Comments about ‘School system is like big box’

We are the goverment fix the school system not finance another stsyem

Great analogy, Marissa. It makes a lot of sense. I hope people can see your point and keep the voucher bills in place.

Parents already have a choice go use it. My children should not have to suffer because you want to have your kids attend a private school. Down with school vouchers.

Anonymous your just spouting the same tired propaganda. Learn the facts, read the initiatives in question. Public school funding wont be affected in the slightest by the voucher initiatives. Voucher money will come out of the General fund. School monies will be unaffected as they come from Income tax and Property taxes. Not to mention that when a parent makes the choice to use a voucher the school systems still get the monies that they would have gotten for that student for 5 more years!

I can only assume that the UEA is intimidated by the voucher initiatives, as it gives control to the parents on what and how their children will be taught. Personally I feel that the less control that the UEA has is a good thing.

There are plenty of "box stores" in our little town. What you want is to have me pay for you to drive down the road to shop there.

If you were in a small town and didn't want to attend the "Walmart" school, vouchers would not help you. It doesn't provide transportation. If you really want the best education for your children, encourage your State Legislature to properly fund public education. Which they have not done for decades. Strong neighborhood schools are best for our children. It no only gives them a sense of belonging but it strengthens communities.

This letter sounds like it is against vouchers. Most towns dont have private schools.
It is not the schools that are failing, its partially the students but mainly the parents. Now they want to blame the schools for their own failure and they are teaching their children that if they fail, just blame someone else.
Vote no on vouchers.

We need more choices in education than the neighborhood school. Kids are shortchanged when there's only one option. It might be all right for some, even most of the kids - but there are children who don't function well in an overcrowded classroom, who need more attention than the overworked public school teacher can give them. Curriculum, personality conflicts, values conflicts all can pose problems for individual children and families.

We act like these kids all come in one size, and try to cram them all into the same box, and then vilify parents who recognize their individual needs and try to meet them. This country used to value independent thinking and uniqueness. Now we just slap a label on people, call it multicultural awareness and "celebrate diversity", when all it really means is having labeled someone by their race or religion etc. - we now know what they are supposed to think and how to act around them. We put people into social boxes too - rich kids, poor kids, jocks, nerds, popular, etc. And the public schools are the vehicle for this form of social control.

Vouchers are a nice start, but let's free up all the money, attach it to the individual students, and let it follow the student to the school of the parents choice. Countries that do this routinely outperform our kids by a mile on international tests. The only reason we don't do this is that the teachers unions have a stranglehold on our government. And too many people believe the tripe that public schools are sacred. They've been trained well by those same schools.

I believe the problem with education in America is deeply rooted in the talent pool of our teachers. Simply put, we are losing this talent to other professions due in large part to the paltry salaries offered.

It doesn't take a genius to conclude that if teaching is a destination profession it will enlighten a whole new generation. This will snowball through generations as most great teachers were influenced by another great teacher. The bait for teaching is embedded early on while those future great teachers are K-12 pupils.

If vouchers pass (and I really don't believe that they will) it will simply be a band-aid on an already hemorrhaging gash. Who will determine the quality of these federally funded "teachers"? Who's to say that these "teachers" could "teach" agendas not in harmony with societal norms & practices?

Vouchers, kinda like being in Iraq when we should be in Afghanistan.

Even the children of a small town receive public schooling, though they might have to ride a bus.

However, not every small town gets a big box store. And Wal-Mart doesn't bus shoppers to their stores.

I find it interesting that you use Wal-Mart as your example of the "Big Box Theory". It is this same Wal-mart corp that is the biggest supporters of the Pro-Choice for Voucher group. They are the ones putting the power of Lobbying for the Voucher.

I made a statement on another opinion that not all the Anti-Voucher were for the things that the NEA, NAACP, etc...

Most of the ones that I know personally who don't support the Voucher system are not part of these groups. To accuse these people of this, is like saying that all democrats in Utah supports the National Democratic platform. They may be part of the group, but that does not mean they support all of platform.

Vouchers hold the prospect of breaking the public education monopoly. While it's true we may see more so-called "Christian academies" (not good),I believe when this monopoly is broken we will see entreprenuership and innovation coming out of the woodwork, as happened with the breakup of MA BELL.

