Time to Outsource Education
There’s a lot of news about education in Indiana today. We discovered the dropout rate (1 in 4) is worse than anyone thought. The Governor wants to move forward with full day kindergarten. And IPS wants to give everyone a raise, regardless of whether they’ve earned it. The more I look at this situation, the more I think that education really needs an overhaul and maybe an outsourcing.
Don’t get me wrong, I am the product of public education and I would not trade my grammar and high school years for anything. However, I want today’s students to be just as successful and have as many opportunities as I did. I think the only way to do, is to institute real reform.
The fundamental principle of that reform has to be choice. We can debate how that choice can occur, but there should be choice. Whether vouchers for competing public schools, an education tax credit for all schools, or my personal favorite, refunding the school portion of your property tax bill and letting you take it to the school of your choice.
In the absence of any choice option to reform education, might I make another suggestion: outsource public education. Allow school districts to “contract” out to private schools to educate their kids. We do it to a certain degree with the charter school concept. Private schools tend to get better results and can educate kids cheaper. For example, if it costs public school district A $13,000 to educate a kid and private B, $9,000, then why not allow the public school student to opt in to a private school and the public school district saves $4,000 which it can use to boost pay and other programs. The constitutional issue of church and state can be addressed easily by allowing student to opt out of any religious instruction. If parents want it for their children, they can pay that part of the tuition out of their own pockets. This model would especially be helpful in areas where there are poor public schools and private schools struggle because they do not have enough students.
If you’re not crazy about my ideas, I ask you for your suggestions. If you’re going to suggest decreasing the school code and regulations, I’m with you. If you’re going to suggest outsourcing non-education school functions such as support staff, food service and janitorial work I am with you. If you’re going to suggest just throwing more money at the problem, we need to have a long talk.
November 28th, 2006 at 9:12 am
Why shouldn’t we have a cultural shift, one where we pay teachers six-figures a year, respect them, and make them a pillar of sociecty. Why shouldn’t we have school buildings, not just with chalkboards and desks, but school buildings that are palatial, not in the atheletic facilities, but where it matters.
The first thing that must be done is to eliminate property taxes as the funding mechanisim, because it tends to prove that rich schools get richer and poor schools get poorer.
As for mega-vouchers (your idea), I don’t think giving up on public schools is going to solve a problem.
November 28th, 2006 at 9:27 am
Some concerns with the whole matter of education include (this coming from a retired teacher and being past 65 years of age): The drop out rate–one, numbers have been greatly inflated for last several years and in part due the great pressure on the system to produce high numbers; remembering back when category of “when I was in school”–check the figures in that the drop out rate was even higher not that many years in the past–reality check time: check the figures for those over 40 and what is the literacy rate (that is, measured by high school graduation.) Some sad realities: not all people are capable of achieving any high standard requirements for high school graduation–and not everyone is capable of achieving a college degree (without seriously reducing expectations.)
While there are excesses in some schools these have mainly been local decisions and that is where the decisions on such things should be made. How many schools are still so under staffed, under equiped, etc. that students are given no real experiences that are even current in the “real world”. Going back all those years to my own high school chemistry class–did not even have any of the very basic things and when went to college saw things in the lab drawer I had only seen pictures of let alone really even touched—and I had to compete in that class against well qualified students.
And other things: give charter school status with serious reduction of all the state mandated rules to all school and observe the results—and could go on and on about how many qualified and dedicated teachers had to leave the field because of low pay and benefits; how many capable administrators have taken those abilities and went into businesses because of the pay/benefits situation people believe should exist in public schools, etc. etc.
Simplicity and over reaction by some of those in “leadership” positions are not answers to anything.
November 28th, 2006 at 10:52 am
When you eliminate social promotions and measure a graduation rate in four years, you can expect the results you are getting. I recall that the college graduation rates are calculated using five or six years.
Private schools do not accept every student. Public schools work with kids that often don’t try and are not supported at home.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
There is no good reason at all for government to have anything at all to do with schools. The premise that there is is also the beginning point of unwisdom.
November 29th, 2006 at 7:51 am
Giving up on “public” (read, “governemnt”) education is the solution.
It hasn’t worked efficiently in the past.
It doesn’t work efficiently now.
It won’t work efficiently in the future.
http://www.kenngividen.com
December 2nd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Bravo Abdul. Nice post.
The evidence is clear – when parents choose their kids’ school, the kids win.
The underlying principle is undeniable – parents should be allowed to spend their education dollars on their own kids and at the school of their choice.
Reform the broken education system – an idea whose time has come.