Saturday, April 29, 2017

Strong Schools Vibrant Democracy - Vouchers?

It appears that Trump and Betsy Devos are fans of using vouchers to support education for students.
  • Is this what America needs? 
  • Will this improve the lives and education of children in the country? 
  • Will this deepen and strengthen our democracy, respect for one another, and ability to forward an inclusive nation? 
  • Is this a good use of public money? Is this a research-based decision?
If we run the numbers, we'll find out that vouchers are a poor investment for American schools--in general vouchers are not well supported when it comes to the data for successful schools or a strong democracy. Plus vouchers put the decision on how to spend public money in the hands of a few rather than utilizing the voice and choice of many.

The purpose of our public schools is to provide all American children a strong, purposeful education that provides them with a foundation of basic skills, concept, and knowledge. A well-educated populous is a populous that has the ability to live and lead well. 

Already public schools are strong, but there's certainly room for growth. The government should be focused on continuing to develop optimal public schools, not breaking apart public schools with a voucher system that supports the separation of students by culture, race, class, and religion.

DeVos and Trump have not experienced public schools in their own lives--it seems they want to forward the kind of schooling and life they had rather than the kind of public schools that bring people together and forward our democracy. Also it seems that they want to make decisions for our huge nation based on their single experiences rather than data and good research--research that points out the positives of public school and the challenges any voucher system brings to communities and our democracy.

Please make the time to research the impact vouchers will have on your state and community, then speak up for what is right and good for our democracy in this regard.