One of the few things the legislature as done well is to provide school choice within the public system -- and thousands of parents have chosen that route.
If you choose to opt for private schools, do it. Just don'texpect me to pay for it.

And it's not schools that are failing, but some parents definitely are. If we aren't attracting good teachers to the profession it might have something to do with the investment or legislature chooses to make in funding education. They'd rather give the big surplus back to the more wealthy taxpayers every chance they get.

If there is money in the state coffers to fund vouchers why is there no money to properly fund public education

I would love to address each issue brought up against vouchers in that I believe that the anti-voucher crowd is either mis-informed or disingenuous in their arguments.

So many times I see assertions being made that are simply not the case.
Words like:

"Now they want to blame the schools for their own failure "...

No one is blaming the public schools for failure...Vouchers are a funding solution.
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"Who's to say that these "teachers" could "teach" agendas not in harmony with societal norms & practices?"

This is a sky is falling statement meant to frighten. Core compentencies will be required and tested for under the voucher law. No school or system is agenda free and we can be sure that there will be private schools with agendas...so what?

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"One of the few things the legislature as done well is to provide school choice within the public system"

Tell that to the parents of the kids at Wasatch Academy whose children were rejected by the public school system. The public system is a great thing for those whose needs do not fall out of scope with what the system can handle.

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There are so many other arguments in the public debate that are easily answered. Is the voucher solution the very best we can do? Who knows but it is a solution that can help.

Besides...vousher were not an indictment of the public system but rather a solution to aleviate the funding pressures, which according to all forecasters, it will do well.


Vote yes for vouchers!

Kevin,

Educate yourself!...Read the voucher law and your question will be answered!

Please, voucher fans... show me a private school of the same size, same demographics, same qualifications of the teachers, as any public school. Or, show me a "failing" school, then let's take all the kids from that school and put them in a private school with the same student-teacher ratio and see if they do any better.

There is no apple-to-apple comparison provided by any of the voucher fanatics that demonstrates their claims.

As for the funding, why should the state use tax dollars to create a separate, elitist, private education system, when Utah public schools are the worst funded in the country? The fact is, Utah public schools are working miracles, but they can't do everything on a dime budget.

Let's step up to the plate and deliver the funding the schools need. Taking money that could be used to support public schools, and handing it over to private unregulated organizations, makes no sense.

Yeah, you have a right to have your kids go to another school -- and you should pay for it if you do. You shouldn't make me and other taxpayers pay for it, especially if it is a religious school. That flat out violates the U.S. and Utah constitutions. I look forward to the out-of-state and wealthy pro-voucher forces (including WalMart and Overstock.com money) getting their noses rubbed in the dirt by voters. Vouchers are nothing more than a dishonest attempt to steal tax money from public schools.

There is an old saying: "those who can not do, can teach"
My solution to the education problem would be, to Hire only masters and doctorate level teachers for the classroom, and licenced professionals for the industrial arts.
professionals of this caliber, are used to putting in extra time to do the job right.
If we are truly going to put money into education why go half way.
lets hire only the best and the brightest.
Pay these professors, a fair market wage for their professions.
pay the science teachers what a comporable scientist would make.
Pay the math teachers what an engeeneer would make.
I doubt professionals of this caliber would have any need for a union (NEA)
Without union protection,teachers that did not perform, could simply be let go.
Hire professonal, full time police officers,to maintain discipline and safety.
The multi-level administraton would not be necessary, clearing up needed funds for the hiring of the teachers.
Teachers of this caliber, should be able to handle larger class sizes.
With this type of funding, we could demand accountability.

Why don't I ever hear about just taking the government out of public education all together? Oh, I know, because with the government, you get almost free education, except for the teachers who have to supplement education if they hope to meet the needs of their students. There is a simple answer to all this whining. Take the government out, and shop around for your own teacher, or home school on your own. That way teachers will be able to set their pay AT COMPETATIVE RATES instead of being short changed all the time. They will even be able to establish their own hours they work, instead of having to work the scheduled 7-8 hours that they are paid for,PLUS the extra 4-6 hour that they are NOT!!!

Secondly, the parents will be able to have all the choice they want, BUT they will have to pay for it all!!!!