SAdly the teachers union ran Mc Bride's Campain. I for school vocheres for failing public schools who are not teaching. Money talks so if the money was not taken out of the public school sustem, they might just have to compete
OH my god!!! I strongly suggest you look into how the voucher system really works. There is frankly no evidence yet that it does. Public schools are not teaching? What are they not teaching? Some test answers that the state decided to put on a test form? Excuse me while I disagree that teaching people enough to pass a test is the real NOT teaching going on.
Did you ever consider that the schools that are struggling HAVE NO MONEY to begin with? How is taking what little money they have away incentive to make them work harder? How can they work harder with fewer funds? Inner city schools are already the pirahias of the school system.
Most Private Schools do not have to follow those same strict guidelines that are imposed on public schools who will either PASS OR FAIL. They are at liberity to do what they want. Most of their teachers are not even licenced to teach, or haven't had same strict testing done on them that teachers have to go through in Public Education licencing programs. The only thing private schools have going for them is A) They don't have to spend money on special education (so therefore kids with serious special needs will be left in those schools with no funding) B) Smaller Class sizes (tho this will probably change if the public schools flood them, but maybe not, perhaps they can keep their small class sizes because...) C) THEY GET TO PICK THEIR STUDENTS! They pick who is allowed to enroll, and they are allowed to throw failing students out. Public Schools do not have this option. So what we have left are public schools with no funds, special ed funding problems, huge classroom sizes because the teachers all got cut because the school can't afford to pay them all, and anytime a kid gets bumped from private school, usually for behavioral problems and academic probelms, they land RIGHT BACK IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
How about the parents in those schools who get their little voucher that only covers a portion of Private School costs? Where are they supposed to get the rest of the money? They aren't going to, that's what happens! Instead their child is being punished and left in a school that needs HELP not abandonment.
North Carolina has a surgoate program for failing schools, where the schools that are doing well come in and help them get on track. This is a MUCH better option than pulling out and saying "good luck assholes"
Money and incentives may drive big business, but they don't drive schools. They help schools survive! That's it! You cannot run a school like a business which is what Jeb and all his Republican cronies are trying to do. I feel very sorry for Florida's educational system. It's in a world of hurt, and no new teachers want to go there, and the teacher ed programs they have in Florida are dropping off, or the teachers are moving to different states. Yup Jeb did a bang up job.
I am not saying schools need more money (tho they do) I am saying there needs to be some look at how that money is spent (like adminstration costs for one, and high dollar programs that aren't working for two) I am also saying there is NO PROOF yet that vouchers work. I don't care how many studies you find on either side of the debate none of their evidence is conclusive) If they do, well then I was so wrong and a thousand appologies. However I think they will fail simply because they have not been set up responsibly to deal with the real problems in public schools.
*gets off her soapbox now*
