrong 
approach, an often heard critique from "conservatives," who wish to get the 
government out of the business of education and social services and related 
government programs that ostensibly help people directly, why do many of 
these same conservatives drool over dramatic increases in government 
spending for what is a huge socialist government enterprise, namely the 
Pentagon and US military?

Perhaps we should privatize the Pentagon, and let the inherently more 
efficient and effective private sector provide for our nations defense in a 
manner that could save the taxpayers money?

Or is the solution to let our military run the public schools with their 
super efficient and frugal approach (sic) to spending solving the problems 
created by those tax and spend liberals?

The contradictions in political ideology are a never ending source of 
amazement!

Ted

>From: "Van Deventer, Jack" <jack@wsu.edu>
>To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
>Subject: [Vision2020] How big money affects education in Washington D.C.
>Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 14:21:19 -0700
>
>
>
>
>
>The June 2, 2003 issue of National Review (page 8) reads:
>
>***
>
>Washington, D.C. spends $9,650 per child in the public schools-about
>$3,000 above the national average and more than all but two other school
>districts in the country.  The city doesn't have much to show for it,
>just a 42 percent dropout rate and the nation's lowest SAT scores.  So
>it's no wonder Mayor Anthony Williams recently said that he "got up one
>morning and decided there are a lot of kids getting a crappy education."
>He thus decided to support a modest voucher program for poor children in
>his city.  This has earned him a full measure of grief from all the
>usual quarters, because Democrats aren't supposed to buck the teacher
>unions.  Yet Williams, joined by school-board president Peggy Cooper
>Cafritz, is doing the right thing.  If these liberal supporters of
>school choice succeed, it is possible to hope that in the future
>something more than 6 percent of the city's fourth and eighth graders
>will test "proficient" in math.
>
>***
>
>
>
>Jack
>
>___________________________
>
>Jack Van Deventer
>
>jack@wsu.edu
>

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