School vouchers would improve failing education system

October 9, 2014 — by Atirath Kosireddy

It sucks things in, and gives nothing out. The victim is forced go into it, and their chances of escaping are slim. This is not a black hole, but rather the failing public education system. 

It sucks things in, and gives nothing out. The victim is forced go into it, and their chances of escaping are slim.

This is not a black hole, but rather the failing public education system. According to the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, the federal government has increased its spending on education by nearly three times per student since 1970 (even when adjusted for inflation), yet test scores have dropped or remained the same.

Impoverished students are often unable to get a quality education since underperforming public schools are the only choice they have. The current system favors the rich, since wealthy families can afford to pay taxes for public education and still have money left over to send their kids to private schools or can live in areas like Los Gatos and Saratoga where public schools are good.

One  solution to this problem is a voucher system.  Vouchers allow parents to use the money that is normally allocated to public schools and use it to pay for private schools, allowing less fortunate students to have a chance at success and forcing public schools to improve.

Some may say that increased funding has kept test scores from plummeting. However, if the government has to continuously pump money into the current system just to keep it afloat, it is clearly inefficient and a waste of money.

The free market rewards innovation and punishes inefficiency. The exact opposite is true in the current system. Substandard schools are given more money so they can be “fixed” while high-performing private schools receive money only from tuition, fees and donations.

Defenders of the current public school system argue that vouchers would take money away from public schools and make them worse.

The truth is that teacher unions often keep bad teachers in front of bright students and keep young teachers with new ideas from entering the education market.

So-called advocates of the First Amendment complain that vouchers violate the separation of church and state since most private schools are religious. This is irrelevant since the parents are free to send their child to a secular school; it is their choice.

Schools stay profitable based on the demands of parents and students. If there is a demand for non-religious curriculum, non-religious schools will open up to to meet their needs.

One of the fundamental problems right now is schools are run like factories. Private schools are known to provide a more individualized education for each student. After all, students all have different strengths, weaknesses and ways of learning. Public schooling assumes all students learn the same and thus gives them a one-size-fits-all education.

Every child has potential that could be unlocked. We must stop trying to use one key to unlock everyone — and vouchers are a good place to start.

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