RE: Paying for Schools (was: SOCIETY: Re: The privatization of public security)

From: Zero Powers (zero_powers@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Aug 25 2001 - 02:57:34 MDT


>From: "Jerry Mitchell" <jmitch12@tampabay.rr.com>

> > >From: "Mitchell, Jerry (3337)" <Jerry.Mitchell@esavio.com>
> >
> > >You neglect the impact of economies of scale. Right now,
> > there isnt much
> > >of
> > >an impact, but if all schools were private, the situation
> > would be quite
> > >pronounced. Besides, theres no studies that show a difference in the
> > >quality
> > >of education declining if classroom sizes increase from say
> > 30 to 50. It
> > >sounds like there should be, but it reality, if you have 30
> > students, you
> > >dont have a lot of time with individual students anyways.
> > Double the size
> > >of
> > >the class and you can drop prices dramatically.
> >
> > Let me be sure I have this straight... You are suggesting
> > getting rid of
> > (free) public school where the student:teacher ratio is ~
> > 30:1 and having
> > every family pay $2K - $5K per year (per kid) for a school where the
> > student:teacher ratio is 50:1? Is that *really* what you are
> > suggesting, or
> > am I missing something?
> >
> > -Zero
>
>I'm suggesting getting rid of public schools for private and letting the
>private school decide how to do its job. If you dont like a low cost, high
>volume school, dont go to it. You'll have a choice to go where ever you
>want
>and can afford. Its the same point as to why it cost more now to hire a
>private full time tutor then go to private school. If you want to be cheap,
>send your kid to the K-mart version (as if those types of schools didn't
>already exist). I would expect the norm classroom size to stay about where
>it is and the cost of doing it to drop a good chunk with private industry
>doing it. Your choice here is McDonalds Hamburgers, eating at nice dinner
>at
>Chilis retaurant, or Filet Mingon from an expensive restaurant. All options
>would be available!

Of course the only real options would be available to the wealthy. The rest
of us would be relegated to sending our kids to the $.99 Store school. I
know that to some it seems only right that only the rich are entitled first
rate educations for their kids. To me, that just doesn't sit right.

The simple fact is that a welfare mother is not likely to be able to afford
to pay *anything* to educate her children. If public education is abandoned
the only alternative for the truly poor would be the school of hard knocks.
Again, that's the equivolent of saying "let them eat cake." Woe to all of
us if/when that day ever comes.

-Zero

"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking
that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man.
Has to be." -- George Taylor _Planet of the Apes_ (1968)

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