РефератыИностранный языкDeDebates Over School Vouchers Essay Research Paper

Debates Over School Vouchers Essay Research Paper

Debates Over School Vouchers Essay, Research Paper


The debate over whether or not the United States government should


grant tuition vouchers to the parents of children who attend private schools has


gone on for many years, and has included many powerful arguments on both


sides of the issue. Those who support the private school vouchers believe that


they are beneficial to everyone because they promote productivity in both public


and private schools alike, and they also give low-income families the chance to


give their children a quality private school education. Those in opposition to the


vouchers say that they will drain money out of the public schools, and that they


only truly help a small population, mainly the wealthy and advantaged.


Opposers also believe that the vouchers interfere with the Separation of Church


and State, since many private schools have a religious affiliation. This issue has


truly been a controversial one, with many people fighting arduously. After


reading through the various arguments for each side, one can not help but come


to their own conclusion about private school vouchers.


There have been many school voucher programs proposed in the past,


but they all seem to share one common theme. This similarity between them is


that they all promote giving households that send their children to private schools


a tax dollar-funded voucher that would cover all or most of the cost of the


school?s tuition. Many of the proposals also include the right for parents to chose


which private school their child will attend. The vouchers allows students to use


the money that would be subsidized for them in a public school to go toward a


private school education. This system redirects the flow of educational funding,


bringing it to the individual family instead of the school district.


The idea of school vouchers first became popular after Milton Friedman,


an economist, released two publications, in 1956 and in 1962, that supported the


voucher plan. In his 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, when Friedman


discusses education, he turns to public education criticizes it for being


?unresponsive? because it has been free from competition (Lieberman, 120).


Vouchers would provide this much needed competition, since public schools


would now have to contend with the private schools that were receiving the same


payments they were. Friedman believes that,


?most dissatisfied parents have only two options. They can enroll their


children in private schools, in which case they have to bear the costs in


addition to paying taxes to support public schools. Or they can resort to


political action, an option Friedman regards as ineffective.? (ibid.)


After Friedman publicly showed his support for school vouchers, a debate began


in America, with fellow supporters and the opposers announcing their views on


the issue.


People on both sides of this issue have been very vocal over the years,


explaining why they think school vouchers should or should not be implemented


in American schools. In arguing about the same point in the debate, like the


decline in the quality of public schools or the separation of church and state,


each group has found a way to make it fit into their beliefs. Therefore, nothing is


ever accomplished because the groups blame each other for any problems


involved with the vouchers that may arise. Besides the two points listed above,


minority education and low-income student education have also been used as


powerful arguments both for and against private school vouchers.


The Decline in the Quality of Public School Education


-Voucher Supporters


Supporters of school vouchers feel that establishing this program in


private schools will be of great help to the dilapidated public schools. Like


Friedman said, public schools have not had any competition, and so, they have


let their performance slowly diminish. Vouchers would create a contest between


private and public schools, because of the high transfer rates, and the


corresponding loss of funds in the public schools. This would create an incentive


for both to increase their productivity. Standardized test scores, which have also


seen a large decline, will then be higher when the students? learning


environment, what and where they are learning, and who they are learning from,


is improved. Private schools have been typically known to give more attention to


the student, and thus improve his or her learning ability. Public schools can


learn from this and begin, in order to compete with their rival, to focus on the


most important people in this situation–the students.


Defenders of school vouchers strongly disagree when the programs are


accused of draining money out of the public school system. Their argument is


that a considerably smaller amount is spent on private students then on public.


In fact, in an article written in 1998, the author states that, ?On average, public


schools now spend close to $7,000 per student, per year, twice the average at


private schools.? (Coulson, Myth-Conceptions About School Choice) This allows


supporters to claim that the public school districts are not properly funding the


schools with the sufficient amounts they are receiving. Vouchers would not


affect the public schools since they would not need funding for the students


leaving the public system. This meager loss of funding should not affect the


schools at all if they are spending the subsidy they do receive properly.


