An Orlando Sentinel article offers quite a bit of food for thought when it comes to state-financed tuition vouchers. This money is used to give parents the choice of sending their kids to public school or a private school. This leads to a very good question: is education quality the same? These private schools have their own sets of standards apart from the state’s. For instance:
At Treasure of Knowledge Christian Academy in the Meadow Woods area of South Orange, 70 of about 100 students in its k-8 program run by the El Shaddai Christian Church are on the scholarship.
The school uses the conservative Accelerated Christian Education curriculum, which “searches proofs of creation and the flood” in eighth grade science, analyzes Christian leaders and missionaries in sixth grade social studies and has Bible study at every grade level.
State Education Commissioner Eric Smith is adamant about stricter standards for public schools, among them the tougher science curriculum approved by the state Board of Education two years ago requiring evolution to be taught. At the same time, Smith and lawmakers support the voucher program for private schools, although their curriculum often varies widely from state standards.
Hmmmmm … something doesn’t seem quite right here to me. What do you think?
Good question Brandon. The momentum in Florida to expand the state’s voucher programs is a significant sign that such programs, which have been anathema to many Democrats, are becoming more popular.
Smith’s position is a classic dichotomy,he “seems” to be adamant about the stricter standards yet supporting voucher programs to private religious schools that he obviously knows will water down real science.
What happens when those students graduate and want to attend college only to realize they have a sub standard education?
Vouchers will be the death of public schools, and unless a new class of private schools springs up from nowhere (one cheap enough for you to attend with only a voucher), it will simply be declaring that our poor and underclass do not deserve to be able to raise themselves up.
Vouchers help the poor and underclass by getting them out of poorly performing schools. In additoin maybe you should compare the performance of these students on standardized tests before you assume they are are getting a sub-standard education. If they, after a certain amount of time, are performing below average then the school shold be held accountable. But until you have proof that the the educatoin provided is sub-standard stop complaining.
Riverman, We read that the students are getting a “Conservative Accelerated Christian Education curriculum, which “searches proofs of creation and the flood†in eighth grade science, analyzes Christian leaders and missionaries in sixth grade social studies and has Bible study at every grade level”, So, you think teaching that psudo scientific crap equates to a good standard of education? think again, this time in the real world.