If they have the means, I find that most parents where I live in New York City send their children to private schools. There are also some who have figured out how to navigate the system to send their children to elite public schools filled with mostly wealthy white and Asian peers. I know few well-to-do parents who send their children to the traditional neighborhood public school. Even our politicians and chancellors who make school policy, rarely send their own children to traditional public school.
What is frustrating though is that this is often only available to those with the funds or wherewithal to make it happen. Shouldn't everyone have access to the education opportunities they feel are best for their children?
Here is a solution that could provide more choice to more families.
What if instead of giving money to schools, funds were attached to the child and those funds went directly to the education provider? For parents who were homeschooling or unschooling this would be in the form of parents providing receipts that could be deducted from their taxes. For public schools, students would enroll and the funds would follow them. This would require some schools to grow, others to stay the same and others to shrink, redesign (likely with input from families) or close.
If parents wanted to put together learning co-ops they could pool their money to do that. If someone wanted to open an alternative school, it would be easier because the funds would be tied to the students so they wouldn't have to worry about only kids who could afford this option being able to come up with tuition. If the schools cost more than the per student fee, the additional fee would be determined by tax bracket with those in the higher brackets paying more and the lower less, but still giving everyone a greater chance to attend a school of choice and subsidizing based on income.
Parents and their children, rather than the government, would determine what was best for each family. For some it might look like traditional school with standardized tests. For others it might look more like an apprenticeship model where children who are ready, begin learning in a field of interest, perhaps partnered with a business where they may later work. For some this might look like a school that follows the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, Montessori or Reggio Emilia approach. Some may choose a Democracy school or unschool setting. Ultimately, parents would be empowered to select an educational method in which they felt their children would best succeed and even take a large role in helping to form such schools.
There would be no high stakes testing. There could be some opt-in tests with samples as they do in countries like Finland. There would likely be authentic portfolio development that is created as a support to the student first and foremost.
Some schools would have waiting lists, as they do today, and if so, it would make sense to open up another similar school in the area. The parents who want that could help make that happen. Some schools would shrink as they do now and would either change what they do to attract more students and stabilize, or if they didn't offer what seemed best for children, they would continue to lose the ability to have high enough enrollment to make it worth staying open.
This idea would be taking control from the government and giving it to the people, empowering them to do what they know and believe is best for their children.
So, why can't we do this?
This post also appears on The Innovative Educator.
Follow Lisa Nielsen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Innovativeedu
Sooooo.....I have to ask.....is public education not a part of your future vision?
Always enjoying the ongoing discussion,
Walter :)
the elite public school on the basis of their scores on an entrance exam. It has nothing to do with
Wealth since the schools are free. Many are Asian because they are motivated by their parents to
work harder. This article is full of misinformation. I know as my daughter went to such a school.
Selective schools, private or public, take only the top students, and,since they do not have to admit
behavior problems, the schools attract the best teachers. Fair? Yes.
Friends of ours are a family in Canada who is being paid to unschool their children on a program similar to what you describe in this article. I know it's possible.
I am from the states though, and I have opted to unschool my child. Actually we are worldschooling my child, as in traveling around the world, with our backpacks, volunteering and slow traveling for 8 years, and have been doing so for almost 2 years so far. The world has become my son's classroom with no formal curriculum, but what he's learned on our travels far exceeds what he'd be learning in a public school classroom.
On our travels we've met others doing the same thing, and see this as a growing trend. As the American school system continues to fail, I see this as a wonderful option for families who prefer to be engaged in life and their child's learning. We are evidence it works.
Lainie + Miro
http://www.raisingmiro.com/2010/12/30/podcast-episode-16/
deal of money. Most people have more than one child, both parents work and there are bills to pay.
It is a great experience for anyone who can handle it.
Why not let the parents decide if this would make sense? Perhaps with two kids, 20,000 and renting out their home for a year, the family could provide some wonderful experiences for their children.
parents are intelligent which is often not the case. Private schools are great if you can afford it; most cannot. Public schools are the backbone of America and should be supported by all. Yes, there are many problems with our school system and parents can help to
improve these problems, but, since most families today are double working ones, they do not have the time or energy to make significant
Changes. What they can do is bring up their children to respect education and teachers, do their best to get rid of poor teachers and especially, bad principals and administrators, and support public education. One person actually suggested that all children be homeschooled! What are the parents supposed to do - quit their Jobs?
