Ever examine where all the money goes? A large part of it goes to special education - paying to educate those who are, in many cases, almost uneducatable, hoping to make them at least able to function independently.
we should also provide additional resources and make additional efforts to laud the government schools them when they actually accomplish their job? Are you suggesting a national holiday perhaps?
Strawman argument.
Unfortunately, as this article indicates, the high school students who do go on to college, which are not all high school graduates I should hasten to add, are not particularly well prepared. The colleges are and have been forced to provide remedial education because the high school graduates that they receive don’t have the basic math or literary skills to succeed in college. But let’s not focus our scrutiny merely on the high end of the scale; the kids who graduate government high schools and go on to college
That's not the "High end." The "high end" would be the geniuses, the prodigies, and the well-educated but merely smart (who, I can assure you, need no remedial education).
Here's what I'm saying - and I'll use small words so you can understand. Public education does not always work - there are a lot of struggling schools, and a lot of very good schools. It does homeschoolers no good to paint all public schools with the same brush, and every time a failing public school comes to attention use that as an argument against public education in general. Instead, individual parents should examine their own circumstances - are the schools around them very good? Can they afford private schools? Do they have the time, abilities, and inclination to educate the children themselves? There are three good options facing every parent - homeschool, private school, and public school. That decision is an individual one - and you should never second-guess a parent who made his decision.
“Here’s what I’m saying - and I’ll use small words so you can understand.”
Thinly veiled ad hominem argument.
“Public education does not always work - there are a lot of struggling schools, and a lot of very good schools.”
There are not many “very good” government schools, and those that do exist are more often used as window dressing for the failures.
“It does homeschoolers no good to paint all public schools with the same brush, and every time a failing public school comes to attention use that as an argument against public education in general.”
As a practical matter, home education is growing by leaps and bounds. To the extent that homeschoolers “paint all public schools with the same brush”, it certainly isn’t hurting them.
“Instead, individual parents should examine their own circumstances - are the schools around them very good? Can they afford private schools? Do they have the time, abilities, and inclination to educate the children themselves? “
Agreed.
“That decision is an individual one - and you should never second-guess a parent who made his decision.”
Of course the decision is individual, and people who actually look at it objectively will usually come to the conclusion that the government school their child is to attend is coming up lacking. There are exceptions. People do win the lottery. As for “never” second guessing, what you’re suggesting is that parents should not be held accountable. And that’s a bunch of baloney. Decisions have consequences.
Very well stated. Alas, however, there are plenty who do second-guess the decisions of others, and in a not very polite manner.
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The American people are not stupid. They are fully capable of comparing the allotment for **normal** government child to the tuition paid for a **normal** privately schooled child. They know where the tax money is going. Answer: Down the drain.
The amount of funding that is allotted per **normal** government child for our **ordinary** local government elementary school is more than twice the tuition at our ordinary local Catholic school. This government elementary school is not handling severely retarded, blind, deaf, or horribly crippled children. In our state we have special schools for that and these kids ( deservedly) receive more. In the case of these severely handicapped children being mainstreamed, the local government school gets extra funding for that. The same **normal** kids going to the ordinary local government school are the same kinds of kids going to the Catholic school.
The amount of money going to ordinary neighborhood government schools per **normal** kid **is** a “king’s ransom”.
Remember, please, that **not** included in that per government child allotment are the generous pensions of the teachers, or payments on the capital investment on the land and property. Private schools must pay for these items out of their tuition and fund raising money.