-Voucher Opposers


Those who are against school vouchers believe that they would reduce


public school funding if implemented. This is because students who are already


paying tuition to attend the private schools will receive the vouchers, thus taking


money away from the public schools. Even though there will not be a loss due to


students leaving the public school system because of vouchers, there is still a


loss because the public schools will now have to share funds with the private


schools. The public schools claim that they need this money more because it


goes to a broader range of services required to serve their more diverse mix of


students, especially those from low-income families. Since many of the students


that attend public schools, particularly inner city school students, come from low


income families, and are the needy people in the community, this loss of money


affects them the most. Thus, the vouchers will only cause more harm then good


according to those opposed to them.


In response to the supporters? argument that vouchers should be


implemented because of a decline in performance in public schools, and a high


level of performance in private schools, opponents argue that this is because


most students that attend private schools come from wealthy and advantaged


families. The parents of these families are usually very well educated


themselves, and put more of a focus on their child?s education. This, therefore,


helps to instill a desire to learn into the children and actually helps them achieve


better grades. Many of the students that attend the public schools come from


backgrounds where education was not looked at with extreme importance, and


they do not receive much support at home. This then, often makes them not


eager to learn, and makes achieving low test grades not a significant problem.


Separation of Church and State


- Voucher Supporters


The Separation of Church and State says that religion, and any


institutions related to it, can not interfere with government, nor can government


interfere with it. This is a popular argument that voucher supporters face, since


many private schools have religious affiliations. The response to it is that all


private schools don?t have religious affiliations. Most of them, in fact, are merely


small, privately owned, exclusive institutions that pride themselves on giving


more attention to each student individually. Though religious schools are


included and considered private institutions, this is no reason to say that


vouchers should not be used since the majority of private schools are not


religiously affiliated.


In defense of the religious schools, voucher supporters turned to the


Supreme Court. Though it has not come up with a final verdict on the issue yet,


the Court has been using a three-part test used to determine the constitutionality


of aid to religious organizations. These three criterion for are:


1) All government funding must have a secular purpose.


2) Its primary effect must not be the advancement of religion.


3) It must not entangle the state excessively in church affairs. (Browne…,


Vouchers: An Initiative for School Reform?)


Defenders of the vouchers say that this test makes vouchers in religious schools


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constitutional because 1) the vouchers are for all private schools and also affect


public schools, therefore they have a secular purpose; 2) The ?primary effect? of


the vouchers is to improve the quality of education and give everyone a chance


to attend a private school; 3) By approving vouchers, the state is not entangled


?excessively in Church affairs.? Therefore, voucher proponents argue that the


Separation of Church and State should not affect the establishment of the


programs.


-Voucher Opposers


Those against vouchers in the school system feel that the Separation of


Church and State is a leading reason why they should not be allowed. After all,


it does say in the first amendment of the Constitution of the U. S. that,


?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion?


(USConstitution.com). This establishment clause explains that the government


can not make any laws that affect a religious institution. Though this clause has


been reinterpreted in the past, voucher opposers feel that it should be abided by


strictly in this case. This is because if government issues the vouchers, they will


also have to overlook the handling of them, even if voucher advocators do not


want them there. That, to opposers, is a total violation of the first amendment.


The Constitution is the basis for all of the laws that Americans abide by, and this


one should be no different.


Opposers to private school vouchers often use the 1967 court case of


Poindexter vs. Louisiana. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled against a


voucher program in Louisiana which was designed to prevent public school


segregation. The Court explicitly declared that “The United States Constitution


does not permit the State to perform acts indirectly through private persons


which it is forbidden to do directly.” (about.com) That, of course, is exactly what


vouchers do. Just as the government cannot subsidize churches by funneling


money through private citizens, it cannot subsidize church schools by funneling


money through those same people.


Affect of Vouchers on Low- Income and Minority Students


-Voucher Supporters


Proponents of school vouchers feel that the use of them by low-income


and minority families will be of great help to the groups, who are more likely to


get stuck in an unsatisfactory public school. Because low-income families often


can not afford to attend private schools or move away to areas that provide


quality public education, they have no other option but to stay and receive a less


than mediocre education. Supporters of vouchers feel that if these students


were allowed to attend a private school with the help of vouchers, it would


?increase the range of educational choices open to low-income families and


reduce the education gap.? (Coulson, MythConceptions About School Choice)


Low-income families would be able to provide their children with a good


education, which give them a better chance to move on, and be successful in the


future.