Your suggestion that we "do our best" to teach our children respect and to get rid of poor teachers, principals, and administrators is a complete NON-ANSWER. Everybody "trying harder" to make the system work better is a cop-out. The "system" IS the problem due to the particular incentives and lack of incentives built into the system.
grandchildren. And from there to good colleges. What do you mean by incentives. The
best incentive is the desire to learn.
Also, I don't believe that parents are often not intelligent but even if that was true, the same community public school would still be an option.
and others a failure. Parents who care about education would be necessary and many do
not,unfortunately. There are a number of for profit colleges, most of which take anyone,
make false promises and get to keep the money when the students drop out. Don't lose
your idealism though!
I like your ideas - although I am tempted to agree with the concerns of the home schoolers. As long as government plays a role it will not be incentive based and will, therefore, be very slow to react to the needs of parents and the economy. Educators will tell you that neither of these are the goal of a "free and equal" public education. Considering the state of our families and the economy, I can do nothing but agree with their assertion.
I am still trying to figure out what they think public education has accomplished that a system of people pursuing their own interests and raising their children with their own plans couldn't have done in the private sector.
If people aren't qualified to be parents, um, they shoudn't be parents. I suggest liberals start trying to do something about THAT if THAT is the true problem.
The real issue here is why education overall is underfunded. Why do we pay our teachers peanuts? Why are budgets so tight there is no room for experimentation and codification of the things that work? Why is there an intractable underclass of students who can't bridge the learning gap?
What you're suggesting is essentially using public funds to attend private schools. Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy, so I take issue with that idea. What happens to the kids who don't have nearby access to the schools you mention? What if their parents can't afford the transportation to get their kids to "the school of their choice"? What if the alternative schools require volunteer hours working parents can't live up to? Then you have all the middle class kids attending "choice schools" while the rest attend what's left.
We should be working to fix all our schools and not make it easier to flee the system. You want independent school teaching? Great. You're welcome to pay for it out of your pocket; but don't siphon funds away from the general public school budgets to do so.
You indicate that teachers are underpaid. Some might argue that is because money isn't going directly to them. This plan would help that become more likely.
This plan would indeed be geared toward all schools. No one would be fleeing the system, they would be making decisions that are best for their children, whether it be public, private, charter, home, and they would have more options to do so.
The SEM Mission: "...SEM takes into account the varying abilities, backgrounds, experiences and learning styles of each student and capitalizes upon these strengths and interests so that all children are able to meet their greatest potential through an educational experience that is both challenging and individualized." http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/12/preparing-students-for-success-by.html
The San Carlos (CA) school district mission: "The San Carlos School District, in collaboration with involved, caring parents and community members who share a vision for engaging the whole child, will provide a personal, creative, challenging education that fosters life-long interest in learning and inspires all to strive for individual excellence as contributing members of a changing society." http://www.sancarlos.k12.ca.us/
Not a whole lot different, right?
The point is, every public school district worth their salt wants every child to be challenged and take into account their unique learning styles. The difference is the resources they have available and the talent inherent in their teaching staff. The solution is not more parental control. It's valuing public education as a society and elevating it as a national priority backed by government resources and public support.
I simply can't understand how someone can continue to insist this when you consider how much our country is falling apart and how inept is our democracy (no one can control spending). Exactly WHAT IS IT about our country's current state of affairs that makes you feel like our country is doing well and that more than a tiny percentage of our people seem to have any sense of peace or belonging in their communities? Children and parents are, at alarming rates, being heavily medicated b/c they are so filled with anxiety and depression.
If public education has had ANYTHING to do with our country's current state, (and I agree that it has had plenty to do with it) it surely wouldn't be anything for public educators to brag about.
Public education:
If a woman on the government dole has 5 children from 5 different fathers - I pay for the government to "educate" all of her children (even if neither this mother nor any of her children appreciate their education) THEN I pay for my own just so I can have some real influence over my child's education and keep them away from student drug dealers and school violence?
