We could save oceans of money by closing the public schools and letting parents utilize the private sector and/or home school their children. Public schools cost a minimum of $10,000 per student whereas private schools cost on average $7,000 per student.
Think of the possibilities: Individual teachers (formerly employed by the public schools) could rent a single classroom from the now-bankrupt public school system and gather in as many voucher/supported students as they think they can teach. Those teachers who teach their subject well would make far more money than they are receiving now from the public/socialist system.
Remember that in the time of Adam Smith parents paid the professor directly.
> Public schools cost a minimum of $10,000
Where do you live? Here in NH, it’s closer to $20,000 per student, and that doesn’t even include the teachers pensions or the bus contracts.
> Remember that in the time of Adam Smith parents paid the professor directly.
The Noah Webster model of Bible based education served this country best. We achieved nearly 100% literacy under that model. Participation in the local school was voluntary. Home schooling was common, especially among the pioneers.
Then Horace Mann brought the Prussian Model of state-funded, compulsory education to the U.S. Within 50 years, the Noah Webster model had been almost completely displaced by the Prussian model.
In the early 20th century, John Dewey introduced “Progressive Education”. The name speaks for itself.
Carl Rogers, in the latter half of the 20th century, introduced “Affective Education”, where teachers were to become “change agents”. This was cut from the same cloth as the Maoist “Cultural Revolution”.
Tax-funded, government-run, compulsory education MUST BE abandoned. While we still have the law on our side to do this, we must remove our children from these government school collectives and educate them ourselves, or form our own local school cooperatives.