When we started talking about private vs. public schools in class a lot of feelings were running high I thought. I also thought that not enough of us knew enough to make a knowledgeable judgment. Here is some pro and cons to let you know the truths about private schools and maybe some falsehoods you thought to be true. Some people say private schools offer superior education. To a point this is true, according to studies private schools test scores are significantly higher than public. I would never believe that every public school is bad.
I feel children can get a good education in a public school. Public schools also have a lot of kids that do not want to be there, therefore they don’t try or even care about their own test scores. You also have to think that these grades are also put in with the good and smart kids in public schools and brings the overall public schools scores down. We were talking about vouchers in class. Vouchers help parents afford private school education that is otherwise too expensive for most people. Presently, only wealthy families can afford to send their children to private school.
Vouchers would allow low- income families to send their children to private schools to get a better education too. (Atheism, Internet.).
Under the voucher system, private schools would be able to achieve superior benefits at a lower cost. (Pro voucher, Internet.).
Vouchers ensure the survival of private schools. Enrollment in private schools declines as the discretionary income of lower and middle class declines. As more and more families can’t afford the cost of private education their existence is threatened, especially parochial schools in the city where low-income families live. (Pro voucher, Internet.).
I feel that Private schools are a business for some people who start them. Why should an already public school that doesn’t have enough budget as it is give money to a business for their profit to benefit a couple of children. To me this doesn’t make sense, don’t deplete public schools out of the little money for budgeting they have. I know there are some public schools out there in the cities that can’t even afford enough desks for all their students. Through estimated studies, researchers say, public enrollment would lessen and help prevent overcrowding. (Pro voucher, Internet.).
This would really help states such as California where private schools have room for extra students. Even if we did give private schools money so they could get students wouldn’t there still be the problem of money to run the public school.
Instead of overcrowding being the problem now money to run the public school would be the problem. Every parent who sends their child to a public school feels like their paying double taxes. The first is for the public school, which they do not use, second for the tuition to the private school that they use. I think this is unfair because they are paying for a service they don’t even use. Vouchers would give that money to the private schools for their use. This is a good plan as long as public schools don’t exceed the amount paid in by private students parents.
Voucher supporters say the program will not violate the separation of church and state. They say this because the government would be giving the parents the money and then the parents can give it to either parochial or private schools. This way voucher programs do not force the government to give money to religious schools. Anti voucher supporters say that voucher systems will force the government to subsidize the cost for such education for students already attending private schools. That would cost the taxpayers billions of extra dollars we don’t presently have. Vouchers will allow poorer families to send their kids to private schools where children can enjoy genuine religious freedom. Since they’ll have prayer, bible readings and no anti- religious teachings you won’t see school shootings or massacres happen in private schools like they do in public. (Agnosticism/Atheism, Newsletter.).
I think whoever wrote this was 2 sheets to the wind. Just because you go to a private parochial school doesn’t mean your perfect. For the 21 years of my life I never met anyone who was perfect and never had any problems. Anyone can flip at any time, you never know. Private schools like everything else cannot be perfect. As of this time 20 states have proposed a voucher program. Only Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Florida have working programs allowing parents to use tax money to send their kids to private school.
The Milwaukee program has been appealed to the Supreme Court after the Wisconsin Supreme Court passed the voucher program 4-2, but the higher court refused to hear the case 8-1. (Voucher Wisconsin, Internet.).
Until all states have common law on the voucher system Pro voucher people will fight for it and anti voucher people will question the constitutionality and fairness of vouchers.
Bibliography:
About.com search for pro vocher.