School Vouchers

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
what do you think about school vouchers? good idea, bad idea, or idea in need of refining? and why?

[Christie_M]

What kind of vouchers?

[MIKolbe]

umm.. school vouchers.


I would be in favor of them.


ALOT.

[CatherineM]

My dad would have loved them. He used to complain diligently that his taxes were paying for the neighbors' kids to go to school, but he still had to pay for our parochial school fees all by himself.

[prose]

What are school vouchers?

[CatherineM]

Basically allowing you to take out the money the state would give the schools to educate your kid and allow you to use it for a better private school. If the local school is too carpy, you can take your marbles elsewhere. It is controversial because it would potentially give public money to religious schools, and it would take money out of schools doing badly, that probably need more money rather than less.

[prose]

We have a system like that here in Alberta. You can have your taxes go to A. Public Schools, B. Catholic School System or C. Homeschool and get money from the gov't.

Didn't know it had a name.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='prose' post='1711073' date='Nov 25 2008, 08:48 PM']C. Homeschool and get money from the gov't.[/quote]

[Christie_M]

[quote name='MIkolbe' post='1711049' date='Nov 25 2008, 06:30 PM']umm.. school vouchers.


I would be in favor of them.


ALOT.[/quote]

[i]Um, i ment what are they[/i] thanks
[quote name='CatherineM' post='1711063' date='Nov 25 2008, 06:42 PM']Basically allowing you to take out the money the state would give the schools to educate your kid and allow you to use it for a better private school. If the local school is too carpy, you can take your marbles elsewhere. It is controversial because it would potentially give public money to religious schools, and it would take money out of schools doing badly, that probably need more money rather than less.[/quote]

[homeschoolmom]

Many school voucher systems actually do not have 100% of the money following the child, but rather a portion of it. If you have 80% following the child and 20% staying in the public school, it's a win-win. The government school would still get 20% of a per pupil cost for a pupil it is not even educating.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1711081' date='Nov 25 2008, 09:59 PM']Many school voucher systems actually do not have 100% of the money following the child, but rather a portion of it. If you have 80% following the child and 20% staying in the public school, it's a win-win. The government school would still get 20% of a per pupil cost for a pupil it is not even educating.[/quote]
I don't see why they should get 20%.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1711099' date='Nov 25 2008, 09:24 PM']I don't see why they should get 20%.[/quote]
I'm not saying that they should or shouldn't. Just saying that some systems are set up that way. So, when people complain that vouchers will drain the public schools of funds, that's not entirely true. They would still get money even for students who don't attend their schools.

I was trying to find stats for per pupil expenses in Minnesota. The most recent figures I could find were for 2002. The cost was $7,880. I have two school-aged children. What I could do with a quarter of that....

[Lil Red]

[quote name='MIkolbe' post='1711049' date='Nov 25 2008, 06:30 PM']umm.. school vouchers.


I would be in favor of them.


ALOT.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
why?

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1711161' date='Nov 26 2008, 12:05 AM']+J.M.J.+
why?[/quote]

I'm in favor of them because it moves us away from a centralized government-run education system to puts the decision of how children are educated in the hands of those who should make that decision: parents. In the midst of growing concerns about what kind of sex ed or literature or history your child is being taught at public (or Catholic) schools, we need more alternatives and a competitive environment for education. It works at the university level, so why not for primary and secondary education too?

[prose]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1711077' date='Nov 25 2008, 07:53 PM'] [/quote]

Why does that make you cry? Are they tears of joy?

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1711437' date='Nov 26 2008, 11:25 AM']I'm in favor of them because it moves us away from a centralized government-run education system to puts the decision of how children are educated in the hands of those who should make that decision: parents. In the midst of growing concerns about what kind of sex ed or literature or history your child is being taught at public (or Catholic) schools, we need more alternatives and a competitive environment for education. It works at the university level, so why not for primary and secondary education too?[/quote]

Not to mention methodology of education.


[quote name='prose' post='1711481' date='Nov 26 2008, 12:11 PM']Why does that make you cry? Are they tears of joy?[/quote]

envy ...

[MIKolbe]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1711161' date='Nov 25 2008, 09:05 PM']+J.M.J.+
why?[/quote]
We pay taxes for the public schools, but they don't educate my daughter. We send our daughter to a Catholic school.

So the public school system gets our $, but doesn't have to educate our daughter.

I think the same should apply to those who homeschool. They shouldn't have to pay either.

The state is not rendering the direct service which we are paying for.

iono, i am not good at debating.

[Fidei Defensor]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1711099' date='Nov 25 2008, 08:24 PM']I don't see why they should get 20%.[/quote]
Because if you pull all the money, you're going to be hurting everyone else in the system. Schools get a certain amount per pupil, but it's not like they exclusively spend it on that one student. The money gets used for everything.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='fidei defensor' post='1711518' date='Nov 26 2008, 01:15 PM']Because if you pull all the money, you're going to be hurting everyone else in the system. Schools get a certain amount per pupil, but it's not like they exclusively spend it on that one student. The money gets used for everything.[/quote]
Exactly. While I would love to have nearly $15,000 for my two "students," it's not like I have to build a school house out in the backyard, provide desks, etc. Honestly, I would be happy to get by with a mere ten grand.

[Carnanc]

yes, the increased competition among schools, would much improve them...if only the teachers unions could be swayed...