November 2007 Archives

Feel free to be as verbose as you'd like. But I'm interested... I'd bet most of you listen to music.

Why do you listen to music? For what purpose? There can be more than one-- no right or wrong answer, just a survey.

For those in Utah, there's an issue up for voting on Tuesday, Nov. 6. About whether to get rid of referendum 1 or to support it. I hope you have studied the issue and that you're able to see through the myths and deception.

I have heard no compelling arguments to sway me to be against vouchers-- it appears to be the position of those who want to maintain power and control (government educational institutions, unions, administrators, etc). It makes me sick to hear that public schools have been threatening to fire teachers if class sizes drop as a result of students leaving to use vouchers at private schools. I've heard this from a few different people. Why should this be even necessary if the schools don't lose any funding? All the information I have says that schools won't even lose funding if students opt to use vouchers in the future. This is how I'm understanding it currently (wording taken from an e-mail a friend sent me-- if this is incorrect, I'd love to hear it):

The state has a formula that determines how much of the education fund goes to which school districts. The number of students is part of this formula. Presently students who go to private schools are subtracted from the total attending government schools. The misconception is that if a significant number of students opt for vouchers, it would lower the number of students in the district, thus lowering the percentage allocated to the district. However, as defined in the bills and the voter information booklet, students who opt for vouchers will still be counted in their regular government school for the allocation formula. Again, this shows that the amount of funding remains the same.

Even if this is incorrect, as I said, I'd love to hear it. I'd LIKE public schools to lose funding if they aren't performing well enough and students leave as a result. They should be accountable for the results they are producing, there is no reason why public schools should have a monopoly or be entitled to all educational funding.

But firing teachers for reduced class sizes when funding isn't dropping? I thought we wanted smaller class sizes, isn't this one of the problems we complain about with public education? It appears to me to be a tactic to scare teachers into supporting and promoting the campaign against the voucher program. Manipulative and coercive-- that alone is a red flag to me.

I will say that both sides have been a little manipulative in the way they're spinning the issue. Welcome to the world of politics. But when it comes down to it, the most principled choice I can find is to vote in favor of the program.

Here's what I find particularly offensive about those against the referendum (so many of which come from out of state and you can tell have less than their purported altruistic motives): the supposition that public schools are the only education worth funding, that somehow the GOVERNMENT and it's schools know best how to educate children and what they should be taught. This is a disgusting attitude that you'll find in many politicians, regardless of which "party" they represent-- they believe they are somehow enlightened and know better than the people they supposedly represent on how to deal with current issues.

I watched "The Truman Show" this afternoon and this voucher issue came to mind. Truman really had no choices in his life. He was being given what someone *else* decided was a good life, and what someone else decided was best for him. And the producer/director of the show Truman was unwittingly starring in tried to convince Truman-- after Truman discovers what a farce his life has been and how controlled he's been-- that he knew best and was doing the right thing for Truman. But it violates the fundamental human right to choose for one's self-- it's immoral. Truman was essentially a prisoner.

Socialists want you to believe that they will provide you with a "good life"-- education, health care, financial security, etc., just surrender your freedom and we'll take care of you. Do we really need to look back to failed socialistic regimes to realize how this just doesn't work? Sadly, many don't realize what freedom really is or value it (they think it's just the right to free speech and freedom of religion, etc), and would prefer to be slaves just as long as certain needs were met. But guess what-- what happens when one day your needs aren't being met and you're still a slave? Uh oh.

See, for me, the voucher program is not as much about how tax dollars are spent as much as it is about promoting CHOICE and FREEDOM. Fundamentally, it's not just about education, it's about the role the government plays in America.

It's about giving parents greater control over what kind of education their child receives. This is not to say that public schools are good or bad. Some are great. Some are terrible. Some are just OK. But there's no accountability for those schools if they do poorly (the fallacy is that they just need more money to succeed), and most parents don't have much choice where their kids go to school. When there's no choice, there's no power. On the other hand, when choice appears, parents and students are empowered and begin to take more accountability for their choices.

I hope you'll take a look at the underlying principles in this issue. I hope that, even in the event that the referendum is overturned by its opponents, that you will wake up and realize how socialistic public education has become, and do whatever it takes to ensure your child gets the education you want and not the education the government or some group of lobbyists wants. Do whatever it takes to maintain your freedom.

Go watch the Truman Show and really give it some thought. Learn what principles this nation was founded on that made it so great, and you'll begin to see how the freedom they bought at such huge sacrifice, that freedom which makes possible true happiness and progression, has slowly been eroding for decades now. And if you'd like to read an article or essay that more eloquently discusses the real core of this issue and the cause of freedom that it relates to, go here.

Above all, be informed. Don't buy my opinion or anyone else's without doing your homework to find out what's true and what's not. Vouchers will not solve our problems in education and government but they will certainly be a step in the right direction.