But why is this true? First it is true that if you cannot pay or do not get a scholarship, you likely will not be attending a private school. Vouchers might change that, however without forcing private schools who accept tax dollars to have an open enrollment policy, you cannot guarantee an improvement in education results for students who are not currently in private schools.
Mayor Snorkum sees no movement in the public to force what you call "open enrollment" on colleges currently under the voucher system, why would such a silly idea be imposed on high schools and kindergartens? Parents are going to want to choose schools for their children that are better. That means there's going to be competition for seats in the better schools and that means there's going to be, finally, pressure put on the parents to put pressure on their children to learn something and begin preparing themselves for life.
Believe it or not, competition is a good thing. It's the lack of competititon that's created a lack of excellence in student performance.
Why can't public schools educate?
Never mind your answer, it's crap. The reasons public schools won't educate (not can't, won't) is because the elitists have thrown away all the methods proven to work. Mayor Snorkum had the great good fortune to be educated in the sixties by the last generation of real teachers this nation had. Old ladies, who started teaching in the 1930's and 40's. No baloney, Mayor Snorkum knew the first names of all his first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers. They were Mrs. Miss. Mrs. Mrs. Mr. and Mr., respectively. They weren't Mayor Snorkum's friends, they were his teachers, and they acted as teachers, not buddies.
That's one reason.
The other reason is the TEACHERS taught, using methods proven to work from the 1930's. Phonics, by golly, and those dreaded addition and multiplication tables. We were never allowed to use a calculator. That they didn't exist isn't relevant.
And most importantly of all, they didn't give a rat's behind about our feelings or our pride or any other nonsense. They had the maturity to know that pride comes with accomplishment, so they did their best to make sure we accomplished something, and if we didn't accomplish what we were supposed to, they didn't make the mistake of sending us on to the next grade. Failure was the biggest shame of all.
100% of all Mayor Snorkum's classmates learned how to read. 100% 100% could do the class requirements in math. Our time in class was spent learning, not playing. There was very little free unstructured time, and we spent more hours in school then that they do today.
Going back to the basics. Increasing the length of time spent in school to what it used to be. Demanding performance from the students, refusin to pass those that won't perform. That's what works.
That's how education will be improved and that's the only way education will be improved.
You are making the assumption that private schools will take students. Again, they are not required to do so. Until that point your assertion is merely hoping that things will change.
Well, naturally private schools will never accept more students than they have today. After all, accepting more students would mean increased revenues and greater profits for those schools. Why the hell would they ever want more students?
Not exactly. Again without putting private schools on an equal playing field, none of this will happen. Beyond that, you are leaving students who's parents cannot pay the difference to languish in the public system.
Well, you mean parents might gain an incentive to work more effectively and earn more money to get their kids in schools where they can learn something? That's an awful thing to require parents to do.
Outside of that, right now parents don't have any choice at all, and Mayor Snorkum does not see how vouchers or any other alternative to ending the near monopoly the government has on the children's minds is worse then the current situation in which children are trapped in a system that treats them as nothing more than cash counters in a union driven power game.
Mayor Snorkum taught his fifth grader algebra, becuase that was simpler than the ridiculously complicated nonsense she was being fed in school. Mayor Snorkum encouraged her to read The Hobbit, and now she's reading hte Lord of the Rings, in the sixth grade, because the public schools suck and the best are held back. No vouchers here, just work at home. She's approaching the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and has become aware of how crappy the movie rendition of the characters really was. And she hasn't even discovered the real Faramir, yet.
No way can we continue to allow public schools, infested with unions, to hold American children hostage.