[ThisWillDestroyYou]

Originally Posted by Khaleesi.

Sorry but I disagree that all schools should be privatised. Sure, maybe government officials don't always know what's best for people but you can't say that parents always know what's best either. There are some private schools or free schools I think they're called that are run by parents and they're actually allowed to teach creationism in SCIENCE classes. Since the government doesn't have any input in these free schools they can't stop them from doing that like they can with state schools.

You're misunderstanding what I said. I did not say that parents have the best for their kids, I said they have a better idea. Not that they have the best. There is a difference. The more local you create schools, the better the education. Why? Because if you create federal requirements, you create squares. There is no diversity. That is essentially why our DoE is in the state that it is in. As far as creationism goes, that SHOULD be left to people to decide. I'd rather people make some stupid decisions, and be free, than have the government choose what we can and cannot do. I'd rather have diversity than squares.

You're also committing a fallacy. You're implying that creationism is indoctrinating a child to a false belief. While I agree with this, you're assuming the DoE does not use education to indoctrinate children within public schools. The DoE uses education to indoctrinate children. This has been known for a long time.

Originally Posted by .:BreakingBeautifully:.

I don't agree with this. If all schools were privatized there would be a bigger likelihood that a big portion of students wouldn't be able to afford the cost of going to the private schools and would end up uneducated. Public education is a good thing in my eyes. And, as Cara said, not all parents know what is right for their child. They may think that they do but in the end that isn't always the case.

This is wrong. You're assuming privatized schools would stay at the same pricing in a free market. You're also assuming that there is no other way to operate without the government involvement This is wrong.

If the free market created only privatized schools, the cost in education would actually drop. Lets say it currently costs 400$ for a kid to go to a K-12 private school with 400 students. So, let's say Then, public schools close, and all that is left is private schools. Enrollment at the school triples. Would the cost of education DROP or go UP? It'd drop. Why? Because more enrollments means they don't need as much money to keep operating. Of course, they'd have to hire more staff, etc. but the cost of staff per student wouldn't keep the cost at 400$. I can do the math, but it wouldn't cost that much. What else would we see? We'd see competitive schools try to lower costs even further.

We wouldn't have federal standards which means that we would not be trained for a test. What would we be trained for? We'd be trained for whatever our local economy requires. We'd be taught to be entrepreneurs in order to maintain a stable local economy. So, what if a school teaches creationism? Schools are already doing that. Don't like it? Well, guess what? The government isn't FORCING you to go to a school within a certain district. It's privatized. So you can find yourself a school that doesn't teach creationism.

Originally Posted by Meteora

Plot twist: I attend a public school which has produced numerous entrepreneurs. A compulsory student enterprise project takes place in one grade, the same project is offered by the vast majority of public schools in the country and sponsored by the local enterprise board of each city or county. Business and entrepreneurship subjects are compulsory up until the grade I'm currently in, where they're still offered and uptake levels are amongst the highest.

This isn't a plot twist. I was simply dispelling the statement that privatized schools only produce idiots. I'm well aware there are people in the public sector who are very intelligent. My uncle being one of them.

Originally Posted by Meteora

In short...does education need an overhaul? Hell, yes, it does. Is privatisation the answer? I don't think so. I feel the education I have received in my public school is as good as it would have been if Dad earned three times the wage he does and I ended up going to a private school. I've learned to think for myself, which seems to be the key skill you're trying not to blatantly refer to. Part of my school's ethos, a public school, is to develop the student's capability to do so. Public education is great, when it's well-executed. After all, I'm sure not every anti-establishment knobhead was privately educated, I happen to sit next to one in my Maths class at Ballygobackwards Community Comprehensive.

I only have two things to respond to this. If all schools were privatized, your dad would not need to earn three times as much. In fact, your dad could potentially earn 26% more income without federal government taking taxes from him. He point isn't even so much as being entirely privatized, I solely think they should be run at more local levels.

As far as being able to think for yourself, I think part of being able to think for yourself is being able to make free educational choices. Education, on all sides of the political spectrum, has been shown to create people who are relatively incapable of free thinking. I do not say, "Well then, only private schools are capable of producing free thinking students." I think that would be misunderstanding what I'm after. Private schools are not free in their curriculum. They still have to adhere to DoE educational standards, which is what's wrong. The DoE doesn't know whats best. The government never does, and it's a fallacy to think so.

Look at college. What's the average college debt in the US? Do you know why it's so much? It's because of the government. Why? Because these colleges can make a lot of money off the government. The government is granting loans and aid to students without any reason at all. HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars. Well, let's be oh-so-silly for a second and assume the government NEVER granted any money, or loaned ANY money to students. What would happen? Prices would drop. Why? Because without those massive loans no one could even afford to attend school. Well, colleges want to stay open, right? So what would they do? Drop prices. Look at the correlation of federal aid and college prices. You'll see what I mean. All I'm saying is the federal government doesn't need to be involved. It should be ran at state and local levels.

And one last thing, a free market educational system would create a competitive market in education. In other words, the quality of education would improve (not to mention teachers would be paid the wages they deserve).