I am a firm believer that education dramatically shapes the adult life of a child. Take two children from similar backgrounds and have one graduate high school and the other drop out–the graduate will see dramatic social and economic benefits. Further, the society around him will be better off as well. High school drop-outs cost us, all of us, millions of dollars a year in physical damage and management.
And so, of course, it makes sense to have a system of public education. What I find interesting is how each side of the political spectrum would explain such an entitlement program. For example:
- The Left. This one is easy. The Left clearly feels that wealth and accumulation is something that springs up from the ground and is obtained by the “lucky” or “greedy” by muscling and elbowing out the less fortune or the week. The Left would gladly take from the rich and distribute to the poor so that everyone had an equal chance. Predictably, this typically make me lose my belly whenever I think about it.
- The Right. This one is harder. The Right, you see, is against entitlement programs almost all of the time. No government provided health insurance. No government provided mass transit. No government provided welfare. All of it. “Man is free; let him obtain that which he needs” is their mantra. While acknowledging that the Right could use a marketing approach that vastly improves the tone of their message, I emphatically agree with this take. It is one of Individual Liberty that necessarily acknowledges Individual Responsibility. The subtle and yet critical distinction is that in almost ALL cases, children in our society are incapable of expressing their Individual Liberty. They either are lacking the intellectual capacity to express that Liberty [they are children after all, incapable of crossing the street in many cases] or they lack the legal status to exert that Liberty. As such, it becomes incumbent upon us to restore to that child a reasonable course of action, which, through no fault of their own, they have been prevented from following. In other words, just because Johnny’s mommy and daddy are fools who don’t take care of their child by sending him to school, does not make it Johnny’s fault.
And so it is that I agree with both the Left and the Right. But I feel that the path each takes to their respective positions is wrong and illogical. Further, because I believe as I do as expressed in #2 above, I do NOT agree with the right that we Ought take public monies meant for Public Education and dispense it in the form of vouchers for private education. The monies collected and spent is for the general public, not for the individual child or family.
The way to make sure that kids get the education they need? By doing it the right way:
Durham, N.C. — Family income should not determine a child’s destiny. That’s the premise behind Union Independent School, a new private school that opened this year in Durham.
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Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.
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Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.
This, ladies and gentlegerms, is how things get done in the real world!