Teachers, Parents Kick Off Anti-Voucher Campaign
None by KCPW
(KCPW News) Public school teachers and parents kicked off their campaign against vouchers this week in anticipation of November's statewide referendum. KCPW's Julie Rose reports:
Aboard a yellow school bus, voucher opponents promised to rally teachers and parents against a system they say will hurt Utah's already under-funded public schools.
They say the voucher program passed by lawmakers is "flawed" because it doesn't require enough accountability of private schools that will collect the voucher money.
The system offers tax-paid vouchers between five hundred and three thousand dollars, depending on a family's income. Public schools that lose students to the voucher system will still collect a portion of that student's state-allocated funding for five years.
Advocates of vouchers say the program will encourage public schools to be more efficient, while giving students who struggle in the current system a chance to excel in private school.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom, Legislative Coverage, and Election Coverage. Copyright 2008 KCPW
1. Maureen Simes said:
My daughter, public school student, participated in a state wide math competition. The top three teams all came from public schools. Private education is not better education and in many cases is of a lower quality. I taught in both systems and have had children in both systems. If parents choose private over public, in many cases it's more a "social-standing" or religious decision than an educational one. My two cents...
3. MO said:
Gaithersburg HS, where I went to school in the eighties outside of DC, forced me to wake-up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the 45 minute commute bus to school. I spent 3 years in a state of intense sleep deprivation, graduating with a 2.1 GPA. Furthermore, I walked the halls in fear of gang bangers and drug dealers. In retrospect, I should have gotten my GED and gone to junior college. I had no other choice because the teachers pound into your mind that without the precious HS diploma, you will push a mop forever (bunk, coming from a man that has a Master's from a prominent school). Compound it with an antiquated teaching curriculum developed in the 19th century--one that requires 45 minutes of a little taste of everything, and the whole endeavor was fruitless. Vouchers allow educators to develop programs based on contemporary learning theories--such as heavy math, English and PE-- and not the results of tests alone, or what a constrained and rigid bureaucracy demands. Teachers fear vouchers because it shakes up the bureaucratic public school system where they continue to preach the rules more than education. Vouchers allow for a better teaching environment that can respond to evolving education theories and cultural changes. The truth is, teachers fear vouchers because it challenges their job security. It has nothing to do with the education of your child.
2. A. Pattison said:
Brockbank JHS, a public school on the west side of the valley, won the National Scholastic games in 2006, and has always been among the top contenders each year. My daughter, a graduate of west side public schools, graduated from Northwestern Law in 2003. I do believe that NW Law has a rather good reputation.