"I have no idea, frankly. Don't ask me how to solve the problems of 50 million schoolchildren."
Okay, but some of us do wnat to fix that system, and school choice, including vouchers is one way to build a better system. just respect the obvious point that choice works better than monopoly, that we need *some* way of giving parents choice as way to get them involved.
study after study shows tha the #1 predictor of school performance for students is parental involvement. The #1 way to get parents involved is to give them some choice and some say in the child's education. Vouchers would increase parental involvement and thereby make the whole school experience better for all concerned.
" I have, however, found a very workable solution for my four (plus a nephew)."
"Is it a free-market solution? Absolutely."
No, it's not. Your tax dollars are paying for the Stalinist model education system, and 50 million other kids are in that system. This is no more 'free market' than living in a country with socialized medicine but flying to the US for an operation. It's a band aid on a broken system.
"Can it work for everyone? Definitely not. "
that's why we need school choice that is more than just based on parents who pay twice (taxes + private funds) for school.
It's not a free-market solution for the 50 million...it's only free-market for mine. I consider my property taxes the "protection" that I pay to the school district to leave my children alone. So far it's working pretty well.
It's not right, but it works. I'm not sure how eager I am to move to a system that is right, but may not entirely work.