I think we need 4 education paths:
1) Government schools that are basically baby sitting young trouble makers who will almost certainly end up in prison eventually. Children who are not problematic should not go to these government-funded schools.
2) Government schools for children with special needs. They need care and some of that care may be expensive. Society should fund schools for kids who need help.
3) A variety of private schools should exist. With school choice, parents should receive a certain amount of money from tax revenues which can be spent on private education. There is no reason that private schools need to cost $40,000 a year. Some would. Most could be high quality but affordable. No trouble makers. No special needs. No heavy layer of school administrators. Just teach kids who want to be taught. Doesn’t have to be expensive.
4) Home schooling is pretty darn cheap. It’s easier than many would assume and it’s better than government schools.
My overall view:
Society sometimes demands a PERFECT solution that will work for 100% of the population. When that is seen to be out-of-reach (it always will be) society falls back on a “general” solution which totally sucks for everyone (this is where we are today).
I think we could have a totally re-worked view of education that would work well and be affordable for 80-90% of the population. This would be light-years better than what we today. Yup — it sure would suck for 10-20% of the kids. But it sucks for 100% of them now.
People who demand perfect solutions are basically sabotaging good solutions.
I agree with what you said. We should give tax refunds for parents home schooling their children.
Good post.
Don’t have the energy or desire to address all points right now.
Some of the generalizations you’ve made though can be immediately dismissed though.
No one who looks for perfection should be taken seriously.
School doesn’t suck for 100% of the students.
There will always be horrible people, including children.
Private schools, and I attended a few, don’t necessarily educate people more effectively compared to public schools. Their one benefit is being able to not accept the kids that are horrible. My daughters attended public schools and state universities , with another going to a private university, and got a much better education than I did, especially in math and science.
How many people do you know from your life experience would you trust to teach your children at home? For me the percentage is really low. Teaching is a skill that even the doctors, engineers, ministers and lawyers I know don’t possess.