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School Choice: A Moral Issue?
I am a staunch advocate for school vouchers, and a recent controversy help reaffirm my support. Residents of Ladera Heights - an affluent, mostly black community in Los Angeles metro - have organized for a territory transfer proposal to leave Inglewood's school district of not-as-affluent blacks and Hispanics and join Culver City's mostly white, middle-class school district with higher student achievement (registration required). However, both suburbs oppose the plan, which the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization takes up this month. Ladera Heights should have foreseen opposition by Culver City. That was a not-so-subtle hint by white folks to upscale coloreds (median household income in Ladera Heights: $90,000+) create your own good schools.
What is even more problematic to me was the response by Inglewood officials, one of whose school board members calls the proposal racist and argues that Ladera Heights residents merely want to raise their property values (which are already higher than that of Culver City). Ahem, Ladera Heights is 70%+ black. Yet Inglewood officials want children to remain in crap schools in order to do social engineering and undermine freedom of association. However, if there was a school voucher option then the parents of Ladera Heights (which is not large enough to form its own district) could tailor a school for its community's children.
School choice advocates say tax dollars should follow a child to the schools of their choice, not the school itself. We say school choice would drive reform in public education through competition. We say what stands in our way are liberal Democrats, who have strong ties to teachers' unions. We are right on all three counts. And a Newsweek poll in 2004 which showed that 66% of blacks and 67% of Hispanics supported school vouchers. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black think-tank, has did polling a few years ago in this area and showed that 57% of blacks support school vouchers and 43% oppose it.
If left to parental choice, I'd bet money that one would be hard-pressed to find a secular school in black communities. Schools would be tailored to our communities' needs and desires - black social gospel ethic, prayer, high discipline, a curriculum with a strong focus on black achievements, high emphasis on how to take standardized tests - and not that of government. We could tailor programs that match our communities' preferences and not go around chasing white folks...especially those who want nothing to do with black folks (even the upscale ones). If the Congressional Black Caucus, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and teachers can disproportionately send their own children to the schools of their choice, why deny Shaniqua Jackson the same right for her kid?
The 1st Amendment says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free expression. Given that the 10th Amendment says that anything not deemed a federal power or responsibility flows or prohibited for states to do flows to the states and to the people, there is constitutionally nothing wrong with a state or local government funding vouchers to even religious schools. One can apply one's voucher to a secular school, is that is one's desire for one's child. I'm not Muslim but I have no problem with Mr. and Mrs. Mohammed using a voucher to send lil' Khalilah to a school that included Arabic language study and 5-times-a-day prayer. If there's not enough demand in one's hometown for a particular option and it is important to you, then move. While a Muslim school would have very low demand in Tupelo, Miss., it would be very popular in Detroit, Mich. Any schools that didn't meet standards wouldn't be in business for long. More innovative programs would emerge.
It is immoral for liberals to block school voucher initiatives, and force black children to remain in crap schools. Yet it falls under liberals' general elitist rule: the masses are asses. Only we can decide what's best for you peons, not you.
gop_jeff said:I have yet to hear a good argument against school choice and.or school vouchers.
However, I also believe the federal government should be out of the education business altogether.
Kathianne said:From a black writer, link at site:
http://www.blackprof.com/archives/2006/01/school_choice_a_moral_issue.html
Hobbit said:Let's just do about the easiest thing that can be done to eliminate a government industry, privatize and subsidize. With schools being privately owned, they'd actually have incentive to do well, and how well they're doing wouldn't be based on something a stupid as standardized test results. It would also eliminate a big issue of kids being 'forced' into doing things at a school. If you want your kids to pray in school, say the pledge, celebrate Christmas, etc., you just send them to a school that does it. Those who engage in upopular practices will go out of business, and those who offer the best education will thrive. This would also eliminate a lot of problems with teachers' unions. Now, in order to provide for the poor students, you use the funding currently going to run public schools and use it to give out scholarships. It's as easy as that.
LuvRPgrl said:Its really amazing how many problems it would solve, and how much better off the kids would be. Its all about power and control and money for the Dems/liberals. Question is why the black community continues to support the Dems. I think I will be doing some campaigning there during the next elections.
