But why do Catholic school teachers work for $25,000/year- so that they can teach kids whose parents care enough to pay for their education, not riff-raff. Vouchers would allow anyone to go to those schools, where price works to include those students who are not serious. Second of all, every teacher is not going to be willing to work for $25,000 after paying for college and a master's degree.
According to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, last years rise in the citys reading scores was a result, at least in part, of competition between public and private schools. Last year, the School Choice Scholarships Foundation, a private voucher program, allowed Giuliani to accept Roman Catholic Cardinal John OConnors 1996 offer to educate some of the students from the citys worst public schools. (See New Private Voucher Program to Serve 1,000 NY City Children, School Reform News, March 1997.)I think the public school system is being challenged to do better, Giuliani told the New York Times. That is exactly what we should do with it, not accept it the way it is.
Actually, Cardinal O'Connor offered to take the worst-performing 5% of students in government schools:
New York City's John Cardinal O'Connor offered to enroll 5 percent of the city's most difficult to educate students in parochial schools; Mayor Rudolph Giuliani accepted the offer, originally floating the prospect of using vouchers to fund the transfers. (The money must now come from private sources.) New York's effort would be far from unique: Nationwide, more than 100,000 "difficult to educate" students--young people with physical handicaps, learning disabilities, emotional troubles, or involvement with the juvenile-justice system--are already enrolled in private secular and religious schools at taxpayer expense.The teacher unions and NY school administration fought the proposal tooth and nail. Warm bodies represent money and power. Period.Schools of Thought
Reason Magazine (1997)
"When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children."Albert Shanker, former president
American Federation of Teachers (1985)