How much worse does our education system have to get before we adopt a voucher system?

Question

I realize this will be fought tooth and nail by the teacher's unions, but at some point common sense has to prevail here.

Answer 1

I don't feel that our system is as bad as all that.     I once had a teacher who said,"I can teach you, but I can't learn you."

Common sense indicates that there are students who aren't interested in learning, who just go to school because they have to, and there is no way that these individuals can be forced to learn, no matter how much money is thrown into the system.

Perhaps you're right that a voucher system would work in these cases, so more money can be spent on those interested in furthering their education, and less wasted on those who aren't.

Unfortunately, common sense doesn't prevail in government or school boards.  

Mark Twain was quite correct when he wrote:  "God made an idiot for practice, then he created a school board."

Answer 2

we talk too much and do to little...we, the people should be running this country not unions ,and corporations... vote ALL incumbents out and in two year the politions will be listening to us

Answer 3

With liberals like Obama supporting the crappy teacher's union, never.

Answer 4

I'm curious why people see the voucher system as the answer.  First of all, public schooling is essentially a socialist model through which the idea of 'competition' does nothing.

I worked in a choice school that accepted voucher students.  Do you know what happened?  We got an increased population of students that led to overcrowding, increased behavioral issues, decreased access to resources, and larger classroom size.  (Small classroom size is a good thing).

Part of the problem with education starts at home, we've witnessed the breakdown of the schools concurrenty with the breakdown of the home.  Try as we might, K-12 teachers can't be all things to all students.

And funding is not related to test scores in NCLB.  I consistently raised my ESL students (a specifically targeted group under NCLB) test scores for the 3 years I worked in the Bronx.  The school, nor I received extra funding.

Answer 5

Much, much worse.  The government school system is an indefensible failure, but when you mix up that insidious stew of entrenched unions, money and politicians, millions and millions of failing students are simply an afterthought.

Answer 6

Liberals will never support a voucher system because it would limit their control over funding. Funding is the primary means of controlling the education system. Doubt this, just look at the disaster Bush created with "No Child Left Behind". In what reasonable world does it make sense to link funding with test scores. I mean is there anybody left out there who didn't believe that this would only lead to schools demanding that teachers only teach the test. Vouchers would be a great deal for education in general because no one can deny that private education far exceeds a public one, but it would have negative effects on the public education system. Especially in economically depressed areas.

Forget War Buy More: Your model does take all facts into account. While you are correct regarding class size. The public education system is worse, not better in this area. Additionally, a nation-wide voucher program would promote free enterprise and new schools would be created to handle the overflow. There is no socialist solution which is superior to the free market. Socialist structures do not respond to changing demand well and usually become bogged down in beauracracy. Free market system are leaner and produce greater results for the money invested in almost every case you could examine.

Edit: Forget War Buy More I have talked to many different teachers, several who are close friends and every one of them disputes your position on NCLB funding. However, I would need to see the annual budgets for your particular school to know if your statements were correct.

Answer 7

According to that infamous 2006 Department of Education report, scores between private and public schools were eerily similar.  Do you buy it?  ...yeah, me neither.  But what do you do when children in low income homes can no longer afford to even go to school anymore?  I am one that is for a voucher system...but if society tells us that each child should have at least a shot at a good education, is it constitutional to possibly take that away from numerous students?  That would probably be the voucher system's biggest opposer...