'The flight from public schools'

World Net Daily ^ | 26 Oct 02

[Kosh5]

I heard a speaker raise a chilling thought a few years ago at a HS convention. While HS and some private school attendees may be the intellectually elite in this country in only a few years, it remains to be seen what their role will be.

They are destined to be either leaders or martyrs, but unlikely anything in between.

The U.S. has been on the road toward an educational aristocracy for quite some time now, and it is starting to come home to roost. If you look closely at the social and economic strata of this country, you will notice a couple of things:

1. The poor: You will always see a bottom 10% that are always there. These are the impossibly disadvantaged or infinitely unwilling in society.

2. The rich: the highest strata typically has inherited wealth. This top 10% will always be there regardless of effort, education, or drive.

3. Everyone else: The past 2 or 3 decades has seen a marked shift in how the remaining 80% is comprised. These days, one's education typically determines where one resides. More education generally equals more economic and social standing. And vice-versa.

Even now, however, the rapid polarization of our culture in to "have's" and "have-not's" is fracturing the fabric of our society. The 'Nots want more taxation on the Haves. Heck, the 'Nots sometimes seem fine with the idea of wholesale redistribution of wealth - disregarding the lessons of history.

Wait a sec - the lessons of history are lost on the relatively uneducated. And those who fail to learn from history...

Enter the HS'ers in large numbers. They threaten to further polarize our society. Add to this the fact that born-again Christians are grossly concentrated in the HS population, and you have all the key ingredients for serious persecution. Or leadership. It depends much on how things evolve in the next decade or so. The problem with aristocracies is that they tend to be overthrown - sometimes quite violently.

I, for one, have determined that while individual people can be remarkably smart and wise, people in groups are remarkably stupid and easily led. Hence the term "sheeple" that I believe was coined on freerepublic many years ago. I refrain from optimism about the American public whenever possible. After all, what will we get if an educational aristrocrisy is overthrown by the "disadvantaged" on the educational scale???

[logic101.net]

Far too many are still in that stinking cespool called public education. Before my daughter was even concieved my wife and I agreed on private school for her. We want her to learn, not be indoctrinated.

MARK A SITY
http://www.logic101.net/

[jackbill]

2. The rich: the highest strata typically has inherited wealth.

That myth has been debunked time after time after time. It's liberal BS.

[CWRWinger]

The Lord of the Flies

Excellent description of all the publik sckool superintendents I know of.

The superintendent flies are sometimes culled from NEA principal maggots.

[karlamayne]

Bttt

[karlamayne]

same, for the weekday folk

[karlamayne]

bttt

[The Californian]

Bill Bennett is, always has been, always will be a "big government", "former" Democrat, neocon, sham Republican. He "writes" very little, cuts and pastes a lot. Reread, rethink.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel to show people how to use it effectively. I have enjoyed all of Bill Bennett's "cut and paste" books and programs. He has pulled together a valuable resource and made it widely available.

Whether or not you agree with how he has done it, my point is that he has given parents another valuable option in the education of their children and rattled some cages. I can say that about a lot of options, some of which I really don't agree with.

Ultimately, it is up to individual parents to make informed decisions about their own families educations. The more available options, the better.

[Snerfling]

Your statement that "government schools in the “rich” neighborhoods are far better than free market schools " is not born out by any reputable study that I know of. Nor is it born out by the waiting lists at the free market schools, some of which charge stiff deposits to get on the list.

Huh? What state are you from? Here in Calif, the difference in house prices within the SAME city are dictated by the school district and/or campus in which one resides.

I don't know many people in Beverly Hills who are getting on waiting lists to attend Brentwood, et al - BHH typically has some of the highest SAT scores in the state. Ditto for Taft out in the Valley and Penninsula up in Palos Verdes. ( BTW Lowell in SF is probably THE most elite public school in the country - the entrance exam looks like something you'd see at MIT.)

The reason for this is simple: at 7% interest, a 10k private school tuition is equal to a $150k mortgage. Two kids is $300k; everyone in CA knows the math.

For families with 2 kids, an $800k mortgage is the same (before tax I might add) as a $500k mortgage for a family who sends their kids to private school.

You figure it out - would you rather live in a nicer community and have your kids go to a really good school, all the while meeting the 'right' type of positive people (aka 'winners') that will effect their outlook and approach to life, or live in a crappier neighborhood so that Johnny & Jane can get the proper HS or private (typically religious)indoctrination?

[iconoclast]

Bill Bennett's compilations will do you no harm.

And I'm really sorry I got off on that tangent. The problem I have with him is that he was (is) all for a big government answer to the sad failure of education in our country.

