bsharmastl wrote:I went to a Catholic school, and can vouch for their teaching. However, with the advent of people pushig religion over established principles (Creationism Vs. Darwinism) has made a firm believer out of me in keeping education and religion seperate. There are too many kooks out there, and once we start funding religious schools, how do you decide which school to fund and which one not to?
Actually, I am going to stop posting on this topic, because I am speaking more out of my own belief than evidene.
Bsharmastl, you make a good point, but I believe you are a little confused. Privatizing the schools would mean that the government would no longer be involved in education. Privatization would mean that taxes are no longer paid and directed towards education, but that individuals would decide what education is best for them or their children or the person they are being charitable towards.
Once the political means is separated from education, evolution vs. creationism is no more of a debate than PCs versus Macintoshes or Nintendo Wii versus XBox 360. Individuals can choose what they want without forcing it on others.
For those who live in the city and oppose privatization on the grounds that it would (alledgedly) leave the poor behind, I say that government does not have a monopoly on charity. What would you rather have the money you pay in property taxes go towards:
1. Funding for schools in the hands of Veronica O'Brien and the rest of the circus known as the school board
or
2. Donating to whatever organization or person to help the disadvantaged get an education and withholding the right to take that money to another organization if the previous one fails to do a good job? This can be donating schools supplies, giving money to tuition free schools, donating to a scholarship fund, personally paying tuition for an individual child, paying for a teacher/tutor for the neighborhood children, etc, etc. Getting directly involved also gives the kids a good role model and extra incentive to try hard in school (actually knowing the person paying for their well being vs. the thousands of faceless taxpayers)
Your money paying for O'Brien's antics and body guards, or actually going to an organization set on educating children? Don't forget that in the first scenario, you have to pay no matter what (no accountability) and the second you have the choice not to pay (which gives incentive to do a good job).
Given that a virtual majority of the people presented with the idea of privatization object to it based on the plight of the poor, I would assume that these same people would willingly donate their money towards their education.
