Comments mehall1027 has made

Questioning the voucher conclusion

I totally agree that lots of folks probably do
leave the city to get a decent education for their kids.  I live and am a public school teacher in NYC and I see it all the time.  My boyfriend's
family lived in Queens until he started high school, then moved to Westchester.  Case in point.

But I don't buy  the argument that school vouchers are the answer for a bunch of reasons.  First, under No Child Left Behind, parents do have choice
within the public schools, so no child need attend a failing school.  

The author contends that parents in urban areas have only 3 choices: have their children attend failing public schools, private schools, or move to the suburbs.  This article also neglects the importance of parent involvement in changing schools.  Or the possibility of middle class families getting involved in teaching at schools.  I'll cite Jonathan Kozol again in this thread.  His new book describes how urban schools are continuing to fail except for one thing: young, optimistic teachers are moving to inner city schools in droves.  As a Harvard graduate who chose to come teach in NYC public schools, and am now entering my fourth year teaching, I can vouch that it's true.  Most of my colleagues (and almost all of those in my generation) are brilliant, creative, committed people who have chosen to teach.  Don't like your local public school?  Get involved!  

Another point is that I find doubtful the author's claim that if all parents received vouchers that
would make schools less segregated.  Perhaps cities would be less segregated, but I bet there would still be pockets of good (probably mostly white) schools and poor (probably mostly students of color) schools.  There are just differing levels of social and intellectual capital in those communities.  Parents who don't speak English, or
who've been harrassed because of their skin color or undocumented status, or who have to wait in line for foodstamps are not going to know how or be able to find a good school for their child, much less navigate the complicated process of school choice.  This model of vouchers sort of requires that some schools end up being better than others.  (Even his comparison to the college system tacitly acknowledges that. And access to college for minorities has improved, but isn't equal to access for white, wealthier students.)  Instead of creating this hierarchy, I think we owe future generations a legacy that all schools must be excellent.  Idealistic?  Yes.  Impossible.  Perhaps.  But I don't think vouchers are the way to approach that goal.On School choice could be an answer to sprawl posted 4 years, 1 month ago 24 Responses