nice school

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-25-2008
nice school
218
Fri, 11-07-2008 - 11:33am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago_Laboratory_School


Obama's girls have a nice school to attend; if public education is so great, how come his girl's don't go to public school?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 6:56pm

The voucher is the same money that would go to the public school system, and would come out of education funding. I am speaking here only of Federal funds. I am not debating state vouchers because it is highly unlikely President Bush (or President Obama) has authority to tell a state to provide them.

There are, to my knowledge, no Federal voucher system. There are a few state and local school districts that have them.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 7:28pm

"In that sense, you're correct, but given the dismal contribution the federal government has given to public school districts, I'd wager that the amount that two children going out of district removes from the operating budget is negligible, and probably does not amount to the amount that would have been spent to educate two children."

Now earlier you said "Personally, I disagree with that idea. If we start removing money from the public schools, it will be a further division between the upper and lower class.

Even if the voucher pays for half a tuition, only those with disposable income will be able to afford the other half. Which means all the kids on the lower end of the economic spectrum will remain in school. Even in a school that truly is of poor quality, the families who do not currently participate in their child's education are not likely to go through the effort of finding out about transportation and vouchers to another school.

Think of it like the current stock market. People panic, yank their kids, and the whole thing crumbles. The government is still required (state by state varies) to provide a thorough and efficient education. How does less money fix that?"

So which is it .... is the loss of Federal funding something to worry about or not? A quick visit to the NEA website (who have long opposed vouchers) shows they are very concerned with the loss of Federal funds, amomgst other things. http://www.nea.org/vouchers/index.html

"In the case you described, regardless of who's children we're discussing, the money was not taken and applied to their tuition elsewhere. It was simply removed from the operating budget, presumably reducing, albeit negligibly, part of the federal government's obligation there."

The school district of Chicago still gets no money from the state or Federal government. How is this supportive of public education?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 8:36pm

What federal matching funds?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-1999
In reply to: greenie75
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 9:24pm

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Toni

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2001
In reply to: greenie75
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 11:37pm

You are attempting to point out an inconsistency in my opinion that does not exist.


I'm talking about opposing a voucher system.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
In reply to: greenie75
Wed, 11-12-2008 - 8:04am
I'm all for the merit system for paying teachers. Let the better ones make more money. Biggest problem today is the too high administrative costs.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Wed, 11-12-2008 - 12:27pm
How would you propose determining which ones were the better ones?
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Wed, 11-12-2008 - 4:02pm

Well the red carpet has been rolled out in at least one public school.

Opposing view: Give public schools a chance

By Robert C. Bobb and Mary Lord

Barack Obama made history as America's first African-American president. He now has a chance to shatter another historic White House convention — as the first chief executive in three decades to send his children to a local public school.

Such a decision would have more than mere symbolic importance. The District of Columbia's troubled system has come a long way since little Amy Carter attended Thaddeus Stevens Elementary, and even a scouting visit by the first family to some of our city's outstanding public and public-charter schools would validate education-reform efforts here and across the nation.

Want language instruction? Strong John Thomson Elementary, a few blocks northeast of the Oval Office, offers Chinese. Value diversity? At E. L. Haynes Public Charter School, children of all cultures and income levels engage in hands-on learning, and math proficiency has surged by double digits.

Buried in the bad publicity about Washington's dysfunctional system is the fact that our top public school students can go head-to-head with America's best. They win National History Day competitions and get snapped up by Ivy League colleges, often with millions in scholarships. Every official from our mayor on down is focused on promoting further excellence and achievement.

Like any Washington couple, Barack and Michelle Obama naturally want the best learning environment for their children. Politics aside, they could not have landed in a better town for "education consumers." We are the country's petri dish for school choice. Scores of traditional public school students crisscross the city each day for classrooms far beyond their neighborhood boundaries.

True, Washington also boasts some of the USA's top private schools, and as parents whose children have attended public, charter, parochial and private schools, we understand the difficult choice the Obamas face. However, no private option offers President-elect Obama a personal reality check on the No Child Left Behind mandates he campaigned to reform. Public school parents see test-prep squeezing out art. They push for quality.

As the law's reauthorization looms, what better crash course on its impact than to have kids in the trenches? Now that would be a change any family can believe in.

Robert C. Bobb is president of the District of Columbia's Board of Education. Board member Mary Lord's district includes the White House.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/11/opposing-view-g.html

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Wed, 11-12-2008 - 4:08pm
Liberals love being compassionate...as long as they're using other people's money and it doesn't interfere with their lifestyle.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2008
In reply to: greenie75
Wed, 11-12-2008 - 4:10pm
You can't tell a good teacher from a sucky one? Most kids can do that.

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