August 8, 2004
THIS IS HOW LIBERALISM ENDS:
Values drive parents from state schools (Shane Green, Farrah Tomazin, August 9, 2004, The Age)
Better discipline and a hankering for tradition, smart uniforms and moral values are driving parents out of public education and into private schools, new research reveals.A national study conducted for The Age to investigate why parents choose the schools they do also shows that one-third of government school parents would desert public education if they could afford to send their children to private schools.
The study, conducted by leading research authority the Australian Council for Educational Research, tapped into the views of more than 600 parents with children in secondary schools.
The results come as the political debate over school funding heats up, and appear to support claims by Prime Minister John Howard that private school enrolments are increasing because parents are worried about a lack of values in government schools.
The report concludes that based on the research into why parents choose schools, "one factor stood out: the extent to which the school embraced traditional values". These values related to discipline, religious or moral values, school traditions and the compulsory wearing of uniforms.
The withering of the State and resurgence of Society depends mightily on our rescuing children from the clutches of public education, which quite intentionally teaches them no values or crappy ones. That's why the Left is fighting it tooth and nail despite the obvious desire of the public to have choices and the clear benefits to our poorest kids. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2004 8:37 PM
Mr. Judd;
Yes, this is an issue we're struggling with right now. We have friends who are pulling their children from public schools because of discipline problems in primary and middles schools. One set pulled their 10 year old daughter out because she was beat up by fellow students in her honors class and was out of school for three weeks. The class had three different teachers due to them being driven out by undisciplinable students. The school administration is too terrified of ongoing and future law suits to enforce any real discipline.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at August 9, 2004 2:37 PMAOG:
How about suing the school district AND the parents of the offending children? I have read of numerous situations in the Charlotte school district where kids have been terrorized and abused and the school does nothing, or worse, punishes the victim. Time for John Edwards to go to work.
Posted by: jim hamlen at August 9, 2004 4:27 PMWhen it comes to healthcare, most Americans first opt for a private health plan. If they can't achieve it, they reluctantly go to a county hospital. Why do we do the reverse with education? Most Americans first opt to put their kids in a public school. If the education there is undesireable, then they start looking at private schools. I think we would be much better off if we thought about education they way we think about healthcare.
Posted by: Vince at August 9, 2004 5:17 PM