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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Why school choice?
An issue that has become unfortunately taboo in Ontario (as the PCPO is too petrified to have a repeat of their faith-based-funding debacle and the NDP is on the wrong side of the issue) is school choice.
The Institute for Justice has, by far, the best PR people in the movement. In their newest video they show that school choice isn't scary - it's a policy that helps parents make the right decisions for their children's education and avoids the failures and personal tragedies that come from allowing only the bureaucracy to make choices about childrens' education.
(Ed. Luckily, we have Children First: School Choice Trust in Alberta and Ontario. At least a few Ontario and Alberta children will get to go to a school of their families choice, rather than to a school of some bureaucrat's choice).
Posted by Janet Neilson on December 9, 2008 in School Choice | Permalink
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Comments
Janet,
A video like that won't sway many people who are concerned about what is called "school choice". At best, it will rally support that better options be made available - including public funding for attending private schools - for special needs children. But this case and ones like it does nothing to address concerns about "school choice" and the general impact it would have on the education of all children.
To address the more general concern, a video would have to say "public schools suck, so I want to be able to take my kid out of them and send her to a private school, with tax money paying the bill." That is just an argument that a lot of people will resist, no matter how many Lexi's are out there.
Posted by: Fact Check | 2008-12-09 10:38:55 AM
Janet, good post. I would vote for the separation of school and state if given the chance. To suggest that governments and unions put others interests above theirs is to suggest they are not human. But even if they were truly benevolent, we would have to believe they would have the wisdom to know what is best for everyone.
No, only the parents are capable of doing what is right for their kids. And the school system seriously limits their choices.
Posted by: TM | 2008-12-09 12:12:17 PM
To address the more general concern, a video would have to say "public schools suck, so I want to be able to take my kid out of them and send her to a private school, with tax money paying the bill." That is just an argument that a lot of people will resist, no matter how many Lexi's are out there.
Posted by: Fact Check | 9-Dec-08 10:38:55 AM
Most parents would likely keep their kids in the public school system given the choice. There isn't a general perception that public schools suck (some of them do, but many of them don't) and so that argument would be not only too broad to be accurate but also ineffective. It's certainly not "the general concern."
Assuming that one school system will meet the needs of all different children is silly. The fact that it's also the general feeling when it comes to education is the real issue that we need to address. We can (and should) start by working on the really obvious cases like this one, and after move on to other, less drastic cases.
Posted by: Janet Neilson | 2008-12-09 8:00:50 PM
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