Privatize or do loans for people. If our government (and so many educators) doesn't trust parents with their children, they need to start embracing Eugenics. If so many of us parents are SO lousy, why let us continue to reproduce?
Anyway. . .it's obviously a longish discussion, and I probably should have contacted you personally about it. But again I commend you on your work! It is very inspiring particularly for those willing to learn wholly outside "the system." As for working within the system and with the political forces involved. . .well, the outlook is pretty dismal as far as I can tell. Stay well. . .I'll look forward to keeping up with your writings. D
When more people homeschool, there will be more political power in the movement, and less radical people might start to consider alternatives that would undermine the system as it stands. Success is the best advertisement, so the more happy, successful homeschooled kids are out "in the market," the better it is for everyone.
For me, the best solution politically would be to pull the mandate for education completely. Since education is something that is good for us anyway, why should society compel people to do it? It's wasteful and counterproductive from a motivational standpoint. In my perfect world, the public would subsidize basic public education the way it subsidizes public buses. They should be available for all who need/want them, but they shouldn't be required for anyone.
Since homeschooling is relatively inexpensive, as is "unschooling" in general, costs don't compare so well with school-education costs. Also, if "child labor laws" were repealed or curtailed, young people might even be able to make back some of the costs of their education while learning real life skills, trades, etc. in the process. This seems to me ideal.
(cont'd - last time!)
The extra problem with teachers' unions (like most public sector unions) is that they have no countervailing force to their power: With auto unions, airline unions, etc. there is always some "greedy bossman" trying to maximize his profits at workers' expense. This creates a kind of balancing between two competing interests. With teachers, there is no Boss Man, except the toothless administration. But both are paid by the taxpayer. The real countervailing power *should* be the students, whose lives are directly affected by the teachers' quality and commitment. But of course, the students are themselves powerless.
It's a mess, no doubt. Right now, the best solutions I can think of are to encourage homeschooling/unschooling as much as possible so that it becomes more "normal" to do so. cont'd
Neal McCluskey wrote and article a while back at CATO (I believe) warning against accepting tax credits for homeschooling. Again it sounds nice, and it sounds fair, but as soon as the gov't gets a say in how you raise your children, they start in with the demands, the certifications, the accreditations, the standardized testing, etc... Neal cites quotations from congressmen in his piece (which I have not been able to find), and it is disheartening. Once there is a little bit of government control, "mission creep" kicks in and there just becomes more and more control until you have the situations you have been writing about where kids can't do *anything* normal while in school.
I'll have to continue on another comment. . .
There are SO many problems with public schools, I could go on for hours. The incredible number of unintended consequences that are borne of a government entity creating such an institution out of some "noble idea". They can't figure out what the problem is and they all continue to believe that the perfect educational paradigm is just right around the corner.
Sadly, they will never get it. Never. Not a chance.
However, the number of people who are beginning to think outside the box and beginning to seriously consider the potential benefits of privatization is really growing.
Keep up your comments and know that you are right. Many people on this website will try to get you down and call you a "troll" or they'll insult you in a multitude of other ways. They will try very hard to make you feel like your ideas are dumb. They insist on keeping their beast alive.
Then let's get to the issue of international policies that have 'redistributed the money' upward ... if every city, County, State and Fed government is broke ... then where is the money? It's in the financial sector and Big Business.
We shouldn't forget another ideological theory that governments can't run anything and business models should run the world. Who caused the crisis? Business Who took the jobs off shore? Business.
We need a Great Renewal and in that paradigm we need to follow what is engraved on the capitol building in Salem, Oregon (and I'm certain something like this is engraved on your capitol as well)
'A free State is formed and is maintained by the voluntary union of the whole people joined together under the same body of laws for the common welfare and the sharing of benefits justly apportioned.'
The solution to good schools is economic justice for all. We The People.
When history books are re-written to show what we wanted to happen, rather than what happened, and people think that's okay, it's dumbing down.
When facts of biology are co-opted by "intelligent design", it's dumbing down.
When what a child learns in Mississippi can't let them compete for a job in California, it's dumbing down.
When what a child learns anywhere that is not what is being taught globally, it's dumbing down.
Let parents get involved by enhancing education, not controlling it.