Now suddenly, he apparently has done a 180! IMO he is a man who will change his convictions like his underwear and at the moment is suffering extreme anxiety arising from his exclusion from the halls of power.

[SUSSA]

If you live in Beverly Hills you might not gain much academic advantage to having your kids in a free market school instead of in a government school. However, you will still be teaching them by example that socialism is right. Look at the attitude in Beverly Hills. The vast majority of people there vote for socialists. The guy in the $800k house is having his lifestyle subsidized by the senior citizen down the block who has no kids in school but has to pay for the schools or lose his home.

You may think that this is what parents should be teaching their children but some here are more conservative than that. We believe in small government and people taking care of their own responsibilities. I'm not surprised that in the "peoples republic of California" you attitude is the attitude of the majority. Look at who your senators are and who your governor is.

No matter how you cut it government schools are welfare. people in $800K houses who have their kids in government schools are on welfare just like the people in the government projects. The only difference is the people in the projects know they are on welfare. Some people in the $800K houses are so uninformed that they don't know thy are on welfare.

Government schools have no place in a free society.

[ConservativeDude]

Here's the interesting part of the homeschool phenomena. There are about 2 million now, give or take.

But that doesn't tell the full story. The interesting thing is the explosive growth we are about to see.

Admittedly I run with a conservative Christian crowd. But we attend a large church, over 30,000 members. And among this crowd, the older parents, 40 ish, virtually none home school. Many school at the church.

BUT Among the younger and new parents, I would say that anywhere 40 to 50% are already committed to HS.

And I'm talking about parents with kids all under three. That means that we have about 2 years to explain it to the rest of our friends. Every week I hear about another of our friends who are going to take the plunge.

Economically, many of our friends can't afford outrageous tuition for private Christian schools. But virtually none of our friends wants to go to the dangerous, dumbed down, indoctrinating schools. A few years ago, those that could afford private did it, those who didn't went public.

But, God Bless America, there is another alternative. To those who have gone before us as pioneers and developed the resources and the networks and laid down a track record of excellence, I can't thank you enough for making the vision of homeschooling available to my family.

In exchange, I can assure you: what you will see over the next decade will wildly exceed anything you ever envisioned!

The flight is taking place and the dramatic curve upwards will be apparent soon. And by the time the liberals notice, it will be too late.

[ConservativeDude]

"Truthfully, we don't know the true number"

Thankfully!

[Stop Legal Plunder]

May the Lord watch and protect homeschool families.

Check out VisionForumministries.org

[ConservativeDude]

"and the most caring parents leaving the public school system"

Correct - By Definition!

[Snerfling]

Look at the attitude in Beverly Hills. The vast majority of people there vote for socialists.

The cool thing about FR is that eventually the person you're carrying on a debate with will reveal their profound ignorance about something they know very little about.

For your information, unlike the propaganda that you receive via 'Entertainment Tonight', or whatever else you might be watching on TV, BH is filled with successful professionals (doctors, attorneys) and businesspeople, not just entertainment types.

Sure, there are some 'stars', but they typically prefer greater seclusion in places like Malibu & Brentwood. The end result from this high-achievement environment is that BH has some of the best schools in the country, private or public.

no matter how you cut it government schools are welfare. people in $800K houses who have their kids in government schools are on welfare just like the people in the government projects.

I've got news for you: your property taxes are paying for these schools whether or not your children attend them. And here's another tid-bit: the tax system is a scam. You can either be played by it (ie the 'noble' victim) or be a player. Personally, I'd rather take advantage of that of which I cannot control.

If you want to HS a child or send them to a private school for religious or other personal reasons, fine; just don't try to justify them by comparing their academics vs. public schools in upper-middle class neighborhoods.

[ladylib]

Then parents have to take it to court. Parents of kids in California are already doing that.

[Stop Legal Plunder]

Check out VisionForumministries.org

[Oberon]

I happen to like William Golding's writings very much, but this story is *not* the one to drag out about "socialization" and homeschooling. The boys wind up on the island in the first place because there has been a nuclear war - their plane crashes during the evacuation. At the end, they are rescued by a British navy ship - but the quite plain question at the end is, who is going to rescue the grownups? That's Ralph's final, bitter insight.

Well, yes. That's precisely the point. Golding's story is about the shark tank socialization of the common schoolyard, and where it would lead if left to run its course unhindered. It's precisely that sort of socialization that the homeschooler avoids...and precisely why it's the topic to bring up when people ask about the socialization of homeschooled children.

[Johnny Gage]

Gotta add in all the private schooled kids as well.