Supporters of vouchers also believe that the implementation of the


program would promote integration among different races. With all children, no


matter what race or economic standing, being able to receive a quality private


education, there are better possibilities for the classrooms to be integrated. With


more minorities receiving better educations, the vouchers will also help to lessen


the racial gaps that exist. Overall, supporters argue that vouchers will be good


for everyone, because they will include everyone.


-Voucher Opposers


Opposers of private school vouchers argue that the program will only help


a select few, most of which will be those who do not need the help. As stated


earlier, children who are already attending private schools will receive the


vouchers to pay for their education. While some low-income and minority


students may benefit from them, many of them will not because of tough


acceptance practices. Since their educations have been less than average in


the past, many will not have the ability to get into the private schools. For those


that do get in, they face the challenge of being in classrooms with more


advanced students and also not being able to handle the pace of the class work.


Those against vouchers also argue that many low-income families and


minorities will not even take advantage of the vouchers. The programs ?will


assist only the ?motivated poor?, and leave the dysfunctional majority in schools


that have even fewer resources and funds.? (Knowles, Speakout.com) These


?motivated poor? are the low-income families who have the time and desire to


find importance in a good education. Even they sometimes can not afford to


take advantage of the vouchers, due to the fact that they may not cover the


whole tuition expense. Beside tuition, there are also uniforms, books, and


various other expenses that go along with a private school education. Opposers


of school vouchers strongly believe that establishing these programs will only


turn out to hurt low-income and minority students, and further widen the


economic and racial gaps that exist.


My Opinion


After carefully looking over and reading about the arguments that both the


opposers and the supporters of private school vouchers have so arduously set


forth, I have come to support the implementation of these programs. Before I


began researching this topic, I did not know much about it except for the


recollection of it being discussed in school, when I attended a Catholic private


elementary school. I have come this conclusion because I feel that the vouchers


will truly help both the private and the public schools, and all of the students that


attend both.


If voucher programs are established, particularly in inner-city areas, it will


give a boost to both the private and the public schools. Private schools will have


higher attendance rates, and be able to put the funding that comes along with it


toward the benefit of the children. Public schools will have a chance to give


themselves much needed improvements, so that they can retain the students in


the schools, and return to the great institutions that they once were. It will


hopefully be a large wake-up call to the public school system to reexamine just


where all of the money they are receiving is going. It is certainly not going into a


better education for the students–the ones that should be benefiting from it.


Children in both public and private schools will, in my opinion, benefit


immensely if vouchers are used. Public school students will have the chance to


leave these institutions and enter in to smaller, more education-oriented, private


schools. Every student will have the chance to receive a good education that will


give them more attention, which is something that many of them need. Students


who decide to stay in the public schools will hopefully experience a better


education because the schools will have to change in order to compete with the


private schools. Also, the normally large class sizes in the public schools will


now be smaller due to the students leaving. Private school students will benefit


because they will have the advantage of having classmates of various races and


backgrounds in their class. This is good because this is how the real world is.


When students are in classes all their lives with children that are just like them,


they never get to interact with others who are different, until it may be too late to


prevent prejudice and ignorance. I truly feel the school vouchers are a great way


to help both the schools and the children that attend them. Making a change like


this, in my opinion, will truly help brighten the future for everyone.


As the above information has shown, the debate over whether or not


government should give vouchers to parents to send their children to private


school has been one with many powerful arguments for each side. Supporters


of the vouchers believe that they are constitutional and that they will help both


public schools and private schools, as well as low-income and minority students.


Opposers, on the other hand, feel that the vouchers are unconstitutional


because they violate the Separation of Church and State clause, that they will


only drain money from the already needy public schools, and finally that they will


hurt the low-income and minority students attending the public schools. After


researching this issue, I too have come to my own conclusion–that school


vouchers should be offered to all students. Surely, though, this issue will


continue to be debated over for a long time to come, until some sort of


compromise can be made. Hopefully, by then it will not be too late to help those


that truly need it–the students.

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