Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is it or is it not a form of Socialism? If you don't think it is please state your reasons. If you think it is Socialism, please explain why this particular piece is acceptable.
Of course it is. However, with the latest statistics on the failure rates of our schools, it is not something to be proud of. Other Socialist entities in our country include Amtrak and USPS, although that spills over into a different category.
And the record, it isn't just the wealthy who attend private schools, over the past 10 years or so many middle class families have also made the switch to private.
Oddly enough, European countries that many consider to be more socialist than the U.S., use taxpayer funds for both public and private schools. Their students outperform American students on international comparisons.
"Private schools in Germany are permitted to select both their pupils and teachers and are not rigidly tied to state regulations in regard to the choice of teaching material or the number of weekly lessons. In return for public funding, however, they must hold state examinations and issue reports and certificates, just as would a state-run school. As long as their students perform adequately on the state exams, the private schools are generally left alone." EDUCATION INDICATOR: An International Perspective / Indicator 45 NCES
Also includes information on other European countries that provide public funds to private schools.
I believe socialism is where the population pays taxes for whatever reason and the funds are shared in whatever outlet the government chooses to.
It is more complex I am sure but in a nutshell that's what it does IMO......
Thanks for defining what you think it is. Paying taxes for things you personally dont use is not socialism.
Is public education a form of Acceptable Socialism? Property owners pay school taxes to support school systems, whether they have children in school or not. The wealthy send their children to private schools, but still have to pay school taxes. For someone who doesn't have children but still owns property still has to pay school taxes, it hardly seems fair, yet it seems to be acceptable. Why is this? People complain about how we are becoming more and more Socialist, yet we already have a form of socialism, Public Education!
Is it or is it not a form of Socialism? If you don't think it is please state your reasons. If you think it is Socialism, please explain why this particular piece is acceptable.
Can we say that our public school system is really working. Seems socialism isnt working and I think everyone should have an education I just like the idea that we should expect more then what our currect govenrment funded programs are doing. After all they get plently of money. Private institutions do a better job with less money how is that possible. Also we dont need the federal department of education and most of all we dont need them funding "dragon tails" cartoons.
Public education in any country is a necessary part of a healthy society that adapts to modern culture. At the moment, it is at best, going downhill in terms of quality in the United States, partially because of government spending on essentially everything but public education, and also because the mainstream media essentially encourages children into drugs, alcohol, and sex, and away from education. There are plenty of children with parents unfit to home school them, and unable to afford private school, so to assume that because it, at its core, is a socialist idea, and that citizens shouldn't be responsible for paying for the education of children, represents the true downfall of American Society. It means that our country's literacy rate, unemployment rate, and rate of general productivity will over time continue decrease to the point of losing its position as a superpower. That may seem exaggerated, but don't forget that all of the scientists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc, of today will eventually die off and be replaced with fewer and fewer young people, as an emphasis on and funding of public education continues to decrease.
Intentional social engineering to 'equalize' educational outcomes in order to equalize incomes with the end goal of redistributing our country's wealth. This has happened under the ideology of social justice education and educators' desire to reform society into one in which nearly everyone's educational levels and therefore income levels are equal so that privileged or disadvantaged members of society no longer exist.
In order for the vast majority to reach the same educational level, that level would have to be quite a bit below average so that much more than 50% of the population could realistically reach that educational level. Where does the idea of equalizing educational outcomes come from?
Actually, public schools still have a very heavy favoritism towards "excellence", by "tracking" or "streaming" students into different groups, by creating below average, average, and advanced classes for students to participate in, and therefore encouraging excellence in certain students. In the public high school I attended, there was a large amount of competition between students for grades and in Advanced Placement classes. Many of the seniors I graduated with had 4.0 + GPAs, and attended Harvard, Yale, etc. However, funding was from a fairly well-off suburban area. Obviously this might not be the case in a highly urban area school system with low property values and thereby lower funding towards education.
There is a common assumption among a certain group to make a blanket condemnation of public schools as failures. My son, 11, in sixth grade, is in a fantastic public school. My wife and I think they are doing a great job. We live in Vermont.
Furthermore, everyone I know, and I mean I can't think of a single person who isn't, is a graduate of a public school. The vast majority of these people went on to college and are now solid, middle class productive members of our society. Good little worker bees if you prefer.
Obviously not every school is great, but by and large, our public school system does the job it is supposed to do.
Is public education a form of Acceptable Socialism? Property owners pay school taxes to support school systems, whether they have children in school or not. The wealthy send their children to private schools, but still have to pay school taxes. For someone who doesn't have children but still owns property still has to pay school taxes, it hardly seems fair, yet it seems to be acceptable. Why is this? People complain about how we are becoming more and more Socialist, yet we already have a form of socialism, Public Education!
Is it or is it not a form of Socialism? If you don't think it is please state your reasons. If you think it is Socialism, please explain why this particular piece is acceptable.
Paying taxes is your personal decision. You have to understand that. If the tax burden in your current location is excessive, only YOU can take action to improve your situation.
Move to an isolated rural area with unpaved roads, low population density, and few services. You'll feel much better about the low taxes in that setting.
I don't think public education is socialism, but it's certainly spreading the cost around by charging everyone a small amount. People do pay for the sytem who don't use it, however, everyone benefits from an educated public. We couldn't have a democracy without it.
Not every state pays for its public ed entirely through property taxes, in fact, none do. Every state government kicks in some money, and in some states (e.g. Colorado) an attempt is being made to equalize expenditures to a certain extent, so that there aren't "rich" and "poor" districts. So moving to a lower property tax area may not decrease your tax share to education. It'll just change the source from prop. tax to sales tax, and state income tax.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
