i'm a parent and i send my kids to a montesori school. though i'm not a fan
of htat method, i do like hte school because it, for instance, creates an
opportunity for my son, who is good in maths, go ahead in his studies. my
local public school, considered to be one of hte best in hte nation, told
that no adjustments are possible before the 5th grade. unfortunately for my
son, who is in hte 1st grade, he has practically covered all the curriculum
till grade 5. short but typical story, i believe.
i pay 1/3 of our income for tuition. and i also pay taxes that are supposed
to cover my children's education. i believe that those parent who want to
send their kids to private schools have a right to do this, regardless of
the so called quality of eduation. i have an idea how to choose cshools but
i also know htat other parents value differnt things.
Bottom line, i am for vouchers
>
>
>
>
>[From People For the American Way Foundation, Washington, D.C.,
>Special Issue, April 21, 1999]
>****************************************************************
>
>New Report Details Links Between Charity and Vested Interests in
>Campaign Against Public Schools
>
>People For the American Way Foundation today released a report that
>gives the most detailed look to date into the organizations, leaders
>and strategies behind the nationwide push for school privatization,
>a campaign at odds with efforts to strengthen education for all our
>nation's children.
>
>The report, "Privatization of Public Education: A Joint Venture of
>Charity and Power," exposes the interlocking goals, leadership and
>strategies of allied organizations such as the Children's Scholarship
>Fund (CSF), CEO America and a network of statewide and local groups,
>including shared CEO/CSF affiliates, to turn public education money
>over to private schools and entrepreneurs. These organizations'
>efforts to remove children from the public schools dovetail with a
>goal long espoused by Religious Right leaders such as Pat Robertson,
>Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell - to eliminate public schools entirely.
>
>This report, on the eve of CSF's highly publicized "lottery" to pick
>the "winners" of 40,000 $600 to $1,600 scholarships, shows how this
>alliance uses charity to promote privatization through publicly funded
>vouchers that strip needed resources and support from the public
>schools and funnel vast amounts of money to private institutions,
>including pervasively sectarian ones.
>
>A white paper also issued today, "Grand Illusions: A Look at Who Backs
>School Vouchers, Who Profits - and Vouchers' Dismal Performance to
>Date," documents the poor performance and damaging impact of the
>nation's two current private school voucher experiments in Milwaukee
>and Cleveland. It provides a review of current research showing that
>educational quality has made no appreciable gains and, in some cases,
>has actually declined for students participating in these voucher
>programs.
>
>The reports noted below are available at:
>
> http://www.pfaw.org/issues/education/CSF-report.shtml
>
> *Privatization of Public Education: A Joint Venture of Charity and
> Power
>
> *Grand Illusions: A Look at Who Backs School Vouchers, Who Profits -
> and Vouchers' Dismal Performance to Date
>
> *The Children's Scholarship Fund's Target Markets
>
> *The Best Way to Help Children: Corporate and Private Philanthropy
> to Support Public Schools
>
>******************************************************
>
>*
>Jerry P. Becker
>Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction
>Southern Illinois University
>Carbondale, IL 62901-4610 USA
>Fax: (618)453-4244
>Phone: (618)453-4241 (office)
>E-mail: jbecker who-is-at siu.edu
>
>
>
>
Matvey Sokolovsky