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Private Schools vs. Public Schools
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Far be it for those on the right to let the facts get in the way of a good argument. For years now the Republicans have been pushing for school choice when it comes to our educational crisis. What they have left out of the equation are a few simple realities of education in this country. (USA)
First, lets look at the private school vs public school argument. The common misconception is that you will get a better education in a private school. What we forget is that the private schools choose their students, whereas, the public schools must take everyone. A private school does not have to accept students with attendance problems, poor skills or behavior issues.
They take the best and only the best. Public schools get the attendance problems, the unconcerned parents, the disruptive students and are then asked to provide an education as "good" as a private school. Even if every student in the country had a choice, most would be rejected for private schools.
The Republicans also fail to realize that there are relatively few private schools. They could not possible house all the students who would choose to attend them.
Second is the issue of public school choice. Republicans argue that if every student had the choice of which public school to go to, than schools would have to improve or risk being closed.
Again, let not simple facts get in the way. Most public schools today are operating at or above student capacity, with too few teachers to go around. Close the "bad" schools as the Republicans would have you do and where would you put the students who are left? They would be forced to go into the "good" schools, overcrowding them and driving down the quality of education until they are perceived as "bad."
The reality of the situation, which the Republicans refuse to face, is that the problems are not with the schools. The schools are doing the best they can with what they have; underpaid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, disruptive students, uninvolved parents.
If you want to solve the educational crisis in this country try giving the schools the power to get rid of the dead wood. Students who are not prepared for school, have attendance problems or are disruptive should be removed from the educational setting.
Let the parents scream. Maybe when they have to figure out what to do with the kids, instead of just sending them off to school and forgetting them, they will become involved and start dealing with the problems that the schools have been blamed for years.
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