Can anyone tell my why school vouchers are a bad thing?
828257
I think it is a great idea.  If the public schools don't do their job, as judged by the parents, the parents should get their per pupil allotment in a voucher to use elsewhere.\n\nIncentive for the school to do better, ability for our children to get better education if private schools can do it better for the same amount.
1073123
Sounds like a ripoff scheme to me. You have got to do better in explaining what this all about and where your students come from, what nationality, and who are you in relationship to them?
158376
Education voucher\n\nAn education voucher, commonly called a school voucher, is a certificate by which parents are given the ability to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they were assigned.
208494
I really don't think your facts are right, but I will guarantee you that if private schools had to accept all students, and could not be selective as they are now, then their costs would rise dramatically.\nI don't have a problem with private schools, but you are comparing apples and oranges when you compare the two. Public schools cannot refuse admission to students, they must have special education programs, they must adhere to strict guidelines from the state, etc. Private schools don't.
791627
No.  Sorry.  The point is that you don't pay your taxes to that other district.  Here's hoping the closest school doesn't close!
351314
I'm from Wisconsin and all of our school districts are funded by property tax, i was under the impression that all states did this. I could be wrong though, by my economics teacher implied that it was that way.
450136
no.  it punishes schools that are doing a decent job by expecting ALL schools to live up to an impossible goal.  why not penalize just the schools that are inferior?  honestly, when you look at the average school population (severely mentally handicapped, etc.) how exactly do you expect EVERY child to be performing on grade level by 2013?
920441
Private schools know they are an expensive option for you to select so they have to work hard to earn your business,\n\npublic schools couldn't care less about impressing you or earning your business. \n\nAll you have to do is compare the percentage of students that actually graduate from public schools compared to private, \n\ncompare the SAT scores from public and private schools and finally compare the percentage of graduating seniors that go on to college from each. \n\nThe only excuse for sending your kids to public schools is because you can't afford it.  \n\nFinal thing to look at, find out where your Senators and congressmen send their kids, even though they are ultimately responsible for "public education" over 90% send their kids to private school, think they know something?
346177
Hear Hear.\n\nIt surprises me how ignorant people are. Here you are, saying that you want to choose to send your kid to a private school. Another poster decides that yes, you should be able to do that, but "it is wrong to take money out of the public school system." Hmmm....your tax dollars pay for the public schools, if you want to send your kid to private school, you're free to do so, but you still have to pay for other kids to go to public school? Does that make sense to you?\n\nI agree with you. Tax me less, and I'll make the decision with the LARGER disposable income I have, as to which school my kid goes to.
961561
There are dozens of problems, but here are some of the root ones: \n\n- Parents don't get involved enough. The number one indicator for success in school is parental involvement, however, too many parents are letting schools raise their kids for them. \n\n- No competetion between schools to obtain and keep students. Public education is a monopoly. No where on the planet, at any time during recorded history has a monopoly made a better service than can be had in an open market. Allow vouchers and school choice, and you will see monumental gains. Screw the teacher's union, they have zero interest in educating the kids, only in maintaining the appalling status quo. \n\n- Schools are focusing too much on disciplinary problems, and running away from law suits. If teacher A has to spend 80% of the time addressing the misbehavior of student B, how much does that affect the rest of the class? \n\n- NCLB forces schools to teach to a standardized test rather than focusing on learning the material.
605387
Yeah, tesco do the school vouchers. I think that asda do something similar? Oh well I'm an idiot! Ha ha ha ha!
548221
I feel for you.  You don't help your kids, you feel bad.  You help your kids the best you know, you lose money.  You do know that you can take these expenses off your taxes?  Is that $3.00 a week a kid or just $3.00 a week.  Do write up your project and your results and start searching for grants.  Target for exmple (target.com) gives a grant for early literacy, however who gets the grant is up to the neighborhood Target and if you are working on literacy, even though Jr. high is not early childhood, you might get lucky.  Talk to any businesses you can.  Maybe one might sponsor your program in excange for a small logo on your work.  (Our school directory is paid for by local advertisments)(Be sure to get permission on this one.)  Have some of your students speak to the school board.  If humanly possible, do not make your workbooks consumable.  Create a class set and bind it with those spiral thingys. (Your school or district may have one you can use for the cost of the spirals).  It's not too expense to provide paper for the kids if you stock up on the August sales! Talk to the managers of your office supply stores and Targets and Wal-marts.  Maybe they can help you sponsor your program.\nNever give up on the kids.  There's always a way.\nGood luck!
97112
One reason that i can say for sure is lack of understanding on the concept.....\n\nOnce you understand the concept, application is very simple ... all your problems are applications of the concepts..\n\nhttp://www.schoolingkids.com/\nhttp://www.futureaccountant.com/
647189
You need to know what the public schools are like in your area.  In some areas the public schools have equal or better student achievement that private schools. You can get as good an education for 'free' and save your money for college. In other areas, the public schools are dangerous zoos with little learning going on. Also, if your child has any special needs, better public schools are required to support him, while private schools that do not accept federal funds are not required to provide (or are not able to provide) appropriate accomodations.  Many large public high schools have a large number of interesting elective courses and clubs for every student to find his niche.  However, a smaller private school may be the better choice for a student who might get lost in a crowd. A little tongue in cheek, here.  When we were looking for schools for our teens, the parking lot made me uncomfortable in one school.   Way too many BMWs and here was I in my old mini-van...that is an issue.  If a school in your area has a reputation of being 'rich', a parent who is making sacrifices to remove their children from the problems in the local public school may be setting their child up for ridicule from those with 'better' cars, clothes etc.
89016
Pros:\nAllows lower income people to send their kids to private school.\nAllows parents to choose where they send their kids to school\nRewards good schools, punishes bad schools\n\nCons:\nTakes money out of an already cash-strapped public school system\nPublic schools are not allowed to turn down students, so students who aren't accepted by private schools will be stuck in even worse public schools.
985559
Well, I know some of them allow your kids to go to school there for free, or at least for a cheap price so long as you work there.  With tuition at the level it is now, that's a big reason to work there.
88156
All you have to do to make a good argument against the current state of public schools is come to this web site.  Kids attending public schools in our country come to this web site to ask and answer questions, and you can clearly see that they are unable to string words together to create a coherent sentence.\n\nThe state of affairs in our public schools is absolutely atrocious. Maybe privatization is not the answer though public schools have worked and can still today.  Arguments can be made for privatization as well as reform in our public schools.  As it stands right now something is going to have to change or today’s youth will be ill equipped to compete on the world market.