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Friday, November 02, 2007BYU professor urges: Educate, don't brainwash
Phil Windley on Utah Politics:
Clayne Pope, a BYU Economic Professor, has the best op-ed on vouchers I’ve seen. " . . . Referendum 1 is the most important vote of recent memory. Our decision should be based on rational, fair arguments. If you doubt the ability of parents to act in the best interest of their children, you may want to vote against vouchers. If you believe the increase in private schools will further fragment Utah society, you may consider a negative vote. But if you do vote against Referendum 1, you should be aware that you are voting for the status quo in Utah education as well as a somewhat higher future tax burden. But please ignore the bogus arguments that educational resources will decline with vouchers or that increased competition will harm Utah education. Even in a political campaign, educators have a moral duty to educate rather than brainwash." It's worth a read.
posted by The Senate Site at 6:52 PM | Link
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8 Comments:
"If you doubt the ability of parents to act in the best interest of their children, you may want to vote against vouchers."
That's sure one of those great strawman argument nobody could be against -- could they. I can't say anything without saying any negative argument proves I don't think parents care about their children. I might just as well go back to beating my wife and stealing Oreo cookies.
Then we follow up with "But please ignore the bogus arguments that educational resources will decline with vouchers or that increased competition will harm Utah education." Ignore the man behind the curtain. We don't have to actually tell you why this is true, you can take in on faith. After all, didn't we already tell you ignoring everything behind the curtain will help parents act in the best interests of their kids. What that act might be is left unsaid, but you can take it on faith.
If this is the best pro voucher argument out there, it's no wonder this will go down to a well needed defeat.
BTW: Did you just plagiarize this from Phil Windley's blog, or is it an original thought?
"Bogus arguments"? The independent researchers may find that offensive though WalMart-funded Jay P. Greene might agree with the BYU professor (Where DO they find these guys?)
I give our voters a little more credit than the good professor from BYU. Just because we are anti-voucher does not mean we are unable to think for ourselves.
Like Dr. Pope, I believe that parents are best able to "act in the best interest of their children."
However, unlike Dr. Pope, I think that parents should also pay tuition if their actions, in the best interest of their children, include sending them to private school.
So that's one reason why I'll vote against referendum 1.
"If you doubt the ability of parents to act in the best interest of their children, you may want to vote against vouchers."
As a father of three children I am voting against Referendum 1 because I do know what is in the best interest for my children. The majority of parents in Utah understand this also.
I'm not a union member, I'm not an educator and I certainly have not been brainwashed like those who support vouchers.
What I do understand is that Referendum 1, vouchers, are wrong for Utah.
I hope vouchars pass so my boy friend and I can send my kid off to boarding school or one of them wilderniss programs and then we can smoke meth and weed without hearing his dum D.A.R.E. slogans.
Folks, either you believe in supporting EVERY parent's freedom to direct their child's education, or you think that YOU should be that judge over other families.
Frankly, some of you people are frightening, and in a system where you had a more powerful role in government, you'd be dangerous.
On another note, let's see how much vouchers would actually help low income families.... www.affordableprivateschools.com
There are valid points for and against vouchers, but when someone makes the claim, "educate, don't brainwash", I think they've lost all credibility. When you claim that people like me are "educated", and those who disagree are "brainwashed", I'd have to conclude that this BYU professor isn't as educated as his credentials would indicate.
Wall Street Journal
Union Libel
November 5, 2007
REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Utah's children may not excel in math or English, but their teachers are very good at instructing them in how to run a political campaign. As 2007 achievement test data show another disappointing year for the state's children, the teachers union is running a multi-million-dollar campaign to insulate itself from competition.
On Tuesday, Utahns will vote on whether to proceed with a statewide voucher program enacted in February. The plan passed both houses of Utah's legislature after a rough-and-tumble debate, and was signed by Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. But the teachers union immediately launched a ballot initiative to overturn the law and succeeded in blocking it from taking effect prior to Tuesday's vote.
A new report from the Utah Foundation shows the state's public education could certainly use a shake-up. The states most similar demographically to Utah, by measures such as student poverty and parental education, are Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Utah finishes last in this group, based on eighth-grade scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Utah youngsters trail the pack across the range of core subjects -- last in math, last in reading, last in science.
Still, the unions are banking that fear of the unknown will trump demonstrated incompetence. The opponents have raised a bundle to disseminate their predictions of doom, including more than $3 million from status quo headquarters, the National Education Association. They're stoking that fear with antivoucher TV ads that aren't winning high marks for honesty. Salt Lake's KSL-TV, an NBC affiliate that has editorialized against vouchers, nonetheless felt compelled to label as "false" the central claims in two recent attack ads against vouchers.
One ad featured the "Utah teacher of the year" claiming that vouchers "take resources away from public schools." In fact, the law provides only up to $3,000 per child toward private school tuition, depending on family income, and the voucher money comes from the state's general fund, not the education budget. The average voucher will cost $2,000, but the state now spends $7,500 per student. The public schools get to pocket the difference, $5,500, without an obligation to provide any services. So the more parents choose vouchers, the higher per-student spending will rise in the public schools.
Another attack ad claimed that private schools would have "no accountability," when in fact they are required under the law to report to parents how their children in voucher-supported schools do each year on nationwide achievement tests. Market-based competition will force exactly the kind of accountability that the unions fear in public schools.
Judging from recent polls, the scare campaign is winning. Still, supporters of school choice say that the voucher law could still survive, thanks to expected low turnout among the general population and higher-than-normal turnout among Utah Latinos, who make up roughly 12% of the population. Nonprofit Hispanics for School Choice reports an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort of personal visits and phone calls, and increased attention on Spanish-language radio, and at community events and church services.
Allowing the landmark voucher law to go forward would be a victory for students of all races, with more choices for parents and more opportunities for students. Halloween is over; Utahns should ignore the horror stories from unions trying to protect themselves, no matter the consequences for kids.
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119422589982182044.html
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