If your boss asked you to stuff envelopes, you'd likely ask, "Why?" or "How many?" Certainly, you'd want to know when you've met the goal of your task, wouldn't you? Chances are pretty good you'd then ask tactical questions in deciding how to fulfill your task: "Can I use a stuffing machine? Can I enlist the help of others?"
Interestingly enough, the question of school desegregation is really not that far a stretch from this same scenario. If you were asked to racially mix the employees throughout multiple buildings on a company or college campus, you'd want to know the purpose of the task. Otherwise, how would you know when you've successfully accomplished it? Then the tactical questions would need to be asked: "How many of each race per building? Should it be a percentage of total or an absolute quantity?"
We must know what we hope to accomplish and be able to measure progress, otherwise we continue to repeat the same tactics in perpetuity without ever knowing if we've reached our goal. How fruitless, unproductive, and exasperating!
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on race-based quotas in the school systems of Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington. If you like to dig deep into details, all the legal filings are online here. It seems to me that race-based quotas have become both the goal and the tactic in desegregation. This simply doesn't work.
While absolutely and unarguably necessary in 1954, the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education ruling left these important question unanswered: Why? and, what are the metrics for success?
Every American, whether he agreed with the decision or not, knew why it was necessary. We still understand why it was necessary back in 1954. The question then becomes, "What are the metrics for success? How will we know when we're done?" And that, my friends, is where the problem begins because that question was never answered by the Supreme Court. We have no idea how to measure success.
It seems to me that state-sponsored segregation has been eliminated; however, some public schools remain racial "islands" because of community demographics or by parental choice. Have we desegregated the schools enough to let families educate their children in a school close to home? ...better yet, in a school of their choice?
The best way to provide "fairness" in education at this time in history is to allow families to choose where to send their children for an education. It's time for personal choice and responsibility. Some of you may know this idea as "school vouchers." Vouchers would provide a better chance at equal education for all children not just some. Who better to make the decision on the best provider for a child's education than his/her parents? And, in the process, families would have the freedom to decide on education based on need and quality rather than on race.
We will have no decision from the Supreme Court until the spring; however, on the occasion of the reappearance of this issue 50 years later, it's worth asking ourselves how we should measure success in education for all our children rather than repeating the same tired tactics that have allowed poor education to continue.
Interestingly enough, the question of school desegregation is really not that far a stretch from this same scenario. If you were asked to racially mix the employees throughout multiple buildings on a company or college campus, you'd want to know the purpose of the task. Otherwise, how would you know when you've successfully accomplished it? Then the tactical questions would need to be asked: "How many of each race per building? Should it be a percentage of total or an absolute quantity?"
We must know what we hope to accomplish and be able to measure progress, otherwise we continue to repeat the same tactics in perpetuity without ever knowing if we've reached our goal. How fruitless, unproductive, and exasperating!
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on race-based quotas in the school systems of Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington. If you like to dig deep into details, all the legal filings are online here. It seems to me that race-based quotas have become both the goal and the tactic in desegregation. This simply doesn't work.
While absolutely and unarguably necessary in 1954, the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education ruling left these important question unanswered: Why? and, what are the metrics for success?
Every American, whether he agreed with the decision or not, knew why it was necessary. We still understand why it was necessary back in 1954. The question then becomes, "What are the metrics for success? How will we know when we're done?" And that, my friends, is where the problem begins because that question was never answered by the Supreme Court. We have no idea how to measure success.
It seems to me that state-sponsored segregation has been eliminated; however, some public schools remain racial "islands" because of community demographics or by parental choice. Have we desegregated the schools enough to let families educate their children in a school close to home? ...better yet, in a school of their choice?
The best way to provide "fairness" in education at this time in history is to allow families to choose where to send their children for an education. It's time for personal choice and responsibility. Some of you may know this idea as "school vouchers." Vouchers would provide a better chance at equal education for all children not just some. Who better to make the decision on the best provider for a child's education than his/her parents? And, in the process, families would have the freedom to decide on education based on need and quality rather than on race.
We will have no decision from the Supreme Court until the spring; however, on the occasion of the reappearance of this issue 50 years later, it's worth asking ourselves how we should measure success in education for all our children rather than repeating the same tired tactics that have allowed poor education to continue.
Comments
By common agreement, going back to the beginning of this nation, the founding fathers saw the critical necessity of education; which is why they provided for its support within the Constitution. Every citizen has a responsibility to support public education for the common good- vouchers rob our public schools of the funds they desperately need.
But there's another issue here, one I know you’ll agree with, and that’s accountability. Private schools refuse to let themselves be held accountable to public standards even if they’re taking public money; yet our public schools must provide accountability under State and Federal law. Moreover it’s easy for private schools to boast of higher quality when they get to pick and choose who they’ll accept, how much it will cost as well as the numbers in the classroom. You might as well match a high school basketball squad to a NBA pro team and then complain at the poor showing of the high school team has at the inevitable slaughter.
If someone has the ability to send their children to a private school, well then that’s their choice- but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the nation.
There are many other things wrong with vouchers, but frankly I think the idea is just fundamentally un-American.
I might be missing something here, Anon, but I cannot recall a single piece of text in the US Constitution where the founding fathers "provided for its [public education] support." As a matter of fact, I believe there is no stated right to an education in the Constitution itself; this particular issue may have been taken up and covered in the text of state constitutions. I know that North Carolina's state constitution called for the funding of education as early as 1776. In the early days of this country, however, education was provided at home or by pooling the resources of communities/villages throughout the territories.
Given an oversight of some sort and the accountability of each school, I don't really see how vouchers would "rob" public schools. Competition is good for quality and excuses simply won't cut it in that climate. The eventuality of introducing competition into the world of education is that public schools who cannot effectively use the funds they receive to provide an adequate education to their students would simply be forced to close. Students would then absolutely be choosing from schools that provide exactly what they're being paid (via the vouchers) to provide. I believe it's Washington, D.C. where the funds allocated per student per educational year are in excess of $10,000 per child. Imagine the primary schools that would be willing to compete for those funds!
Accountability is absolutely necessary in all facets of life and that includes the federal government and anyone who collects or receives money taken from citizens in the form of taxes. We definitely agree there! I believe we would see some sort of oversight and minimum requirements that would have to be met by private/charter schools if a voucher program were to go into effect in this country. Although we, as taxpayers, often fail to keep an eye on how our tax dollars are being spent, I can't imagine any taxpayer would be willing to allow their money to be spent on education without some measure of accountability by the schools receiving the funds.
I understand the point you're making with regard to accountability and the private sector; however, these are details that would be ironed out through our federal and state-level legislative representatives. We would certainly have a voice in that and it's clear that what you're suggesting are items that must be handled before a program could be effective.
Here's the problem I have with your statement about parents choosing to send their kids to private schools but not at the expense of the nation: you are suggesting that the status quo of scraping together what's left over after the feds and the state take a bite out of your paycheck to provide for your kids' education is OKAY. I don't see it that way at all. You're asking parents to do what's right for their kids but to also provide money to finance poor quality education (in many cases) for the children of others. That makes no sense to me.
I have no children of my own but I understand my responsibility toward helping to provide education dollars via taxes for the nation's children. None of the taxes we currently pay are designated for the education of specific children; they end up in a pool of money that benefits all, right? It would be no different with the voucher system except that each family will benefit by receiving a larger amount of money than they would be able to scrape together on their own when choosing their child's education. Why not allow my dollars to help families choose better schools for their children?