[Sherman Logan]

Also, abolishing the Department of Education and returning control to the states, (as originally intended), would greatly improve quality of education.

I will never understand many freepers axiomatic belief that state control will automatically produce better results.

It certainly has that potential, and I support a return to federalism for other reasons, but states can screw up as bad or worse than the feds.

IOW, if full control were returned to states, some (most?) would improve, but it is almost certain some would get worse.

With 50 states you'd get a wide range.

[PROCON]

Well, for those states with grades continuing to fall, fire the damn state administrators and get someone competent to do the job.

At least with state control the residents get a vote on who educates their kids.

With the Department of Education, faceless, nameless bureaucrats show up from 9-5 and could care less about the kids.

[Still Thinking]

It’s better BECAUSE different states can take different approaches. Even if the same number of tax dollars funded it, the states wouldn’t be in fear of the Feds, having already confiscated the money from the state’s citizens, (and which may be lead by a Congress and an Administration contrary to the political values of the majority of those residents), threaten to withhold the dollars of the state’s citizens from being partly returned if the state refuses to kow-tow to the statist educational fad du jour.

[Still Thinking]

From the same principles, it would be even better if it were funded and governed at an even more local area, lest a liberal majority in the state crap all over normal people (usually) in rural areas of the state.

[metmom]

My opinion is that there’s NOTHING that the government can’t screw up once it gets its hands on it.

[wintertime]

Re: Abolishing the Department of Education

Even if districts were as small as a city block or suburban housing tract, government schools would still be a First Amendment and freedom of conscience abomination!

Why?

Reason: Because it is impossible to provide any child with a religiously, culturally, and politically neutral education! It is impossible! It is axiomatic!

Even in the smallest districts, the most powerful political faction gets to impose its NON-neutral religious, political, and cultural worldview on other people's children by threat of police action, and ( also by police threat) forces their neighbor to pay for it.

[wintertime]

I will never understand many freepers axiomatic belief that state control will automatically produce better results.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I don't get it either. I see it on every school thread. It's like a Greek Chorus.

“Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; Local Control; “