RE: Wilson's Kid on Government Schools

["Dale Courtney" <dmcourtn@moscow.com>]

Nate Wilson wrote: 

>     Nobody seems to contest the fact that Logos provides a better (if
> Christian) education. But the problem is that the MSD spends 
> about twice as much per student as the elitist Logos. While a 
> Logos education runs at roughly four grand per (with deals on 
> multiple kids), the local government ed costs eight grand per 
> student. Can any one tell me why this is? People have been 
> upset at the assertion that the local SD provides an inferior 
> product, (at least when compared to local private
> ed) but they haven't denied it. So why does the inferior 
> government deal cost twice as much?

Our government educational system performs poorly at all levels. As one
indication, colleges must provide remedial instruction for a
disturbingly large fraction of entering students. In fact, I know a lot
of homeschoolers who are electing to send their highschoolers to college
remedial classes to finish high school. Meanwhile, government school
grads frequently start college with the remedial classes.

Despite numerous efforts to reform government-run schools, the National
Assessment of Educational Progress tests (the most comprehensive and
reliable measures of educational attainment) show no significant
improvement in performance in any age category or subject area from the
early 1980s to the present. 

Instead of addressing the issue head-on (monopolies produce grossly
inferior products due to the lack of competition), people would rather
throw more money at a monopoly. Funny, liberals decry psuedo-monopolies
all the time (e.g., Microsoft), yet embrace one that fails them
repeatedly.

Teachers' unions and school administrators have become skilled at
managing the political process. This includes the ways that the public
officials are named, laws that govern schools are enacted, and budgets
are established. The result is a government-run school system that does
not reflect the voices of parents but of career lobbyists and
educational bureaucrats. 

Although alternatives to government schools are available, many parents
cannot afford them. The "free" government schools, supported by tax
dollars and unaccountable to the public, are the only option for many.
This increases the educational divide between the wealthy and the poor.
This is particularly tragic for children in inner cities, who have the
lowest test scores. Moscow is somewhat immune to those conditions, of
course. 

If it were not for my retiring from the military, I couldn't afford
having my children in private school. 

Dale