Here’s a good question for you: Why have public schools at all?

[YOUasked]

I home-school my children...

[3DFarms]

Yes there less students graduating now then ever before and don't try to have intelligent conversation with one , duh. Why are the taxpayers paying so much money on schooling . The schools where Latinos and illegals go have a very low rating 1 or less . Are we raising a bunch of dummies . Have schools lowered the testing so illegals will try and graduate , but what is that doing to American kids ?

[dharma_bum48326]

Because it is not profitable to educate everyone but it is in the best interest of the nation to educate everyone. Therefore government is the only entity that can educate everyone.

[thegforce]

vouchers would cure it in a minute

[TD]

One simple way to improve public schools is to REQUIRE that public school teachers to send their own children to public schools. Right now, public school teachers send their own kids to private school at a rate DOUBLE what everyone else does. This is an acknowedgement that the tenured system they fiercely guard is protecting lazy, ineffective, incompetents. It's the equivalent of buying a Ford when you work for GM. They should be able to send their own kids anywhere they like, but only if these hypocritical liars stop opposing vouchers to allow those who otherwise can't afford it to do the same.

[tehabwa8557]

Uh, you left out all the reasons for public schools.We signed the Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates free education for the young.It's in everyone's best interest to have a well-educated citizenry.Turning it over to for-profit means only the children of the rich get access to an education.I've never heard a plan where the "subsidies" would pay enough. But why add a middle-man?If there's profit in it, and there would be, the companies running schools would have the kids sitting in lean-to's with no materials, so they could pocket all the expenses.That IS what corporate American does no -- takes all the money; provides no services.Companies are no more competent at what they do than the government.For-profit entities would turn our schools into even worse propagandists than they currently are (or should I say they'd do an even better job at brainwashing the young).The thing to do is fix the system, not burn it down.Although having a building that doesn't leak or fall of students's head IS a first step, what we need to do is improve educational goals and methods.Step 1: dismantle "No Child."Step 2: Pare down the curriculum from mounds of trivia to the much fewer real central, biggest bang for the buck ideas, and teach students how to use them.Step 3: Pay teachers a living wage, and train them to lead students to become deep, clear, relevant, accurate thinkers, using the tools developed by scholars.

[lxtricks]

I can't afford to send my kids to a private school...but you'll pay for it won't you?